Networking should be effective for most businesses. If it is not or has not worked for you, then maybe you are not following some of the Dos & Don’ts of networking. So here are some suggestions that you may find useful.

Dos

• Be prepared – take along what you need for the meeting. Business cards are a must, but also other marketing material (leaflets, pop-up banners, brochures, etc.). And less obvious, maybe a badge with your name/company on it and pen & paper – after all, this is a business meeting
• Know your elevator pitch – this is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the room as well as other attendees. If you are little self-conscious, then write it down so that you don’t forget what you want to get across, it is easy to get caught up in your own words and lose the message.
• Listen – you have two ears and one mouth – use them in that proportion! Don’t be that person that doesn’t let another get a word in edgeways. It is in your interest to find out about anyone you are in communication with, so ask open questions and take in their response.
• Help/support others – networking is an opportunity to raise your profile in areas of expertise that you have – so why not share information/advice and in so doing improve your credibility with your audience?
• Give referrals in order to receive – if you are not seen as a giver when it comes to business opportunities then you stand the chance of not being referred yourself. You need to be in the game to win it as it were.
• Measure the return on your investment – as with any marketing activity, it is important to measure the effectiveness. One caveat here is that networking is a slow burn as people need to get to know, like and trust you before they are likely to do business with you. The length of time this takes may vary depending on the nature of your business and how good you are at building relationships. Also, it is not just revenue return that you should consider when assessing a networking group but the education aspect, social benefit and personal value to you.
• Focus on the benefits of your product/service – there is a tendency to list features of your business rather than the benefits of why someone should do business with you.
• Develop relationships – take time to build rapport with other networkers. As stated above, networking is a longer term investment before you may see a return.
• Follow up on referrals/commitments – this is a mistake that happens far too often, even when potential business opportunities are presented – you must follow up. Likewise, if you have promised to do something for someone, make sure you deliver. You can quickly damage your reputation if you don’t do what you say you are going to do.
• Have fun – while networking is a professional, business activity, there is no reason why you can’t have fun at the events you attend. You should always take a smile with you in any case!

Don’ts

• Sell – this really is the cardinal sin of networking – don’t dive in with the hard sell; very few people come to buy at networking events. Of course, you should let people know what you do, but don’t pin people up against the wall thrusting your business card into their hands.
• Spam – if you get a list of attendees don’t add them automatically to your email campaigns and newsletters. If you directly received a business card from someone, then fine follow up with an email or possibly ask them if they would like to receive regular communications from you. One thing that may work is to connect with people you meet on LinkedIn. This platform also allows you to make notes so you can record where you met and any other relevant information. In fact, LinkedIn is quite a simple but effective and free CRM system.
• Expect networking to work after a couple of meetings – as stated above; networking is not a quick win, it needs regular commitment for you to get noticed and develop connections with others. You probably need to attend at least 10-12 meetings before you start to see potential leads – of course, this may vary one way or the other depending on the nature of your business. It may be easier to generate referrals if you are a florist versus a business consultant, for example.
• Spread yourself too thinly – there is a lot of choice out there in terms of the types of networking groups and the number of them. You should consider limiting the number of groups you attend on a regular basis – three in total is probably the ideal number.
• Feel under pressure to join a membership group – sometimes you may feel obligated to join a group on your first meeting, and some groups can “pounce” for your signature. But shop around take a look at the different offerings to establish which ones work best for you.
• Be negative – hopefully, you are passionate about what you do? However there will be the naysayers out there that blame the economy for lack of business or generally focus on the doom and gloom; don’t get drawn into what might become a bitching, moaning and whinging session! Exude a positive image which will draw the right type of people towards you.
• Go over time for the elevator pitch – you will have an allotted time at certain groups to introduce yourself to others. Find out what that time limit is (it will vary) and stick to it. You will turn people off if you are using up more than your allocation of time. I appreciate that you may think that 45 seconds is not enough time to tell the audience all about your business – but that’s not what the elevator pitch is necessarily for. It is an opportunity to create enough of an interest in you that someone listening may come over to learn more; at which point you can expand on your offering.
• Use jargon – it can be easy for you to use abbreviations and acronyms that may be commonplace in your industry that the gathered people around you will hear like a foreign language. So try and avoid such things and use words that a child would understand. That may seem too simplistic, but it will get you heard and better understood.

So hopefully you feel better armed to tackle your next networking meeting and make it more effective to you.

Good luck out there!

[social-bio]