In the first couple of years of my business, I hit just about every networking event I could. Entrepreneur events, women’s events, corporate events, you name it. I got to know a lot of people, got to BE known by a lot of people… and burned out. Hardcore. I got to the point where I couldn’t handle another networking event, and pretty soon business started suffering.
When I finally got back to attending events on a regular basis, I became much more picky… and much more successful at finding qualified contacts for my business. Here’s what I learned.
1. Know your audience. Who do you work best with? Who do you want to meet? What industries do they work in? Find events that are specifically targeted towards the type of clients/customers you want to make contact with. Ignore the rest. One thing I realized during this process is that the best events for me are foodie tradeshows; they’re a great way to meet a wide variety of the exact type of clients I’m looking for – foodies – and I can collect a bunch of cards to follow up with after the show.
2. Give every event two chances (but be ready to drop it if it isn’t working for you). There are some events that will work really well for you; others won’t. Figure out what works best, what doesn’t, and use that to judge whether an event will work for you. And don’t worry about dropping out of groups; sometimes, it just isn’t a good fit.
3. Go to every event with some sort of goal. It’s easy to just show up for an event and hope for the best. But I’ve found that going with some sort of goal in mind – whether it’s to find three new leads or just to have a couple of really interesting conversations – leads to a much more successful (and much more fun!) event.
How do you find events?
Dani,
I agree the audience of the event needs to match the audience you market to. If you can’t tell I suggest calling the organizer and asking. I attended an event recently and found out too late it was not my audience and I did not fit the demographic of the organizer. Any thoughts on what the best source is for upcoming events in addition to the DWC web site.
Going to every event with a goal in mind is very important, and equally important is knowing how to effectuate it. You need to plan how you are going to make it happen, e.g., using a particular (previously successful) marketing or elevator pitch. You should try to get a list of who will be there and create a list of who you specifically intend to introduce yourself to. You can even contact the organizer and ask them to let those professionals know you want to meet them. The expectation also alleviates some of the pressure on both sides.
Look at the list of members of the hosting organization and get a feel for the type of members they have. Visit the members’ websites; Google them; see what they are about, what their revenue levels are, what their interests and needs are. Then ask yourself: is this organization’s event realistically likely to attract the type of people I can or want to do business with and who will conceivably want to do business with me in numbers that will make it worth it for my business. If referrals, etc. are what you want instead, then redesign your plan of action and, accordingly, frame questions to be asked, but, nevertheless, have a plan.
While I think matching your audience to your current needs is definitely the way to go, every once in a while I think people should try something different. Usually I do this by attending something for “content” i.e. I went to a social media breakfast last year in Cambridge. I didn’t know what to expect or who would be there but knew the content was important to me and the Downtown Women’s Club. I met a completely different group of people (who have since become very good connections) and got more out of that one breakfast than probably anything i’ve done in the past year (both in terms of people and content). So, sometimes it works to step out of your comfort zone.
Diane