Simon LeonardIf you are a business owner or an entrepreneur, you must attend corporate networking events. Attending such events enables you to widen the aura of your company and your consumer brands and forge new contacts for future business.
Networking events offer you a golden opportunity to enhance your professional network, create meaningful relationships, and make new contacts. Staying organized is the key to making the most out of networking events. As an entrepreneur, you must attend whenever you get an invitation to attend a business summit or networking event.
Moreover, when people or your prospects see you more and more at networking events, it’ll enhance your brand visibility and reputation as well. You’d be surprised to know that your physical presence at networking events can augment your brand value. A survey has claimed that visitors or the audience would likely consider you 28% more innovative when attending these events than when not attending them.
Professional networking in the right manner is essential. You must enter the conference hall or event venue in an organized way to prove your smartness and worth. Unorganised visitors to such events are either bypassed or ignored.
We’ll discuss some tips to help you stay organized while attending a networking event.
8 Ways to Stay Organised While Networking at Events
- Have Smart Card Loaded in Your Mobile Phone:
You should not carry the age-old paper card in a card box while others are attending a networking event with a digital business card in their handsets. Carrying a paper card may make others feel you are far from the digital age. To avoid this impression, you must have a nicely designed and informative digital card.
Your personality is what you make it! You can introduce yourself and also hand over a business card tap on phone to the people you are interacting with at the event venue to make a strong first impression. Using contactless cards has now become the latest trend, as most attendees at business networking events share or email them while introducing themselves. This is the first step toward breaking the ice.
- Know Who Is Attending the Networking Event:
This is important as you get the background of persons coming to a business meeting. By doing research, you can select the people who mean a lot for the furtherance of your business interest. You can also prepare for discussions that will be worth the time for both parties.
- Smart Introduction is Half the Battle Won:
Icebreaking is very important at networking events. If your way of introduction is smart, it can impress others. You must introduce yourself, maintain all aspects of courtesy, and be humble.
A smart introduction maintaining all norms of civility carries much weight. Nobody would like to talk to a bragging person. This reason makes it imperative that your interaction be polite and polished.
- Be a Very Patient Listener:
This rule holds the key to coming nearer to a person. You must show you are quite serious in listening to the person, and you are also valuing each and every word spoken by the person. This can make you forge a very good network with that person after the event is over.
You can later visit the person in the office and discreetly broach your business proposal to him. As that person is already impressed by your mild behavior and patiently listening to whatever he said during the networking event, it would be much easier for you to forge a business relationship with him.
- Eyes Speak Much:
If you want to be successful in expanding your network, you must know that your eye contact with a person you are talking to is very important.
Your eye contact proves you are interested in that person and also quite attentive to him. Due to this reason, you must not look blank or like a lifeless robot while talking or interacting with a person in a business meeting or any such networking event.
- Select a Topic to Talk, Not Just Business Always:
In a networking event, all those attending it know that the main purpose is to widen the network and try for network-driven business conversion.
This means you must not just start talking about business after the introduction and icebreaker. You can talk about different issues or interesting things happening worldwide. You can also bring up the latest scientific achievements or political developments. This will keep the discussion going for some length.
- Keep the Door of Future Meetings Open:
If you have successfully networked with someone, keep the door open to further meetings. You must organize your thought process before you attend an event about this particular factor. The best way is to ensure you meet the person you met at the event again later. Politely mention that you enjoyed the conversation and would like to stay in touch, gently suggesting a future meeting.
- Take Notes and Keep Contacts Organized:
After encountering numerous individuals, you may have a hard time remembering all conversations. Take notes about important conversations and store contacts in an orderly way. Employ a contact management program or CRM application to maintain access to all the information in future follow-ups.
Conclusion
You must act smart and use good body language to introduce yourself to the people you come across at the networking events. Modest and innovative ways of interaction count a lot, as it impresses others. Approach others with a friendly gesture and try to engage in talks in a decent manner, as it can impress others.
You should also be a patient listener, as it means you are paying value to the person you are talking to. When you meet the same people repeatedly, you’ll be able to build more trust and credibility as an entrepreneur. So, never miss out on any opportunity to network or interact with other entrepreneurs at the event.
Simon Leonard