When you decide to attend a Networking event, make sure that it’s a highly targeted group who could and would use your product or service after you’ve built relationships. We all know that the goal of networking is the building of relationships – not to sell.
Here is a challenge: list every organization you belong to and ask yourself these 3 questions:
- What is the likelihood of meeting someone who could or would use my product or service?
- What is the likelihood of meeting someone at this event who knows other people who could or would use my product or service? Would they be likely to refer me?
- If I give a presentation to this group, how many would be interested in what I have to say?
Make adjustments according to what you learn in your answers to these questions. Sometimes I find that my clients are going to networking events out of habit. For a long time – sometimes years – they have not tracked, or even thought about the results they are getting. The relationships they’ve built are not generating business. Networking for the sake of social interaction won’t build your business.
Please do not network for the sake of networking. Make sure that the events you attend are a good use of your time and resources – every time!