Maximise Your Networking Performance

Karine BurnsERCC Masterclass

Whole Foods Market, GiffnockThursday 28th March 2013

Agenda

• What’s Networking• Maximise your potential• Preparation is everything• Work the event• Following up after the event

What is Networking?

“Meeting people who:

• Can be of help to you • and being a help to them”

Your Networks• Ex-work colleagues• Family• Friends• Clubs, hobbies

• Trade bodies• Professional

Institutions• Chamber of

Commerce

• Accountant• Business Adviser• Suppliers• Bank

Maximising Performance

Potential

Interference

Performance =

minus

Preparation is everything…

• Tools of the trade• Define objectives• Something to say• Initiating the conversation

Tools of Networking

• Business cards• Pen• Something to write on• Fresh breath

You can network anywhere so always be prepared!

Define Objectives

• Who do you want to meet?• What information are you looking for?• What range of contact types do you need?

Something to say

• Initial small talk – Put people at ease– Match moods– Learn about the person’s hot

buttons

• Listen more than you talk• Have your Succinct Sentence

ready

Powerful questions

• Where are you from?• Who do you know?• How did you get involved in...?• What advice would you give me if.......?• What do you love most about what you do?• What separates you from the competition?

More powerful Qs

• What changes have you seen taking place in your profession?

• What do you see as the coming trends?• What do you like to do in your spare time?• What one thing would you do with your

business if you know you could not fail?• What is the strangest or funniest thing you’ve

experienced in business?

Succinct Sentence

• Self-explanatory and simple• Actively transfers specific

information• Immediately & obviously

beneficial• Memorable• Appeal to heart & head

Design“We are a graphic design which will help

develop the image of your company by designing professional logos and branding throughout your stationery, marketing material and other media you use to better communicate with your customers.”

“ERCC encourages private and social enterprise and advances the interests of commerce in East Renfrewshire by:•providing guidance on business affairs•providing a forum for the exchange of information of mutual interest.•promoting co-operation amongst its members

We aim to be the best small Chamber in Scotland”

Now it’s your turn..............

• Take 5 minutes to write your succinct sentence

At the Event• Check the delegate list beforehand• who do you want to speak to & what do you

want to talk about• arrive early & check name tags to see who is

there• If colleagues are with you, work the room

between you• Avoid dead areas

80% of the impression is made before you open your mouth

• Great Posture• Head up• Confident smile• Direct gaze• Clothing slightly more formal then event

How You look

Entering a conversation

• Start with “Hello”, volunteer your name & a handshake

• Use questions to build rapport and create a relationship before “pitching” yourself.

• Put the spotlight on them• Use your succinct sentence

sparingly

How you say it

• Flooding smile• Sticky eyes• Always be positive

Favour Bank

• Every relationship is a bank account• Make deposits consistently• Never run a negative balance

Exiting a conversation

1. Start with “Thank You”2. Discover a spontaneous

transition3. Suggest a forward

momentum or consolation prize

After the Event?• Follow up with the people you have met• Call them or drop them an email• Complete actions or promises

and then decide:• If/when to contact them again?• Regularly – Evaluate the potential worth of the contact– Understand benefits of passing leads– Manage your contactsWithout follow-up and taking action – what was the purpose of

networking in the first place?

Dealing with Referrals

• Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals you are given• When people give you referrals, your

actions are a reflection on them. Respect and honour that and your referrals will grow

• Let the person who gave you the referral know you followed it up

• If you use a CRM system then keep a note of the relationship between the two.

Fish where the fish are…

Networking is farming not hunting!

Thank you for listeningAny Questions?