Feel the fear and do it anyway
Networking is one of those things that few people admit to enjoying. It forces us to overcome a natural fear of going into places alone, speaking to strangers and ‘selling’ ourselves. But actually, everyone at your networking group is in the same boat. What they are looking for is genuine engagement, interesting conversations and potential business connections.
If you go to a networking event with a sales pitch, you’re not going to get very far. Instead, it’s about connecting – on a regular basis – with people. You get to know more about them and they get to know more about you. This helps to build trust and gives you the opportunity to give out useful information about what you do. Then when the chance comes along for some business, you’re the obvious choice.
Top networking tips
We’ve put together some top networking tips, based on our own experience and what we know has worked for candidates:
Research your groups – go to the ones where your best potential connections are likely to be.
Find out how the group works – are you expected to do a short pitch for your business? What collateral can you take with you? What’s expected, and how much does it cost?
Connect with your group – usually on LinkedIn, if you can. This means that people will have seen your name and a bit about you before you get to the meeting, and makes you feel like part of the community.
Smile – people want to connect and smiling conveys openness and friendliness. It’s the best start.
Introduce yourself with confidence – your name and the business you work for. Have a good, concise way of explaining what you do, so you make a positive impression.
Talk about non-work things – this can help you find a connection with people, whether it’s the sport you follow, the music you like or where you live. Asking general questions helps to establish a rapport.
Talk about them, not you – this demonstrates interest and gives the other person a positive feeling about you.
Connect after the meeting – connecting on LinkedIn helps to maintain the relationship. By seeing their updates and posts, you have easy conversation pointers for your next meeting, and potentially even a way in to talk about a job opportunity you might be interested in.
Be helpful – good business relationships are about supporting other people, not selling to them. Connect them with other people they might need to work with, support their charity event or join their community group. They will see that they can count on you, and you will get a lot out of helping them.
And the most important tip…
Keep doing it! People who say networking doesn’t work for them are often the people who go to something once, spend their time selling and are disappointed when nothing happens. Networking is about building relationships. Only by always turning up and getting to know people will you succeed. And the more you go, the more confident you get, so it works in every way.
Start researching your best local or professional networking groups today and get started!
Published with the permission of JCW
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