Plan Your Time
So you've made the commitment to do more networking this year. And you've diligently researched all the networking events. Your best friend bought you a copy of Never Eat Alone. You're thinking about all the events you'll attend. All the people you need to "ping." All the one on one meetings you'll be scheduling.
And all of a sudden you look at your calendar and have a sinking feeling, "With all this networking I'm doing, when am I going to get any work done?" And so you pack in the whole idea and go back do doing what you always do, sit in your office and send emails and direct mail, hoping for a different result than last year.
That is, of course, the very definition of insanity. The good news is that networking can be a part of your weekly schedule without overwhelming you.
First, decide on how many hours a week you can afford to spend networking. I recommend at least 5-10. That allows you to attend at least one networking event and have one or two one on one meetings a week.
After you've decided that, block out time slots and commit those to networking. For myself, Tuesday to Thursday mornings are blocked out for breakfast meetings and Monday and Friday afternoons are reserved for one on one meetings. One evening a week is open for evening events. I do a lot of networking (it is my job after all!) but that still leaves me plenty of time to work with clients.
But enough about me. What about you? Plan your time accordingly.
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Create the Strategy
So you've planned out your networking time for the year. Now what?
Of course, you've done your business planning for the year, right? (If not, I know an excellent business consultant who can help you with that.) You know your revenue goals and how many clients you need to meet those goals.
Now you need to decide how best to meet and be introduced to those clients this year. Here are some questions you need to be asking yourself:
What types of clients are you targeting?
Is there a particular client introduction you've been hungering for?
Who are the people most likely to help you meet those target clients?
The answers to those questions will help you target your message for your networking. Last year I wrote some articles on effective elevator speeches. Now would be a good time to review those. (Email me at juli_monroe@yahoo.com if you need back issues.)
Your answers will also help you target your networking venues, which is the subject of the next section.
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Evaluate Venues
So where should you network this year?
Start by looking at last year. What networking events were most profitable for you? Obviously you'll want to continue attending those.
What about the ones that didn't work as well? Were they bad events, or did you not leverage them effectively? Ask yourself if the attendees of those events are the types of people who can introduce you to your target market. Looking for high net-worth people but you were attending a business luncheon mostly attended by start-up business owners? Might not have been the right venue. Talk to your network to find other opportunities. And remember. A venue that might have been less effective for you might be perfect for someone else!
Right venue but still no results? It might be your message. Perhaps you weren't clear about who you were looking to meet. Revising your elevator speech could help that. Or your follow-up slipped and you didn't build effective relationships. Well, a good networking coach can help you with that.
So go forth this year and network well!
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