I Hate Networking Events. Here's What I Do Instead.

I went to a networking event about a year ago. One of those breakfast things where you pay twenty quid to eat a mediocre croissant and listen to thirty people give their sixty-second elevator pitch.

By pitch number twelve, I wanted to throw myself out of the window.

Not because the people were bad. Most of them were lovely. But the format. The forced introductions. The awkward card swapping. The pretending to be interested in someone's "unique value proposition" while you're mentally calculating how long until you can leave.

I'm just not built for it.

The Problem With Traditional Networking

Traditional networking events operate on a fundamentally flawed premise: that putting a hundred strangers in a room and telling them to "make connections" will somehow generate meaningful business relationships.

It doesn't. What it generates is a pile of business cards you'll never look at again and a LinkedIn connection request you'll accept out of guilt.

Real business relationships aren't built in sixty-second pitches. They're built over time, through genuine interaction, shared experiences, and mutual respect.

What I Do Instead

I create content. This is my number one networking tool. When you put your thoughts, opinions, and expertise out into the world consistently, the right people find you. They read your stuff. They see how you think. They decide they like you before you've ever spoken.

Every client I've won in the last two years has come through content. Blog posts, emails, LinkedIn, this kind of stuff. Not a single one came from a networking event.

I have one-to-one coffee chats. Instead of meeting fifty people briefly, I meet one person properly. I'll drop someone a message and say "fancy a coffee?" No agenda. No pitch. Just a conversation.

These conversations lead to referrals, collaborations, and friendships. Not because I went in with a sales objective, but because people refer people they actually know and trust.

I help people without asking for anything. Someone asks a question in a Facebook group, I answer it. Properly. Not with a link to my services, but with actual useful advice.

This builds reputation. People remember the person who helped them when they didn't have to. And when they need what you offer, or know someone who does, guess who they think of?

I show up in communities. Online communities, Slack groups, Facebook groups, industry forums. Places where my ideal clients hang out. I contribute. I share. I don't sell. The selling takes care of itself when people see you know what you're talking about.

Why This Works Better

Traditional networking is transactional. "What do you do? Can you help me? Can I help you? Let's swap cards." It's surface-level and forgettable.

Content-led networking is value-first. You demonstrate expertise. You build trust. You attract people who already like your approach. By the time they reach out, half the selling is already done.

It's also scalable. A blog post reaches hundreds of people. A networking event reaches the thirty people in the room. The maths is obvious.

"But You Still Need to Meet People Face to Face"

Do I? I mean, yes, meeting people in person is nice. And I do it, selectively. But the idea that you need to attend events to grow a business isn't true anymore.

Some of my best client relationships started with a DM. Some of my most productive collaborations were with people I'd never met in person. We live in a world where you can build genuine, lasting business relationships without being in the same room.

If networking events work for you, great. Keep going. But if they don't, stop forcing yourself to attend out of guilt or FOMO.

There are better ways to build relationships. And they don't involve mediocre croissants.