One of the basic tenets of marketing is to constantly feed new people into your sales funnel. Since most solo professionals and entrepreneurs do their own marketing, it makes sense to have a practice of always leading people to learn more about your business and how it might benefit them. You may be the best person on earth at what you do and have the best product known to humankind, but if your marketing funnel isn't catching potential customers your business will not be successful. There are three parts to successful networking. Practice all of them and watch your business grow!

1. Meet new people everywhere. It is wise to have two or three events you consistently attend, where people get used to seeing you and begin to trust that you are a stable, busy part of the community. But don't discount chance encounters, as they are often fruitful for you, too. The trick is to be ready to meet people anytime, anyplace. Be ready with three things.

• The ability to briefly tell someone who you are and how you can help that person or someone they might know.
• A business card that includes a call to action (keep them with you all the time).
• A mindset to ask about that person rather than spending the time talking about yourself.

2. Know the basics of working a crowd. Chance meetings can be fun and often fruitful for your business. But those events you consistently attend can be fruitful, too. Get the food out of your hands (you are not there to eat!) and get to work. Follow the points below to make the most of your time.

• Let your goal be to meet others and get your name out in the community. That's all. No pressure to sell. (Whew!)
• Dress nicely - aim for just a little bit better than what you think most people will wear.
• Keep conversations brief. You want to meet more than one person, and so does the person you're talking to.
• Be the conversation starter, always! Ask questions - two or three. Don't focus on talking about yourself.
• Eat before you go. You want to shake hands, and maybe exchange cards. Food in or on your hands simply makes working a crowd awkward.
• Give yourself a break. If you've met 4 or 5 people, take minute to write a note on their cards. Take a few breaths. Drink some water. Then get going again.
• Prepare for the day's conditions. If you're going off to network at a new business, look them up on the Internet. Knowing something about the business (or the person) is both good business and polite. It helps your confidence level, too!

3. The fun is in the follow-up. You know the William Tell Overture, right? Follow-up, follow-up, follow up, up up. Here's a statistic that will shock you -- a full 86% of people go to all the trouble of attending events to meet people, but never follow up! Simply being the one who follow up means you will be more successful than the 86% who don't. That's a pretty easy way to get ahead in the business of networking, don't you think?



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sue_Painter

So what is different about networking at a luncheon? There may be no difference to the type of speaker or the network in general but the guests attending will most certainly have other factors impacting on their attendance. The key for this type of event is to be organised, clear and open to new connections as the following tips will explain.

Plan your time

For so many reasons, and not just for networking, a good diary system is essential. Success, more often than not, comes from planning, organisation and clear, determined goals and vision.

Plan the time in your diary when you book for the luncheon. Allow time for travel to and from the venue to ensure that you arrive early and have time to continue good discussions at the end of the event. On the day of the event set your alarm on your mobile phone to remind you to leave and then make sure you do! It is very easy to get caught up in the day's activities and be late to the event, therefore wasting a very valuable opportunity.

Realise how important it is to attend each event in a positive frame of mind. If you know you will need 'wind-down' time between work and the luncheon then allow for this in your diary and de-stress with a meditation CD in the car on the way there or make time for a solo coffee beforehand.

After each event, diarise follow up calls, reminders and advance notes about who to catch up with at the next event. There's nothing more embarrassing or damaging to new relationships than to make a connection with a fellow guest at one event and forget their name at the next!

Know why you are networking

When is the last time you really sat down and articulated your goals -- on paper, visually and verbally? If you are like me this is one thing that is always put in the too hard basket and one that does not appear to service the business immediately and therefore gets pushed to the bottom of the to do list. I used to struggle with this until a good friend said "make an appointment with yourself and give yourself the same credit you give to your clients". It was then that I realized that I was my most important client because it was me that kept my business going. Now I schedule time regularly to consider my goals, congratulate myself for what I have achieved (usually involving a very good bottle of wine or a very big block of chocolate!), and set timelines for what I want to achieve in the future.

So what is the benefit of this to a networker? Knowing where you are headed brings a certain confidence and energy that others really do pick up on and somehow you seem to attract what you are looking for. It also means that you are clear on what you're trying to achieve when you are talking to other guests. People can't help you unless they know what you need!

Involve others

Don't be afraid to say hello to a stranger -- that is, after all, why you are there! It is also likely that the person you meet is just as nervous as you are! If you see someone standing alone looking like a nervous first-timer make the effort to draw them into your conversation and they will be thankful for the helping hand.

At sit-down events with open seating, try to sit with people you haven't met before and invite the person you met in the foyer to join you if he or she is alone. Try to get the whole table involved in a discussion rather than just the person next to you. Robyn Henderson, a master networker, says to "act like the host" and invite those at the table to introduce themselves in turn. You could begin by asking everyone what brought them to the luncheon that day. This is a great way to learn more about the motivation of each guest at your table and what they hope to achieve by attending. Take it a step further by asking what each person does -- I guarantee there will be some form of synergy around the table between at least two of the guests. There really is just six degrees of separation!

Look before you lunch

Evaluate the opportunities for networking around you. Look at industry associations, business networking groups, special interest groups and so on. Also look at networking groups that your typical client may belong to. The Internet is a great place to begin your search and the phone book also lists industry associations and networks.

Choose networks that fit with your interests and area of business. Create a short list of networks that you can attend regularly and that realistically fit into your monthly calendar. If your time is limited it is preferable to attend one network regularly, rather than try to spread yourself over a few networks every so often.

Remember that networking is not only about meeting people -- by attending events with guest speakers you'll get a regular motivational injection and learn something too. Networking events can also be a cost-effective and unusual way to reward your staff and thank your clients.

Follow up sooner rather than later

Use the afternoon to complete your follow up activity for guests you met at the luncheon. Maybe even carry on for a coffee after the lunch with a few new contacts. Guests leaving the function will go straight back to their daily activities and the normality of life and, unless you establish the connection, your foundation on which to build a relationship will be very weak. Take the time to nurture your new contacts and who knows where they may lead?


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_McGuinness

Once you've decided on a networking event to attend, what can you do to prepare for a positive and productive networking experience? Here are seven pre-event planning steps to help you feel more confident when you enter the room.

Pursue a Purpose

What are your reasons for choosing the specific event you are planning to attend? You will have more success if you attend with a purpose other than just "networking." Perhaps your intention is to meet people with whom you can arrange one-on-one follow-up meetings. Or, you may be attending just to stay visible, to reconnect with business acquaintances, or to touch base with your social network and have fun. Knowing your purpose for going will help you get the results you want.

Create a Challenge - Go for a Goal!

Once you know your purpose, make a commitment to yourself for this event, such as:

* Meet and talk with three new people
* Introduce two people to each other
* Meet the speaker
* Make at least two really good contacts
* Give two referrals

Solicit Support

If you're nervous about going to a networking event, you might find a friend, colleague or business acquaintance to go with you or to meet you there. Better yet, find someone who is either a member of the group or has been to that particular event before and can introduce you to people.

When going with a friend, don't use that person as a crutch. Make an agreement to introduce people to each other and to invite others into your conversations. Know that if you stay glued to your friend's side all evening, others might not approach you, assuming that you are together and not open to meeting new people.

If you don't know anyone at an event, you can seek out the host or organizer. Introduce yourself, tell them who you are interested in meeting, and ask if they will help you with some introductions to some of the members or attendees.

Be an Early Bird

It's always a good plan to arrive early at an event. That way, the host, or people working the registration desk will have more time to talk with you and introduce you around. The event will be less crowded and it will be easier to meet and talk with people. Ideally, you will have pre-registered, so a printed nametag will be waiting for you, and you may have saved money as well.

Craft Your Conversations

You need to plan and prepare to talk to people! Although you want to be spontaneous, it helps to know in advance some things that you can say, either in response to common questions, or as a way to generate conversation yourself.

What will you say when you're asked the inevitable question "What do you do?" Will you freeze up and suddenly find yourself unable to explain what it is you do every single day? You need to have a short prepared introduction that lets people know who you are, what you do, who you do it for, and who you want to meet.

Prepare to engage in small talk with some opening lines and get-to-know-you questions and answers. It's easy to start with questions like:
* What brought you to this event?
* How does it compare to other events that you've been to?
* I'm new here, what can you tell me about this group?
* Hello, I don't think we've met yet. I'm Cindy and you are?

Plan answers to questions like "How's business?" and "What's new?" You could talk about a great new resource you've found, a client you've helped, a win you've just had, or a challenge you are facing in your business.

Pack Your Networking Toolkit

What do you need to bring? Business cards, and lots of them! Donna recently attended an event where one person told her he had left his cards in his car, and another person said he was down to his last card. Don't let this happen to you. Without your card, the people you meet have no way to contact you; they're dependent upon you choosing to or remembering to contact them.

Bring a pen to make notes on the back of cards you receive, paper in case you want to jot down some ideas, your business name tag if you have one, your calendar, your self-introduction, some conversation starters, a few exit lines, and a positive attitude.

You're On Your Way!

While you're traveling to the event, put a smile on your face, engage in positive self-talk, and remind yourself of your purpose in going to the event and the commitment you made to yourself about it. Then when you arrive, you will walk into the room with an air of confidence and calm, and will get the most possible out of the event.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Feldman