Three "Secrets" to a Successful Networking Event
By Paul McCord

Are you one of the millions of small business owners, salespeople, and professionals who
have attended networking events held by the chamber of commerce or a business
organization and found the experience to be far less than what you had hoped? Attending
networking events requires more than simply showing up–it requires a disciplined
approach.

Typically, the frustrations and wasted time arise from two fundamental issues:
· overblown expectations
· not having a plan of attack

Networking events, especially those of a general nature organized by the chamber or a
general business organization, will not provide you with a plate full of potential
prospects. If you can walk out of a networking event with three or four good potential
contacts, you have done well.

Unfortunately, many, especially those who are not networking junkies, attend these
functions with the hope of leaving the event with a whole stack of business cards of great
prospects. When their expectations are not met, they conclude that networking isn't all
it's cracked up to be and decide their time is better spent elsewhere.

In addition, most attendees waste the majority of their networking time. Rather than an
organized plan to maximize their benefit from the event, they simply attend hoping to
"run into" prospects.

Yet, if you attend regularly and with realistic expectations, networking can eventually
pay great dividends. There are three "secrets" to making networking pay:

1. Know Where You're GoingKnowing who is likely to attend the event you are considering is as important as
attending the event. If you are considering going to an event you have never attended
before, try to get a copy of the host organization's member roster. By examining the
membership directory, you can get a fairly good idea of the type of people you can
expect to meet. If it appears there are a reasonable number of people and businesses
of interest, plan on attending. If you can't get a copy of their member directory, call
the organization and ask–most won't mind the inquiry and will be happy to give you
as much information as they can.

2. Know Why You're Going
Go with a definite number of contacts you want to make. Determine how many good
contacts you will need in order to make the investment of time worthwhile.
Depending on your particular product or service, that number may be only one or
two–or may be much higher at five or six. By establishing realistic, objective
criteria, you can easily determine whether or not your time was well spent and
whether or not you want to attend the event again in the future.

3. Have a System for Working the Event
For most business owners and salespeople, the real networking event killer isn't so
much who is in attendance or even their own unrealistic expectations, but rather the
time they waste during the event.

Working a networking room requires planning and a clear vision of how you will
spend your time. I and many of my clients that I've taught the following networking
method have found it to be easy and very effective:

Arrive about 15 minutes before the official event start time. Wear a large, easy to
read, high quality, permanent nametag that features your first and last name, not just
your first name. Of course, have lots of business cards. Business cards should be
blank on the back. Wear clothing with two easy to reach pockets.Station yourself close to the entry door–close enough that people might mistake you
for one of the hosts. Greet each person as he or she enters. Nothing more than a
greeting–and, hopefully, noticing their company name. All you want is to hear a
name, put a name to a face and to make a quick judgment as to whether they might be
a prospect.

When arrivals begin to slow, begin your progression around the room. Move in one
direction–left or right. Greet the first person or group of people you meet. This
round of conversations should be short–two to three minutes at most. Your goal is
to introduce yourself and learn as much as you can in a very short span of time about
the person or persons you've just met. Don't clutter the conversation with
information about yourself–keep everything focused on the person or the persons
you are speaking with. Your goal at this event isn't to sell it's to qualify prospects.
This will be your second meeting with many of these people, although you will
probably not remember their names.

Since many, if not most, will offer you a business card, you will begin to segregate
cards into an interest stack and a non-interest stack. When you meet someone you
believe you'd like to get to know better–a potential prospect, put their business card
in your right-hand pocket. Those you don't believe are prospects, put in your left-
hand pocket. This system allows you to immediately find the cards of those you want
to reconnect with during the event without having to try to remember their name.

If you meet someone you would like to get to know better, before moving on to
another group, let them know of your interest in learning more about their business
and ask their permission to contact them via phone at a later date. Once they agree,
take one of your business cards and on the blank reverse side, write the day and an
hour span of time during which you will call: "Thursday, March 12 between 10:30-
11:30." This day and time will be the same for everyone you meet that you want to
call. It keeps you from having to remember when you will call, but because it is anhour span, you'll have time to make several calls without concern that you won't
keep your appointment.

Now, move to the next group and continue in this manner for the majority of the
event. About 30 to 45 minutes prior to the end of the event, go into your last phase.
The last phase is taking the few cards in your right-hand pocket and seeking to
reconnect with those people. This will be your third chance to meet them and to put a
name and face together. In addition, since it will be your third meeting, they'll begin
to feel like they know you and they will probably greet you as a friend rather than as
new acquaintance. Just as you are implanting their name and face in your mind
through multiple meetings with them during the event, you're planting your name and
face in their mind.

This conversation will be a little more in-depth, but, again, keep the focus on the
other person. During this conversation, possibly you can move the conversation to
the point that instead of a phone call on Thursday, you can invite them to lunch. If
not, prior to moving to the next person, again reiterate the phone call on Thursday and
give them another business card with the same information written on the back.

On Thursday, make your phone calls and close for a get to know one another
meeting.

This structure allows you to "meet" a prospect three times during the course of the
event, set up a definite telephone conversation and help both you and the prospect
quickly move from the "just met" stage to acquaintance stage very quickly. All
without having to remember any details during the course of the event.

If you keep your expectations reasonable and focus you time during the event on the few
true prospects you meet, you'll find your time at networking events to be both more
enjoyable and profitable.Paul McCord is the author of Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales
Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons) and the upcoming SuperStar
Selling: 12 Keys to Becoming a Sales SuperStar. He is president of McCord and
Associates, a sales-training and management-consulting firm. Reach him at
pmccord@mccordandassociates.com or via www.powerreferralselling.com.

Copyright 2007, Paul McCord

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