Maximise Your Networking
Performance
Karine Burns
ERCC Masterclass
Whole Foods Market, Giffnock
Thursday 28th March 2013
Agenda
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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
The Social
network
• Trade bodies
• Professional
Institutions
• Chamber of
Commerce
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Ex-work colleagues
Family
Friends
Clubs, hobbies
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The Artificial
network
Accountant
Business Adviser
Suppliers
Bank
The Professional
network
Maximising Performance
Performance =
Potential
minus
Interference
Preparation is everything…
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Tools of the trade
Define objectives
Something to say
Initiating the conversation
Tools of Networking
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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
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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
How You look
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
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
Deposits
Informative article
Pass on information / link
Connect them to someone
Withdrawals
Get an introduction
Arrange a meeting / tour
Obtain information
Exiting a conversation
1. Start with “Thank You”
2. Discover a spontaneous
transition
3. 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 contacts
Without follow-up and taking action – what was the purpose of
networking in the first place?
Dealing with Referrals
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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 listening
Any Questions?