To network or not to network?

There are a range of networking events - industry specific, education related, business development opportunities, inspiration related - the list goes on. When I started my own business, I attended a lot of events. This was initially important as I was establishing new contacts and learning more about business. Now, to better utilise my time, I’ve had to become more strategic.

By “strategic” I mean having a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. And I define “networking” as creating a meaningful two way conversation.

In the same way that you measure actions and achievements against your strategic plan, you must measure how networking events are working towards your greater goal. This is essential for small businesses as they often have fewer resources.

Steps for strategic networking

1. Prepare yourself. Have a clear vision of what you are trying to achieve from an event and the image you want to present. Often people get to events late and feel flustered. If you are serious about networking, arrive on time and treat it like a client meeting. Always have business cards with you but don’t feel the need to incessantly hand them out.

2. Show genuine interest in the person with whom you are networking. People that use networking events to just sell me something, really annoy me. Networking is about creating relationships. Selling comes after, if appropriate. Engage people by getting them to talk about themself and working out where they may need help. You may be able to help them by linking them with someone else. Be abundant in this area because when you give and connect others, good things will come back to you.

3. Follow up. This may be in the form of a simple e-mail, ‘’Glen, I really enjoyed our conversation at the function today. All the best…’’ At other times, it may be appropriate to arrange a meeting or link the person you met with another person. If you promised to send information make sure you do it. And have a system to record where you met them and when i.e. back of the business card. I use my Outlook notes for this. Following up completes the networking loop as being too busy can hardly be strategic.