I would like to talk about networking – for two reasons –
1) there are starting to be opportunities to network face to face again (in small groups) and
2) we can all stand to learn how to improve our networking skills!
And – amazingly – there are going to be people out there who have NEVER networked face to face! So this is a good time to start to get our heads around it. Even if you start off with 121 networking over a coffee.
Last time I mentioned The Jelly Effect by Andy Bounds in the context of “afters” and telling stories.
The connection is that when you are invited to speak for (usually) up to a minute at a networking event you can make that time count.
But I am getting ahead of myself here!
Here are 7 top tips for networking
- Have a strategy. WHY are you going to THAT event? Even although online networking is largely free in cash terms it still takes up your time. Are you spending your time wisely. Once you are back “out there” it will eat into your time even more (unless they run networking events at your place of work) as well as costing money (travel, coffee, event fees). So you MUST consider which events to attend and why. Is your ideal customer likely to be there? Don’t discard an event if they are not – but make sure the people that KNOW your ideal customer will be there!
- Get to your event on time – arriving late puts you on the back foot and is incredibly noticeable on a Zoom call. If you arrive early at a face to face event it makes entering the room much less daunting, and you can usually find someone to have a conversation with. On Zoom you might get put in breakout rooms for a general chat to start with. Either way it makes life a little easier than showing up late.
- Focus on building relationships. I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I have had business the first time I ever went to an event – and I have been networking since 2003! Do not attend events with the GOAL of getting a sale – get to know people and then follow up. Even at a face to face event it will be acceptable to arrange “virtual coffees” afterwards. It may be a more convenient arrangement for both parties. (Top tip – I often arrange a 20 minute call with a new contact – if we really do have things to talk about we arrange a longer chat).
- Same thing really – Do Not Sell! Show and tell what you do and how you help your customers. Never talk to people in a manner which identifies them as a potential customer – use phrases like “who do you know who might need” rather than “I sell diet pills, you look like you could lose some weight”. Yes that has really happened. Telling stories as we talked about last week will engage people far more than a list of products or even features and benefits. Remember – nobody cares. (Harsh but true).
- Ask Questions. If you are in an informal networking situation – ask questions and listen. There is an old saying – you have two ears and one mouth – use them in that proportion! Be genuinely interested in what people have to say. Yes – there are people out there who monopolise the conversation and are not remotely interested in you – but them’s the breaks!
- If it’s informal networking you may have to move around with no direction from hosts. It can be really difficult to break into existing groups (hence my suggestion to arrive early). There are ways YOU can make it easy for people to come and talk to you by adopting an open stance so that they can slot into the group. Look for those yourself or just talk to the guy or girl who’s standing on their own with no one to talk to.
Be The Host can be useful too – offer to get someone a coffee (if it’s free – or even if it’s not free – pay it forward!) - Follow up. Nothing more to say really. That’s it! Make sure that you make contact with people whom you think you can help. Yes – I said that. People You Can Help. Go out there with the intention to help people. Help people and they will want to help you – it is as simple as that! However, the point is – if you have said to someone “we need to talk” then make sure you do follow up and arrange that. At face to face events you *might* get a delegate list with contact details (although post GDPR these tend just to be lists of names). At least on Zoom you get to download the chat!! If you come back with business cards then PLEASE record them somewhere. There are apps you can get for your phone which will scan a business card and add to your contacts, and at the very least you should record them in a spreadsheet (here’s a sample to download)
So there we have it – 7 top tips for effective networking – on- or offline – to help you reach new customers!
Get in touch if you would like to discuss further.