If you are a Star Wars fan, you may remember that the first Star Wars movie that we saw was actually episode 1V. Consequently, I want to point out that this post is not about the beginning of the networking process. I'm taking advantage of current events and will provide order to the series in due course.

Hillary Clinton was interviewed on Meet the Press this morning and during the interview, she gave a great example of a mindset that I've seen in networkers. She was being asked about Sarah Palin, Palin's new book, the last presidential election campaign and whether or not Hillary would like to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Sarah Palin. Hillary's paraphrased response was, "Well, we've never met. Yes, I think that it might be very good if we met. Maybe I could make some headway on getting her to understand our point of view."

Before I proceed, I want to remind you that this is not about politics, it's my observations about mindset when you're networking, selling or otherwise interacting with people.

I network to eventually sell stuff and make money. When I enter a room with 25, 250 or 2,500 people, I don't know whether I'm gonna find a prospect, a center of influence, or a great service provider and frankly, whether we're talking about a referral group meeting, an after-hours mixer or an all day trade show, there are limitations to the number of people that you can meet. My mindset is that I want to meet as many people as I can become memorable enough to so that they will want to take my call. I don't need to decide whether they're a prospect or something else, I just need to engage them enough to trade business cards, agree to an exploratory conversation, and most importantly, not give them a reason NOT to take my call.

So, I don't say things like, "I'll tell you about the ways that we've helped other people like you." Or "We'll compare contacts (rolodexes to you over 50-somethings) and see if I can help any of your clients." Or "I'll show you all the great new offerings that we have." Your target will probably not take your call. (Do you really think that Sarah Palin wants to have coffee with Hillary Clinton so that Sarah can understand Hillary's point of view?)

I might start with something like, "First time at this event?" "How'd you get here?" "Why are you here?" and "Who are you looking to meet?" then ask, "What do you do?" At this point, they're engaged. So, I typically have to interrupt with, "Sounds like it's gonna take a while for me to understand everything that you do and there's a lot of people here that we should meet. Did you bring business cards? Do you want to trade? We can have a conversation next week and you can finish up." Done.

If you have a comment, feel free. If you have a question, ask it in the comment section or send me an email. Finally, if you'd like to role play one on one with me some time, watch for a new offering.