Ever meet someone at a networking event who turned you off quickly with a negative first impression? Or, who really annoyed you with ineffective follow up? I have – lots of times. I call them ‘Networking Slugs’. They earn that designation for different reasons, but mostly because they don’t practice the simple art of Permission Marketing. Here’s what Networking Pros do to avoid that title:
Networking
Work the Room Like a Pro
So you’ve decided to attend a local professional group meeting to do some networking. Good for you … but you’ll need to work the room like a pro – with focus, finesse and flexibility. Here are 10 simple Best Practices to increase your skills … and results.
Uncommonly Courteous Networking
Years ago, I called this concept networking with “common courtesy”. But, just like “common sense”, this practice is anything but commonplace in the business world today. Go figure!
One of the smartest ways to make that best possible first impression when networking is both very simple AND very easy. When you network wit “Uncommon Courtesy”, it clearly differentiates yourself from the amateurs out there. Here are some Best Practices to help you do that:
Networking Best Practices
Whenever two or more business people are in the same space, they typically network. No surprise there. Here are some Networking Best Practices that will differentiate the networking pros from the networking amateurs.
Networking with Class & Style
Professional association events can really fill up your days and nights with networking opportunities this time of year. You could easily attend 10 breakfast, lunch, dinner or happy hour events every week, gain 100 pounds and pick up lots of business cards.
But strategic networking isn’t a numbers game – it’s based on focused activity to accomplish specific information objectives. So define your networking objectives, choose your events wisely and prepare to make that best possible first impression. Networking with Class and Style is both very simple AND very easy. So, embrace these 10 Best Practices to clearly differentiate you from the amateurs.
Gitomer Gets It
I just re-read Jeffrey Gitomer’s excellent ‘Little Red Book of Selling’. He’s one of the country’s leading sales experts, trainers and speakers … and a very entertaining writer.
He really gets Networking and defines it so well – ‘Networking is life skills and social skills combine with sales skills.’ He also advises that … ‘Networking is a mandatory function of business for salespeople and entrepreneurs.’
Permission-less Marketing
Here’s an example of a sales person who practiced the opposite of ‘Permission Marketing’; someone I immediately nominated for the ‘Networking Slug Hall of Fame’. I think she got in on the first ballot.
Permission to Avoid ‘Networking Slug Behavior’
Has this ever happened to you? You’re at a networking event and meet someone who really turns you off quickly. A classic example of negative first impression. It’s even worse if you’re seated next to that person for the lunch.
This is an example of what I call NSB – ‘Networking Slug Behavior’. Amateurs can earn this unsavory designation for different reasons, but mostly because they don’t practice the simple art of ‘Permission Marketing’. Here are five Best Practices that you’ll see Networking Pros regularly doing to avoid that title. And you have permission to use them.
That’s Why They Call it an Elevator SPEECH
When I work with business professionals to enhance their Elevator Speech, I remind them of the major similarities between it and a typical workplace presentation:
Please Don’t be a LinkedIn Loser
My comments about LinkedIn several months ago generated lots of reader reaction, especially when COSE (Cleveland’s Council of Smaller Enterprises) posted them on their Linkedin discussion group. Here’s a sampling of my responses: