4 Things I’ve Learned From My First Networking Events

On my (very dull and rainy!) drive home from today’s networking event, light may have been nowhere to be seen outside, but did switch on inside my head. Having just completed only my second-ever solo trip like this, I thought – there’s actually a lot to learn here, and I’ve taken away more than just ‘new leads’.

I’m aware a lot of my readers are those who’re just finding their feet in the PR industry, perhaps stepping into it for the first time, or nearing the end of their university course (hi, LJMU BUSPR students 😌), so I thought I’d share with you some of my takeaways, and I don’t mean business cards.

But first, just to caveat, I’m by no means an expert when it comes to networking. See above: this is only my second EVER time doing something like this. And the first was two weeks ago. Hardly a guru or anything like that. But, this blog for me is always about being honest, and hopefully helpful, so with that in mind – I wanted to share some of the things I’ve found when attending these events, and hope they might help you too. Especially if you’re in two minds as to whether to take the leap. Scary scary!

#1 – Don’t Go With The Objective To Sell

My aim with the networking events that I’ve recently been to, was not to tell everyone about how great Source PR is (we are, though 😉) but to firstly achieve my New Year’s resolution of getting myself out there more, and secondly just to meet new people, especially in the Midlands, and see who can help each other and with what. I’ve met people who might be able to benefit from what we offer at Source, but I’ve also met those who could offer some great services to my clients, our own business, and even me personally. I think if you go in with an aim to aggressively sell your services, you might not just scare people off, but you’ll probably also be less open-minded when it comes to hearing about other people’s businesses, and how they might be able to support you in ways you didn’t expect. So I guess be willing to talk to anyone and don’t go in straight away with the intense stuff.

#2 – People Shut Down With A Hard Sell

Leading on from that, I’ve definitely seen a fair few people go a bit gung-ho on the sales. From speed networking to exhibition stands; and I’ve observed the way the other person tends to switch off when this happens. I think it’s human nature to automatically put our barriers up when we feel we’re being sold to. Most people don’t like it. But, if you go in with a goal more to make new connections and just have genuine conversations, you’ll be surprised to see how that naturally evolves into talking about your business, and how you can help one another. If you’re finding it hard to think of something to talk about other than sales, here are some conversation starters I’ve found to be quite useful:

• I love the way your stand looks, it’s so eye-catching!
• How are you finding the event so far?
• Have you done anything like this before, or are you a newbie like me?
• How about this weather, HUH? (That one’s a joke, by the way)

#3 – People Tend To Be REALLY Nice

I’m a natural introvert, you’ll know that by now if you’re a long-time reader. Public speaking, and even conversing with people I don’t know doesn’t come easy to me. I went to a networking event with some colleagues about five years ago now and I found it SO hard to go up and talk to people. Traumatised! So I was dreading getting back out there, to be honest, and especially doing it alone. However, there seems to be a pretty good balance in the world of introverts and extroverts, and I’ve found that as long as you come across approachable (e.g. not being on your phone, making eye contact and smiling), people will come up to you and start a conversation. Then, it’s much easier when things get flowing. You’ll find with me once you start me off, you can’t shut me up. But breaking that ice is difficult, I get it. So if you don’t feel comfortable walking up to a stand, or a person, then a simple smile and a show of interest may encourage them to start the chat themselves. During the first event that I went to a few weeks ago, the host encouraged us all to get up on the stage and talk about our business. And though my blood went cold and my flight or fight made me want to get out of there, I put that to one side, went up, said my piece, admitted I was quite nervous and a total newbie, and people were just SO nice to me after that. Not everyone expects you to be a Del Boy!

#4 – It’s Not As Overwhelming As You Might Think

I put off going to conferences and networking events for so long because I thought if I found it all too much, I would be stuck. I was totally wrong. I’ve been to BrightonSEO a few times now and they have great breakout areas and opportunities to chill if you need to recharge your social battery. And more recently, at the events I’ve been to this month, nobody’s going to force you to talk to everyone in the room. You can leave if you want. But you’ll probably find you don’t want to! If what’s holding you back is the thought of being barricaded in until closing time, then take it from me – you can get as much out of these events as you want. If you find it’s not for you, that’s fine. But at the same time, I personally find it so refreshing to know there’s somewhere I can go to collect my thoughts without actually leaving. Not that I have actually needed to, because like I say – I was pleasantly surprised at not only how nice everyone is, but also how enjoyable the whole day is.

So I guess my advice would be to give it a go. Whether it’s a conference (BrightonSEO is my all-time favourite, but I really hope to do some more this year), an in-person course or training day, an expo, a show, or a good old-fashioned networking event, you’ll probably be surprised at how good you feel after doing it. I’m really looking forward to embarking on more this year.

Thank you as always for reading and for supporting me, and always happy to continue the conversation on my socials. Read my other blogs here whilst you wait for the next one.