Building friendships and relationships will lead to sales, loyalty, and referrals. Nothing is more powerful than that. Networking contacts that are only sales and referrals are a great start, but not as powerful as the relationship aspect of building your career. Not having to cold call is a by-product of the entire process, not a goal. You can call people after networking, but if you haven't built any kind of rapport you’re still at a beginning point in the relationship. It’s a building process -- get known, build rapport, engage, make appointments, make sales, build relationships, build friendships, and earn referrals.
–JEFFREY GITOMER, excerpted from The Little Red Book of Sales Answers