| People say that networking events are not the place to ‘sell’, but what else are you supposed to do? Malcolm Sleath from coaching consultancy 12boxes sets out the essentials. |
| People are talking about me behind my back |
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| | By Malcolm Sleath
Question: Working
in a medium-sized
consulting practice, I
manage projects and
day-to-day relationship
with clients, working
with a partner who
handles the account
management role. I have
already proved that I
can develop business
with existing clients,
but it has been made
clear to me that if I am
going to get to the next
level in the firm I have
to show that I can bring
in new business.
Otherwise it’s likely
that proven business
developers will be
brought in from outside
over my head. My boss
tells me that I should
devote more time to
networking, but the
events I have been to
either seem full of
pushy people who are
only interested in me as
a sales prospect, or
they are laid back,
clubby and boozy. I
can’t see the
potential.
Answer: From my
own experience, I can
assure you that even the
most badly organised,
unlikely and unpromising
networking events can
prove to be a useful
source of business. It’s
not what other people
are doing, but what you
are doing that counts.
The first thing you
have to do is to relieve
yourself of the pressure
that you are there to | |
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| | sell. Otherwise you are
going to find yourself
going round repeating
variations on your
elevator pitch like one
of those talking dolls
with a string in its
back.
Networking is not
like cold-calling where
you (or someone hired by
you) is essentially
playing the numbers
game, hoping to hit on
someone who wants to
talk about a particular
set of issues. Neither
is it about continually
kissing frogs until one
turns into a prince.
The important thing
to remember is that your
most powerful networking
takes place between
other people when you
are not present. It’s
what people say about
you when you are not
there that counts, not
what they say to your
face.
Next, I would say,
give yourself time.
Provided the right
people are there, this
is one reason why clubby
and boozy can be better
than pushy and pitchy.
People are likely to
come back and you have a
chance to build up a
network of
relationships.
This does not mean
that you have to be
boozy too. I’ve watched
people chuck away golden
opportunities because
they have let the wine | |
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| | go to their head and a
prospective client has
been confronted with an
individual who is far
too flippant and pleased
with themselves to be of
interest.
So how do you invest
this time? My third
point is that your focus
should be on other
people and how you might
be able to help them. At
the last networking
event I attended, I met
three people who could
be helped in some way by
meeting people that I
already knew. Some were
in the network, some
were not. That doesn’t
matter.
But what is the point
of an approach that
sounds more like social
work? (Someone emailed
me the other day and
jokingly suggested that
I might like to start an
introduction agency.) At
the simplest level, it
means that two people
are going to be talking
about me when I am not
there. And provided they
get on, they both have
reason to appreciate
what I have done in
bringing them together.
I’m building a
reputation. If I say
that I will introduce
someone to someone, I
meticulously follow up
on it. So I am seen as
someone who does what
they say they will do.
Continued on page 14
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