Episode 21: How to Make the Most of Networking Events

Hello everyone. Today on the podcast we are going to talk about something that I know is near and dear to all of your hearts, which is networking events. We're going to talk about how not to be weird at networking events, how to approach them, and how to show up. Um, as someone who is an expert in their field that people actually would want to work with and make that networking event worth your while. So first and foremost, I want to let you know that I'm going to create a um, PDF that goes along with this so that you can have a uh, or it might be an editable Google Doc, depending on what I'm feeling. And we're going to, I'm going to be able to put that in the show notes so that you can get a uh, print out of these five questions that I'm going to be asking you to think about today. And it's something that you can keep in your back pocket anytime that you have a networking event coming up. So uh, one of the things that, oh, it'll be in the show notes, so make sure you download it. So within networking events, they are a great place to meet more people. One of the main things that I talk about with you all is managing leads. It's making sure you've got new people coming into your network, not just nurturing your current network. And that is literally what a networking event is designed to do. It's designed to grow your reach, expand and show you more people that you can help. And ah, it can feel really awkward if you don't go into those networking events with intention. I wanted to help you to create really solid intention before you get into that network event so they don't feel as awkward. So typically networking events first and foremost, if you don't know where to find networking events, what you can do is there are two places where networking events typically happen, online or in person. So I want you to Google and take a minute and think about where are networking events around me in person and online. Those um, are ones that are online where everyone will typically get a chance to speak, talk a little bit about what they do. There might be a guest speaker that you could sign up for and they're very easy to find when you just look for them. So for instance, if I google right now networking events and I'm literally doing it Raleigh, I literally just get a calendar that Google says. And there's like this women, women m in business event that's happening tomorrow. There's a business after hours one, there's a Raleigh career fair, there are so many different events. You want to be going to these events in person and or online so that you can figure out different ways to reach, reach different people. Even if, let's say I am a business coach, it makes sense for me to go to business coach events. You don't want to just be thinking about them, uh, as, okay, I can only go to events. Let's say you work with moms, you're like, I can only go to events with moms? No, because every single person that you meet within the networking event, whether it be online or in person, is somebody that might know a mother. There's like this rule where it says like every single person that you meet probably knows 300 other people and maybe it's not that exact person that could be a good fit for your offer. However, it could be somebody that they know. So it's worth it to get out there and get to know new people. And the way that you want to do that is by just signing up for a couple of them. Now, for me, I know that I uh, felt like in person networking was a little intimidating. So maybe you start with the online networking and then uh, go into in person networking. The reason why this is also so important is you want to keep networking events in mind, because you could meet other people that you could do collaborations with, you could also be referral partners, you could even be a guest for them, and you could do like an uh, email swap giveaway. There's so many different resources that you can be for this person and we want to think about how to make it as easy as possible for you to again expand your reach. So what you'll do is you're going to find this networking event and you might not know that the things that ah, ah, I'm going to share about, like the benefits of these events will pay off. It could be even years into the future. But you want to make sure that you're putting in that value, showing up, uh, being present so that more people know about you, more people get awareness about you, and you can start to grow. So here's how I like to go about doing a networking event and the questions that I want you to ask yourself. First and foremost, once you found the networking event, I want you to think about who you want to be at, uh, this networking event. This is an opportunity for you to present yourself as an expert in your field, which we always want to do, because then you're going to be the top of mind person that people know, like and trust. So you want to think about okay, how can I go through and create a really, uh, amazing relationship with all these amazing humans? So that's the first thing that you want to do, is you want to think about who you want to be. And what I like to do is I like to think about, like, a mantra, a sentence, a thought that I can have that can help you to show up like a leader. So for you, it might be like, I know I can help these people. That can be a thought that you have. And whether it's person, like, direct or person adjacent, I know I can help these people. You can also have a thought, like, what I do is really important and valuable in the world. You can have other thoughts about, like, this offer is the most amazing thing. I put my heart and soul into this, and I know it can help people. So you can have thoughts about yourself, you can have thoughts about your offer, and you can have thoughts about the community. Somebody out there needs this, and I'm going to do my best to show up and help them. So that's the first thing you want to think about is who do you want to be at this networking event. You also want to then think about how do you want to feel at this event. Like, how do you. Again, a lot of times we show up to things just kind of like, default. Like, okay, I see an event, I'm just going to sign up. I want to urge you, after you listen to this podcast, to be a smidge more intentional. I want you to think about how do you want to feel at this event. Now, you could be at an event where there could be people of multiple, different. Like, there could just be so many things that you could have. And for me, one of the most powerful emotions that I have is excited, but, like, a grounded excited, where I'm like, hey, so nice to meet you. I also want to be open to hearing, like, people that I'm like, oh, I never even thought that, like, this person could be, like, interested. We could even have a relationship. I'm so open to, like, whatever happens at this event happens. I also want to be, like, thinking about them and feeling, like, really engaged with them. Uh, and another emotion that helps me with that is curiosity. And, like, I want to learn more about them. And I, like, I always want to be, like, someone that's, like, very friendly, approachable, easy to talk to. I, uh, want to make that easy for other people. I know that they're probably feeling funky, too, so I have that intention before I go in. You know what I mean? Yeah. That doesn't mean that it doesn't a little bit triggering when I go in and I forget that. But if I have that in the back of my mind, it helps me when I go and I'm activated in my nervous system, like, oh, there are all these people. It helps me to stay a little bit more grounded. So I want you to do that, too. I want you to think about how do you want to feel then I want you to think about what do you want people to remember you by? And I want you to think about the actions that you're taking at, uh, this networking event. And I want you to think about instead of being the most interesting person in the room, you guys know what I mean? Like, all the people that go and they're like, well, here's what I do, and I'm going to tell you about it. I think that people overcompensate, um, for feelings of awkwardness and tend to fill the space. I want you to go in and be more interested than them, um, than interesting yourself. So the more that you listen to people, the more that you engage with people, the more people will open up to you, and it's going to feel more normal again. What you want to think about is coming in with this energy of like, oh, okay. I want to find out more about them. I want to be excited about them. And also having the back of my mind, maybe this could be a really good fit for something in the future. Maybe they're a good fit, you know, having that intention as well. So what I like to do is I like to have some questions in my back pocket in case things get awkward. Okay, so let's say I'm going to meet with the chamber of commerce. That is a, uh, organization that, uh, most towns and cities have, and it is a representation of a lot of local business owners. So what you want to do is, if I'm going to an event for them, I already know, based on the event title, that who the subset of people is at this networking event. So if it's like a women's connection event, I know they're going to be women. If it's a business event, I know they're going to have businesses. So what I want you to do is I want you to come up with five questions about the subset of people who are attending this and have it in your back pocket so it's ready to go and ready for you. So, for instance, the other thing I also want you to do is when we're thinking about having small talk, the same rules in person or online, like in DM's with people apply to online networking events or in person networking events. So you want to start with closed questions. You want to ask people questions that are, uh, closed, which means that it's simple for them to answer. It is a quick couple sentences answer that they already know the answer for. So they've got it in their back pocket that's ready to go. So, for me, I like to think about, okay, if they're a business owner, here are five questions that I would ask them. Why did you start your business? Like, what is it? And they'll usually, with business owners, again, I wouldn't be like, why did you decide to become, like, you know, a mother or something like that? Uh, but usually business owners have, like, their why? Statement. They know why they started their business. And it's something that usually gets people talking. So it's something that is a. Typically a closed question, something that's easy for them to answer and something that they probably are thinking about before they come to this event. And they probably have a good story along with it, too. Another question that is a closed question is like, how long have you been in business? And again, same rules apply in DM's versus networking events. You want to respond with shared vulnerability. So you'll be like, I had my business for four years. Tell me about you. How long have you been in business? Who do you help with your business? You want to get to know, like, why do they start their business? Who do they help? If it's something like, um, a, uh, chamber of commerce, you could ask them. There are a lot of brick and mortar places that are there, so you can be like, oh, like, who typically, like, comes to your business and thinking about their location and things like that. Then if they're on coming to something like chamber of commerce, you would be like, when did you join the chamber of commerce? When did you join this networking event? That could be another great question just to get the party started, getting a little bit of conversation going, and make things a little bit less awkward. Then m. You can also ask, uh, if it's a location based event, you can be like, how long have you lived here? I've been in cary for. I was in Cary for, gosh, 18 years, and now I've been in Raleigh for the. Since I did college. But I've really been in, like, the triangle area for the past, I mean, 29 years. I moved here when I was nine months old. So I've been here for quite some time. Then you also want to have a way to connect with people. So after you ask like the typical, like five questions, you want to take this relationship to the next level and you want to be like, hey, are you on social? I, uh, let, I'm going to follow you. Let me follow you. I can't wait to connect on there too. And then key is, after the event, step five is to follow up with the humans. You want to actually have good relationships afterwards, and that can be a goal. And what I mentioned before is I like to have what I like to think of like an intention. Like, I want to be like, okay, I would love to show up to this event. And wouldn't it be awesome if there was a client that was like just waiting, waiting and thinking about working with me and was just waiting in the wings to see if I would sign it? Like, that could be here. So what you think about like having the intention of a result, which is you want to be committed to the overall results of your business, whether that be making your first six figures or multiple. I want you to be focusing on that, like, energy of, uh, I could sign a client from this and I also want you to be detached from them being the exact person. Like, I have to work with them. Just like, hey, this would be amazing. Okay. Like I mentioned, the ways that you could work with them also could be like, okay, maybe I'm going to find a collaboration partner. Maybe I'm going to find a really good referral partner. Maybe I'm going to find someone who I could do like a collaboration email with or something like that. Those are all the things that you can be thinking about as you go forward. Now, the other thing that I wanted to mention with this quick little podcast that I thought of for you is I want you to think about the benefits of going to one networking, um, event lasting ages after you go. So I'm going to tell you a fun little story because I'm hosting a networking event next Tuesday in Raleigh. So what happened was I, one of my clients was like, hey, there's this network event. There's this big time social, um, media manager and long time influencer that's going to be there. It might be really fun. I was like, great. So I go to this networking event and I met this amazing woman named Shannon McKinstry. And we like, we had the networking event, we hung out a little bit afterwards. She was great. It was fun. Hadn't talked to her since summer of last year. We go in and another one of my friends, we did this, um, she invited me to do some filming for content. And we filmed b roll together. When we were together, my friend Olivia was Accra and we were like, uh, we decided to go to a house in Savannah in December of this year and we filmed some content. It was great. It was super fun. And funny enough, uh, Olivia also, I didn't know this followed Shannon. And Shannon is like the original social media manager. Like, she has like 229,000 followers. Like, she's been in this since like late nineties, early two thousands. And she sends me a video of Shannon. And Shannon literally did a b roll filming in the exact same airbnb that we rented in savannah. Uh, and Olivia was like, how crazy is this? So funny. I can't believe this is happening. And I was like, oh my God, this is a great idea. I went to this event from raleigh women in marketing. That's how I met shannon. And I messaged her and I was like, hey, funny enough, me and my friends did b roll at, uh, this exact same house. We should do this for the Raleigh women in marketing crew. And shada was like, yes, we should. So we reached out to micah who runs raleigh women in marketing and we were like, hey, can we do this for you? And now I am leading this event one year later. I haven't even gone to any other events for raleigh and women in marketing. I had planned to and I didn't get chance to. And now I am literally leading an event with another amazing, um, amazing entrepreneur just because I went to this first networking event back in summer of last year. So I want you to be open to this idea that you can create so many amazing experiences, so many amazing things just from showing up, from having really wonderful intentions and again, ah, being committed to your business, but open and just ready for anyone to jump in as you go. So I hope this helped you with networking. I'm going to create a little like PDF to follow along with this and I cannot wait to hear. Feel free to like message me and let me know if you, if this helps you with networking events. What other networking event questions you have, I would love to hear from you. Currently, my Instagram name is meganwing coaching. It might be changing as my last name will be changing in, uh, a year or so. So I'm not sure when you listen to this podcast, but I want you to know that I'm here for you as a resource. Message me. I can't wait to hear how they're going and I can't wait to hopefully hear from you all soon.