• What to do and not to do at your next networking event • Tips to help you connect with more contacts at your next event
A
ttending networking events isn’t what grows a business; it’s who you get to know at them, what you do while attending
them and most importantly, how you do it. The following tips will help you be more effective when taking company time to attend networking events.
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Dress appropriately. Don’t attend events dressed in work gear or ‘dressed to kill’ attire as it could create roadblocks. Business casual never fails, and a company shirt with a logo works for every business and position.
Wear a company name badge if you have one. All the needed information is on it, it looks more professional and chances are, it can be read more easily than your handwrit- ing.
Don’t act shy. Most people coming to network events have a degree of discomfort when walking into a room of people, most whom they don’t know. So start by talking with someone you do know. Seek out the company people running the event, introduce yourself and ask for sugges- tions about who you should meet - they’ll probably walk you right over and introduce you. Feel free to walk up to anyone and say, “I am new to these events and you look friendly.” What person wouldn’t mind hearing that?
Have your 20-30 second commercial ready at all times. When someone asks you, know what you do and state it as confidently and concisely as possible. If you can tell others what you do quickly and clearly, the perception is that you’re probably good at it as well.
Bring plenty of business cards but don’t hand them out to everyone. Make a contact work for it! That means engag- ing in a conversation long enough to know if this person is a potential customer or a good resource for referrals. And
if conversation leads to discovery of a mutual interest, (sports, cooking, etc.) then certainly exchange a card.
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Don’t park yourself in one place. The idea behind network- ing events is to build business relationships. Move around and initiate casual conversation. Be real and feel free to talk about things other than work. Believe it or not, it’s what we have in common with a person that builds the best business relationship.
Stay away from messy or hard to eat food. It’s hard to shake hands or talk with people if your hands are sticky or your mouth is full. It’s best to stick to a beverage. Once you have gained a comfort level in a particular group, eating might become less of an issue, but it always takes away from effective networking. (A word to sponsors - try not to provide hard-to-eat food at networking events for this very reason.)
Ask questions of others more than you talk about yourself. No one likes being talked at or marketed to, but everyone likes to talk about himself or herself. Ask them about their business, their family and their interests. If you drone on about your business or yourself too long, they will avoid you at the next event. And don’t worry - eventually the questioning will turn to you. If it doesn’t, avoid that person at the next event.
Take every opportunity to get in front of the group. Intro- duce yourself and your business if possible. After all, that’s why you are at this event, right? Again, have that 20-30 second commercial ready to go and deliver it confidently and concisely. If appropriate, end your commercial with a little ‘clean’ humor or a phrase to make yourself more memorable.
MIDWEST MEETINGS SPRING 2010
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