Whether we’re looking to make sales, land a job, or just keep up in our industry, most of us attend networking events, conventions, job fairs, etc. Making the most of these opportunities involves a little preparation and know-how.
Clarify your Objective
Have a realistic objective for the event. Your overall goal in life at the moment might be to “increase sales” or “get a job,” but formulate something more specific for the occasion, like:
- Meet someone from three companies you’d like to work with. (You can often get a list of who’s attending from the event organizers and make a “short list” for yourself beforehand.)
- Talk with ten people and get contact information for four of them.
Distill Your Message
Have an answer ready for common questions.
“What do you do?” “What type of job are you looking for?”
Stumbling on this is the most common error in networking situations, and the most unfortunate. You lose an opportunity if you’re not perfectly clear about what you have to offer and why the person you’re meeting should know (and remember!) about you.
You can even have a unique and powerful response to an ordinary question like “How are you today?” Instead of the usual (and boring) “Fine.” You could use the opportunity to say something positive, engaging, and conversation starting – like “I’m really glad I came. Did you hear that the turnout is better than expected, given the economy?” It’s even better if you can tie your response in with your industry or profession, so that you sound like someone who is really engaged and informed about what’s going on.
Dress to Impress, then Forget It
Eighty percent of communication is visual. Especially when meeting people for the first time, be sure to “look the part.” If you look like a successful consultant or a professional person, you are more likely to make a good impression and to be remembered that way.
Observe the way people dress in your geographical area and industry if you can, otherwise, dress conservatively and professionally.
The best thing about being appropriately dressed is that you can forget what you’re wearing and focus on who you’re meeting and the message you’re delivering. You (and everyone else) can literally forget about what you’re wearing because you don’t feel self-conscious and your clothes and grooming aren’t drawing any attention away from your personality and your message.
Conversation
Listen more than you speak. Ask questions. This gets people talking about themselves and their company (which is why you’re there, right?)
You may be desperate to communicate your value to the company or the industry, but you communicate much better by investing the time and listening to other people. Keep your own responses fairly short and clear, and encourage others to talk about themselves. They will think you’re a brilliant conversationalist if you let them to most of the talking!
Remember that everyone is here to network. Don’t monopolize any person for more than 10 or 15 minutes. If you strike a good rapport with someone and find that you have more to talk about, ask for their contact information and suggest that you have coffee or a phone conversation later.
Business Cards
Don’t just hand out business cards, or ask people for theirs. Acquiring (or handing out) business cards is not the objective of the day. The objective is to make meaningful contact with people who have a reason to contact you later, or that are looking forward to you contacting them.
If you strike a chord in conversation and see that there is mutual interest, ask the person you’re talking with if you may contact them later. They may offer you a business card. If they do, offer one of yours. You should have them ready (in a jacket pocket is ideal) and not go digging through your purse or briefcase or pants pockets in search of them.
When you receive a person’s card, follow up within a day or two with an email or phone call reminding him of what you talked about.
More Information
Networking Etiquette by Aviva Schiff on The Sideroad
http://www.sideroad.com/Business_Etiquette/networking-etiquette.html
3 Rules to Smart Business Card Etiquette by SparkTalk on Careerealism
http://www.careerealism.com/3-rules-to-smart-business-card-etiquette/
Hey Great Blog. Thanks for bringing the much needed discussion around ‘etiquette’ in business to the for front. In the past decades of greed and lust for profit at all (moral) costs it’s refreshing to see this topic. Thank you and keep it going!
Mark
Thanks Mark!
I think it’s more important than ever for people to treat each other decently. A little more politeness would make the world a much better place!
Great tips. But how could I make my message known without sounding too forward? Are there ways I could make my point clear without really sounding too confident or too familiar? Please tell us more about these tips. Thanks.
sugardaddy
I definitely agree with your tips on dress. I find the phrase “it’s better to be overdressed than under-dressed” definitely applies. I always find it fascinating how people are willing to fly across half the country (not to mention spending hundreds on hotel and airfare) and not have the inclination to get properly dressed or groom themselves.
Remember, first impressions count!
Most people just try to sell sell sell…I attend BNI meeting and it is very good because everyone gives a 45 sec commercial but then you meet 1 on 1 with people outside of the meeting and that is where I get most of my business. Once the person really realizes what I do they do business with us.
completely agree with the point about the business cards,one tip that really worked for me is as follows: – i once really wanted to develop relationships with a company who offered a complimentry service to mine – so i sparked up a conversation with him – got to know his products and services and objective and then decided to exchange contact details and follow up with an interview type article in which i interviewed this person and kindly asked if i could published the article on my own website as well as his – this was great for the online community we both actively interact in and was also great for our relationship – since then we have colaborated on projects and had the ability to up sell each others services and had the ability to offer a full service to our clients.hope this one is useful and thanks for the great post.
Interesting article. From a personal point of view I find that I struggle with the part about clarifying objectives…it’s so very easy to get either side tracked or even lose complete focus of objectives. I find writing a big note and sticking it to my wall over my computer keeps me on track.
I’m sure that business etiquette is something that, to an extent at least can be learned.
Good social skills tend to be something that you are blessed with naturally. It’s the individuals that are born with these good social skills that tend to get-on and do well in life and by life I don’t mean just in business.
Paula, the tips you have in your original post are really good, would you mind if we referenced them in the tips section of our own website. We supply exhibition stands for conferences and events so your information is very relevant and useful to many of our customers.