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Business Networking 101: How to Network Like a Pro

Business Networking 101: How to Network Like a Pro

This course is part of Own Your Career Specialization

Instructor: Madecraft

Included with

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5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

4 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

4 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

How to network strategically by separating it from prospecting and building long-term relationships through outreach, leverage, and giving.
How to manage and follow up with hundreds of contacts using a tiered CRM, focused social media strategy, and daily habits that compound.
How to handle every networking situation — elevator pitches, trade shows, virtual calls, and reconnecting after years of silence.

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Own Your Career Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 5 modules in this course

Networking can feel awkward, transactional, or like a chore you keep meaning to get to. It doesn't have to. In this course, marketing strategist Joe Apfelbaum and community-builder Tami Schlichter, who together have trained over 10,000 business owners and sales professionals, teach you how to network the way the pros do — strategically, generously, and consistently.

You'll learn how to separate networking from prospecting and adopt the giver's mindset that produces the biggest long-term opportunities. You'll prepare an elevator pitch that makes people curious, find networking opportunities in unconventional places (airports, coffee shops, religious gatherings, online communities), and master the three-step approach for trade shows. You'll build a CRM and follow-up system that fits your existing workflow, design a focused social media strategy, and develop the daily habits that compound over months and years. By the end of the course, you'll have a complete networking system — from the first hello to the long-term reconnection. Whether you're new to networking or want to take your existing relationships to the next level, this course gives you what you need to build a network that genuinely creates value, both for the people in it and for you.

Module details

Networking done wrong costs you relationships, time, and credibility. You’ll separate networking from prospecting, apply three core strategies that move your goals forward, and sidestep the most common mistakes that derail new networkers.

What's included

4 videos2 assignments

When you show up without a plan, a pitch, or a giving mindset, even the best networking event becomes a missed opportunity. You’ll get clear on your goals and your offer, build a giver’s mindset, and craft an elevator pitch that makes people lean in instead of tune out.

What's included

5 videos1 reading1 assignment

Networking opportunities don’t only live at after-hours mixers and industry events. You’ll find your best networking venues, choose the right groups, and build a playbook for connecting in person and online.

What's included

4 videos1 reading1 assignment

Without a system to manage your contacts, your best networking conversations fade into a list of forgotten names. You’ll set up a CRM that fits your workflow, build a follow-up rhythm by contact tier, and dramatically improve your response rates.

What's included

4 videos3 assignments

Everything you know about networking is only as valuable as your ability to put it into practice every day. You’ll run productive networking calls, host your own events, reconnect with dormant contacts, and build the daily habits that make networking automatic.