“How to Network” I am awful at this. I hate going into a room where I may kind of know only one or two people, or worse know no one in the room at all.
But, I need to network to continue to grow my business, so I go to networking events. I also prefer those events with some structure to them, rather than the mass gatherings were people break off into their little clicks and only talk to themselves.
When I do go to these events, I have a small list of goals for myself, something to measure whether the event was worth my time or money. I recently went to a Multi-Chamber event. My goals were modest and easy to accomplish. The first goal was to get the printed listing of all of the attendees. They handed those out as I signed-in, so again it was easy. If that were my only goal, I could have saved my time and left then, but I had a couple more goals in place, to prevent this.
My second goal was to touch base with one person at the event. To find out what made them different from their competitors and mention it to them. This forces me to listen closely and not let my mind wander. It turned out to be a Social Media consultant, who focuses on and uses Google Analytics as a measurement tools for his success with his clients. I have never heard of a social media marketing firm mention this before. I really like the idea of this as an impact measurement tool.
My third goal was to find one or two people that could be potential centers of influence or could assist in growing my business. I only found one, and the business that they may be able to assist me with is not my CPA/Consulting practice. She is a realtor who has added an Estate Selling business to her portfolio. This has potential to possibly assist my e-commerce business.
So, I had a successful outing on all of my goals, mostly. I had a personal goal to go to 18 events in 2019; I made it to less than half. Several events I registered for fell victim to client needs. Current client come before the opportunity for potential future clients. I need to do better in 2020.