Stop Going to Network. Start Building Relationships.
Most professionals do not need another networking event on their calendar. Too many people walk into a chamber mixer, conference reception, client dinner, or association meeting without a plan. They collect a few business cards, talk to the coworkers they arrived with, add several names on LinkedIn, and call it networking. Then they wonder why nothing comes from it.
Attending more events with that strategy won't make a difference. You need to change your approach.
Real business is built through what you do before you arrive, how you behave once you are there, and whether you follow through after everyone goes home.
AI is changing how business is won, but not in the way you think.
AI is revolutionizing everything from search and leads to discovery and, especially, the RFP process.
Weak submissions now look competent. Average submissions look polished. Strong submissions often use the same language, structure, and surface-level insights as everyone else.
Nearly four out of five RFP teams now use AI in their response workflows. The tools help teams research, draft, organize, and produce more submissions in less time. That efficiency is useful. It also makes polish less distinctive.
However, relationship-based pursuits still win between 60% and 90%, depending on the market, the opportunity, and how well the pursuit was qualified.
The relationship doesn't negate the need for a strong response. It gives your firm access to something a cold competitor rarely has: context.
That's what makes your response even stronger. You understand the real problem. You know which concerns have not made it into the RFP. You have a clearer view of the decision process, the political landscape, the risks, and the outcomes that matter.
This relationship begins long before the RFP is released.
Buyers Still Need People
Buyers are using more digital tools and conducting more independent research.
Gartner reported that 70% of B2B buyers prefer a digital, self-service buying experience, but that does not remove the human role. People don't want to talk to a human until they need one.
The same research found that 69% prefer to validate AI-generated insights with a human representative.
Buyers can gather information on their own, but they still need help interpreting it and applying it to their situation. They need someone who can challenge an assumption, recognize a risk, ask a better question, and help them feel confident about the decision.
Your team’s value is no longer tied to having information the buyer cannot access. Their value comes from judgment, curiosity, confidence, and the ability to lead a meaningful business conversation.
That is why human relationship development deserves more attention from sales leaders, managing partners, and firm owners.
Stop Measuring Attendance and Start Measuring Impact
Attending an event is an activity. Building a relationship is a process.
A networking scorecard based on events attended, cards collected, or LinkedIn connections added creates the same problem as measuring outbound activity without examining outcomes. It gives everyone something to report while avoiding the harder conversation about progress.
A better scorecard asks:
What did you learn?
Who did you help?
Which relationship moved forward?
What next step was agreed upon?
When will that next step happen?
A team member who attends one event and schedules two relevant follow-up conversations may create more value than someone who attends ten events and leaves with a pocket full of names.
The same principle applies on the golf course. As Jim explained in The Pitching Wedge, the venue creates an opportunity for a relationship. But the networking event doesn't do the work for you. You have to engage with people to build relationships.
Prepare Before You Walk Into the Room
Your team would not enter an important client meeting without preparation. Networking deserves the same discipline.
Before an event, decide:
Why are we attending?
Who would be useful to meet?
What do we want to learn?
What questions will create a real conversation?
What would make the event worthwhile?
Preparation should make your team more present. It should not turn them into actors reciting elevator pitches.
Megan made this point in Stop Reading the Slides. Start Reading the Room. Better conversations begin when professionals stop performing and start paying attention.
- Ask what brought someone to the event.
- Ask what is changing in their business.
- Ask what has become more difficult for their clients.
- Ask what they are trying to improve.
Then listen, and respond like a human, not a chatbot.
Use Networking to Practice Your Talk-Tracks
Networking events are low-risk environments for practicing high-value skills.
Your team can learn to:
Start conversations
Read body language
Ask follow-up questions
Explain their work clearly
Recover from awkward moments
End conversations respectfully
Ask for an appropriate next step
These are the same skills required in prospecting, discovery, client expansion, referral conversations, and executive meetings. Sending an unprepared team into a networking event and telling them to “meet people” is not coaching.
Give them a behavioral goal. Practice the opening questions. Discuss how to exit a conversation. Debrief the event afterward.
Let AI Handle the Homework
AI can support this human-first strategy.
- Use it to research attendees, understand companies, prepare questions, organize notes, draft follow-up messages, and remind the team when a relationship has gone quiet.
- Use AI to arrive better prepared.
- Don't use it to avoid the real conversations.
The next strong opportunity may begin with a handshake, a chamber event, a coffee meeting, or a conversation with someone standing alone near the registration table.
It's time to stop relying on digital channels and start building real business again.
