Networking is a great way to market your business so it’s good to regularly attend networking events. However, there are mistakes that could turn your networking efforts into a waste of time. Here are some of the most common ones:
You don’t bring business cards
Since you’re going networking you obviously want to create a good impression of your business. You won’t do that though if someone asks for your card and you haven’t brought any with you. Scribbling your phone number or email down on a napkin makes you look really unprofessional, so make sure you bring a good supply of business cards to every event you attend.
You don’t speak to anyone
Networking is incredibly daunting if you are shy, but there’s no point in turning up if you’re going to play wallflower. If you cower silently in the corner, no one will realise it’s because you are shy and you can appear disinterested or rude.
So try to speak up; join in if there’s a discussion and make an effort to introduce yourself to someone. If you see someone else standing on their own go and say hi as they’re probably feeling nervous too. After you’ve made yourself go up and chat to someone once it gets easier to do it again.
You only speak to people you already know
Once you’ve been to a few networking events you’ll probably see a few familiar faces at each one. Networking works best when you build relationships with people so it’s good to catch up with people you’ve met before.
However, chatting to current acquaintances is much less scary than introducing yourself to someone new, so it’s easy to spend the entire event talking exclusively to people you already know. That can be counter-productive though as you want to meet a variety of people when you network to maximise potential leads.
You try the hard sell
There’s nothing more off-putting than meeting someone new and within just a few minutes they’re trying to sell you their services or products. No one likes dealing with a pushy sales person, so please don’t be one!
You don’t follow up
Since networking is about meeting new people and building relationships with them, you should try to connect with them in some way in the few days after the event. You could follow them on Twitter, connect on LinkedIn, or even just send them a quick email to say you enjoyed meeting them.
And if anyone you met expressed an interest in finding out more about what you do, it’s vital that you do follow up with them. Contact them to schedule a meeting, or email through any information they have requested
You follow up too aggressively
Conversely, if you are too aggressive in your follow up, it can be off putting. Don’t email someone a sales pitch or try to schedule a meeting so you can deliver the pitch in person if they haven’t expressed any interest; if you do you’ll just appear pushy, and possibly a bit desperate as well.
And definitely don’t sign people up for your newsletter without their consent – remember that getting someone’s business card doesn’t give you permission to add them to your mailing list. You can ask them directly of course, if they’d like to receive it.
It’s really awkward receiving an unsolicited marketing email from someone you met networking; since you didn’t give them permission to add you to their mailing list, the email is technically spam, but you could risk offending them if you unsubscribe straight away. So don’t do it!
That covers some of the most common networking mistakes; I’ve made a couple of them, and seen people make the others, but if you can avoid them you’ll soon be a networking ninja!
Image: PhotoDune
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