I Hate Serial Networkers!

Networking, done correctly, is damned hard work. If you enter a room of 20 or so people then you should have said hello to most of them after two hours. At the end of it you should also have a string of business cards and a clear idea as to what each of them does what your follow up strategy is going to be. Ah, but there’s the rub as the Bard of Stratford once wrote. Got my drift yet?

Yes, the words ‘follow up’. I regularly meet people who are so busy attending networking events that they truly forget why they are there……..TO DO BUSINESS!! It’s simple really. You attend a networking event, get to know people, discover their needs, ring them up, try and get an appointment, and sell something. Alternatively you go through the same process because you want to buy something. You do NOT go to a networking event, talk to everyone and head for the next event without doing any follow ups. That makes you a professional networker who does little else! Why do so many people do it!!!!!!!! May the Lord strike me down if I am criticising unduly but my home town is full of them. NEVER and I repeat NEVER lose sight of why you have attended an event; it is to sell, to buy or do a bit of both. Scribble notes on business cards, jot down a comment about what people do, give yourself some reminder points – especially if there are dozens of people in the room – and then RING THEM UP! Don’t just head for the next event! I’m going to have to stop here and calm down because I am beginning to look and sound like Victor Meldrew. I’ll return later when I’ve had a cup of tea! Know any serial networkers?