See if this scenario sounds familiar. Not for you, of course, but I’m sure you can think of someone to whom this applies.

You are attending a networking mixer. You’ve already figured out that your target market is real estate agents in the local area (within 30 miles). You have a service that could really help these folks. You are chatting with Bob. Bob owns a small shop on Main Street. He is not in your target market and can’t even peripherally use your service, so after a few minutes you wish him well and start a conversation with Mary. Bob walks off and chats with someone else, too. No hard feelings. Whew! You just saved yourself a lot of time. Congratulations!

Except.

Except Bob’s wife is the president of the local Women Realtors Association, a group which counts its members in the hundreds, possibly thousands. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have Bob introduce you to her?

Don’t worry about it, though. I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity like that in no time. Right? Hey, why are you crying?

Seriously, though, never assume that the person you are talking with isn’t someone that you should have as a part of your network. Almost anyone you speak with will either be able to help you directly or can improve your reputation by helping someone else in your long list of connections. Remember that the more people you know, the more powerful your network becomes, the more you become that person who knows everyone and whom everyone wants to know.

Now you’d better go chase after Bob and find out how you can help him succeed. Let me know how it turns out.

Photo credit: TheTruthAbout…