There is a definite art to networking. It’s not something that is hard to master – just use your common sense – and steer clear of doing any of the following:
MISTAKE #1
Not listening. Of course we are all there to sell ourselves, but if we don’t connect with anyone, people will run a mile in the other direction. Even if you’re tired, you can come up with some basic questions such as ‘Do you find this networking group has been useful for you?’ or ‘Who are you looking to sell to?’
MISTAKE #2
Expecting a sale every time you network. If everyone thought this way, who would they all sell to - the catering staff?! Networking is all about building relationships.
MISTAKE #3
Deadly dull pitches. Brighten your 60 seconds up with humour, a picture or an interesting statistic.
MISTAKE #4
Not grabbing any opportunity to do a presentation. Public speaking scares many people witless. What about those confident speakers who can keep the audience’s attention for those all-important 10 minutes? They learned this confidence by practising. They too were scared witless once.
MISTAKE #5
Being a one-hit wonder. There is limited value in attending a group once. You will get great results if you go back and get to know the other members. You never know what joint ventures or referrals will result from the trust that grows out of a regular networking group. You’ll also have a lot of fun!
Lastly, don’t be afraid of making mistakes – success is impossible without some degree of failure. If you don’t get your message across properly one day, there’s always next time.
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