Top 3 Questions for a Networking 121

“We should have a one-to-one…”

When you hear this statement, it is likely to spark one of two emotions – excitement or dread.

The whole purpose of networking is to form meaningful relationships with individuals in your network that have the potential to expose you to a larger network. Usually, you meet these people at networking meetings, conferences or through current networking connections. That first encounter, even if in-person, is akin to seeing someone on a dating app – you get to know a limited amount of information about them and pick up on their vibe. The one-to-one is like the date, where you will dive deeper, getting to know them, their business, and their values.

That moment when someone asks you to schedule a one-to-one with them is a call to swipe right or left, hence the feelings of excitement or dread.

You have the power to make every one-to-one meaningful by asking three questions:

1. Who is your audience?

One of the reasons you may feel dread when someone asks you for a one-to-one is that you do not believe it will lead to passing referrals, which is a valid concern when holding a business meeting.

Taking a meeting because someone asks, while friendly, is not always the best business decision. The time you spend in a one-to-one is time you are not spending on other growth activities in your business, so you need to be certain that the one-to-one itself is a growth activity. By asking about the other person’s audience, you can gain a sense of potential referral opportunities both from audience demographics and size. With this information, you can decide whether now is the right time to collaborate, or perhaps six months in the future when their audience is larger and more diverse.

2. What ideas do you have for collaboration between us?

Let's say you asked question #1 and discover you share the same audience. That alone is not a green light to sacrifice time from your business. Conversely, you may have learned you do not have an audience in common, but that should not automatically disqualify the meeting.

To determine if the one-to-one will be time well-spent, you must learn the objective of the meeting. If you get a bland, “I thought we could just get to know each other better…” then you know that this is a social situation. Occasionally, it will become clear that the other person intends the meeting to be a sales consultation where they will pitch their services to you. Alternatively, the person may outline a clear idea of how you could collaborate, sometimes even surprising you with their ingenuity and creativeness. Regardless, you will have the information you need to make an objective business decision on the value of the meeting.

3. I block my schedule for one-to-ones on [day] between [time] and [time]. Could you meet then?

At this point, you have decided that the meeting will be worth your time, however, your time is still your time. Top business owners block their schedules so that daily operations and outside meetings will not interfere with their growth activities. Allowing other people to set your meeting times disrupts this time-management trick. So, set boundaries by deciding when you are open to attend one-on-ones and then schedule them within that block. If it can’t be this week or next, just go farther out.

Honoring your time is the most important task you have as a business owner. Continuously rearranging your schedule to accommodate urgent tasks or other people, eats away at your business growth overtime. So, to protect your growth trajectory, you must learn to say “no” to requests for baseless one-to-one meetings.

Next week’s blog article, I will share with you how to say “no” in a way that strengthens a relationship.

At Ask April Porter, we love collaborating with like-minded business owners in our Strategic Partner Syndicate. If you are interested in becoming a Strategic Partner of ours, click here to set up a consult.