As you know, networking is one of the simplest ways to connect with different businesses and people. Attending small or big events gives you the opportunity to have one-on-one time with multiple people and explain in more detail your company, your service, and/or your products.
Today, we share with you 5 ways you can get more out of your next networking event.
Introducing yourself
Are you the type of person that doesn’t like to start a conversation and instead prefers for people to come to you and introduce themselves? Well, we have good news for you. Introducing yourself is maybe one of the most important parts of a networking event, because as they say, “You only get one chance to make a first impression”.
Our recommendation to combat the awkwardness of introducing yourself is to open with a simple phrase: “Hi, my name is _______ and yours?” Do this while extending your hand to greet the other person. After their response, you can follow with the classic “Nice to meet you, Robert!” This will give you space for your next move, either present your company, get more information, or establish a conversation:
- So, Robert, what is it that you do? – More information
- So, Robert, what kind of business do you have? – Establish a conversation
- So, Robert, who is handling your marketing right now? – Prepare to present your product
We always recommend taking baby steps asking simple questions and being genuine about your interest in their conversation, once Robert explains his part, it is time to explain yours.
Your Company Explainer
Do you ever feel like you don’t know how to explain what your company does? Well, if that is the case we have a simple solution, it is called The Explainer and it comes from an amazing book from David Gerhardt “Founder Brand”.
In his book, David Gerhardt shows a framework to answer in an easy way the question What does your company or product does? Just like he explains, your answer should lead to establish a conversation rather than just providing an explanation.
The framework he uses requires you to define 3 things:
- What problem your company, product, or service solves?
- How do you solve the problem?
- What is the name of your product?
By defining these 3 things you will be able to use the following framework to answer the question:
What does your company do?
- You know how _____________ (problem or old way of doing thigs here)
- Instead of ________ (problem/old solution), we have a ________ (new solution/new way).
- We call it _____ (name of your product)
So let’s say that your company provides fast internet using fiber-optic this is how the conversation will read:
So David, What does your company do?
Do you know how most companies struggle to get fast internet at a low cost without contracts?
Yes!
Well, instead of using a DSL internet connection, we use fiber optic technology without contracts, we call it ConnectPlus.
By using the explanation you will be able to establish a conversation and make better use of your time and your visitor’s time.
Marketing Materials
It is always great to have a lot of marketing materials to provide to your visitors, but it is more important that all those materials are easy to understand, show the benefits and not only the features of your product/service, and are easy and light to carry, these materials can be tri-folds, business cards, flyers or product samples.
Collect visitors’ information
We always recommend collecting information from your booth visitors This will allow you to have a way to reach out to them either individually or with an email campaign to provide more information about your company or maybe a discount or special promotion for them. Collecting information will make you both more interactive and will allow you to retarget all visitors.
Don’t be afraid to show your best game
Many times companies feel afraid of showing what they do because of fear of having competitors steal their ideas, but let me tell you something, there are thousands of ideas you can create, and execution is the hardest part.
Don’t be afraid of bringing your best game to the event, to show your potential and talk to your competitors. There are thousands of customers out there for everybody and by playing it safe, you are only limiting your company’s potential.
BONUS!
Collecting data from your visitors shouldn’t be limited to email, phone, and names. Networking events are a great opportunity for surveys to get consumer insights. This can help you align your efforts in the right direction.
Author: David Jaquez
