(It’s not just about drinking & Hors d'Oeuvres’)
A true networking event, one that is meticulously planned, organized and successfully implemented, has a much higher potential of drawing in the best guests and consequently, motivating them to stay. Let’s face it; such events far outpace any haphazard, run-of-the-mill “social gathering.” (And, should you be the one attempting to put on a truly professional-level event, avoiding the expense of doing it the right way will never pay off in the long run.) This is something to always keep in mind if planning to attend an event in the hopes of meeting the right kind of people. They will normally much prefer to visit ones that are polished and that befit an image of the highest calibre.
As a business owner, it is essential to establish brand awareness for your company and creating or attending business networking events is a terrifically effective marketing strategy. As anyone who runs a company will certainly understand, it is a competitive world out there and success is not a fait accompli -even if you have an amazing product or service, even if you have all the elemental aspects of running the operation seemingly in place. This is why the presentation of your company in the most attention-grabbing yet effective manner is so essential whether as the organizer or as the attendee.
One’s ultimate objective in attending an effective networking event is to achieve laser-focused results, namely increasing one’s company’s brand awareness and, ultimately, its financial bottom line. There can be no mistaking the purpose, unlike a casual social gathering, which can be easily muddled and often gives visitors the impression that they need not focus on your company! And you really need to target the ones that are most relevant to what your service or product is and for whom your service or product is generally marketed.
6 Tips To Make Sure You Only Attend Premium Networking Events
- Call the event organizers and enquire as to who are the participants, from what companies do they hail and what are the seniority levels of those in attendance. These are far more pertinent questions then, say, what kind of food is being served and are the drinks inclusive in the entry fee…
- The cost of attending the event is very important too, though maybe not for the reason that first comes to mind for many. If the fee is modest then be prepared for the kind of crowd that may not help your brand, aid in bringing in business or furthering any future leads. As I have written many times before, value is king but “cheap” is never good. A fee filters out the flotsam and jetsam that take up space and return little value for your time, effort and expense of attending an event. If you are willing to throw down a hundred or more dollars for admission to an event, it shows that you take networking quite seriously and so will others who interact with you.
- You would be well-served in enquiring as to how large the expected crowds will be. In my many years of experience as a professional, anything less than 30 is simply the aforementioned “gathering” that likely will not do much for you or your business. 50 -100 people is just about perfect, though anything more is good as well. If they say “we keep the crowd small so you can network better” then you would be wise to consider bidding them adieu. Note that you can network and attain the same level of returns with 50 as well as with 150 people, it’s just that you won´t have the likely chance to engage with all the participants. If you seriously think you can network with more than 30 to 40 per night, you are likely deluding yourself anyway, but at least with a larger gathering you have a choice about with whom you’d prefer to engage.
- Always seek out specialized networking events, such as CEO-centred, women-in-business or relevant industry networking events.
- Seems trivial but trust me it is not- Keep in mind that in general the stricter the dress code, the better the event- It is simply a result of looking at the statistics!
- Don’t bother with events that have distracting sideshow-like activities such as games, lucky draws and the like. If you want to be entertained then go to a concert as this all can take valuable time and focus from the networking itself. Nothing is absolute however, so don’t be necessarily held back by this as it doesn’t always mean it’s a bad event. This might be an indication that they are simply trying to give you some extra added value- Though again, in general, I still stress that the more straightforward the event, the better.
The bottom line here is that your objective in attending a networking event must always be kept in the forefront of any considerations and choices made. Keep your eye on the prize and you will receive the biggest bang for your buck and time.
About the author:
Dennis Fink is a marketing and event strategist with 16 years of experience. He is the Managing Director of PUNKTLANDUNG 3D-Marketing Singapore, the organizer of some of the most exclusive networking event series for influential leaders in the country.
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