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Successful networking takes time, money and effort. In this article Heather Townsend, author of The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking, shares her top tips for generating a steady stream of referrals from your networking activities.
Many people just turn up to networking events and hope that
magic will happen and they will leave with a potential lead or referral.
Actually, being focused on who you want to meet, and why you need to meet
them will be the biggest single factor to help you generate success from
your networking activities.
How many times have you been along to a networking event, and
had some excellent conversations. Business cards are exchanged with a
sincere desire to ‘stay in touch’. You get back to work the next day, get
stuck in with your client work; the people you met the day before soon
become a distant memory and a just another business card in the bottom of
your drawer.
Does this sound familiar? Neglecting to follow up after a networking event
is probably the biggest mistake people make when networking. Failing to
follow up turns all your hard effort during the networking event into a
waste of your time.
Just sending one e-mail after meeting someone at a networking event is
not going to produce a steady stream of referrals. You need to invest time
and energy into the relationship before it will bear any meaningful fruit.
Remember to spend as much care and attention on your virtual
appearance as well as your physical appearance. With social networking
coming of age – people are very likely to ‘check’ you out online before
they meet you. This means that people are already forming a perception of
you BEFORE they meet you. Isn’t it in your interest to make sure that they
get the very best first impression you can give?
Many people make the mistake of trying to sell to the room
when they go out networking. This is ineffective. Let me explain. If the
typical person has 150+ people that they know, then it is far more
effective to spend time in a networking event finding a couple of well
placed (unofficial) sales people for your business. As these people will
give you access to 300+ potential prospects rather than just the people in
the room. Before they will become your sales people, they have to know
you, like you and trust you. Not, only that, you will need to educate them
on how to spot a referral for you. But, I promise you, it will be worth
it.
“Nobody gets paid for networking. We all get paid on the results of our networking.” Rob Brown, motivational speaker and networking expert
This week’s Top Tips have been brought you by Heather Townsend, founder of The Efficiency Coach and The Executive Village.
If you would like to unlock the potential in your network, then give Heather a call on 01234 480123, e-mail her via heather@theefficiencycoach.co.uk, or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HeatherTowns.
