In today’s digital age, is business networking redundant? I don’t think so, in fact, I believe that alongside the digital world, in person networking can help elevate your personal brand, your business and your connections to new heights.
I believe the key to success is blending the two worlds!
When you create digital profiles and connect with others online, then take that into the in person networking scene you maximise your chance at gaining people’s know, like and trust. When others know, like and trust you all kinds of opportunities open up to you.
In order to make your in person networking work well for you there are some guidelines you can follow. Long gone are the days when you pitch up and immediately sell to everyone and anyone who comes within 1 metre of you at an event.
Here are some tips to make your next networking event a success:
1 – Don’t be that person who walks into the room and you can just smell their profit breath!
In person networking is a making connections game, it’s not a selling game, in fact leave any notions of selling to anyone in the room behind. Go with a mindset of I wonder who I’ll meet today who is super interesting.
2 – Listen More, Talk Less:
Build rapport by showing genuine interest in others’ businesses and lives. Ask thoughtful questions and listen actively. People buy and do business with other humans, so be a human, be interested in getting to know them, their likes their interests.
A great speaker I listened to at an event a while ago said to ask the question “If you had a completely free day, to do whatever you wanted, and money was no object, what would you do?” I think this is a great question, it gives people a chance to think and then share what really lights them up. It’s also a question they probably won’t be asked again that morning, so you’ll stay in their mind long after the meeting has ended.
2 – Provide Value:
Offer help, share useful resources, or introduce people within your network. Being helpful builds trust and lasting connections. It also again sets you apart from others in the room, you will stand out and be remembered as someone who is helpful and that people will want to stay connected with.
There’s also something called the law of reciprocity, which is a social psychology principle that states people tend to return what they receive from others. You do something for someone else, and they are more likely to return the favour, maybe at a much later date, but at some point it will come back to you. Don’t do this just to receive, do it out of the kindness of your heart, but then know that by being a good human it will come back to you.
3 – Be Authentic:
I hear this word thrown about a lot at the moment, but it’s so true when you are meeting and connecting with others, you must be yourself and focus on creating genuine connections.
Authenticity fosters deeper, more meaningful relationships. If you try to be someone you’re not, your energy will be off and the other person will pick up on that. They might not be able to pinpoint exactly what puts them off of you, but they’ll feel an unease, and ultimately this won’t lead to any trust in you being formed.
At one stage you had to turn up to in person business events looking and acting a certain way, but this isn’t the case any longer. Turn up as you, in what you want to wear (although we wouldn’t suggest PJs just because some meetings are an early start), talk as you would talk, leave out any company jargon others won’t understand you. And know that everyone in the room is just as nervous and as flawed as you are, no one is above or below you, we’re all equals.
4 – Consistency is Key:
You will never grow the know, like and trust of the people you meet at in person events on day one. You need to attend events regularly, as relationships are built over time. Being consistent shows reliability and dedication and gives people a chance to really get to know you.
Being consistent usually means that over time you’ll get to meet more people in the room too, and new faces when they join. This will enable you to keep expanding your connections and you never know what will come down the line when you’ve built trusting relationships with many people in the business community.
5 – Leverage online platforms, plug people in instantly:
What is potentially redundant these days is business cards. Let’s all be honest, once we get home we add the card details to an online database and then we throw the card in the bin, because who has got space at home to keep years worth of business cards?! For starters I don’t think this is great for the planet, how many trees are cut down each year so Barry can hand out his 100th business card to the same person at every event he goes to. Rant over.
Use LinkedIn and other online networking tools to extend your reach beyond in-person events. Ditch the business cards and plug people straight into your online vortex, where they will be trapped forever and forced to see your face pop up every time you post consistently (just me then).
Tip: Download the LinkedIn App and keep this on your phone. Open the App when you’re at an in person event connecting and head to the search bar, in the right side of the search bar you’ll see a square shape. Click the square and it will open your LinkedIn QR code, you can get others to scan this code, or you can click to scan theirs. Once you accept their connection request they are in your online space.
In person networking is great, and so beneficial, but when you leave that room people aren’t thinking about you anymore, until the next meeting a month later. When they’re trapped (I mean plugged in) to your online vortex straight away, they get reminders that you exist and exposure to help grow their know, like and trust of you more often.
There are lots of Networking events spread out around the world, a simple google search of your area should enable you to find lots of them. Visit a few and find the ones you like, the ones with the people you’d like at them.
If you’re local to Lincoln, where I do the majority of my networking, then come and try Lincoln Business Club. They hold a meeting every month (except in December) 7am-9am at the YMCA on Tritton Road and the meetings are very reasonably priced, well attended, and the coffee isn’t bad either. Maybe I’ll see you at the next one, come and say hi and connect if you do!
