The Who Why and How of Networking

As any business owner can tell you, networking events can range from being a goldmine to a complete and utter waste of time. Just as in any numbers game, every time you leave your office you do have the potential to randomly trip over someone who has a need for exactly what you sell. However, the chances of this happening are pretty slim. Networking can be highly effective, but unfortunately, people typically go to a networking event with overblown expectations and a lack of purpose. Networking events, especially generalized events put on by a business or organization, won’t provide a plethora of your potential prospects. That is an unrealistic expectation. Usually, if you can walk out of these events with three good contacts, you’ve done well. When your expectations for an event are not met, isn’t it true that you think networking isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be and that your valuable time would be spent better elsewhere? If so, my question for you is are you going to these events with a plan of action in order to use this time wisely? The buckshot method of running into prospects at random isn’t a focused strategy, and meandering through networking events and sprinkling your business cards around and collecting others will not yield consistent results. However, if you attend events regularly, with realistic expectations in mind and a plan of action, networking can eventually pay off in a big way. Here are three tips to make networking work for you.

1. Know the Who
Know who is likely to show up at the event you are considering going to. If possible, get a copy of the member list before going to the meeting. By examining such a list, you can get an idea of what type of people you can expect to meet. If there are a reasonable number of people and/or businesses who interests you, then plan on going to this event. If you cannot get this list, speak with the organizer and get them to talk to you about who commonly comes to these events, so you can determine if it’s worth attending. Tell the organizer what you do and ask if they have any suggestions of people that it would be good for you to meet. Once you decide to attend, have a strategy for how you are going to meet those of the most interest to you, and what you would the desired result of that interaction to be. Practice an elevator speech that will resonate with that type of person, and have a planned next step to propose to them to keep the ball rolling.

2. Know the Why
Know exactly why you are going to this meeting. Have you heard from others that it’s worthwhile? Is there a speaker with a topic that interests you or is relevant to a client of yours? Go to this event with a goal. It might be to learn something or to meet someone specific or to make a certain amount of contacts, or to try out a new elevator pitch. By establishing realistic goals for what you are trying to accomplish, who you are looking for and the number of contacts you want to make, you can easily determine whether the event was a success or not afterwards. Your goal of making three qualified contacts can also keep you from getting bogged down in a meaningless, but safe conversation with a non-contact.

3. Know the How
Knowing how you are going to work an event can be the most important step to your success. You need to have a process in mind. The limiting factor of networking for most people is using your time wisely. It’s best to arrive early to the event (at least fifteen minutes beforehand), wear an easy-to-read nametag, and bring lots of business cards. Make sure that you have your business cards in an easily accessible place. Then, station yourself near the entryway and greet new people as they enter the room. That way you can read nametags and see what company or organization other people are with so you can get an idea of who is a prospect.

When greeting new people, repeat their name immediately. A good memory trick is to mentally picture stamping their name on their forehead. As less and less people arrive, move in one direction around the room towards the first person or group of people you see. Have short conversations with them, about one to two minutes. Your goal is to introduce yourself and learn as much as possible about others in a short amount of time. If someone is hogging all the air in the room, simply excuse yourself from that person or group and move on in the same direction. Try not to get into personal details about yourself and keep your focus on the people that you’re talking to. Once you are a member of a group, you will have met some of these people before, although you probably won’t have their names committed to memory yet.

As you acquire business cards, separate them into a prospects and non-prospects pile and keep these piles separate; in the moment you could put them in different pockets in your suit or purse. If you meet someone, who you know you’d like to speak with further, ask them if you can call them or email them in the future before moving on to another person or group of people. Then, earmark that person’s card or make a note of the date and time of your meeting and something memorable about that person on their card if possible. Then, continue around the room in the same direction with the same plan of action.

During the last thirty minutes of an event, you should try to speak to the couple of people that you thought to be the best prospects. This could be the third time you speak with them. Try to have a more in-depth conversation this time and possibly ask them to meet you for coffee or lunch in the near future. After the networking event, decide a date and time in the next couple of days to call all of your potential prospects. This will keep you focused and give you a deadline to make calls. You should determine a system of networking that makes you most comfortable, your own personal how, and try to hone and perfect that method.

Keeping your expectations reasonable when networking and focusing your time on a specific process that works for you can mean reaping much more out of each networking event that you go to. For small businesses, networking is still the most effective way to attain new clients. When you know the who, why and how before your next networking event, I promise you will be more satisfied afterwards and feel less like it was a waste of your time. For more information about how you can grow your business, visit www.flourishingbusiness.com.