The first time you ever passed out a business card you became a part of business networking history. And even though networking today is a burgeoning trend, business networking has a long and rich history that began with tradecards.
"Tradecards, considered to precede business cards, were used in all parts of England.
The earliest forms of tradecards were to be found at the beginning of the 17th century in London. These were used as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to merchant's stores, as there was no formal street numbering system at the time." More history...
And so, as tradecards evolved into business cards, methods, for distributing them evolved as well. Joe Girard, the self-proclaimed, "World's greatest salesperson" may have been the first to up the networking ante by tossing out hundreds of his car salesmen cards at sporting events.
Since that time, Joe has moved on from selling cars to selling himself, and much has changed. Today, networking groups are all the rage. Books on the how-tos of networking are ubiquitous like IBI Graduate Jill Lublin's Networking Magic, a Barnes and Noble Best Seller.
But even with loads of networking tips and tricks and groups that are totally focused on networking, most people do not consider themselves to be good networkers. In fact, from our informal surveys, we have found that fewer than one out of ten actually consider themselves to be good at this most important business skill.
IBI Colorado's series of 12 networking games is targeted to the 9 out of 10 who believe themselves to be inadequate networkers. And that is what gives networking a new face, one that empowers everyone to receive the resources that they most need next.
One of our IBI Global Free Enterprise Forum Graduates predicted that our networking games would really catch on, and they have. Last night's Table Swap was no exception, with extra chairs needed to accommodate all that participated. Resources flowed easily to those who needed them.
If you are in business in Colorado, you can't afford to miss our next IBI Colorado networking game.
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Gale Connell President, CEO IBI Colorado Don't Just Dream It. Do It!
Posted: 11:27 AM, Mar. 3, 2006 in <%EntryCategory%>
Thanks Gale for a wonderful story and I think we started networking when we started to trade for something from someone else in our own tribe and then from another tribe... etc. I am having a blast with the games you have created for us! Thank you, Tim
The first time you ever passed out a business card you became a part of business networking history. And even though networking today is a burgeoning trend, business networking has a long and rich history that began with tradecards.
"Tradecards, considered to precede business cards, were used in all parts of England.
The earliest forms of tradecards were to be found at the beginning of the 17th century in London. These were used as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to merchant's stores, as there was no formal street numbering system at the time." More history...
And so, as tradecards evolved into business cards, methods, for distributing them evolved as well. Joe Girard, the self-proclaimed, "World's greatest salesperson" may have been the first to up the networking ante by tossing out hundreds of his car salesmen cards at sporting events.
Since that time, Joe has moved on from selling cars to selling himself, and much has changed. Today, networking groups are all the rage. Books on the how-tos of networking are ubiquitous like IBI Graduate Jill Lublin's Networking Magic, a Barnes and Noble Best Seller.
But even with loads of networking tips and tricks and groups that are totally focused on networking, most people do not consider themselves to be good networkers. In fact, from our informal surveys, we have found that fewer than one out of ten actually consider themselves to be good at this most important business skill.
IBI Colorado's series of 12 networking games is targeted to the 9 out of 10 who believe themselves to be inadequate networkers. And that is what gives networking a new face, one that empowers everyone to receive the resources that they most need next.
One of our IBI Global Free Enterprise Forum Graduates predicted that our networking games would really catch on, and they have. Last night's Table Swap was no exception, with extra chairs needed to accommodate all that participated. Resources flowed easily to those who needed them.
If you are in business in Colorado, you can't afford to miss our next IBI Colorado networking game.
Trackback URL For This Entry Is
Gale Connell President, CEO IBI Colorado Don't Just Dream It. Do It!
