Location, Location, Location

I live in Chicagoland and those of us who have basements, have spiders. I have a spider in my office who has spun a web that is in the wrong place. It’s down around the floor; it is too low to catch flies and too high for catching the little creeping bugs. My spider buddy just hasn’t learned the first lesson in Real Estate... Location is everything.  

I’ve watched this spider over the last few days and I am beginning to worry about him. I fear he may be starving to death. So I told him, “You need to move your web to a better location, so that you can catch some food.” And like some of my clients, he ignored my sage advice.  

I figured that it must be the way that I delivered my message... “Listen spider,” I said, “you need to either move your web higher or lower. Otherwise you’ll never achieve your goal of catching a juicy insect.” I figured if I used some imagery to better get his attention, he would make the change. I also thought that pointing out that he could better meet his goals would give my message some impact. And this time, I was more specific about what he needed to do, plus, the focus was on the benefit rather than a negative possible outcome.  

Alas, the spider didn’t move his web which remains empty as I write this. I think that I’ve figured the problem between me and the spider... since he isn’t paying for my wise counsel, he doesn’t realize the value he is receiving. (BTW, I only refer to the spider as a he because it’s one less keystroke. I have it on good authority that female spiders aren’t any better at accepting feedback than male spiders.)  

Networking, talking to people, is mostly about getting out there. People tell me that networking doesn’t work for them. Whether you’re in business for yourself, or looking for a new job, you will catch more leads by talking to more people. That means going out to where people are... Business After Hours Events, Conferences, Lectures or Presentations all have people attending them. In fact, Weddings and even Funerals are good places to meet people too. (Remember that timing and tact are especially important at these types of events.)   

So, don’t be like my little friend, move you web to where there are people to talk to and connect with. Go to new and different places and you’ll soon be increasing the names on your contact list. Then you’ll be telling folks how well networking is working for you.