One morning you get a call. A business acquaintance wants to meet. You agree.
You know the meeting is most likely not purely social. You just don’t know what the other person wants.
Chances are this person has a product or service or idea he/she wants to sell. Your job is to stay as noncommittal as possible until you figure out what the other person is looking for (what he or she really wants).
If you want to maintain your relationship, you don’t want to be cornered into a position where you have turn down the proposal. Rather, you want to leave yourself diplomatic "outs" – gracious but plausible excuses why you can’t say, "yes."
If this person is clever, he/she may attempt to win some concessions from you before revealing the exact motive. You need to block and parry – respond in as vague a manner as possible.
Keep stalling until you have “cracked the code,” (i.e. figured out what the other person wants.) Once aware of his/her desires, you can craft an appropriate response without having made a prior commitment.
This is a little like a boxing match. You know the other person is going to swing at you – you just don’t know when. In the meantime, you need to keep your guard up.
Read more about networking, or check out the work-in-progress book ''
You can also find out more about the book The Skinny On Networking.
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