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Posted on Sun, Feb 26, 2012 : 6 a.m.

Dealing with the bottom of the networking cycle

By Greg Peters

networking-cave.jpg

Photo by Flickr user David'n'Sheila

Your strength and focus in networking runs in cycles. There are times when you are really revving and you'll attend three events in a day, contact thirty people on your tickler list, and throw in a one-to-one meeting or three on top of it all.

And then there are those other times when you just want to hole up in your cave.

I would love to be able to tell you that during these times it's okay to just leave off your networking for a day or a week until you are feeling like it again. Please, feel free to do so...

... if you want your network to wilt and die like a plant left without water for too long.

See, the exact activities aren't as important as the consistency with which you carry them out. Do something — anything — every day to feed the network.

Taking a day off won't matter much to your network, but one day can become two, and then a week, and then a month, and then...

And then you will discover one day that no one remembers who you are.

If you are at the low end of the cycle, cutting back is okay. Quitting is not.

Greg Peters, founder of The Reluctant Networker LLC, writes, speaks and coaches about good networking practice. For more tips that can help your connections count, go to www.thereluctantnetworker.com.