Business Networking – Do You Meet Quality People?
What do you look for when going to a networking event? I mean, what is your goal here? Are you actually expecting to get immediate business from some prospect? Some folks are business card collectors. Others try to talk to everyone within sight and feel like a failure if they happen to miss someone. Yet some others are standing around looking as if they are lost and can't wait to leave. Then there are those who are just waiting for someone to come up and talk to them because they don't know anyone there. I kid you not, we've even seen some who didn't bother to bring business cards with them. Which one of these are you? If you really know what you're doing at t business networking event, then you are none of these fine examples of business networkers. You are a business person who has a plan. You know what to say and do and what to NOT say and do. You are prepared. You've got your business cards, your note paper, your pen, your name tag, your firm handshake and your SMILE! Your goal is to meet 5 quality people and plant seeds of friendship. Your goal is to find out what those 5 people need and how you may be able to help them. Your goal is to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd by asking questions and not pushing your business. In short, you are a savvy business networker. So. How do you meet quality people? How do you determine if someone is appropriate for your business or service? Well, as I mentioned above, you ask questions. You ask what they do, what they're looking for, what they need. If you get answers that don't meet your requirements, you just politely thank them for their time and move on. Perhaps you introduce them to someone that you know at the event and then excuse yourself while they get to know each other. You only need a few quality people at each business networking event to form relationships with and from them you will get business, repeat business, referrals, friendships and introductions to other people. You don't have to collect stacks and stacks of business cards. You don't have to drone on about your business. You don't have to stand there for hours with boring people. You really don't. I remember an event we went to and while circulating, I came across a lady who was a representative for a kitchen ware company. Boy, was she a talker. She bent my ear about her product line and the parties she threw to show off the cookware to other women, and on, and on, and on….I needed to get out of there before I said something I would regret. About that time I spotted a friend of ours who was a representative for a cosmetics company. I told the first lady to excuse me for a minute and I signaled the cosmetics lady over to us. I made the introductions and adroitly bowed out while they exchanged information and such. Several weeks later I was profusely thanked by the cosmetics friend for the introduction. It turned out that the two of them came up with a way to have combined home parties with each of them representing their own company to more prospects than they would have individually. It was an opportunity that was beneficial to both of them and I didn't have to get stuck listening to someone not suited to my business needs. The goal is to meet about 5 quality people and begin forming relationships of caring and trust with them. Don't be like most everyone else, in many cases wasting their time and efforts at a networking event because they just don't know how to network effectively and efficiently. Learn. Grow. Prosper. To your business success!
