Building and maintaining a suitable network of professional contacts is both vital and time consuming to do correctly. At events, you may be presented with many opportunities to network but converting them is always challenging. This short post gives you a few tips how to do it more effectively.
Have a networking plan
If you’re going to attend an event, you’re going to be faced with many opportunities to do a whole host of things - one of which is networking. If you come up with a loose plan you’re far more likely to spend your time productively rather than just wandering around talking to the people you happen to meet.
Start by working out what your goals are. For example, do you want to learn more, meet more people or discover some new opportunity? A good place to start is by taking a look at the attendance list to see who can help you achieve those goals.
Focus on quality
To really get the most out of your networking experience, you’ll probably need to slow down a little and make sure that you focus on quality over quantity. Remember, you’re looking to build a long term profitable relationship, so don’t rush the initial phases. This will also ensure that the people you speak to will remember you and that you’ll have a positive impact.
Create opportunities
If you don’t get involved in the event and the attendees, you’re very unlikely to get much networking done. This will be so much easier if you volunteer in breakout sessions or contribute in discussion, as people will remember your face. Similarly, there will be times in the program to network. These session may be far more productive spend talking to people than catching up on your email.
Follow up
A place many people fail in is following up on great networking opportunities. You should set aside some time after the event to drop some emails to people you’ve met or just to find them on LinkedIn.
We hope that this short post is of some use. Alongside networking you need to actually get to your event. We can do this for you in the smartest way possible - If you need a quality car service in the Chicago area, Pontarelli Transportation should be your first thought. We are a limousine company that strives to offer nothing but the best quality of service for our many valued clients. Call us today on 800-322-5466 to make it a happen.
