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Are You Out of Practice with Your Business Networking? |
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This brief article was inspired by our latest foray into after-hours networking, the Silicon Prairie Social that we co-sponsored earlier this month. The event drew approximately 250 from 350 RSVPs, proving that IT networking events can draw in the west suburbs.
Ben and I were pleased with the turnout and with the energy that the crowd displayed, and we'll likely get behind more events like this going forward.
So what should we do differently next time? How can we ensure all of the attendees at the next event enjoy themselves and gain good contacts and value from the event?
Caroline Levchuck, a long-time contributor to Yahoo! Jobs, wrote this to-the-point article on networking mistakes a few years ago, and it bears revisiting for anyone who feels they may be out of practice or is new to business networking.
To recap the article:
- You aren't at a party (remember why you attended; don't drink too much)
- Come with a plan (Who are the sponsors? Who do you want to connect with?)
- Master your elevator pitch (though I'd say 30-60 seconds is a good start, not necessarily 3 minutes, as Levchuck offers)
- Be discriminating (networking isn't speed dating, so try for quality interactions - after all, first impressions matter, and if you give the impression that you only want to gather biz cards, you will turn people off)
What was your experience at the event? Let us know what you'd do differently.
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