Because networking is all about sharing information and asking good questions, here are eight good questions to help you plan your networking events and engage in effective conversation.
- When planning to attend a networking event, question #1 is ‘What are my networking objectives?’
- Questions #2 – ‘What kind of information will I seek to accomplish those objectives?’
- During the event, keep asking ‘Who should I meet that can help me accomplish my objectives OR that I can help?’
- When. meeting strangers start with ‘What do you do/does (name of company) do?’
- At the end of a short conversation, ask ‘May I give you my card so we can keep in touch?’ Don’t do it up front.
- Upon returning to work, ask ‘Who should I follow up with about what and when?’
- When following up by phone, after briefly reminding the person where you met, ask ‘Is this a good time for a brief chat?’
- Conclude the brief chat with ‘Is there anything I or someone I know can help you with?’
The answers to the above planning questions will help you maximize your ROI from each event and the dialogue questions will enhance your image as a networking pro.