BUSINESS NETWORKING EVENTS NEAR ME

You can be successful with networking regularly converting those you meet at business networking events near me into clients. But is it really that easy? 

There is an art and skill to networking that we all need to learn and practice, and relearn and repractice. Start with practice a one-sentence answer to, “What do you do,” at home, so you will be prepared for when others ask you. Note, people are not looking to hear a whole speech about your business. They want to get to know you as a person and what you do and share what they do in return.

Being transactional in nature isn’t always effective, and if you talk too long about what you do if can turn others off and push them away, making them wanting to avoid you in the future. Avoidance = no client. Instead, say what you do  briefly and succienctly, only including the most important words you want them to absorb and remember. We only remember 20% of what we hear, and with many difference people to talk to at a networking event, they won’t remember much of what you have to say. They may remember a bit, more importantly, they will remember how you made them feel. If you took an interest in what they are doing by asking them questions, saying nice things about what they had to say and asking follow-up questions. It’s good to start a conversation by talking about something OTHER THAN what you do – this is called, building, “rapport” (aka small talk). For example, you could say,

• STATEMENT: “The weather is beautiful today.” This is not a question, but, it implies that you are looking for a comment on your statement
• COMPLIMENT: You could start by giving a genuine compliment, like, Iove your earrings/glasses/suit/cuff link/shoes/purses, where did you get them? If you are a man, it would be best to say overall, “you look great,” as it might make some women or other men feel uncomfortable.
• QUESTION: You could also ask a question like:
  • “Are you from around here?”
  • “How long did it take you to get here tonight?”
  • “Are you from [name of city the event is in]?”
  • “How’s your day been going?” (If they say good, ask a follow-up question, like, “Lots of meetings?” It’s important to get them to open up a bit to find out things you have in common.

After the small talk, you could continue the conversation on a social level, by talking about sports, entertainment, etc. then ask about their business or go right into asking them.. “Tell me about your business.”

Make sure to acknowledge what they say using “active listening techniques,” like saying,

• Nice!
• That’s great!
• Very cool!
• Glad to hear that
• Really?
• Good job
• Interesting
• etc.

Don’t spend anymore than 5 minutes with one person depending on how many people are at the event. If you think you found a good prospect and you spend too much time with them, they may not work out and you missed the opportunity to connect with  him/her/them.

*Remember, it’s highly UNLIKELY that anyone will hire you at the event. They need to get to know you more and vice versa. 

This is where the second part of successful networking comes in – the follow-up. Stay tuned for more info or check out our business tips page >>

We look forward to seeing you at our events!