Networking is “Worth It”

I’ve decided to attend a pretty large networking event next week.  I use the words, “I’ve decided” because I don’t do this very often, anymore.

When I first went into business, upteem years ago, I attended a lot of general business networking events – chamber mixers, business women’s dinners and luncheons. This was before I got into the referral marketing business. I would attend the event, meet some nice people, and collect 30ish business cards. Once back at my office, I’d start to feel anxious as I put the stack of business cards on my desk. How do I follow up? What do I say? I don’t have time to figure out what to do with these business cards….

So, I’d leave them. I might connect with a couple of folks who I met, but for the most part the stack would sit on my desk – for months. Causing me stress every time I looked at them.  Finally, I’d throw them out with a pang of “what if?”

That’s one of the reasons I stopped attending the big events. I didn’t know how to manage them. I found I was more successful and comfortable with smaller business groups, like BNI, where I could get to know people. I also took a few Referral Institute courses (now I’m a trainer) which taught me how to manage large business networking events.

The prevailing myth out “there” is that business people attend networking events to get business. It’s just not true. And when we believe this it sets us up for disappointment and instills the feeling that networking’s not “worth it”.

Networking is always “worth it” once you decide what “it” is.

While we won’t get “business” at a networking event; what we will get is people. And that’s why I’m going. I’m missing a few key business contacts for my network and I’d like to meet people who might be potentials to fill the gaps.

Before attending, I’ve decided on the businesses I’d like in my network – in this case it’s interior designers, interior decorators and professional organizers. That’s who I’ll be looking to meet. I’ll do this by asking the people I chat with if they are in that business. If they’re not, I’ll ask them who they know and if that person happens to be at the event. If the person’s at the event, I’ll ask for an introduction. If the person isn’t at the event, I’ll see if I can arrange an introduction through the person I’ve met.

Before attending the event I’ll also:

·         Decide how much time to spend at the event (usually an hour)

·         Decide how many people I’ll meet (usually 5)

After the event:

·         I’ll follow up with the 5 people I’ve met, and arrange a meeting to get to know them better and see if there’s a fit for my network.

I’ve been applying this approach for the past 10 years and it works beautifully for me. No more stack of stress-causing business cards and I’ve met some of the best people who have become great assets to my network.