15 Tips That Will Help You Become a Networking Success
By Michele PW
Whatever kind of writing you do, knowing how to successfully network and meet people is critical to your success. You can leverage networking opportunities to increase readership of your books (people love to know authors and to tell people they personally know the author of the book they're reading) get clients for a coaching or copywriting business, or line up speaking opportunities.
As writers, though, it's sometimes difficult to drag ourselves out from behind the computer and actually interact with the human race. Here are fifteen tips to get you started.
1. Always have your business cards available for exchanging.
2. Hone your 30-second commercial.
The point of your 30-second commercial is to intrigue your "audience" enough to ask a few more questions and hopefully hire you for a project. Practice it, but try not to let it sound too rehearsed as well. It should roll smoothly and conversationally off your tongue.
Before you try it in for real, give it a whirl in front of a few friends or family members and see how they respond to it.
3. Be an active listener when talking with people.
4. Don't eat or drink until you are finished networking, so you can keep your hands free to shake hands and to exchange cards.
5. Always follow up a meeting with a thank you note.
6. Write down new contacts in your address book immediately after receiving them.
7. Make a brief list of potential new contacts and don't forget to get in touch with them.
8. After you meet someone, jot down a few words on his or her business card that reminds you of that person.
9. Talk about YOU, not just your company.
10. Dress for the event.
11. Wear your nametag on your right lapel.
12. Plan your exit line in advance. Your goal at these events is to meet as many people as possible. You don't want to get stuck in a long conversation with someone. So make sure you know how to gracefully exit the conversation.
Basically, when you first meet someone, you have 30 seconds to explain concisely and persuasively what you do for a living. Make it both clear and compelling. Plus you should explain how your products and services can benefit customers - don't just rattle off a list of features. (Features sound more like descriptions of products and services, whereas benefits talk about what problems the product or service will solve for the customer.)
13. Read body language. Look at how people are interacting. Are they completely involved with their conversations or do are they look open to meeting someone new? The better you become at reading people, the easier it will get approaching them.
14. Set a goal of how many new people you want to meet at the event. If you're shy, aim for one person. As this gets easier, set higher goals.
15. If you do meet someone who could be a potential client, ask them what challenges them the most about their business or personal life. For instance, if you're a copywriter, ask them what copywriting or marketing problem would they most like solved. If you write books on organizing time, then ask what organizational problem they would most like solved. This can even work with fiction - ask them what they feel is most lacking in films or books nowadays.
Listen to the answer. Then respond by explaining what you do could help make their problem go away.
A special thank you to Katie Baird, Loose Ends, for allowing me to use these tips. She collected them from a number of sources.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC, a copywriting, marketing communications and creativity agency. She helps people become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. To find out how she can help you take your business to the next level, visit her site at http://www.writingusa.com. Copyright 2006 Michele Pariza Wacek."