Getting the most from business networking (2/3)

Part 2 – Making yourself memorable at a networking event:

This is a guest post from Melissa Kidd of Coaching Creatives. Melissa coaches people to develop the right relationships and a memorable message to improve lead generation. Networking, in the real world, should definitely form part of your small business marketing strategy. We asked Melissa, once you are at a networking event, how can you make yourself memorable?

Let’s face it, we meet a lot of new people at networking events and unless key people remember us and the value that we create then it can be a waste of time. So when we get to an event, what can we do to make sure we’re remembered?

Be helpful. Networking is largely about helping others – always be thinking how can I help this person? It’s a simple truth: we do business with those that we know, like and trust.

Attention is the most precious thing. We get it and keep it by being relevant. This means we need to tailor what we say according to whom we are talking to. So ask lots of questions, listen carefully and leave standard “elevator” pitches in the elevator.

Be prepared. That said, people are going to ask you what do. Your first sentence needs to draw people in. We need to have a number of ways of describing how we add value. We want people to ask questions because they’re genuinely interested.

Set out to be clear, not clever. The trouble with being an expert is that we forget what it’s like not to know stuff. Remember people are busy. People are lazy. They just don’t have the time or inclination to work stuff out.

Problems. It’s a good idea to talk about the kinds of problems that we can solve. This is because problems are where people live. They are recognisable. And, if we can show through stories and examples how we solve them, we’ll be more referable.

Be passionate. When we love what we do it shows. It’s memorable. But be careful – if we’re always the one doing the talking we might be having an impact that we didn’t intend. Remember: two ears one mouth – use them in that order!

And here are a few practical tips from Bryony too:

Have an outfit with two easily accessible pockets (large enough for biz cards) – keep the cards you give out in one pocket and put the cards you receive in the other.
Take a pocket-sized notepad and a pencil (pencils don’t leak or run out).
Look like you do in your online profile picture – wear the same colour, have your hair the same if possible.
Don’t get drunk!

If you’d like some advice on how to make yourself memorable – particularly answering the what do you question, then please get in touch with Melissa, who specialises in helping professionals bring in more business by word of mouth. Her workshops and one to one sessions deconstruct a typical networking conversation and show you how to apply the 6 proven principles to make yourself more memorable. For more information check out her website www.coachingcreatives.co.uk or give her a call on 0117 315 85 31