You either love them or you hate them. Which category do you fall into?
Its’ not until you arrive at the venue and are greeted with the familiar scene.
There are those intently looking at their phones or laptops looking inconvenienced at being there. There are those already engaged in serious conversation with fellow attendees. And there are those self-consciously wandering around the hall trying to avoid eye-contact at all costs.
Welcome to the networking event!
I recently attended such an event in Edinburgh, and you can’t help but feel a bit awkward at the whole process. There are few situations in life when you approach strangers uninvited so even for the most confident amongst us, they can often be an intimidating experience.
Our default, particularly if you are from the UK is never to approach or speak to strangers. Maybe this could be an opportunity for venues or organisers to provide ‘networking chaperones’ for the less confident attendees?
My strategy is to simply embrace the opportunity and set myself a realistic target of how many people I want to meet. It also pays to do a bit of background research on those attending. All you need is a brief overview of several represented organisations to break the ice and before you know it, you’ll be handed a business card and be engaged in a conversation.
It’s much easier to be approached than to do the approaching and people are often delighted to have the opportunity to talk about their business and what they do. If not, then don’t take it personally and why is that person attending a networking event in the first place if they don’t want to network?
One thing to be aware of at networking events is that most people are there to promote their business or their products unless it’s a specific meet the buyer event. Its’ almost instinctive to launch into a sales pitch stating the features and benefits of your products to someone you have just met.
This approach will inevitably be met with the other person looking over your shoulder for someone more interesting to talk to. However, if you are the recipient of the product monologue, be respectful, listen intently, thank the person for their time and respectfully move on after a few minutes.
Do ask for a business card if not offered – and actively remember the other person’s name on meeting rather than having to keep glancing down at their delegate badge! Yes, I should practice what I preach, as often guilty of that!
People love listeners – they don’t love talkers
I see a networking event more as a relationship building exercise than a direct sales opportunity. I remember attending an event several years ago and listening to an attendee tell me about his lighting business for 15 minutes.
He did not ask one question during that time and never paused for breath as he moved on to the technical specifications for each product. At that point it was time for me to wrap this up and move on.
He did connect with me on LinkedIn and said how much he enjoyed our ‘conversation’! The point is that people will warm to you more if they are doing the talking and you are doing the listening, so do be respectful as they might just be a bit nervous. And who knows when one day they might require your service?
There are of course situations when not to approach at networking events
I attended a Scottish Enterprise event several years ago about the art of effective networking when we were told to look out for certain body language at such gatherings. If you see a group of people having a chat and their feet are facing towards each other, then it’s a closed group and your approach may not be welcomed. I haven’t tested this theory yet, so may give it a try it the next time and I’ll let you know the outcome.
My final tip is to try to get to the venue as early and locate yourself at one of the high-bistro tables that are common at networking events. You will find that people will come along and ask if they can have a corner of your territory to place their tea or coffee.
This makes the whole experience much easier, particularly if you can get a few people sharing the same space for a much livelier multiple conversation. Even better if you manage to position yourself as the ‘Group Moderator’, which will help demonstrate your leadership qualities and display confidence.
Those are my thoughts and please do let me know of your networking experiences!