Networking: How To Get The Most Out of Networking Events

With the Franchise Leadership and Development Conference right around the corner (September 23-25 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago), I wanted to go over a few networking opportunity tips that I have come to learn over my years attending events like these.

TACKLE OTHER PEOPLE’S MISTAKES
It never ceases to amaze, how many times I meet someone at a networking event and they do not have a business card with them. Make your business card like your AMEX card: “DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!”

Don’t rely on your memory. When you meet someone at an event and exchange cards, make notes on the back of their card as a memory trigger for reference. If you work your way through a networking event correctly, you should have collected far more cards than the average person’s memory can account for, without a reference point.

EXCHANGE OF BUSINESS CARDS
Meet and swap cards with as many people as possible and save your more in-depth conversations for a follow-up call or meeting. Taking too deep a dive at the event will limit your opportunity to meet more potentially interesting and valuable contacts.

STUDY YOUR APPROACH CAREFULLY
Approach the same level of interest and sincerity as you would exhibit in a meeting with a new or existing client, but remember the timeline is more like a lightning round than that of a longer, fact-finding or consultative session.

Also, approach networking opportunities with interest in learning just enough to make you want to know more; conversely, sharing just enough to make someone meeting you want to learn more as well.

Finally for preparation, here’s the trick I use: keep your business cards in your left pocket, and those that you collect in your right. You NEVER want to give someone a card that has notes on it—yours or someone else’s.

I will execute these simple, yet effective, strategies at the upcoming Franchise Update Leadership and Development Conference, one of my favorite events for networking within the franchising community. While many in attendance will be those that I already know well or have met at past franchise events, I will also meet dozens of franchising industry professionals for the very first time. In the almost 10 years that I have been attending this event, great things have always resulted from the networking that I did during the conference.

I have continued to come back for this conference annually because it is laser targeted and specific in its content. It is big enough to attract high quality industry leaders, speakers and keynotes, yet small enough to still feel intimate. One can actually look for and find just about anyone that they may want to circle back to and have a deeper conversation and not have to compromise “official” networking time to do it.