The following excerpt is from Ivan Misner, Ph.D. and Brian Hilliard’s book Networking Like a Pro. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound In most major cities, you can attend eight to 10 networking events on any given day. Assuming that your minimum time investment is two hours per event (this takes into account getting in the car, driving downtown, parking and participating in the event), it’s easy to see how this networking thing can be a full-time job.
So how can a time-strapped businessperson figure out which networking events she should attend and which she should let go by the wayside? By developing a networking strategy.
Here are three easy — but essential — questions you need to answer to create a plan that will work for you.
1. Who are my best prospects?
The first question is another way of asking, “What is my target market?” You’d be surprised at the number of business professionals who can’t define their target market. Most of them either reply, “Everyone!” or offer some vague description that sounds good at first but offers little in the way of useful specifics. This is why business professionals so often find themselves running all over town, trying to attend every networking event that comes down the pike. Since they don’t have time to follow up immediately with most of the people they meet, they often don’t get as much business as they’d like; then they throw their hands in the air and wail, “Networking doesn’t work for me!”
It can! It’s just a matter of developing a strategy that puts you into contact with the right people. If you’re not sure who those folks might be for your business, take a look at your list of clients. What industries were they in? How long had they been in business? Were your clients even businesses to begin with, or have you worked mostly with consumers?
Each target market will have a strategy that requires you to network in different places. Once you’ve put together a profile of the people you’ve worked with in the past, pick up the phone and run it by a few trusted friends and colleagues. People who are close to you often have insights into patterns that…
