Networking at an Event - 7 Steps to Make it Fun

By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit

The skill of networking at events takes chutzpah, not to mention practise. But I much prefer jumping off the deep end to twiddling my thumbs in a corner!

Surprise yourself — follow these seven networking tips and discover that meeting new people can be fun and rewarding.

1. Start Slowly

Commit to going to a certain number of events and aim to simply meet one new person at each one. Hosts or guest speakers are easy to approach. Alternatively, ask someone you know to introduce you around.

2. The Art of Conversation

Banish awkward silences by encouraging people to talk about themselves. Ask questions that can’t simply be answered with “yes” or “no” … these usually start with “how”, “why” or “what”. Why did you start your own business? What did you think of the seminar?

3. Remember Names

Imprint a person’s name into your mind by repeating it in your conversation, and don’t be afraid to ask for a name again or check the spelling. After an event, go through the business cards you’ve collected and mentally picture each person. If you really can’t remember, look for their picture on a website or blog, or do a Google image search.

4. Play Your Cards Right

Your business cards, that is. Have plenty on hand and store them in a professional holder — scrabbling for dog-eared cards in your handbag is not a good look.

After, compile any cards you’ve received into a “contacts book”.

5. Shut Up!

Networking isn’t all about you — give people your full attention, listen to what they have to say and look for opportunities to learn. Even better, give people something of value — suggest a useful website address or introduce a friend with similar interests.

6. Ignore the “Brush Off”

Don’t take a cold shoulder personally. You might initially feel angry or humiliated but, chances are, someone who is rude to you is rude to everyone. Besides, anyone who doesn’t realise you are charming and have lots to offer is only hurting themselves and their business in the long run.

7. The Follow-Up

Stay in touch to take new relationships to the next level — send a short email the next day to say you enjoyed your conversation or elect to follow someone on Twitter.

And send a hand-written “thank you” to the host of a particularly valuable or entertaining event — they’ll make a wonderful ally.

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Nerida Gill - Admin Bandit Nerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment. Phone: 02 6176 0030 Email: nerida@adminbandit.com.au Website: www.adminbandit.com.au Blog: adminbandit.wordpress.com volunteertreasurernetwork.blogspot.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/neridagill Facebook: See Admin Bandit’s Facebook Page LinkedIn: See Nerida’s Public Profile Member Profile: See Nerida’s Member Profile

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New Member MeetUps start strong in Sydney

Congratulations to members Nancy Georges, Sheryl Cole, Frances Jones, Bianca de Reus, Julie Wise and Isobel Martin who held a Member MeetUp in Sydney’s Leichhardt last week.

Member MeetUps are Australian Businesswomen’s Network member get-togethers and a way for members to meet face to face to talk business, create business opportunities and collaborate around the monthly business focus subjects and other areas of interest.

We know that members value the opportunity to get face-to-face with other members. We also know that you’re not always able to attend pre-scheduled breakfasts, lunches and dinners and that often big networking events don’t serve to provide the intimate, real conversations you’re looking for.

That’s why we’ve introduced a NEW and intimate opportunity for members to meet other members to:

• Discuss business issues
• Talk about areas of interest
• Network and build relationships
• Introduce themselves and their businesses

Member MeetUps are held all over the country and are self-managed by our members in venues and times of their choice.

How to Attend a Member Meet Up

Watch the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website for details on how to attend a Member Meet Up near you! Members will be notified as soon as these events are available. Coming late 2009.

Not a member? Join today.

Brush up your Networking skills. Check out the 30 Days of Networking posts and get started with daily tips and resources to grow your network.

Networking ‘across the pond’ provides more opportunities for Aussie women

Yesterday I met with the new President of the New York City chapter - National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). NAWBO is a national US organisation for (as the name implies) women business owners.

Having lived and worked in the US I know that doing business in Australia is very similar to doing business in the US. The challenges we face as businesswomen, are similar.

For those of us growing a business the main issues remain:

• How do I market my business and improve my sales?
• How do I become a better leader?
• How do I make a profit?
• Where can I go to be with like-minded women?
• What does it take to have work/life balance?
• How to do I navigate legislation that makes doing business hard?

NAWBO, like the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, provides training, networking and access to role models.

So, over a coffee at the well-known Dean and DeLuca cafe at the Rockefeller Centre, Pat Ahersy and I discussed how we can work together to improve services, education and networking opportunities for our members.

And, we talked about how powerful it would be for ABN members to connect with NAWBO members and to cross-network and do business across the Pacific Ocean.

As part of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s commitment initiative to be at the forefront of access to development opportunities for businesswomen we will continue to develop links and find ways to help our community connect with the right people, across the globe.

Stay tuned for developments.

Don’t be THAT person when networking!

What person should you NOT be when networking? Let me give you a clue. You DON’T want to be the person that people want to move away from (in person), or block or unfollow (online).

Of course nobody wants to be that person intentionally but there are certain behaviours that tend to turn us off and move us away from people.

We recently asked some of our community: What is it that frustrates you most about networking events?

Here are some of the common themes:

Serial Networkers

Those that rush around as though networking is a numbers game. Their game is to meet as many people as they can.

Hold it! More is not better. Better, is better. Names are not a network. People that you’re connected to who are interested in each other mutually - that’s a network.

Slow down. Be prepared and be focused on what type of people you want to meet and connect with.

Pitchmeisters

These people are in a hurry to tell you about themselves without knowing if you really care/are interested. How does this look online? This is the person who’s tweets/posts are all ‘me, me, me’. Following them quickly gets boring.

Intersperse broadcasting with listening. In the book Twitter means business - How microblogging can help or hurt your business, the author talks about being more like an intercom than a megaphone. The intercom has two way conversation - engagement. The megaphone, well - it can sure be loud, but the information is only going one way.

Card Dealers

These are the people who hand out their cards as though they were a card dealer at the casino. You’ve seen them. They’ll even approach tables of strangers, not say a word but put their cards down at each person’s place (and probably then hope for a miracle).

The bad news is, nobody wants your card unless they are interested in you. It’s old-school (and a waste of paper) to exchange cards or information before there is an interest in doing so.  Exchange a card IF there is reason to follow up. Not every conversation will need a follow up.

Business Cards don’t build relationships. People do. So, start building some real relationships.

So, what are the qualities of good networkers?

Let me quote Aussie author Lisa Butler, who wrote Networking Exposed.

She says:

Good networkers

1. have a networking strategy and keep records to track, monitor and maintain regular contact with the people in their network

2. focus on helping others, rather than themselves

3. are genuinely interested in other peopel and generate positive and memorable impressions

4. interact well with a wide range of peopel and develop warm and valuable relationshiops in a short space of time

In a recall of the childhood show Romper Room… here’s the fundamental Do Bee and Don’t Bees:

Do Bee

- personable, inviting, interested and interesting, engaging

Don’t Bee

- pushy, one-sided, a ‘megaphone’ sending communication in one direction

Day 28 - 30 Days of Networking: Have a Brag!

One way to let people know what your doing is to brag. Yep, that’s right. Tell the world how great what you’re doing is.

Ok, before you run for cover… I’ll explain what I mean.

I know that ourtright bragging is looked down on in some cultures and even in Australia (well known for it’s Tall Poppy syndrome) patting yourself on the back in public is not encouraged or rewarded.

(Kudos to our American cousins who I think are fantastic at acknowledging themselves and the success of others… at least that’s what I found in the seven years I lived there.)

Bragging and Networking

A great way to let people know what you do is to tell them.  Telling others what you’re doing is a great way to network.

A positive way to acknowledge something you have achieved is to celebrate it (no, not in private, but with others).

Telling others what you do:

• shares information that allows others to know you better (Remember people like to do business with people they know, or feel they know.)
• lets the world know you’re taking action (which, hopefully inspires others to take action)
• could open up opportunities though connections with others
• lets others celebrate your successes with you (I’m no longer surprised by the reinforcement that sharing an achievement draws from others who are truly happy for me.)

Are you uncomfortable bragging?

I am not great at ‘tooting my own horn’, but I’m much better at it than I used to be. Whether for cultural (raised in a Greek household), gender (it’s not appropriate for girls to show off), or just plain shyness, I’m often been backward in coming forward about my achievements. Therapy has helped a lot ;-)… really! My coaches and mentors have helped me ‘get our of my shell’ and acknowledge myself more. (Though at times I STILL need a nudge!)

I KNOW I’m not alone in resisting bragging.  A survey conducted by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and Gender Games author Candy Tymson showed that self-promotion was one of the biggest barriers to success for Australian women.

Today, let’s brag.

By bragging I mean, share something you’re proud of having done.

And, so we don’t confuse bragging with arrogance ;-)… here’s a definition of PRIDE:

a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated…

TODAY’S TASKS

Acknowledge, publicly, something you’re proud of.

Some ideas:

• Updated my to-do list.
• Called a friend I’d been meaning to talk to.
• Wrote an email to a customer.
• Walked the dog.
• Brainstormed my goals.
• Bragged!

It doesn’t have to be HUGE… The point is to affirm what it is that you are proud of having achieved.

Day 24 - 30 Days of Networking: Business cards 2.0 - Is the business card dead? #30DNet

When was the last time you shared a printed business card in order to introduce yourself?

The printed business card is a dinosaur and, much as the printing industry may wish things were different, I figure I’ve probably printed my last batch of business cards, forever.

Why swap cards when you can swap Twitter handles?

In March I was attending a conference and printed up a new batch of business cards (complete with my twitter address) to take along. I think I handed out 2! The rest of the dozens of contacts I made, I made on Twitter.

(Twitter was used throughout the conference to allow audience members to journal/share the highlights from each of the workshops - and in turn those people whose posts interested me I followed and similarly, I got a swag of new followers who found what I posted interesting).

Within weeks of printing my new cards they were obsolete, as I changed my title to Community Director!

Old networking habits…

Last week I attended a meeting with a major Australian bank. Those in the meeting exchanged business cards, but it was almost pointless. All those in the meeting had previously exchanged emails and therefore had each other’s information electronically.

Business Card Swap - The 2.0 methods

Include Your Social Networks on Your Card

If you’re going to use a business card, then be sure to have it include the ’spaces’ you hang out at most. e.g If you no longer use a fax machine don’t include that info. If your blog is where you communicate most, then be sure to include your blog details on your business cards.

Make the Most of Virtual Business Cards

Maximise the effectiveness of your social network’s business-card style functions. e.g. Have you customised your Twitter background to include the contact details that you want people to have? Do you include the key contact information (website, office number) in your profiles on LinkedIn and Facebook?

This wasn’t going to be a ‘green’ message but honestly, do we really need to print paper business cards when a contact can send you their v-card from their phone to your phone, which you then synch to your computer, into your contacts. Voila… not a tree damaged in the process!

TODAY’S TASKS

Update your social network spaces to include the contact information you’re will to have followers/friends/contacts see and use.

And, next time you run out of printed business cards consider whether you really need to print more!

Day 19 - 30 Days of Networking: Why you don’t need MORE contacts

How many contacts do you need?

Social networking behaviours can lead you to believe that the more followers (Twitter), friends (Facebook) and contacts (LinkedIn) you have the better you’re doing at the game and the more successful you’ll be.

Similarly in ‘old’ marketing people measured their success by the size of their database not by the effectiveness/profitability of their business activities.

This post from a couple of months ago that explains my position on how many contacts you need (and links to a great article I recommend you read) …

How many customers do you really need?

How big should your network be? | 30 Days of Networking

So, How big should your network be?

I believe we already know (and have access to) everyone we need to know to get access to the people and resources we need to do business successfully.

(I’ve been guilty myself of going to a small event and thinking.. ‘hmm, not too many people here to network’ with and conversely, going to 600-strong breakfasts and thinking what a waste of time it was.)

You know everyone you need to know

You probably know at least a hundred people through your work, family, industry, community, church etc. (If you’re a member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network community you are also connected to hundreds of business women through the Member Directory).

Each of your contacts IS connected (by six degrees, or more, or less - but connected) to everyone else you may want to know. The key is to make the connections.

How to make the connections

As simple as it sounds, all you need to do to make the connections is:

1. Be someone people want to assist (because you’re generous, you add value to them, you doing interesting things and telling people about them).
2. Ask for what you want in a succinct way that makes it easy for people to assist you. (Example below.)

A. Be someone people want to know

A great resource I’d like to recommend is Guerilla Networking by Jay Conrad Levinson and Monroe Mann.

In the book the authors discuss ways to make your self more desirable (i.e. the type of person people want to meet). While much of the advice is common sense I’m surprised how many people still attend events and dish out cards, don’t listen or engage and have a ‘me, me, me’ attitude. Levinson and Mann’s practical tips for increasing your desirability include:

• Be an expert in your field
• Initiate conversations
• Become the go-between
• Acknowledge others

B. Ask for what you want

Instead of saying (to a contact):

“I’m looking to get some publicity for my business.”

be more specific

“I’m looking to get publicity for my new small-business management tool for carpenters in the Carpenter’s Weekly magazine.”

The person you are speaking to will immediately know what it is that you want and whether they, or someone, they know, can help you.

I could really go on for a long time about today’s lesson… but let’s move on. Time to take some action.

TODAY’s TASK

• Ask (specifically) for something you are looking for. Ask using twitter. e.g. you could tweet:  “Looking for graphic designer in western suburbs of Sydney. Can you recommend someone?”
• Initiate a conversation

Day 6 - 30 Days of Networking: Get Your Message to More People, Faster #30DNet

Welcome to Day 6 of 30 Days of Networking.

When you send out a message on Twitter those that follow you are the only ones that see the message.

Wouldn’t it be great if your message could be spread to more people (to people that don’t yet follow you)?

Today we look at the art of the Retweet and how it relates to networking.

What is a ReTweet?

Retweeting is when a message someone has posted is rebroadcast by others to their followers.

For example:

If I follow you. You post a resource or a message that I think my followers will get value from. I can ‘forward’ that message on by re-tweeting your message:

e.g You post:

Here’s a link to a great article about how to grow your business [link].

I post:

RT @yourusername Here’s a link to a great article about how to grow your business. [link]

The RT above is shorthand for ReTweet. I could also write “Retweet”. Now, my followers will see YOUR post and YOUR user name and may choose to now also follow you.

Here is one example:

In this example I have retweeted two posts:

1. The first was by @DynamicBusiness (and mentioned me)

2. The second was a tweet by ABN member @KateTribe

Here is another (This time the ‘retweet’ action takes the form of a credit to the original post - without using the words Retweet in the post.)

Make your retweet personal

I can take the art of Retweeting one step further. Rather than just forwarding (retweeting) a tweet, I can also add a comment to it.

e.g.

RT @yourusername Here’s a link to a great article about how to grow your business [Loved this article! Especially Tip No. 2.]

Now my followers have a recommendation/reason behind my Rtweet.

Why Retweet?

Retweeting is for the benefit of your followers. It’s a way to have them share the information and resources that you think will be valuable to them.

Another reason to retweet is that it acknowledges the original Tweeter. (They see the tweet too because their @username appears in the retweet.) They may in turn think better of you or retweet you, some time in the future.

Never retweet, however, if the tweet isn’t going to add value to your followers. Don’t do it just to win points with the original Tweeter in the hope that they’ll return the favour.

When to retweet

Retweet any time, but only when the information will truly benefit your audience. That doesn’t mean that it has to be a serious business tweet. For example, last week I tweeted about a really cool video I saw. (The tweet is above.) I made it relevant to my followers by pointing out why I was sending it to them.

What to retweet

• Interesting, relevant content.
• Posts that reveal your likes, interests and humour. (Best not to retweet anything too political!).

How retweeting benefits your personal brand and helps you network

While Retweeting may send your followers off to ‘hang out’ with others on Twitter momentarily, you remain the source of great information and they’ll come back to you and trust your future tweets if you give them some great resources.

Retweeting is a great way to broadcast good content, even if it’s not your own! Others good tweets supplement your own and (as long as they are interesting and relevant to your followers) keep your name ‘out there’ in the Twitterverse.

TIP: Always credit the original person by including their user name in the retweet.

If you’re getting tight on characters you can abbreviate the tweet but maintain the essence of the message.

TODAY’S TASK:

Retweet someone!

Let us know what happened!

Best wishes,

Suzi

P.S. If you’re using a Twitter application like Tweetdeck of Seesmic Desktop (or on your phone Tweetie or a similar application) look for a button that makes it easy to retweet - one that doesn’t require you to manually type RT or Retweet.

If you’re working within the Twitter.com site then just cut/paste the tweet adding RT or Retweet to the front of the tweet.

Day 5 - Twitter conversations you should join

There are conversations going on right now on Twitter about your industry, the things you’re interested and things you want to know about. There may even be conversations going on about you and your business.

How do you monitor these conversations?

Today we look at a couple of tools.

In the 30 Days of Networking precourse lesson we looked at search.twitter.com - which is a great way to monitor a phrase or keyword.

Here’s a second way to monitor conversations.

It’s called Monnitor.  (Take note of spelling.) It allows you to watch a stream of conversations on a keyword or search phrase.

Below  is a screen shot of a search I was looking at today.

Here’s why:

Business mentor

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network runs the MentorNet mentoring program. I wanted to see if there were women out there looking for a business mentor. I would in that case introduce myself and let them know where they could find more information. (You don’t want to come across as Big Brother so enter the conversation gently and don’t oversell.)

Business Network

I want to see what other networks are doing and offering and also want to be able to recommend the Australian Businesswomen’s Network if, and when, it seems like the ABN would be the solution to a problem raised in the stream of tweets.

Crossfit

Crossfit is a fitness movement. (If you’ve read Seth Godin’s book Tribes you may recall him using Crossfit as an example of a tight-knit tribe.) I’m a fringe-dweller (or so I keep telling myself) of this tribe. This week though I’m going to California to take part (as part of a Sydney team competing with 98 other teams) in the Crossfit Affiliate Challenge.

So, I was looking to see if anyone else is totally freaked out about competing … Hmmm… seems if they are, they’re not sharing it on Twitter.

So, you found a conversation you want to join. Now what?

Now it’s time to engage. If for example someone is asking: Does anybody know a good business network for women? I’d pipe-up with:

@username you may want to check out the Australian Businesswomen’s Network for great online networking. Here’s the link [link goes here].

TODAY’S TASKs

• Go to monnitor.com and enter three search terms.
• Connect with someone new.
• Let us know what happened. (Tweet about it and include the tag #30DNet. )

Thanks for playing.

Suzi

P.S. If you’re not using Seesmic Desktop of Tweetdeck to view your tweets then check them out. Life becomes a whole lot easier when you can categorise your followers and conversations.

Day 4 - 30 Days of Networking: Use Twitter to Get and Give Referrals

Word-of-mouth is an age old (and largely reliable) way to generate new business. Social media, and the transparency that it provides, makes word of mouth referrals more important now than ever before.

People take on board the recommendations  of people they know, like and trust.

A great way to get referrals is to give them! Of course it needs to be authentic giving, not manufactured of intended to manipulate.

Let’s start with GIVING referrals.

How do we use Twitter to give referrals?

Who do you follow that you WOULD recommend? Who’s tweets give you enjoyment, knowledge, value?

As a blogger, I’m always looking for ways to improve my blogging skills and tips on how to manage, create and organise my blog posts. I follow Darren Rowse, whose Twitter name is @problogger , so I recommend him to those who have a blog, or a looking to start one.

How to GET referrals on Twitter

This is true in offline as well as online networking: The best way to get referrals is to BE someone that people know, like and trust.

KNOW - Your tweets reveal a lot about you. They tell us what your interests are, what you know about. Your tweets reveal your humour, outlook on life, when your sharing and when you’re pitching.

LIKE - We tend to like people like us, and people whose interests are like ours. Be sure to have the real YOU show in your tweets and you’ll attract more follows that you are most aligned with.

TRUST — We trust those that do what they say they will do. Trust usually follows Knowing and Liking. Keep any hidden-agendas at bay when connecting. (I remember being in a networking relationship for a long time with someone I didn’t trust because I saw the opportunity for an important business deal. My gut feeling won and I backed out of the relationship and as a result felt free!)

The bottom line: Be someone that people want to refer. The people I tend to refer are those who are generous with their information, who are ‘real’ or are thought leaders who provide great information that I, or my community of women in business, can enjoy,

There are plenty of opportunities to sell and do business. Be relaxed about it … Lay off the hype and any over the top self-promotion. (Few people like the person, who, at a live networking event is shoving cards in people’s faces. The Twitter version of this are the over-the-top promises and ‘look at me’, ‘buy this today’ type of tweets.) Aim to add value!

TODAY’S TASK:

• Tweet something. Who are you following that you would recommend?
• Tweet a recommendation about them. Be sure to include their Twitter name (and of course the #30DNet tag).

My post for this task will be:

If you have a blog (or are starting one) I recommend you follow @problogger . His posts are consistent, generous and practical.  #30DNet [FYI - that's 136 characters]

In a couple of days I’ll show you a world-wide Twitter protocol that is another great way to make and get recommendations on Twitter.

Best wishes,

Suzi

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