markewicken in Myths and RealitiesNetworking

Networking is about meeting lots of people

Myth: Meet as many people as you can at networking events.

Reality: Quality versus quantity is the rule when networking. Do your homework and research the people who will be attending and seek out the ones you really want to connect with. Collecting business cards is not the objective. A brief conversation doesn’t really develop a relationship, and calling people you’ve only met briefly isn’t much different from cold calling them. The best strategy is to spend good quality time with a few people rather than a little time with a lot of people.

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How to networkNetworking events

markewicken: Mark Wicken is a marketing professional with over 30 years of advertising, communications and strategic planning experience within the retail and packaged goods industries. He has been a senior member of agency management teams with both account and brand management responsibilities. His strengths have always been on innovative thinking, solid organization and strong interpersonal skills. Starting in the advertising agency industry, Mark held senior account management positions at several multinational agencies including Leo Burnett, Foster, Caledon, Vickers & Benson and Saffer Advertising, and has been responsible for the management of accounts like IBM, McDonald’s, Esso and General Motors. Mark moved from his agency roles to the Client side and held the position of Divisional Vice President of Marketing for Domino’s Pizza International and Director of Marketing for KFC, Hardee’s and Sbarro restaurants in the Middle East. In 2002 he established The Mark Wicken Group, a business specializing in executive search, training and consulting within the marketing, advertising and communications industries. In addition to executive search, Mark has devoted much of his lifetime to teaching, education and youth development. He is President of MusicFest Canada ‘The Largest Annual Music Festival in North America’ and has been an instructor at the International Academy of Design and The Toronto Film School since 1998. Mark graduated from The University of Toronto, took post-graduate studies at Northwestern University, and is married with two sons.