Last night I attended our local Young Pros event. It was at Epic Day Spa and there must have been at least 50 or more people in attendance. A well-executed event and fun seeing many familiar faces and a few new ones.
As I was leaving, I overheard one of the young pros commenting to a couple others, " wow, that was tacky, did you notice how they just barged in to the conversation without even introducing themselves? That was awkward."
Over the course of my relatively short career in sales, business development and marketing, I've lived through hundreds, if not thousands of awkward social/professional moments. Some of those moments I've been the source of awkwardness,and many others, An innocent bystander.
Socializing in large groups, as a general rule, does not come naturally for most people, particularly when there's a professional tone or objective to the gathering.
If you're new to networking or attending groups like Young Pros or Chamber events or other gatherings, whatever your motivation is, allow me to share with you some best practices I've gleaned from many experiences over the last 7 or 8 years. I'll conclude with an article that think offers some additional practical tips.
When I first began building businesses, volume was the most important thing to me. I felt that the more people I knew, the better. Go to all the events, and figure out how to meet as many people as possible, along the way doing my best to remember everyone's names with various mental tricks.
This approach was not fruitless, but it doesn't scale well. I met many wonderful people over those first few years, and many have become great friends and clients, but it took substantially more investment, beyond just showing up, shaking hands, and asking what they do (where do you work?).
Over the last few years though, my focus has changed dramatically. I reflected on this as i left Young Pros. I'd rather connect with 1 person at an event, in a meaningful way, than shake hands and give my name and/or card to 50. (in fact I rarely carry biz cards with me any more.)
Most of those contacts and acquaintances from my early years that have actually become friends and clients, are ones I became personally vested in. I gave of myself in some way and/or spent significant time in non-business related conversation.
I'm finding it's best to focus on making friends, versus making clients.
I don't think my earlier years were markedly less authentic on my part, I simply put a lot more pressure on myself to be more "productive" at events and meetings. Turns out, "productivity" can come much more naturally and pleasurably than I initially thought.
If you're new to "networking" or just wanted to dig through a good read, check out some practical tips and reminders in this article from CIO.com
One of the guys in the article is Keith Ferrazi, who wrote the book, Never Eat Alone. Keith is very focused on networking via meaningful connection and authentic relationships.
As I was leaving, I overheard one of the young pros commenting to a couple others, " wow, that was tacky, did you notice how they just barged in to the conversation without even introducing themselves? That was awkward."
Over the course of my relatively short career in sales, business development and marketing, I've lived through hundreds, if not thousands of awkward social/professional moments. Some of those moments I've been the source of awkwardness,and many others, An innocent bystander.
Socializing in large groups, as a general rule, does not come naturally for most people, particularly when there's a professional tone or objective to the gathering.
If you're new to networking or attending groups like Young Pros or Chamber events or other gatherings, whatever your motivation is, allow me to share with you some best practices I've gleaned from many experiences over the last 7 or 8 years. I'll conclude with an article that think offers some additional practical tips.
When I first began building businesses, volume was the most important thing to me. I felt that the more people I knew, the better. Go to all the events, and figure out how to meet as many people as possible, along the way doing my best to remember everyone's names with various mental tricks.
This approach was not fruitless, but it doesn't scale well. I met many wonderful people over those first few years, and many have become great friends and clients, but it took substantially more investment, beyond just showing up, shaking hands, and asking what they do (where do you work?).
Over the last few years though, my focus has changed dramatically. I reflected on this as i left Young Pros. I'd rather connect with 1 person at an event, in a meaningful way, than shake hands and give my name and/or card to 50. (in fact I rarely carry biz cards with me any more.)
Most of those contacts and acquaintances from my early years that have actually become friends and clients, are ones I became personally vested in. I gave of myself in some way and/or spent significant time in non-business related conversation.
I'm finding it's best to focus on making friends, versus making clients.
I don't think my earlier years were markedly less authentic on my part, I simply put a lot more pressure on myself to be more "productive" at events and meetings. Turns out, "productivity" can come much more naturally and pleasurably than I initially thought.
If you're new to "networking" or just wanted to dig through a good read, check out some practical tips and reminders in this article from CIO.com
One of the guys in the article is Keith Ferrazi, who wrote the book, Never Eat Alone. Keith is very focused on networking via meaningful connection and authentic relationships.
Thanks for reading, would love to hear your thoughts about networking and navigating social/professional events.
*Photo by WHIR.com
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