What sort of people attend the event?

I'm asked "what sort of people attend your business networking events" and usually ask "who are you looking to meet?"

I'm always amazed when someone says "The CEO/MD of a business employing at least 50 people as they are the sort of customers I deal with". CEO's of those businesses network with other CEO's. Networking is not selling and your aim should be to find networks where the attendees also supply your target market or where your best introducers are. Concentrate first on relationship building and your leads follow.

How quickly do you follow up?

I was reminded tonight about someone I met last year who spent so much time in networking meetings that he never had any time to follow up. In fact someone at the same meeting told me not to refer anything to him as he was unreliable. The more networking meetings he attended and the more people he met the worse his reputation was getting!

Make sure you put enough time in the diary to follow up. Especially those you have promised something to. It's the beginning of that all important process of building a relationship.

Big opportunities for audio & video professionals

How many audio & video professionals do you currently have in your business networking groups? NRG Business Networks member Chris Bose reports in his blog that Google is testing radio advertising which will be available at a fraction of normal radio advertising costs. Read more here >>>>.

Write notes on the business cards you collect

Do you make notes about the people you talk with at a networking event? If so, how do you do it? I've met quite a few people who use a pocket notebook.

I usually use the person's card so it's really annoying to receive a plastic card, or a CD, or a card that's so full there is no space to write.

Follow Up

Many people think that making contact with new people is what networking is all about. Not true! Following up is the most important part of networking - otherwise why make new contacts?

When you first meet someone you make a judgement about whether you like them. As the relationship progresses, you make further judgements about their ability and reliability. NRG research has shown developing trust is the key to reducing risk in relationships.

The most effective way of building relationships is by having a face-to-face, or 1-2-1, meeting. Here is a simple, pragmatic list when choosing who to arrange follow-up meetings with:

• Do I like them?
• Are they interesting?
• Are there points of contact?

The objectives of having a 1-2-1 meeting are to:

• Confirm you like them;
• Build rapport;
• Research their business;
• Appraise skill level, experience, qualifications and ability;
• Establish if continuing to developing the relationship further is a good use of your time.

Here are some questions you might ask that will give you a great understanding of the other person:

• Why did you choose your present role?
• What is your expertise?
• How do you know you did a good job?
• What is your biggest project currently?
• What contacts are looking for?
• How can I help you? (make sure you mean this!)

Note they are all open questions and geared to understand what makes them tick. People enjoy talking about themselves and these questions are designed to get people talking passionately about what they do, and about their successes.

If there is a key objective for networking, it should be for you to try and make connections and introductions for the other person. This should be your top networking objective.

If you agree to do something as a result of this meeting, make sure you do it in the time you agreed. It's all about building trust.

Finally, find something you can do to add value to your network that demonstrates your value and expertise. This may be as simple as a regular telephone call or email sending them a relevant article. You may wish to develop the relationship further and offer to help them (to demonstrate your expertise) or even work together on a joint project.

The key to developing relationships is to follow up!

Be prepared

If you were in the scouts you will recognize the motto 'be prepared'. It's a useful tip in business networking as illustrated by an example this week. At NRG we always have an educational seminar before the Open Networking session and the Networking Lunch. The seminar is aimed at helping attendees learn essential business development skills. It's a great opportunity for members to share their expertise with the group.

The speaker for this week's event in Birmingham had to cancel unexpectedly. Fortunately NRG member Martin Firman was prepared to step in at the last minute. Always be ready for the opportunity to share your skills with an audience. It also happened to me at a breakfast a few weeks ago when the speaker for the education slot didn't show, and I was given the slot.

Does Business Networking really work?

I was at a networking meeting yesterday evening and someone asked me if I thought business networking really worked. I said I was biased, but why had she asked. She explained that the opinion of another contact was that it didn't.

I asked which she thought was the more powerful, telling prospects about yourself or by having someone else that they trust tell them about you. She thought it was by having someone else talking about you....

Strategic Partnerships

Building relationships with others who operate in the same market place as you makes perfect sense as part of your business networking strategy. In fact if you concentrate on those who offer complimentary services to yours then you can open many more opportunities.

I attended an exhibition of companies today that had formalised this arrangement in an alliance to help each other. Someone there told me a great story about a Marketing Consultant and a Sales Consultant who had met at an NRG Lunch. They had built a relationship and just won a £30,000 contract with a joint bid!

PR - An Ecademy Journey

Ecademy are using PR to promote themselves by promoting member success stories. See this link >>>>. One of the often overlooked benefits of business networking is the opportunity for mutual PR.

What do you really do?

My colleague, Martin Davies, delivered our '7 secrets of effective business networking' seminar in Dudley on Friday. One of the points we make is the importance of communicating what you do and who for from the listener's point of view and not yours.

One of the attendees said he had struggled for years to describe what he did at business networking events. As a result of the 7 Secrets Seminar the penny dropped and he understood how to describe what he does in terms of business benefit. Rather than saying “I am an insolvency practitioner” he changed it to “I specialise in helping small businesses who are struggling financially to recover their business”. A clear focus for the audience on his expertise and market.