Do you want to raise your profile this year?
Do you want to be known for your expertise and skills?
Do you want to increase sales?
If so networking is an effective way to do this….
Networking is also an effective way to find the best suppliers and find excellent candidates to hire. Have you ever wanted to go after a big contract but just don’t have the team to do it? Networking is an effective way to find the experts to collaborate with on large projects.
Networking is word of mouth marketing at its finest. If you want people to be saying the right things about you and your company, then you need to get out and network and put these words in their mouth.
The top tip for networking is not to sell!!! Please, no one goes to a networking event to buy do they?? Networking effectively is about finding the right people to start a business relationship with. Follow up afterwards to develop the relationship and get to know someone. If this is done right they will want to recommend you. This is the ultimate aim of networking. It is about who people know, not what they do. You just don’t know who they are married to, who their neighbour is or who they play golf with. I have been learning how to network for about 4 years now and getting better at it.
What I have learned is this- networking is effectively looking for “connectors” who can introduce you to a few ideal clients.
Top 10 tips Networking Tips…
Identify the events you want to go to- a mix of industry events, local events and social/business events such as The Marketing Ball.
Preparation—
1. Prepare for the events- ask the organisers who is attending. Identify who you want to meet at the event, ask the organiser to introduce you. Do your research on who you want to meet, it increases the odds of meeting them ten fold.
(Perhaps link with people before hand, let them know you are attending and would like to meet them. How great is it to have 3 appointments set up before walking in the door.)
2. Prepare your answers to the usual questions– such as “what do you do?” Prepare an answer that is memorable and will make people want to ask you more questions. My profession is a Venue Finder, so instead of saying that I tell people I am a matchmaker– and then explain I am a Venue Matchmaker once they ask. This way I have their attention. Try to answer questions like this with the result you deliver for your clients– I also say I deliver a higher return on investment on events, again, people want to know more so I can get across my skills and expertise then. A Health and Safety consultant told me recently he saved his client €40,000 on their insurance-this is a lot more effective than just saying “I am a health and safety consultant. ”
3. Have a few questions prepared for you to ask so you can bring the conversation around to what you want to talk about.
4. Have plenty of business cards with you, I am still amazed at the number of people who attend a networking event and say “I ran out of business cards”. It says to me you are not a serious player.
5. What to wear-
Appropriate to who you want to meet– I like to wear colour to help me stand out from the crowd. If the organisers are not providing name badges, bring your own.
At the event –
The number one rule of networking at an event is not to sell.
6. Listen and ask great questions–
The most important question to ask is – “how can I help you”? People will remember you for that. Another great question is “what are you working on at the moment”?
7. Ensure you have a great answer to this yourself. This will help you to bring the conversation around to highlighting your expertise.
8. Act like a host rather than a guest.
9. When deciding who to talk to, approach the people who look the most shy and are perhaps standing on their own feeling awkward. They will most certainly remember you for chatting to them.
10. Have an exit strategy in case you get caught talking to someone you feel isn’t going to leave your side for the event! There are lots of great exit strategies and we will go over a few at our networking event Jan 15th, at Nemo Rangers, Douglas.
After the event-
Follow up and do what you say you will do. This is the single most important thing to do. It is the reason that networking may not be effective. Send an email, write a note, send them on an article relevant to what you spoke about at the event, connect with them on social media.
Networking takes practice, that is the only way to get good at it. To quote the father of Networking- Dr. Ivan Misner “Building your business through word of mouth is not a contest to see who can attend the most meetings. It’s about building the best relationships! Therefore, you must be selective about your efforts and focus not only on attending meetings but also on building bonds with the people you meet at those events.”
For more tips and to kick start the year at the first networking event of the year, come along to an event all about networking effectively. Tuesday, Jan 15th, Nemo Rangers Football and Hurling Club, off the South Douglas Road, Cork. RSVP to Julia on 021-2428120, Julia@recruitmentmagic.com or online at www.bnicorkcity.com- click on event registration. or contact me through this website.
