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Top 20 mistakes made while networking
1. Bad Breath: Check it at the door. If you’ve had garlic or onions in the last couple of days, brush your teeth.
· Keep Altoids, mints, gum or breath spray handy.
· Brush your tongue, especially if it’s looking furry.
2. Close Talkers: Networking events aren’t rock concerts, so respect everyone’s personal space. Otherwise, someone may smell that corn beef and rye you had for lunch.
· Maintain at least three feet of distance between you and your potential client.
· Keep a distance that’s roughly the same as you extending your hand for a handshake.
3. Business Vomit: You’re not doing anybody any favors, least of all yourself, by spewing your business spiel all over anyone with the misfortune to head your way.
· Think less is more - give others a chance to talk.
· Let your pitch come out naturally.
4. Wash Those Hands: It’s cold and flu season, so don’t go sneezing into your hand and think that nobody noticed. People, wash your hands.
· Go with the rules of common courtesy.
· Keep tissues and antibacterial soap handy.
5. Butt-ers: Don’t go busting into a conversation that you weren’t invited to join and start talking about you, you, you.
· Listen, listen, listen to make sure the conversation’s appropriate.
· Include yourself in the group conversation by catching someone’s eye or tapping someone on the shoulder to ask if it’s okay to join.
6. Card Grabbers: Moving quickly from group to group and person to person to get as many business cards as possible is a great way to get your own card tossed into the trash … and yourself branded a card shark.
· Make sure there’s a good match and that you intend to follow up.
7. Always Get Permission: It’s just rude to add contacts from a networking event to your email newsletter distribution or event marketing invite. No exceptions!
· Ask for permission, in writing, before adding anyone to your mailings.
· Use a signup sheet at events!
8. Scraping Email Lists: Another tragic networking mistake is stealing a list of email addresses from another person’s email and using them for your own purposes.
· Protect yourself from this by using the bcc: email feature.
· Do an ad in another professional’s newsletter.
9. Care, Care, Care (about where you are and who you’re talking to): Talking only about you, you, you is a definite turn-off, so learn about your potential client’s business and areas of pain.
· Minimize your role until you see an opportunity.
· You can get more personal with people, but remember this - friends don’t always hire friends, but business friends can always become friends.
· Practice, practice, practice.
10. Boundaries: Discussing touchy subjects - politics, religion and race - are some great ways to see to it that you don’t get a client. Quick tip: instead of saying how much money you make, why not talk about the number of clients you have.
· Golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
· Give before you get - it’s an exchange, so manage it, and give and take appropriately.
11. Know the Intent/Purpose of the Event: Bulldozing your way through a networking event shows everyone how little you qualified the event.
· Know where you’re going and who will be there (Mapquest the directions).
· Create a different strategy for the size and venue of the event (for example, walking into a room with 200-300 people that’s loud, fun and boisterous will be different than a smaller group).
· Hand out business cards as appropriate.
· Get out of your comfort zone with a good networking event strategy.
12. Dressing Well: Keep the cargo shorts/ugly hats and daisy dukes/tube tops in the closet - please. First impressions still count, and poor attire may keep you that way … poor.
· Dress with confidence that is well-suited to your personality.
· It is all about your attitude, your confidence and your knowledge.
13. Being Unprepared: There’s nothing worse than running out of business cards, samples or brochures just as you meet the perfect new client.
· Have at least 50 business cards, marketing collateral such as brochures and pricing.
· Take control of setting follow-up appointments, ask contact preferences (phone or email) and say when/how you will follow up.
14. Comfort Zone: Holding on to your comfort zone will not do you any good. If you’re getting just enough contacts to get by and then standing in the corner the rest of the night, get out of your comfort zone.
· Still standing there in the corner? Call me for a free business assessment. NOW!
15. Elevator/Sales Pitch: If you can’t tell someone your pitch in under five minutes AND tailor your services to the person’s needs, then it’s gonna be a long, long night. You can make a good connection in five minutes.
· Know your product, services and pricing.
· Think through what you’re going to say.
· Listen, listen, listen and practice, practice, practice (out loud, of course).
16. Sample Bully: Do not shove your stuff in anyone’s face or talk about your great product but forget to bring it (if you can). And if you’re not going to follow up, you might as well toss those items in the trash.
· Give a great reason for people to come to you, like picking one spot and staying there all night.
· Always have samples and brochures available.
17. Eye Darting: Scanning the room looking for your next target is a sure way to lose the one you’re talking to right now, because you’re telling them that they’re not important to you.
· Focus on the person you’re talking to, always.
· If this happens to you by someone else, just remain silent and stare at them to see how long it takes them to notice.
18. Wrong Expectations for a Networking Event: Keep going even if you go to one or two events and nothing happens.
· Networking has to be done consistently for it to work.
· Stop blaming the event and take a good look at what you’re doing.
· Set reasonable expectations.
19. Day-timers and Calendars: Wait, uh, let me get back to you with some dates - this just won’t work.
· Bring your day timer or planner.
· Even better, use a sign-up sheet with all of your available dates listed.
20. Matchmaking Referrals: Being a bad matchmaker will get you little business, and word will get around.
· Refer well, when you sincerely think there’s a good match.
· Have a system, plan ahead and be consistent.
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