the creative way

The idea of going to a “networking event” has to have a strategy to have success. You can’t just show up expecting everyone to fall all over themselves to help you. Everyone in that room has an agenda of some kind. Some people don’t even want to be there.

Respect is key. You can’t drop in on a conversation without annoying the people in the small group. Be mindful of what they are saying and wait for a polite time to add what is on your mind. A good way to do this is when one of the group leaves to get something. While waiting in line for drinks you can say, “I overheard what you were saying and…” then make your point.

Be ready with the one liner about what you do. At a recording when asked this question I replied, “I’m a host on a podcast.” Suddenly I was elevated from crew to specialist. There should never be an “and” in that sentence. Just be one thing. It’s less confusing that way. You should stick with your story for the entire event as well. Don’t change it up depending on who you are talking.

A stack of cards need to be in pocket ready to go. Take them out of a carrier or wallet. They should be instantly ready. Take a lot of cards with you. These days I have 30-50 cards in my computer bag.

Learn to hold your drink with your left hand. That way don’t have to transfer it from right to left to shake hands with your new prospect. The key benefit is that your right hand won’t be cold and wet from holding the glass.

Get introduced. If you know somebody in the room that knows somebody you want to talk with have them do an introduction. This builds nearly instant credibility for you. Think pre-qualified.

Never demo during the mixer. Instead set up a meeting to do a demo at a later time. You can also exchange business cards with the promise to send them what you want to show them. Remember the event is social and you need to keep it that way as much as possible.

While its possible to meet 20-30 people in an hour nobody will remember you. I’ve learned to work slower with the idea of retention. However, sometimes you just have to power through. Like the time when 30 people followed me to a restaurant after the GVFX2 event. It was really a lot of work but I managed to talk to everyone that came that night.

Don’t dominate the speaker, star, or panel person’s time. There are many people that want to meet them as well. They are very likely tired, hungry and have had it with the event. Give them the space they need.

Be complimentary. Never bring up something negative. Especially when talking with the events people. They’ve worked hard to get to the event making your complaint the last thing they need to hear. Better to find a way to get them the message at a later time so it can be fixed for a future event.

Getting sloshed is a bad idea. The drinks may be complimentary but that doesn’t give you permission to suck ‘em down like a frat boy. You’re there to make an impression. So don’t blow it be projecting the impression that you are a fish. There are three exceptions to this rule. 1) You have the ear of somebody that mutually wants to continue the conversation. 2) There’s a possibility that you’ll be taking her back to your place. 3) It’s an event where the subject is about beer/wine/tequila.

Pitching business at the event isn’t the best time to pitch. Simply because you don’t have enough time to make a good case. It’s always a good idea to make an agreement to do business at a later time. If you must pitch, be sure you are ready to pitch. You should be well rehearsed. If you aren’t you’ll come off looking not ready so don’t bother.

Ask first. “Can I ask you a question about your speech?” “Is it okay to send you my story idea?” “Can I show you a minute of my short film?” Yes, No and NO!

Lucky, Ready, Useful is key when you are networking. There’s nothing worse then Lucking out but then not having the muster to close a deal.

Don’t be shy. Networking is a performance. You have to practice doing it just like being on stage. If you stand alone in the corner the only people that you will talk to are the other scared people standing in the corner. Get over it and go mingle.

Think like a bee. There are lots of flowers in that room.

Don’t lie about what you do. Okay, funny story. I crashed a Class Reunion once where I showed up toward the end, grabbed a name tag that said “Nick” on it and then got introduced as that guy. His friend Emma spotted me as an impostor right off. I whispered her my plan and she was in. For the next 2 hours I was Nick and she introduced me to the forgotten. “His name is Tom. You ate lunch with him.” “TOM! You gonna eat that?!” pointing to the pizza on the table. “NICK! Nothing changes with you…” I kept the answers short and listened to Nick’s old high school buddies. “What happened to the Torino?” “Crashed!” “NOOO!” “Yep.” “Damn.” “Have you seen Susan?” “Not tonight.” “Where do you work?” “Up until a year ago a dotcom.” Plausible deniability. In the end I left with a stack of cards (I don’t have a card right now), some girl’s phone number (Nick never called her as he’s such an ass) and a promise to “do lunch about a job…I’ll call you on Monday” was never followed up.

How could I have forgotten this one last and possibly most important tip. It goes something like:

Follow up on each lead like you said you would. To make sure you remember what you promised each person you talked to take 5 minutes to mark your cards just after you leave the room you worked. Otherwise the next day it will all be fuzzy. This is especially true if you mixed the mixer with mixes. Believe me I’ve blown a deal or two because I didn’t write down what the lead was about or getting the call the next day from “mystery Diana” who could have been the GFC but turned out to be insulted because she was really calling about a writing jorb. D’oh.

Finally here’s what needs to go in your pocket. First off, leave the confuser somewhere else. Trunk of the car, checked with the coat, behind the bar or at home. You don’t need it. It’s heavy anyway and just gets in the way. Now the pocket 5 things:

Two working pens (counts as 1 item). Some block head will ask you for a pen at some point because they won’t have one. You can give him/her your spare without a care if you get it back. Plus you can use the “pen” as an intro to your next lead.

Paper that isn’t a business card. I like to keep 1 or 2 folded pages with me. This is an instant white board or idea capture place. Having paper means you aren’t wasting a business card to make a note.

20 bucks or more in cash. This gets you a cab home, drinks at the bar, dinner or whatever else you might need cash for. The reason why you want cash is that if you do something with a group that leaves the place you won’t be stuck fronting the whole tab on your card.

Business cards. This is the bread crumb that gets you business. If you don’t have a card stop whatever you are doing and make one. Get some thick matte paper stock then print out your design cutting up a series of 8 on a page. Or use one many services to that will print 50-500 glossy 2-sided cards for $10-100. Or use one of the “free” services.

Your reel, demo, writing examples, static web pages or whatever it is you do ready to go on a Flash drive. Make sure it works on a Mac and a PC. The idea is that you will very likely go home with your drive but on the off chance you’ll have it ready to surrender to a prospect. The reason to use a Flash drive instead of a CD/DVD (either mini or Normal sized) is that the FD is much, much tinyer. And is has the curiosty factor. Whoever you give it to will look at the contents. Tip: if your stuff uses QuickTime make sure to put the Windows installer on the drive. It’s only 30 meg or so to insure the person can play it. That or compress two both QT and WiMP to insure that everyone can see it.

Once the buzz has died down (and uninstalled) its time to follow up. Be sure to collect all the cards, scraps and matchbooks from your pockets and pants before you toss to tradeshow garb into the wash. There’s nothing like washed up lost opportunity.

If you are like me there’s a chance you’ll end up with a card without the slightest bit of memory why you have it. Don’t dispair. Because on the back of the card your past self wrote you (future self) a note about why you have this card. “Publisher looking for a writer for a advanced book.”

Email a follow-up. Keep it short. Keep it simple. Write something that will help the person remember who you were. “Hi Joe, thanks for talking with me at that super fun party that IOTA threw. We chatted about your [talents, products, possible outcome]. Let’s [whatever you want to have happen next here.] Talk to you soon.

Don’t expect everyone to remember who you were. I find that follow ups that are over a week don’t get answered 10% of the time. But month old leads never get answered. You’re just a flake at that point.

If you don’t want the work or project or business relationship don’t send a note.