A good friend and mentor of mine once said that your network is your net worth, I agree completely with him and you definitely should expand your network especially when you’re just starting out. Knowing the people in (and also who complement) your industry is definitely a must if you want to excel in your business. But some people I met during during conferences and networking events tend to shy away or made a bad first impression, which is bad in the long run. So here are some tips to turn you into a rockstar at networking events.
1. Make sure you’re easily searchable!
First of all, before even going to networking events, make sure you are easily searchable online. Don’t make your Twitter account private, open your Facebook account to public, and having a LinkedIn account is a must. Be as honest as possible but leave the nasty stuffs off the internet. Remember that everybody can see the photo you took last Friday when you were really drunk and you’d be stupid if you decided to post it to Facebook.
Search your name online and see if you’re easily searchable. If not, do something about it.
2. Dress properly
Dressing properly for an event or when you want to meet someone is a way for you to respect the event and the people. You don’t have to wear the latest Zara collection but you don’t want to wear yesterday’s T-shirt as well. Don’t forget to put on a perfume or cologne, especially when you’re attending a 24 hour hackathon.
I’m putting this in since a lot of us are geeks (including me), which tend to ignore this specific point.
3. Don’t shy away
Remember that conference and networking events are meant for you to network, that means everybody will be ready and it will be ok if you approach them kindly (unless they are in a hurry to go somewhere). Talk with all the speakers that you find interesting, approach the interesting guy at the corner because you love his product, speak to your friends’ friend and get to know the cute chick sitting alone at the coffee table. Well, you get my drift.
4. Don’t forget your name card
This is one single most important thing to bring on a conference, and bring a lot of them. Most people forget about your name 10 seconds after you say it but if they have your name card they can look at it later if they thought about your business.
Your name card is your representative, make it look (and feel) good.
5. Prepare your short pitch
You’re going to talk with a lot of people, so make your introduction short, 30 seconds top! Referencing to an existing startup is also good like for example “Instagram for BlackBerry” or “Facebook for dogs”.
6. Be interested, AND interesting at the same time
Don’t hog the conversation to yourself, remember that the purpose of coming to a conference is to get to know people that may help you in the future (aside from introducing your business). My usual formula is this: 30 seconds of self-introduction, 3 minute of listening and if it’s interesting I continue for about 5-10 minutes and then move on to the next. Cut the conversation if you see no interest in continuing so you can connect with a more like-minded people.
If the guy/girl is very interesting then you can connect later on via email, phone or meet up after the night for a more intense chat.
Shake hands with confidence and a smile. Talk with a kind and firm voice, not too fast, not too slow. Say your name with pride and listen to their names as well, don’t hesitate to ask again if you didn’t hear it in the first place. Show interest in what they’re saying as a sign of respect to them. Be polite! Great first impression can go very far.
7. Follow up after it’s done
After an event, I usually gather up all the name cards that I’ve collected and use the app Cardmunch to record everything. Then I follow up the interesting ones by email. Then list all the people that I can do partner with and contact them for a meet up if necessary.
That’s basically all of it, I know it’s rather basic but check the list one by one and ask yourself if you missed any of it. You definitely don’t want to waste your time in conferences and go home empty-handed now would you?
Aria Rajasa is the CEO of gantibaju.com, a clothing startup backed by a very strong designer community. His passion in entrepreneurship has gotten him to establish a number of companies in technology and design industries since leaving university