Is Your Networking Not Working?

I’ve been doing a lot of networking recently and I’ve got a lot more coming up, something like fourteen events in the next month alone!  It’s turning out to be a great way of getting new members.

What’s been interesting is the number of people I’ve met at these events who’ve said, ‘I hate networking!’  And most of their dislike is based around this fact that they have to walk into a room full of strangers.

Of course, what I’ve noticed at a number of these events is that people tend to gravitate towards the people they already know – the ‘usual suspects’ – thus negating the entire point of being there!

So for any of you who have the same kind of experience, here are my Top Tips for making the most of a networking event:

Preparation

1. Think about why you’re going. What do you want to get out of the event?
   1. Prepare your introduction. Make it brief. People don’t have time and don’t want to listen to the history of your company since its formation in 1923. You’ve got 15 seconds at most! Write it out, time it and rehearse it until it feels entirely comfortable.
   2. Don’t tell them what your company does, tell them what it achieves and by doing this you also spell out the benefits of doing business with you.
2. Check with others in your business who will not be attending what contacts they would like you to make on their behalf.
3. Take some time to look through the agenda for the event, if there is one, and the various sessions on offer. Choose those that you reckon will be most beneficial.
4. Study the delegate list and decide who you want to make contact with and the reason for making contact with them. Give yourself a realistic target for the number of people you want to meet.
5. On a practical front, make sure that you are well equipped with business cards, something to write on and pens. Why more than one pen? You can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll meet someone who has forgotten theirs.
6. Finally, have fun!

Besides ensuring that you get value from the event, completing this checklist has another really positive result.  It means that you will be focused on achieving your goals and getting hold of all the information and people that you have targeted. This means that your focus of attention will be on other people and not on yourself.  You won’t have time to be nervous or anxious!