Being more of an introvert or extrovert is just one preference that guides us in how we network successfully. The only thing about us being 100% is human. No one is 100% introvert or extrovert and throughout any one day, all of us is behaving in introverted and extroverted ways.

When we recognize that we are all human beings, first we can better connect to the strengths within us after that based on our personality preferences.

Make yourself better, not bitter.

It’s better to appreciate who we are, as we are than to quickly either condone or degrade.

I often hear introverts say they don’t like and get little from networking. Let me be first in line to say early in my sales career my feelings were they same. It was more grip and grin than I was able to bring into practice. At first, results were weak.

But then in learning, I was more of an introvert I began to change my approach. I would say yes more to events where there were people I already knew, and no to events where either all or most attendees were strangers, or I couldn’t find a more extroverted friend who was attending.

This outlook helped me to let go of my bitterness about networking and instead find better and more suitable approaches.

Contemplate, how can you make yourself better, not bitter?

Lead from your strengths.

With technology, today, the more introverted is best suited to take advantage of communicating one to one beyond the telephone. So many introverts tell me their preferred mode of communicating is through writing. If this preference of connecting, sounds like you consider both email and social networking as your go-to for communicating.

LinkedIn is one of my most used social networking websites because most people are professional in their posts and connecting. Sure, some outliers will spam you. After a while, you get to know the profile of preliminary behaviors and can avert such people before you become one of their victims.

Be on the social networking website that has people there who we want to meet for our business. Being online where we find people who we wish to be in our contact sphere, decision makers in the company to be in front of, or individuals who could be consumers of what we sell.

Let your curiosity guide you as you read their profile information. Then start a conversation. That’s all that has to happen initially. Use that website’s feature to message or contact them with your question or comment.

As we go further in networking both in-person and online, anyone in a business responsible for sales or business development will have to follow-up! Don’t be one of the 80% of sales people who don’t do this. And when we have that enunciated reason to follow-up, while you may prefer to communicate in writing, take care to notice what the other person’s preference is and take their lead.

We get most of our introvert preferences all satisfied – research, writing, listening. That puts us on solid footing to expand out of our comfort zone for possible telephone conversations.

Ask yourself, what strengths can you lead from to both initiate and continue a business conversation?

Take advantage of more informed times.

In the last decade, people have become clearer and more understanding about the different introvert, extrovert, and ambivert preferences. Still many are unaware.

If you are reading this post, it’s highly likely you may be one of those more aware. Your awareness could be an opportunity for you to take advantage of in your networking.

Be confident in your self-knowledge. It’s okay for you to attend an event and search for a person or two who you already know. It’s also going to give you more strength to continue if you take a quiet break during an event to recharge. And when you’ve either met the number of people who set out to meet or who by name you’ve come to meet, make it okay for yourself to leave even if it’s early.

There’s more of a chance that no one will notice any of these re-energizing actions. Or if they do, they are still going to keep on with their plans.

Let’s leave the uninformed times behind us and get grounded in knowing we’re okay just as we are.

Consider how can you take advantage of being more informed about who we are as introverts in business networking?

If you’ve been bitter about networking results – let it go. If you’ve tried being more like an extrovert in networking – let that go too. If you think people don’t understand each individual is different – let it go as we do live in more informed times.

With these foundational ideas at the time of your awareness, be the best you can be at your upcoming networking encounters.

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Guest Blogger:

Patricia Weber, introvert inspirer and internationally recognized introvert authority, provides practical tools for the introvert to navigate the rules at work with ultimate success, through her books, teleclasses, speaking, coaching. She blogs almost everything introvert at http://patricia-weber.com

People can preview for free three, 3-minute videos of a 30-day training program, Introverts: The Secrets to Workplace Success at https://app.avanoo.com/first3/507