Amelia: Where are you going?
Me: Networking meeting
Amelia: What is neck working?
Me: It's a place to meet new people and make new friends.
Amelia: Why?
Me: It's important to have a lot of friends.
Amelia: Why?
Me: So that if you need help they can help you... and if they need help, you can help them.
Amelia: Ok. (whew)So I reminded myself about why I was heading out the door at 7am (again, what is with these early meetings?). This is about building relationships so that I can help others and they can help me. A refreshing re-grounding.
Networking can feel intimidating and overwhelming so these are my tips to make it easier and usually more fun.
- Go with a friend if at all possible - strategize up front, separate to meet new people but stay in eye contact and rescue each other if needed. Don't linger with your friend - you still have to get out and meet people.
- Enter with purpose and head straight for the coffee - you can meet people while in line and commiserate about how early the meeting is. Use this to introduce yourself and get acquainted. And you have a reason to move on to meet someone else once you get your coffee.
- Leave everything except your business cards in your car trunk - you don't need to be carrying a purse or notebook (if you must take notes, put a tiny notebook in your pocket). You don't need your cell phone - it will only distract you.
- Don't claim your seat until most people are already moving toward their tables - this way you can get the lay of the land and find the right people to sit near. And don't sit down until the last minute - keep mingling.
- Only hand out your business card when there has been a solid connection and you want to follow up with the person. I see people handing out cards like crazy and I just think it is a bit cheesy. I like to think that it is more classy to have a reason to exchange cards.
- Eat before you go. There is no graceful way to mingle and talk while balancing your plate and cup and trying to eat and chew. And you can't sit down too early because then.. well really what is the point of coming?
- Keep moving. Don't get caught with one person too long. This is where your friend can come in handy - if you see her spending too long with one person, wave her over and introduce her to the person you are talking to. They you can move on.
- Go in with a positive attitude. On the way to the event, I like to think about possible best case scenarios - sometimes I meet a woman executive with a big budget who is about to launch a really big change and needs what I offer, and she is really funny and happens to have a couple of kids the same age as mine, and live in the same neighborhood, and it turns out that we know the same people. We really hit it off and immediately schedule a coffee date to talk about ways we can work together. - Wouldn't that be great? No reason it couldn't happen...
The goal is to mingle, meet people, and hopefully find a few people who you connect with - either they can help you or you can help them. Get these people's contact info and follow up. I think it is so nice to get a follow up email referencing something I said. Try to remember some personal story or something they told you so you can differentiate yourself.
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