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Hot take: Handing out business cards at every meetup was killing my connections
I used to go to the Motor City Networking Mixer every month and shove my card at everyone I saw. Last Tuesday I actually paid attention to how people reacted and realized they just took it to be polite. One guy even dropped mine in the trash can right after I walked away. Has anyone else found that not giving out cards on the spot leads to way better follow-ups?
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hernandez.morgan4mo ago
Yeah I saw a buddy do the same thing at a tech meetup and watched a guy toss his card in a plant pot on the way out the door. He stopped handing them out and started actually talking to people instead, and his follow-ups went way up.
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mason8473mo ago
Have you ever watched someone at a networking event and just known they were doing it wrong? I've been to so many of these things and I swear the people who just hand out cards like candy never get anywhere. The trick is to actually find a reason to keep talking to someone, maybe ask what they're working on or what kind of projects they do. If you can get them to tell you about a problem they're having, then you can offer a thought or a suggestion right there. That way when you do give them a card later, they actually remember who you are and why they should reach out. It's way more work than just walking around with a stack, but the follow ups actually mean something.
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rileyl984mo ago
Oh man, I did the exact same thing at that same mixer a while back. I walked around with a stack of 50 cards and probably came off like a car salesman. It wasn't until I saw a lady just set her whole pile of cards down on a table next to the nachos and walk away that I got the hint. Now I just chat with people and if they ask for my info I'll pull one out, but that's it. Follow ups are way more genuine now because we actually had a conversation first, not just a handshake and a card shove.
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