No Schmooze, You Lose

Schmooze to Live, Live to Schmooze. Ultimately, all business is about relationships. Those who are good at making and keeping contacts are the winners in the end. Those who are creepy and dishonest can only survive for a short time before everyone stops returning their calls. The slime gets weeded out, the sincere rises to the top.

Schmooze. To Schmooze. To idly blather in pursuit of gains. Press the flesh. Grab and grin. Meet and greet. Going to the Meet Market. This is a necessary aspect of a successful life in the internet business, be you a designer or salesperson. You need to get out from behind your desk and gab with other people from your industry.

In other contexts, the term is sometimes used to describe getting out of a sticky situation, like talking your way out of a parking ticket. However, in the business world it is used to describe what has become an art and a craft. The fine art of slick networking.

For further research, don't miss Guy Kawasaki and his Theory of Schmoozing version 1.0.

Also, back in July I blogged about business networking sites, which could be considered "virtual" schmoozing. Although these sites cannot compare with real, flesh-n-blood schmoozing.

There are many events that allow digital media professionals to practice their schmoozing. Check out Meet Up, NetParty, Toastmasters, The Rotary Club and various Chamber of Commerce events in your city.

A wise friend once said to me that a main goal of any businessperson should be to create a list of 100 people who will take your call...and enjoy it. You don't want folks to sigh heavily when they hear that you are on the phone, you want them to feel relieved that you called.

Some Books you might want to check out:
Mr. Shmooze: The Art and Science of Selling Through Relationships by Richard Abraham
It's Not Your Smarts, It's Your Schmooze: How to Succeed Without Being Brilliant by Ty Freyvogel
The Art of Schmooze, Vol. 1: The Confident Schmoozer by Beth Mende Conny
How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less by Nicholas Boothman
Life's a Pitch!: From Hosting to Toasting...from News to Schmooze by Soni Dimond

Now get out there and GRAB-N-GRIN!