Are you a social hunter or farmer?

The offline networker

I was at an offline event and heard someone say that to be a successful networker, you need to be a farmer, not a hunter. I had not heard the term before but immediately understood the implication, at least as it relates to me. Offline networking has never been my thing.  I like people, really I do. But for some reason I have an aversion to groups of people that are connected through an organization. You know... that awkward conversation, uncomfortable feeling. Wasn't sure why until I heard that term. It dawned on me that I may have had a preconceived notion that everyone there was a Hunter, laden with their agendas, bias and cliques. Or... maybe I wasn't sure if I was a farmer or a hunter. My bad.

Net-working is all about building relationships, not about "Hi, I'm Joe how do you like me so far, let me tell you why you should buy my product or service". That's hunting. Farming on the other hand, is planting the relationship seed, nurturing it over time and then at some point... the harvest. It's an investment in time.

If you join an offline organization like a Chamber or BNI with the expectation of business/revenue growth but don't spend the time farming, you're wasting your time and money.

The online networker

Ahhh... the online space... facebook, twitter, LinkedIn. Not only can we can hide behind Mr. Virtual, but we can hire someone else to do it.  Sweet!  No eye contact, no awkward conversations and I can't see if you're looking over my should to see who your next target is. Comforting isn't it. But is it effective?

The social space is about resonating with your audience, gaining perceived trust and your reward is a share, like, comment and just maybe a conversion to a customer.  The social space has a way of smacking hunters. Hunting doesn't work.  Although, I see so many "hunters" doing the robotic post thing or posting irrelevant garbage just to show activity. Grows tiresome and makes you invisible.

So how do you farm online? Tell your story, educate, engage, create the visual. It takes time and effort and yes it can be worth it. But sorry, you can't hide. Pick you poison and start farming.