When Lorene Phillips began her career in the insurance industry, she was reluctant to network.

“I did not like pretending to be somebody that I was not,” she said. “I thought it was not aligned with my values around authenticity.”

Witnessing her boss network with others changed her mind.

“He made it look like magic, but it was really skill,” she said. “Like any good skill, the more you practice, the better you become at it.”

That is when she realised she needed to work more on her own networking abilities. She spent the next 25 years honing her ability to build strategic relationships with others.

Now the founder of coaching and leadership firm Clarendon Wallace, Ms Phillips has written an e-book: How to Brew Your Network in 20 Minutes or Less.

“Networking is an art form that I really want to introduce to everyone,” she said. “The book is meant to be a cheat sheet.”

How to Brew Your Network in 20 Minutes or Less is aimed at people at any stage of their career who want to move forward, or achieve a goal.

She said much of career success comes down to who you know.

“Seventy to 80 per cent of jobs are hidden and not advertised,” she said. “The right person is found through word of mouth. People want to work with people they know, like and trust.”

The e-book has a coffee theme because the beverage plays a big role in her strategy.

“When I moved to London a few years ago with my company, I was asked to develop a portfolio,” she said. “I had worked in London for many years, but I would stay two or three days and then go home.”

She needed to develop a network, fast. “I thought, this is like speed dating,” she said. “I gotta move!”

Ms Phillips became very good at arranging 20-minute coffee meetings.

“That is about how long it takes to drink a cup of coffee,” she said. “But the meeting has to be organised.”

In her e-book, she outlines what you need to do to prepare for the meeting.

“You are the host for that coffee meeting,” she said. “You have to make sure you have chosen the right space and the right seat ahead of your guest’s arrival.”

It is important to be clear about what you want to talk about, she said.

“What if the meeting is not going well?” Ms Phillips added. “What is your exit card?”

The executive said introverts often shy away from networking opportunities, but they actually have their own critical advantage.

“Sometimes extroverts are not always the best networkers,” she said. “Introverts ask the best questions. They are often fantastic listeners and they often make the people they meet feel centre stage. They put the spotlight on them and that makes for wonderful networking.”

Good networking is not necessarily quantitative, she cautioned.

“If you met one great contact at a function, that is a win, because you made a deep connection,” she said

Ms Phillips also recommended going into a networking experience thinking about how you can help other people.

“Often, people are looking around for someone they know to help them in a crisis,” she said. “That is the worst time to be looking to stoke a relationship. You need to have been developing that over time, so that when the crisis comes, they are happy to help you.”

• How to Brew Your Network in 20 Minutes or Less is available for download on Amazon.com