In business, much is made of networking. And yet many of us dread going to networking events because of the pressure of finding new people to talk to, or because we never quite know what to say in our “elevator pitch”. Other people make networking into a competition to see who can get the most business cards. In this article, we offer you a different way of looking at networking that can turn a challenge or a chore into a productive and above all enjoyable activity.
What intention do you have in mind when you go to a networking event? Most people focus on things like “How many business cards can I get?”, or “I want to meet as many new people as possible”, or even “Who can I meet that will offer me a job?”. You may have found that these approaches tend not to work. Or at least, you might collect lots of business cards, but you are really no better off than if you’d bought that many names from a list. I recently received an email from someone who said “It was a pleasure to meet you at the recent event”. I wasn’t even at that event – but I had lent my cards to a colleague who had run out. The person sending the email hadn’t even noticed that my name is female and my colleague is male. As you can imagine, that didn’t create too good an impression with me.
Let me offer you another way to look at networking – why not see every event as the opportunity to begin a relationship that will be mutually beneficial over time? There are lots of important parts to that challenge which I will explore in turn:
to begin
The networking event is just the first opportunity to meet someone. It is naive to hope to close a deal with someone on first meeting, so why should a networking event be any different. Like any other relationship in life, start with the basics of getting to know each other. Everything else will build on this basis.
a relationship
In business, the idea of a relationship is undervalued, and yet all transactions fundamentally boil down to interactions between individuals. This means that the underlying human relationship is an essential in all business dealings. Time invested in creating, developing and maintaining relationships will always pay dividends. The networking event is the opportunity to create new relationships. If I have started two new relationships out of one event then I am pretty happy – certainly happier than if I’ve collected 50 business cards, but can’t actually remember the people behind any of them. Chances are, those people won’t remember me either.
mutually beneficial
This is the absolute key. We’ve all met the seasoned networker with the polished elevator pitch, who works the room with military precision, and glazes over as soon as they think that you won’t be a potential buyer. On the face of it, these people have a great strategy, but think what they’re missing out on. If they walk away from me leaving me feel worthless (to them) I’m unlikely to hold any great feeling of loyalty or commitment to them in return. So as and when I DO have a need for their product or service, guess what? I won’t be calling them any time soon.
On the other hand, what has worked for me, and will work for you too, is to assume that there’s always a way in which I can offer the other person something of benefit to them. This might simply be an article I think they’ll be interested in, or it might be a contact name that they’re looking for. Once, it was a lift to a crucial football match. The thing is, it costs me nothing but a small effort to find out how I can help, and to make that thing happen. Then, when they have a need for my product or service the chances are that I will be favourably in their minds when they’re ready to buy.
over time
The final thing to remember is that networking is not about instant results. The person you meet at networking may turn into a valued client, and this only happens when you have built the relationship, and earned trust and respect. The more you invest in the relationship the more you will understand the other person’s priorities, values and needs, and the better placed you will be to meet those needs.