Shannon Benge, co-owner of Beyond Business, asked me to write about two networking topics, one being the whole concept of setting goals for networking events. (The other is about the fear of rejection when networking and I will address that in a separate post.)So you're about to step into the venue where the chamber after hours event is being held. What can you think about that will help to give you a good ROI on your time and money spent?
Shannon, who is a marketing consultant, would tell you that any marketing activity has to start with the objective in mind. Networking is a marketing effort, so having an idea of what you want to gain is important!
Some questions you might ask yourself are:
1. Who do I want to meet?
2. What types of people do I want to meet?
3. As a result of meeting those people what do I want? (an appointment?)
4. What is the amount of time I will dedicate to this event?
5. Who else might I take with me to the event to help?
6. What message will I use when people ask about what I do?
7. Is there a leadership role I can play to help my visibility?8. If my goal is to schedule appointments, how many?
What I have found is that in most instances, if I don't have a plan of action for each event, I tend to be lazy and just socialize. Knowing what I need to achieve to meet my own accountability, springs me into action.
Greg Peters, The Reluctant Networker, has an article about this very subject in his networking tips from last week. If you'd like to read or listen to it go to this link. You can also subscribe to his weekly tips.
What other goals have you set for yourself at networking events?
2 comments:
If you belong to an organization that has multiple meeting options you might want to have a goal of experiencing each meeting to see which one (or more than one) helps you achieve your business objectives.
Good point, Shannon. Tracking is always a good ways to figure out which ones work best.
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