Chapter 2
New Faces in New Places
There are potential new contacts and relationships to be made wherever you find people. If you were to take an inventory of every place you go over the period of a week, you’d realize that your life is full of these kinds of “new places, new faces” situations. Think about it for a moment: how many different venues do you visit over the course of your daily (and weekly) life? Supermarkets, car washes, dry cleaners, restaurants, pharmacies, shopping malls, golf courses, office supply stores, barber shops, hair and nail salons, kids’ sporting events, banks, bookstores, and bars (although maybe not in that order). These are all fertile ground for random connecting. And that’s only a partial list of places—with every one having potentially lucrative contacts to be made. This list doesn’t even cover special occasions, such as weddings, parties, conferences, luncheons, business trips, and so on—events where opportunities for making connections and meeting new people are as plentiful as the air you breathe.
Keep in mind that although you can meet someone new everywhere you go, some places are more conducive than others for striking up relationships. Venues where social interaction is expected and desired, such as coffee shops, bars, parties, weddings, and industry events, are most conducive. There is less of a sense of assumed access and availability in places like a hotel front desk, shuttle buses, airplanes, elevators, doctor’s offices, bookstores, ...
