Marketing 101: Holiday Networking

Last night my partner Gretchen and I attended our first holiday christmas party.  I thought a few of our experiences might be useful to some of my readers.

1. Any event in a storm.  It doesn't have to be your Christmas party -- or even one where you have a "reason" to be there.  In this case we had a mutual friend who worked for an industry specific, non-profit organization.  She invited us to give us the chance to meet people.
   
   
2. Smile, Have Fun.  When I ran these past Sooz she quickly pointed out "Have Fun".  She's definitely right -- I'm not a party animal, nor am I a natural networker so I tend to view things like this as work, not fun.  But you do get much more out of them if you can enjoy it.  In particular, keep a smile on your face -- no one wants to talk to someone at a party who isn't happy. 
   
   
3. Dress appropriately.   I know this goes without saying but it still needs to be said.  If you are a professional then you need to look like a professional.  This doesn't mean a suit or tie but it does mean neat, clean and generally not too differently from everyone else.  If you're a very funky web designer who dresses in Goth black and this is an accounting firm's Christmas party then you might want to add some white just for a change.
   
   
4. Always bring business cards.  And make sure that the contact info is correct.  Yes I know that this is very basic stuff.  It's still critically important.  And all too often people mess it up.
   
   
5. Bring a Pen!  Although this goes without saying (as with many of these other tips), it's still important.  And, for why, see the next tip.
   
   
6. When They Don't Have a Card...  A lot of times the people that you will meet won't have cards with them (after all they didn't read this, now did they?).  When this happens, I'm never to shy to say something like "Do you might jotting down your email address on the back of one of mine so we can talk later?"  Done politely this almost always works.
   
   
7. Do your research.  In this case we checked out the main organization's web site in advance and had specific ideas in mind for improvements.  Did we know that we'd definitely meet the right person to talk to?  No but it was certainly worth the effort.  And when we did meet the right person we were able to relate directly to the comments he made.
   
   
8. Set your expectations reasonably.  In this type of networking context, where the amount of time you have is only 1 to 2 hours, how many people are you actually going to talk to?  It's surprisingly few.  Don't expect the world and be happy with any leads that you get.  We walked away with three which for an event where we knew roughly no one and wasn't really on point was actually pretty good.
   
   
9. Take Notes Afterwards.  After talking with someone I jotted just enough keywords down on their business card so I could speak intelligently with them during followup.
   
   
10. Designate Someone for Followup.  The single biggest sales mistake that EVERYONE makes is lack of follow up.  You do some type of marketing or networking.  You get a lead.  And then you just don't follow up.  Before leaving the party, Gretchen and I agreed who would follow up and when.  First thing this morning I took care of it.  So when they come to work today my email will be waiting for them.

So will these tips guarantee business?  Of course not.  What these tips are designed to do is maximize the chance of something coming from an event where otherwise you might only have benefited from the free alcohol.  Not that free alcohol is bad but business is better ...

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