There’s a growing sentiment that networking has lost its soul.
People feel it every day:
- Conversations feel calculated
- Introductions feel opportunistic
- Relationships feel…conditional
- Behavior has shifted from “how can I help you?” to “what’s in it for me?”
And the response is almost universal:
“It shouldn’t be like this.”
We wish it worked the way it used to.
When people helped each other because they wanted to.
When introductions were made without expectation.
When relationships were built first, and business followed.
The Environment Changed—and So Did Behavior
Today, professionals operate in a different reality:
- More connections
- Less time
- Higher expectations
- Faster decision cycles
So, people adapt.
They prioritize.
They filter.
They evaluate.
What we call “transactional” is often just: People making decisions about where to invest their time and energy.
Not because they don’t value relationships, or because they want to come across as selfish and manipulative, but rather it’s just how the world works now.
For example, I’m yet to meet anyone who likes online dating, and yet, it’s how everyone does it. The process has evolved, and so has networking.
The Real Issue Isn’t Transactions—It’s the Lack of Structure
Transactions aren’t new.
Business has always been built on exchange:
- Value for value
- Introduction for opportunity
- Relationship for outcome
What’s changed is this:
The value created inside relationships is mostly:
- Invisible
- Untracked
- And inconsistently recognized
Introductions happen.
Deals happen.
Opportunities are created.
But the people who make those things happen often:
- Aren’t acknowledged
- Aren’t measured
- And aren’t compensated
So over time, behavior shifts.
People start asking:
“What do I get out of this?”
Not out of selfishness—but out of uncertainty and inconsistency.
You Can Fight It…Or You Can Lean Into It
You can keep saying: “Networking shouldn’t be transactional.”
Or you can accept a more practical truth: People want to create value, and they want that value to be recognized.
The most effective communities aren’t pretending transactions don’t exist.
They’re leaning into them.
But doing it differently.
What It Means to Lean Into It
Leaning into transactional networking doesn’t mean making it cold or extractive.
It means:
- Making value visible
- Making contributions measurable and
- Making outcomes shared
It means turning what is already happening into something:
- Structured
- Fair
- And repeatable
Because when expectations are clear, something powerful happens: The relationship doesn’t weaken—it actually strengthens.
Where Technology Comes In
Relationships generate economic value, so a new crop of tech solutions has emerged to support them.
These solutions are the infrastructure:
- A system to track introductions and outcomes
- A way to make contributions visible across a community
- And the ability to move money when value leads to real business
This isn’t about forcing transactions.
It’s about supporting the ones that are already happening.
Monetization as the Glue
Here’s the part many people are hesitant to say out loud: Money, when used correctly, strengthens relationships.
Not because people are chasing it—but because it creates alignment.
It turns networking into a two-way street:
- If I create value for you, it’s recognized
- If you create value for me, it’s returned
That reciprocity becomes the glue.
Not awkward.
Not forced.
Just clear.
And when it’s clear, people lean in more—not less.
So Yes—It’s Transactional. But It’s Also Valuable.
When a warm introduction leads to a deal and someone gets paid for helping make it happen…
That is a transaction.
But it’s also:
- Earned
- Transparent
- And rooted in real contribution
That’s very different from the kind of transactional behavior people complain about.
This isn’t extraction.
It’s alignment around value creation.
The Future of Networking
We’re not going back to a world where everything is informal and unspoken.
The scale is too large.
The pace is too fast.
But we can build a better version of what exists today:
- Where contributions are recognized
- Where relationships are reinforced through shared success
- And where transactions feel fair—not opportunistic
The Bottom Line
Networking didn’t become transactional.
It just became visible enough to scrutinize, but not structured enough to trust.
You can fight that.
Or you can lean into it.
By turning relationships into structured, mutually beneficial systems where value flows both ways.
Because when that happens, networking doesn’t lose its humanity.
It becomes something far more powerful: A system where helping others and creating opportunity are finally aligned.
Adrian Sasine is the co-founder and CEO of Nolodex, a platform focused on enabling meaningful business connections and community-driven engagement. He has more than two decades of experience in marketing, growth strategy, and operations, including leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies and his own ventures, and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in marketing from the University of Georgia and Georgia State University.
Photo courtesy Curated Lifestyle for Unsplash+