WOMEN are excellent at personal friendships, but pretty incompetent at the business skill of networking. This is the meet-and-greet stuff where you build up a circle of acquaintances and useful contacts you can call on when you need a favour.

Perhaps that is  a bit too mercenary for women. But networking is so crucial that it is a key skill taught by Hirs, (correct) a consultancy that develops women for leadership. Networking was one of the top competencies needed to succeed in corporate leadership, Hirs CEO Renate Volpe said at a Women’s Day event hosted by technology firm Axiz.

Most women are not comfortable in striking up conversations with strangers at cocktail parties, pressing the flesh, exchanging business cards, and actually making contact with those people later if they could prove useful.
If two men meet at a breakfast function and exchange business cards, one would feel no qualms about calling the other in six month’s time, reminding him where they met, and asking if he can help with a particular problem.
Most women would never dare to do that. A woman would feel guilty that she had not made contact earlier, taken the other woman  for coffee, and formed a friendship that entitled her to ask a favour. Because they had not become new best friends, one would feel like a bitch if she called the other to ask a favour, Volpe said.
But networking is not about friendships, it’s about business relationships that evolve over time in a mutually beneficial manner.

Women usually have five or six close friends, and perhaps 30 or 40 who rank as acquaintances and occasional contacts. Men may have only one or two close friends, but up to 200 people they network with.
The benefits include broadening your access to resources, expanding your sphere of influence, supportive mentorship and the ability to form successful business transactions.

It’s very simple. You have talents, contacts and ideas that can benefit someone else, and they have talents, contacts or ideas that can benefit you. So use them.
Getting started is the hardest part. At a business function, look at the guest list to see if there is someone you want to meet, or the representative of a company which could prove useful.

And be prepared. Volpe suggests you create your own “elevator speech” —  a 15-second introduction of who are, what you do, and how that could benefit the person you are talking to. Improve your conversational skills by keeping up to date with current events, or have a joke or an interesting story to tell.

Collect their business card, follow up with a short note, and keep good records of the people you meet. Don’t bombard them with messages, and don’t expect instant rewards. But when someone you met has something you need, or you have an opportunity that might benefit them, get in touch.

And when they call you for help or advice, be prepared to give. Reciprocity is vital,  so circulate information and connect people, and gradually your support network will grow.