How to work a room…

Networking is one of the best ways of marketing your business these days. With all the con artists these days people would just rather work with someone they know. When you walk into a networking event like a chamber event or small business luncheon or Convention and Visitors Bureau most of the time you will know very few people, but you have spent a lot of time getting there and paying for the event… so what do you do? Here are some tips…

1. Make sure you have plenty of business cards… Nothing says unprofessional as, “Well I just ran out of cards…”

2. Make sure you have a line about what you do in one or two sentences. When you are asked what do you do and you ramble for 6 minutes, no one will talk to you again. They again think you are unprofessional. Be ready to state what you do in 2 sentences… “I am a professional speaker. I speak at banquets, seminars and conventions.” See how quick and easy that was. Or you can say, “I work with individuals and small businesses who want to grow and make changes.”

3. Make sure you dress simple, neat and clean. The professional look is very important. And always dress for the job you want not the job you have.

4. Scout for a friend. If you live in a small city or have been to networking events before chances are you know someone in the room. Just walk up and stand next to your friend. Eventually they will turn to you and introduce you to the person they are talking to.

5. Look for the host of the event. At every networking event there is a sponsor. A CPA firm or Law firm. They are easy to spot because they have their name on a big sign somewhere. Simply go up and thank them for hosting the event. This is simple courtesy and will get you introduced to a couple of new people.

6. Usually there is a loud, young and good-looking person who just started in sales. You can spot them walking up to everyone and passing out lot of business cards. It is real easy to say to that person, hey I’m collecting business cards. They will be glad to talk to you.

7. Look for wallflowers. If you look around the room, you will see several people standing along the edge of the room. They are a little shy about meeting people, but they paid a lot of money and time to be at the event. Walk up to them and extend your hand and say hi. They will respond. This also works well with any minorities in the room.


Quote of the Day
The greatest discovery is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind. -- William James.