Business Networking Is Like Fly Fishing – Part 1

Fly fishing is a skilled activity that takes time, practice and effort to master. There are many parallels between fly fishing and business networking. Here is just one of those parallels.

Fish are highly attuned to their aquatic environment. They can sense tiny changes in water pressure and the vibrations of things landing on and in the water. Their ability to eat and survive depends on these abilities.

The fish that fly anglers are after generally like to eat flies. Flies are not heavy creatures and they do not land heavily on the water and splash about noisily. Some flies do not even land at all but merely brush the surface in search of their prey.

To catch a fish with an artificial fly the angler has to simulate the behaviour of a real fly. If they do not the fish will not be interested enough to even approach the fly let alone get caught by the angler. It is no use making a lot of noise and splashing around as this will just scare the fish away.

Business networking is very much like this. You have to behave in ways that do not scare your prospects away. They are unwilling to give up their valuable time and attention to you without seeing something of interest to them. It is therefore up to you to attract the prospects to you rather than just diving in and trying to grab them right out of the river.

Business networking is definitely a skill that can be taught and developed and it will more than repay the investment of time, money and effort you put in to learn the skills.