I have to start out by sharing one of THE biggest DON’Ts I recently heard about.
At a convention for a women’s organization, they had living Greek statues up on pedestals placed throughout the room. Apparently, a few of the attendees had a few too many martinis, as they were spotted stuffing dollar bills in the guys’ togas. No, I’m not kidding! And by the way, we’re talking about high profiled women! Please, unless you are 150% confident you can control your consumption, please 1. Don’t drink alcohol at networking events.
At a convention for a women’s organization, they had living Greek statues up on pedestals placed throughout the room. Apparently, a few of the attendees had a few too many martinis, as they were spotted stuffing dollar bills in the guys’ togas. No, I’m not kidding! And by the way, we’re talking about high profiled women! Please, unless you are 150% confident you can control your consumption, please 1. Don’t drink alcohol at networking events.
Here are a few more Don’ts:
2. Don’t forget to bring a client or colleague along. Bringing a client to a networking event gives your client yet another reason to be delighted with you and your company. Offer to meet them at the event or go one step further, put on your chauffer’s hat and pick them up. You build credibility not only with your client, but with others at the networking event. Give your colleagues the same courtesy and you’ll have business partners for life.
3. Don’t forget to follow up. Timely and consistent follow up is essential to successful networking. Within 48 hours of meeting someone - RECONNECT- whether it be by phone or email, letting them know you enjoyed meeting them, and if appropriate, schedule a follow up meeting to gain a better understanding of each of your respective businesses to see how you might build a mutually rewarding alliance. It will take you less than ten minutes to make the call, and it will be well worth your time.
4. Don’t expect the same people to be there. Recently I contacted a business partner to see if she planned to attend an upcoming event being hosted by an organization we’ve both been long time members of. She replied that she probably wouldn’t be attending, because “It’s always the same people that attend. Why waste my time?“ Fortunately she heeded my advice. She approached me as I was entering the room with, “Who in the world are these people? I haven’t met a lot of them” and left with “I’m so glad I came. I’m leaving with several qualified referrals to follow up on.”
5. Don’t expect to make a sale every time. If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Why should I go, I never get any business?” I would make enough money to take my dream vacation to New Zealand for a month! Meeting someone once is rarely enough; it typically takes repeated contacts to do the trick. Attend networking events with an open mind. It will be the one time you don’t attend that you miss the opportunity of a lifetime!
Have a networking DO or DON’T you’d like to share? Feel free to post it to my blog; I’d love to hear from you!
2. Don’t forget to bring a client or colleague along. Bringing a client to a networking event gives your client yet another reason to be delighted with you and your company. Offer to meet them at the event or go one step further, put on your chauffer’s hat and pick them up. You build credibility not only with your client, but with others at the networking event. Give your colleagues the same courtesy and you’ll have business partners for life.
3. Don’t forget to follow up. Timely and consistent follow up is essential to successful networking. Within 48 hours of meeting someone - RECONNECT- whether it be by phone or email, letting them know you enjoyed meeting them, and if appropriate, schedule a follow up meeting to gain a better understanding of each of your respective businesses to see how you might build a mutually rewarding alliance. It will take you less than ten minutes to make the call, and it will be well worth your time.
4. Don’t expect the same people to be there. Recently I contacted a business partner to see if she planned to attend an upcoming event being hosted by an organization we’ve both been long time members of. She replied that she probably wouldn’t be attending, because “It’s always the same people that attend. Why waste my time?“ Fortunately she heeded my advice. She approached me as I was entering the room with, “Who in the world are these people? I haven’t met a lot of them” and left with “I’m so glad I came. I’m leaving with several qualified referrals to follow up on.”
5. Don’t expect to make a sale every time. If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Why should I go, I never get any business?” I would make enough money to take my dream vacation to New Zealand for a month! Meeting someone once is rarely enough; it typically takes repeated contacts to do the trick. Attend networking events with an open mind. It will be the one time you don’t attend that you miss the opportunity of a lifetime!
Have a networking DO or DON’T you’d like to share? Feel free to post it to my blog; I’d love to hear from you!
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