What makes a successful business? 99% of the time it is not a killer business idea. Those are as rare as hen’s teeth. 99% of the time it is determination, passion and commitment. These qualities work in any business and are quickly and easily communicated during networking.
Networking brings people together. And since people buy from people it is one of the most effective and direct ways of communicating your message.
Here are some additional tips to help you through the process:
1. 80% of life is showing up.
Woody Allen’s well-known quotation applies to networking just as much as it applies in the rest of life. Some of us find crowds oppressive and strangers intimidating so, for us, actually showing up at a network event is a real achievement. For others the network event comes at the beginning of a very full day or after hours of frustrating and exhausting toil. Do we really want extend our work-life any more?
Yes, we do, if we want to continue to build our business and ensure future orders arrive when needed. Showing up at a network event is a critical step in that process.
2. Being self-conscious is normal.
Having made the effort, now what do you say? Even if you have prepared and rehearsed that ‘elevator pitch’ (you did do that, didn’t you?) when you are face-to-face with a stranger, somehow it does not sound quite as good. This feeling gets worse as the noise levels in the room rise and your voice gets louder and louder. Fear not. Feeling awkward is normal. We’ve all been there. It’s even a place that some of us revisit from time to time as we experiment with different approaches. Remember two things:
a. Your companion has no idea what you were supposed to say, so they won’t know if you get it wrong;
b. Be yourself. If you are feeling nervous, lost for words or out of your depth – then say so. The person you are talking to will already have experienced the same thing. The only reactions you are likely to get are sympathy and support.
3. Now you’re here, you may as well have fun.
Networking is about business and it does form part of your marketing, but that is no reason to treat it as a sombre and solemn subject. You are among people with the same aims and aspirations as you have. You could learn something from them. They could even learn something from you.
It may be business, but it’s in a social setting so relax and enjoy it. Take a few deep, calming breathes and jump right in. You will come across more naturally and you will notice a lot more about other people once you overcome the initial jitters.
Forget about yourself, nobody cares anyway. They are all fully absorbed with their own worries – oh, yes they are. And you can help both of you by talking about them (it’s everyone’s favourite subject). Once you start to concentrate on what they are saying you will soon forget about yourself.
4. Be among the first to get here and the last to depart.
Networking events only last so long – usually around 2 hours. Together in one room, for just a short period of time, you have a group of people who are there with the specific intent of meeting you. Make the most of it. Speak to as many of them as possible and allow yourself the time to find out a little about them. Who are they? What do they do? What are their plans? What issues are they grappling with? Where could you help? If you spend as little as 10 minutes talking with each one, just 12 people will fill those two hours easily.
Where possible, position yourself to watch the door out of the corner of your eye. Is a previous contact arriving that you want to touch base with again? Or is an interesting prospect about to leave before you have had a chance to exchange a few words? If you arrive late or leave early you will miss those opportunities and others may then get in the queue ahead of you.
5. Telling isn’t selling.
If your conversations at a networking event consist mainly of you telling the other person what you do, how you do it, the prices you charge and the guarantees you give then you will part company knowing very little about them and nothing about how you might be able to help them. Working out how your business can best meet their needs is your responsibility, not theirs.
Selling consists of learning as much as possible about the other party and finding a way of being of service to them. Initially that may not equate to a sale. It may be a piece of information, a telephone number or a contact of yours capable of meeting their current need. That’s good. That gives you a common point of reference and the opportunity to follow up later to see how things have progressed.
Taking a (genuine) interest in your prospects will rank you ahead of most of the competition and keep you ‘on the radar’. Acquiring good customers takes time; be prepared to invest it.
6. Make friends when you don’t need them.
If you wait until you need someone’s help and then befriend them in order to obtain it you are likely to be found out. Out of desperation you are also likely to find yourself in a worse bargaining position and give away more than is necessary in order to relieve an emergency. Following this approach you will be entirely dependent on goodwill, rather than fair and equal reciprocity (a favour asked for a favour done).
Making genuine friendships, built on mutual interest and warm companionship with nothing at stake, is a much better reflection of the generous person that you are. Approaching another person in an open and honest manner gives you the freedom to be yourself. You carry no hidden agenda and are less likely to provoke the instinctive, defensive reaction: “What’s this person after?”
7. It is not about the business cards you give out.
If you attend a network meeting with the sole intention of giving out as many of your business cards as possible, even to people who do not request one, you may very well succeed. Then what?
a. Those that did not request your card are likely to file it or throw it, which will amount to much the same thing.
b. Those that did ask for your card without you taking any interest in them are probably being polite. The result will be the same.
c. Those in whom you did show some interest and who asked for a card will put it down meaning to call you; lose it under a pile of paper; find it three weeks later; spill tea on it and then sweep it into the rubbish by mistake.
Relying solely on the business cards you give out cedes control to the people who have them. They have busy lives too. It is more in your interest than theirs that they use the card – after all, you are not the only fish in the sea. That leads on to…
8. It is not about the business cards you collect.
Merely scooping up business cards from everyone else in the room will just add to your large and growing collection. I am sure it is a fascinating hobby, but is it taking your own business forward? Once you have someone’s business card…you have to put it to work. Now YOU are in control, so make good use of it.
Add the contact to your database (you do have…?) and programme in a series of appropriate follow-ups. The first need be little more than a ‘nice to meet you’ and a reference to something that came up in conversation between you. Subsequent ones at decently spaced intervals need to offer slightly more, or it just becomes spam. It’s your business, I will leave you to work out what you can offer.
9. Don’t end the evening wishing you had…
…done something, or said something, or met someone that was there. Opportunities in life can be fleeting. If you have spent the money to be here and taken the time and trouble to turn up, then you owe it to yourself and your business to make the most of it.
At a networking event that usually means taking ‘people risks’. It means stepping forward and introducing yourself to total strangers. But the magical thing about that is you need only do it once. After the first time the person concerned is no longer a stranger!
The other bonus is that people who attend networking events do so with the explicit intention of meeting strangers such as you. By stepping forward with a welcome of your own you are already helping them fulfil the purpose they had in coming here. How cool is that as an opening gambit with a potential customer?
10. What would you do next, if you knew you could not fail?
Life is full of surprises. The biggest surprise to me is the limits people impose on themselves. Too often the hobgoblins inside their heads whisper, “Who do you think you are?” and “You couldn’t possibly!” At that point self-doubt creeps in and many a wonderful adventure is stillborn before it begins.We all have wild and wacky ideas, many more than we ever feel happy disclosing. If networking is about getting noticed, if your future means being memorable, then a networking meeting is just the place to spread your wings and be eager to fly!
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