Networking Tip - Be Open, Follow up and Follow through.

I'm amazed, I've been to a lot of networking events and I'm shocked at how few people do these few simple things.  When I go to an event my objective is to work the room and make as many connections as possible. My goal is to collect a bunch of business cards.  I try to spend a few minutes chatting, but I do not linger too long. 

I see a lot of people sticking around the people they came to the event with or spending most of the event with one of the first persons they initially met. That defeats the purpose.  Work the room! Say hello, shake hands. I know it's uncomfortable. It is for me too. I am by nature a shy, introverted person. I was that way since I was a kid. I just believe that there is danger staying in my comfort zone. I have to push myself everyday. Perhaps my martial arts training programmed me to be fearless. I'm not saying I'm not afraid. I just feel the fear and do it anyway. 

I know you're probably saying, but Steve, how can I build a rapport or relationships if I only spend a few minutes with each person. Let's face it, you're not going to be able to build much of a rapport at that event no matter how long you hang together at that day. 

Relationships build over time. Now, certainly it's important to make a good impression and connection with that person. My goal in meeting people for the first time is to get them talking about their favorite subject. And how do you know their favorite subject? That's easy, it's the same for everyone. A person's favorite subject is themselves. 

When they ask me what I do, I give them a very brief answer. I don't believe in elevator pitches. No one wants to be pitched.  If I am selling them on anything it's not what I do, it's me.  I want them to have good impression of me when I walk away. I'm hoping they are feeling, perhaps subconsciously, that's a sincere, confident successful man. I would also like them thinking to themself, "I can see doing some kind of business with him. He's a good guy." (Now this is a topic I can really expand on, but I'll save that for another "Networking Tips" article to follow.) 

Here's what I also do that practically no one does. I send a follow up email or text. It's brief and may tell them a little about what I do. I emphasize that we should follow up and get to know each other better to see how we can help each other out. But it's again not a pitch. My call to action is suggesting we grab a coffee or schedule a phone call. It's the phone calls and coffee meetings where a new relationships can be forged. 

Lastly, within a day or so of meeting the person, I will look them up on LinkedIn and send a connect request. If it's someone that I really feel there is synergy I will put a note in my calendar to follow up.  You may ask, but what if their profession has nothing to do with mine and their appears to be no synergy? That's okay. First of all, I think to myself how can I help them? Is there someone in my network I should introduce them to? But remember, who do they know? They say that everyone knows about 1,000 people. (Especially now with social media.) one of my mentors once said "follow the rabbit hole". You never know. 

There's a great expression used in the BNI world and that is "Givers Gain". It's a very true statement. It's the law of reciprocity and the law of sowing and reaping. What you give you eventually get back. It's a universal law. 
If we ever get to sit down over a cup of coffee, I'll share with some of my stories of how meeting someone that I initially thought we had nothing in common turned into amazing ongoing mutually beneficial relationships.  
Be open, follow up and follow through.  

To learn how to be a more effective networking feel free to reach out to Steve at [email protected]

Check out his video on the Power of Networking at  https://youtu.be/1465PkILpAc