How to make business networking events both useful and enjoyable
If you want to be a Local Hero, providing services to people in your area, you need to get out more.
There are home-based businesses that sell to customers they never meet, all over the world. But a Local Hero needs to be known by the people they serve. You start by selling to people who already like and trust you, but sooner or later you have to meet new people, and that usually means business networking events.
They can be intimidating. A room full of people who clearly know each other, and not you. You take a deep breath and introduce yourself, and for this first step I am grateful to my good friend, the networking expert Will Kintish.
Approach a group, wait for a gap in the conversation, and ask the magic question: “May I join you?” They will almost always welcome you, introduce themselves and then ask the dreaded question: “What do you do?”
Your answer is the ‘Pain’ part of your Elevator Pitch from my last article. Using the same example, that might be: “I solve the problem of people who struggle with maths.”
This is when you find out whether you have wandered into the domain of the crashing bore: someone who launches into their own history with maths, then their entire business history, full of witty anecdotes about how marvellous they are. Listen politely, but they are unlikely to become a customer, because they think they already know everything. What you want is someone open to a real exchange of ideas. If that goes well, they may have a child who needs maths tutoring, or know someone who does.
The five questions
My method comes from one of the most extreme networking situations you will ever face: speed dating. You meet perhaps 30 people for three minutes each, a bell rings, you move on, and afterwards you tick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for each person. The organisers asked me for a list of questions, in the right order, that would earn more ticks in the ‘yes’ box. These are the five I came up with, and they work just as well at a business event.
1. Where are you based? An easy, unthreatening opener, and especially useful to a Local Hero, who wants to meet people nearby. Then share where you are.
2. What do you do? Sometimes it’s obvious from their name badge, sometimes it isn’t. ‘Hyacinth’ could be anything. Either way, it leads naturally to the next question.
3. How do you do that? You are hoping for a story in the Case Study format from my last article: the problem their client had, how they solved it, and the happy outcome. Then share a case study of your own that relates to their business. A horticulturalist, for example, might find doing the accounts a struggle, or have a family member who could be trained to help.
These first three are factual, easy questions, and friendly people will answer them readily. Watch their body language as you talk. If they seem uninterested, or a little defensive, say you have enjoyed meeting them and move on. That is the etiquette of networking events: everyone is there to meet people, so there is no embarrassment in it.
But if you are getting on well, you can move from facts to feelings.
4. Why are you at this event? Usually because they hope their business will benefit. Ask about their challenges, listen carefully, and agree that it is a real problem, perhaps one you share.
5. Who do I know who might be able to help you? This is where you give immediate value to someone you have only just met. Perhaps you can solve the problem yourself, or you know someone who can. If they bristle at this, back off. If they are interested, it is time to swap details.
Swap numbers, not cards
My tool of choice is WhatsApp. It is immediate and secure, and when someone gives you their mobile number, they are starting to see your value.
I am happy to give you mine: 07802 483834 (+44 7802 483834 from outside the UK). Send me a WhatsApp and tell me how you think I might help. I reply personally (I have no PA), and I will point you to resources on my site and elsewhere.
And if you would like to practise all this in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, come along to my next Beermat Monday at my local pub, The Old White Bear in Hampstead. You will find the date on the Events page. Hope to see you there!
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