Networking events - worth the time sacrifice?

Most people do not properly grasp what networking is about.

The people who wrote that about expecting to buy at a networking event obviously don't either.

Nobody should go to networking expect to get a sale. They may get a hot lead now and again, and a few warm leads here and there and some times, nadda however, one should not go for that.

It's about 2 things in my opinion:-

1. Remind your potential customers you are there. That you are here to stay, not a fly by night, here today gone tomorrow outfit. Build long term credibility, reliability, and meet face to face because it ain't gonna happen anywhere else, really, now is it?!

2. Build relationshops and work on getting referrals through association in tandem with No. 1, because you see each other regularly. They recomend you because they easily rememebr you. Why do you think brand names run adverts over and over incessantly? To remind the market over long periods of time about them and or their products. TV adverts build relationships by constantly putting their ads in front of us. You do the same in networking.

You don't always remember to do the basics, do you? May I remind you of what you already know but - like me -don't always practise:-

Prepare before you go to any meeting, if at all possible. You want to know who's going to be there and which organisations they're with, so you can research further and think about where the areas of common interest might lie.

Manage your business cards. If you do discover an area of common interest with another attendee, summarise it on the back of one of your business cards and pass it over to your "partner". Write out what you've agreed to do on the back of the business card they've handed to you(eg "phone X by Fri to pass on the details about Y").

Normally, your writing on the other person's card is barely legible - so make sure you transcribe it before you forget the details!

When I was doing offline networking I simply used this as a platform for building professional relationships. I never went to an event expecting to gain work there and then.

For me it was the opportuntiy to source connections with those who could use my skills and vise versa in the near future. This has brought business in and still does even though I haven't attended a network event for over 5 months.

However, I did find them costly and I would say to anyone, "think of offline networking as a type of investment - don't expect to see an immediate return!"

I've still never been to one, largely because I'm a big wimp. I socialise better from behind the safety of a keyboard.

That said, Himself has a friend (a self-employed surveyor) who swears by them, and many conversations with him seem to go along a route of "oh, I met a guy the other week at a breakfast meeting who does that, you should call him." So he's not there to buy, and the other attendees haven't sold him their decorating/cleaning/wedding-planning/printing services, but he's promoting them on to his contacts who do have an interest in buying.

(Not that we ever have called any of these people, as we're a completely different geographic area, but...)

I'm not convinced I have been to a fair few breakfast meetings and most of them have been a complete waste of time, I have only gain 2 business contacts from over 30 business meetings. Although they can be a good thing to get out of the office it can be a costly thing that simply doesn