If you’ve been to a few networking events, you may have noticed that they’re mostly made up of freelance coaches, consultants, and small business owners. This is perfect if that’s the market you hope to promote your services to, but what if you want to build your network in the corporate world?

Let’s face it: Most of the people you want to connect with are employees of a larger organization. This is the case if you are looking for senior executives, training managers, or any other staff member.

Employees think differently than freelancers and business owners when it comes to networking. They have a job to do and probably don’t have enough time to do it, so networking is not high on their priority list, unless they are thinking of changing careers.

These folks have a corporate marketing department that works hard to build the organization’s profile, so unless they’re working in the Sales or Business Development functions, they’re not going to go online for leads the way you are. .

They spend most days fielding incoming calls and sorting through sales letters and promotional emails from people and organizations trying to market their businesses, so chances are they’re not thinking, “I could really use meeting some potential vendors; I’ll go to this one.” networking event”.

So if they’re not approaching networking the same way you are, how do you get in front of these people?

Most people who work in large organizations do not attend “networking events” unless they are looking for a job. Networking happens at industry conferences, seminars, and training courses. People introduce each other at awards dinners, press launches, and social events.

If you’re looking to network your way into larger organizations, adjust your strategy. Start thinking like them. Position yourself so that you are invited to the same events that you attend.

Work with your existing contacts and request specific presentations for a particular person in an organization; websites like LinkedIn are useful for finding out who knows whom. Be clear about what you want them to say when they present. Find the trainers and consultants you know who work with larger organizations and get to know them. Find out more about what they do, and see if you can help them first, before asking if they’d be willing to consider you when they need an additional trainer.

Above all, understand that it can take time even when you’ve been introduced to the right person. You need to network in a slightly different way and have a longer-term strategy in mind, but if you start with an end in mind and are clear about what you set out to achieve, you’ll have a much higher level of success. .