I was talking to someone last week and he mentioned he had recently attended an event he thought would be ripe with opportunity but fell flat. I asked if went with a co-worker or friend and he said no, he prefers to go it alone. He doesn’t want to get distracted or just hangout with that person.

A lot of folks like to attend networking events alone so they don’t end up hanging out with that person. However, I prefer to go to a networking event WITH someone. I know people who will be at the event, the friend knows other people at the event, and if you play your cards right, you can meet some really great people, plus you look like the fun group for those people who came alone and they’ll WANT to join you.

I’ve made some awesome connections when I network as a team. Think about who you want to connect with, and meet before the event to talk about your goals for the event. Then when you get there you both know what you’re looking for and when someone pops up on your radar you can connect them.

So what about you? Do you prefer to network as a team, or go it alone?