We have all been there, you turn up to a networking event and you end up standing alone, coffee in hand trying to spot someone you at least recognise. This is why you need a plan.
These are our top tips:
Try and get hold of the attendees list before hand, highlight anybody you think it would be beneficial for you to meet and hunt them down.
Once you have found your “key people” you need to start a conversation. Practice some basic opening lines to get the ball rolling, it’s always good to start with open questions such as “what brings you here today?” or “have you been to an event like this before” and hopefully they will give you a response you can expand on.
Work on deepening your conversation. Encourage them to elaborate and go over what they have said to keep conversation flowing and build a rapport, phrases like “It’s interesting you mentioned X because…” or “what did you find interesting about X” work well.
Be sure to action any plans there and then rather than agreeing to get in contact later. If they would like to arrange a meeting then set a date before you leave. This way the connection won’t fizzle out.
If you feel like the conversation is over don’t be afraid to move on to the next person. Politely tell them that you have some more people that you wanted to speak to and say that it’s been nice talking to them.
After the event try to connect with anyone you managed to get a card for, add them to your social media or contacts list and send them a quick email. They may not be useful to you right now or visa versa but in the future it may come in handy to have that connection.
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