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Saturday, June 14, 2008

Business Networking - What you should never do

PREPARATION

1- Decide what your objectives are and write it down on a clean sheet of paper. There is nothing worse than to appear on a networking event without having a clear business goal. Others will discover quickly that you are rather vague and don’t want to interact with you if you don’t prepare this basic step. Let’s say, you want to increase your contacts in the real estate branche because you want to increase your business opportunities as a real estate broker.

2- Write down the three groups that could be relevant for you. Anything more will cause you to lose focus, so keep it to a maximum of 3.
- People who buy houses
- Project developers
- Insurance agents

3- Decide what you are going to wear (it should match the business audience) and make sure you have one distinct item that makes you stand out from the crowd. I usually wear a bright yellow tie which is an excellent topic for an ice-breaker and follow up discussions. “Remember me? I was the guy with the yellow tie”. Ensure you bring your business cards, 50 or more so you look prepared and don’t run out. Also you have plenty to give some more to people to distribute to others.

4- Repeat your 1 minute intro pitch with a great opening sentence that makes you stand out from the crowd.

Instead of “I am a real estate broker” say “I am helping others to stay dry and warm.” or say “I work with mortar and bricks”.


THE EVENT
Usually held in a grand hotel or in an exhibition place where people can mingle and have conversations. If you are on your own, you may find a little lost in the beginning. The worst thing to do is to start attacking multiple people randomly, just to look busy. Instead, stay cool, have a conversation with the business receptionists and observe who else is there. 

Be on time but not the first person to arrive. You are not desperate!

Nobody is talking to you yet? No panic, you stand out by being cool and attract others easily this way. Make a phone call, walk around, study an object in the room. Again, never look lost or desperate.

Buffets are great by the way. Just make sure to stay close to the place where people get food which could be an easy conversation starter for you. It’s amazing how much people love to talk about food! Put small portions on your plate so you can go back multiple times.

Remember your target groups and find the right people. If the person you are talking with is not in your target group, end the conversation politely and move on. No need to give away your business card. Your time here is limited and you want to meet as many people as you can to follow up with later.

Of course you can talk to friends and people you already know but ensure to move on quickly to meet new people.

Ok, you found the right conversation partner. Have a little small talk and try to keep the initiative. After the small talk, come to the point quickly by asking what the other person is doing. Be genuinely interested. There is nothing worse as talking to a person who seems to wait until you have ‘finished your thing’ so be aware of it in your own approach.

“I am working with bricks and mortar” - “How is that, you don’t look like a construction worker” - Smiles - “That’s right, to be precise, I am in the business of real estate trading and here to meet more people interested in the same topic. How about you.”

...and so on… Get the point?

After having exchanged the information it is already time to move on. ALWAYS thank the other person for the good conversation and state that you would like her business card to keep in touch. Exchange cards at the end of the conversation and make sure to look the other person in the eyes when exchanging cards!

The impact of this simple habit can never be overestimated. They will remember you!

Leave the venue at the right time. When you are satisfied to have met the people you wanted to meet. Don’t go back to look for romance or friends, it is not worth it and damaging to your reputation. Believe me, I have made these mistakes and paid dearly for it so take my advice and go home. No need to stay until the very end. Business done - time to go.


FOLLOW UP

Your follow-up starts as soon as you leave the venue. Quickly review your new business cards on the way back and remember something special about the person from the card. The glasses, the hairstyle, the way they spoke. Whatever it is, it will help avoid embarrassing encounters later on when you struggle to recognize the persons name again on another event.

At home, use a card scanner or other scanner to quickly store the information acquired. Within 1 day, send a quick thankyou note to the people you met and 2 business days later, call the persons you would like to have a further conversation with. Don’t be afraid, they will be happy for the attention they get from you. If you can’t reach a person, no panic. Call back in a weeks time and if there is still no answer let it go. Maybe you will meet him or her on the next event.

By the way, once you start networking, it is a good idea to keep it ut for a while. Make sure to show up at multiple networking events in a short amount of time. To kick-start your business, decide on a solid period of networking events for let’s say 3 months with at least 1 networking event per week. This puts you in the flow, and people will start to recognize you and understand what you are all about.

That’s all. I love networking events and always have a lot of fun at the same time. It is great to meet new entrepreneurs and even greater to be able to help others to grow.



Posted by SiteAdmin on 06/14 at 06:29 AM
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