Table of Contents
- Know What You Want Before the Event
- Tailor Your Pitch to Your Audience
- Be the Link
- Listen as Much as You Speak
- Offer Insight
- Leave the Conversation with an Action Step
Striking up a conversation with a stranger can be intimidating. It may be even worse at a professional networking event, where there’s more pressure to be impressive.
How do you go beyond small talk and get into some valuable networking connections? Add these tips to your networking skills for better results at your next event.
Know What You Want Before the Event
Before attending another lunch, conference, or industry meetup, set a goal or intention for the day’s conversations.
Perhaps you’re in the market for a new position. In that case, your goal could be to connect with five different hiring managers, to cast a wide net. Or perhaps you want to make connections with local event planners to get your hotel on their list of preferred event sites. Your goal could be to leave the event with three site visits scheduled.
Setting an intention will help you make the most of everyone’s time, which will certainly add value to everyone’s experience!
Tailor Your Pitch to Your Audience
Just like any other marketing effort, you should tailor your networking conversations to your audience. (And networking is marketing!) You should explain what you do differently depending on who you’re talking to, making it relevant to their interests rather than yours.
For example, let’s say a boutique hotel manager attends a networking event hosted by the local chamber of commerce. They could say, “I manage the Grand Hotel. Currently, we’re putting together a guide to great local businesses for our guests.” This is clearly relevant to a room full of local business owners.
The same person, speaking to someone at a convention for event planners, could say, “I’m a manager at the Grand, a local hotel and event venue. We host weddings and other events in our outdoor space and ballroom.”
One manager, two audiences, and two different explanations of what they do.
Be the Link
Helping others to make connections is a key way to make yourself a valuable member of your industry network. Matching acquaintances with other people who could benefit from their strengths and skills helps build goodwill and positions you as someone who’s willing and able to help.
It also gives you a great reason to follow up with the person you just met, taking the relationship from a one-off meeting to a repeated interaction.
Listen as Much as You Speak
When just getting to know someone, silence can feel awkward. Many of us rush to fill the space, just to avoid the dreaded lull. But the more you speak, the less your companion can contribute. And they may seek a swift exit from a one-sided conversation.
Try to listen as much as you speak. A networking conversation is a two-way street, and both people have to contribute for it to be a success. If you feel the conversation flagging, ask a question to get it going again. When you show a genuine interest in other people, they find you more interesting!
Offer Insight
In the course of asking questions, you may discover that your conversation partner has some goals or challenges. How can you help?
You may have experience in the area, which would allow you to make your own suggestions. Maybe you know someone who could help, which is a great opportunity to make an introduction. Or perhaps you know of a resource on that very topic. Offer to email it over after the event, which is a great action step for keeping the conversation going (see the next section).
Leave the Conversation with an Action Step
The follow-up is just as important as the conversation itself! A prompt follow-up will help solidify you in the minds of the people you’ve just met.
If you scheduled a meeting, take the initiative to create a calendar appointment and invite them. If you offered to send a resource, send it along with a reminder of who you are and how you met. Even if there was no action step discussed, you can always follow them on LinkedIn or another social media site. Send them a direct message to express how much you enjoyed meeting them.
Make sure to check in with your new contact every couple of months to keep the relationship active. You never know when an opportunity might arise, and you want to be high on the list of names that come to mind.