Usually when people network with others it often starts out with small talk while trying to understand what one another do to see if there is a good fit for any potential partnerships. That’s probably the safest way to do it as simply going up to people and saying you just want to make money would usually be perceived as negative. That got me thinking as recently I heard of a person who explicitly told people that he hates mingling when it comes to potential future business partners and so he instead wants to just phone the person right away and see if they have any use for each other.
You may say that is crazy but for him apparently it works to help sort out people fast as he is not there to make friends and the focus is in creating mutually beneficial business relationships. Kind of reminds me of Shark Tank where Kevin O’Leary has the reputation on only caring about money versus say the heroic journey of the entrepreneur.
I think it basically depends on the environment. If It is someone I just literally randomly met on the street then I would most likely see it as a negative. However, if I specifically went to a place to find potential business partners then getting straight to the point can be appreciated. As usually though, there is always more than one way to reach your target destination.