Networking: Step by Step Guide to Crush Your Next Professional Event

Networking is one of those buzzwords that when most people hear it think of a room full of people with awkward handshaking and shallow conversations happening all around them. Look, don't get me wrong. I have attended hundreds of different professional events and seen this play out first hand. Let's face it, everyone has different reasons for attending these events, but that is an article for another time. If you are looking to make meaningful connections and establish a mutually beneficial professional relationship, this article is for you.

These are words of networking wisdom passed down to me by my college mentor Dr. Bob Kimball. He provided all of us in his Professional Selling Methods classes the following 11 steps to network like a boss at your next professional event.

Step 1: Identify the Centers of Influence in an achievement-oriented environment. Determine which ones might be good candidate for a networking relationship.

Step 2: Seek out an opportunity to engage them in a casual conversation. Introduce yourself.

Step 3: Ask questions to get them talking about themselves and their business.

Step 4: Ask: “How do you know if someone you’re talking to is a good prospect for you?”

Step 5: Ask for their business card.

Step 6: Check out that person and their business. Confirm to yourself that you want a strategic alliance and partnership.

Step 7: Next time you see them, greet them by name.

Step 8: Find a legitimate reason to communicate with them, with information they need or to refer them to someone they’re looking for.

Step 9: Send them a qualified referral without expecting anything in return.

Step 10: Organize a swap shop of professional people in related but non-competing businesses.

Step 11: Develop your own personalized 12-second benefit statement:

Start with the benefits you provide (Put the focus on the prospect):

• “We show people how to…”
• “We help people to…”
• “We help companies grow their business by…”

Then Talk about the features which make those benefits possible (Describe your competitive Advantage)

• “We’re able to do this by…”
• “The reason people like doing business with us is…”
• “We offer our customers more because…”

I hope these 11 steps to networking will help you crush your next professional event.