22nd Nov 2007
8 rules for making worthwhile business connections
Before I get into this morning’s post, I’d like to say ‘Happy Thanksgiving‘ to my visitors from the US. I hope it’s a good one for you and your family.
Moving on. . .
Do you attend business networking meetings? Yes? Why?
Most people, when asked that question, reply “To meet people I could possibly do business with.” And yet very often these business people don’t prepare before the meeting or make the most of the meeting itself.
Here are 8 rules for making connections at your business networking meetings…
Before the Meeting
1) Prepare before you attend. Is this the right meeting for you? Will the people attending be either your target prospects or target suppliers?
2) What’s your purpose in attending? Do you want to find 3 new business contacts you can nurture for sales? Or do you need a new supplier for a particular product or service?
3) If possible get an attendee list before the event.
4) Go through the list and mark the people or companies you are interested in, either as a prospect or supplier.
At The Meeting
5) Learn as much as you can about the people you meet (see the article “Creating Rapport with People You Meet”). Find out how you can help them to find prospects (you create a feeling of gratitude and they make more effort to find contacts for you). Ask “Who/what is your ideal customer?”
6) When meeting other business people ask yourself “Do I know anyone who would be a useful contact for this person, as a prospect or supplier?”
7) Introduce people you have met to others you know at the meeting. Make it easier for them to meet people they don’t know… again they appreciate you and warm towards you. And, of course, the other person also respects you for your consideration.
Collect the business cards of people who you want to create a relationship with; prospect or supplier. Make notes on the cards: the meeting or event name, date & venue, any comments the other person made that could be useful and, if it is not obvious on their card, what their business is.
Remember it is more important to collect cards rather than give yours out. When you collect cards you stay in control because you can make the next contact. If you give your card out, you have to wait for the other person to get in touch with you – and that may never happen.
(Some of these actions will be familiar to you if you read my earlier post - it’s the same advice I give to people who are new to business networking).
The next most important activity is what you do after the meeting. Ah, but that’s the subject of a future post.
I mentioned in Monday’s post that tomorrow this blog is exactly 1-month old. I also said there would be a gift for my regular readers.
Actually there are two!
Make sure you see tomorrow’s gifts post - the post notice will be sent out at about 10.00 a.m.
~ Carol Bentley
[…] admin had some great ideas on this topic.You can read a snippet of the post here.I mentioned in Monday’s post that tomorrow this blog is exactly 1-month old. I also said there would be a gift for my regular readers. Actually there are two! Make sure you see tomorrow’s gifts post - the post notice will be sent out at … […]