Networking doesn’t have to be scary

As a business owner or manager you have probably heard all about the importance of networking and, specifically, networking meetings. These often take place during meal times (breakfast, lunch or tea) and you eat while you discuss your work with fellow business owners and listen to what they have to say about theirs. After the meal (which, in my experience, is usually worth going for alone!!) you get the opportunity to chat with anyone who’s business caught your attention and you come away with loads of business cards and hopefully, would have parted with some of your business cards too. 

Sounds simple enough, but for many people, myself included, the idea of going into one of these meetings can be really daunting if you’ve never done it before. So, to help make the idea less scary for those of you that have never attended a meeting before, I have put together a few tips to help ease you in to your first one. 

1. Do your research and find a meeting that you feel suits you best. For my first meeting I opted for Women Mean Biz because I’d read so many lovely things about how supportive and positive their meetings were. They weren’t wrong. I came away feeling inspired and excited. Many of these meetings will let you go to a meeting as a guest before signing up for a membership which gives you the opportunity to decide if that particular one is right for you. 
2. Plan your “pitch” in advance so you know what points you want to get across when it’s your turn to talk about your business but don’t be afraid to be human. No one’s expecting a perfect script just talk about what you do, what you love about it and, most importantly, how your business could be of value to them or someone they know.  
3. When you first enter the room you may be welcomed by the organiser. This should help to put you at ease straight away as they will know how to prevent any awkward silences. They may then introduce you to someone else but if they don’t, get yourself a cuppa and you’ll probably find a group of people hanging around the tea and coffee table that will welcome you into their conversation. Alternatively, if someone catches your eye, don’t be afraid to talk to them. I found a lady selling dog food which gave me the perfect ice breaker, I could talk about my Jack Russell all day! 
4. Come away with as many business cards as possible. Even if you think that their business is of little interest/use to you, take one anyway. You never know when that card might come in useful or you can pass it on to someone else. 
5. Follow up the meeting by contacting some of the people you met. Just a simple email to say it was nice to meet them and to contact you if you can ever be of any help and you’ll keep them in mind too will be enough to make that connection but even better than that try to organise a couple of 1:1s with people so you can discuss your business further. Even if you don’t use their business or they don’t use yours, knowing a few friendly faces when you attend the next meeting (if you decide to join that particular group) will make it even easier.