Have you ever felt nervous about walking into a networking event? Have you ever decided not to attend an event because your anxiety was too great? If you could remove all of the anxiety, improve your results and make networking fun, would you attend more events? Of course you would, and here’s how to do it.
I attended a networking presentation on behalf of SCORE. Dave Sherman, a national sales trainer and professional speaker, was the presenter. He taught me a valuable lesson in networking.
Here’s the secret …
Almost everyone is nervous when walking into a room full of strangers. From a very early age, we were told not to talk to strangers. Combine that with the added pressure of performing well enough to secure a sale, and no wonder people are nervous about networking events.
According to Sherman, all you have to do is change your mindset. You are no longer walking into a room full of strangers to sell your product or service. Instead, your goal is to make quality connections with people you can help.
When you meet people at an event, ask them questions about their business. Ask what a perfect referral would be for them. Ask them what sets them apart from their competitors. Try to find out as much as you can because questions like these help create connections with others.
By being one of the only people offering to help others, this will set you apart from the crowd. It makes a great first impression and people will want to connect with you and, potentially, to refer business to you, too.
By simply changing your mindset, you can walk into any event with total comfort and confidence. Your results will improve, and networking will be fun and profitable.
For more fun networking tips, check out Sherman’s line of networking books at daveshermanspeaks.com
Bill Nordbrock is vice president of community relations for SCORE Southern Arizona, a nonprofit group that offers free small-business counseling and mentoring. Go to southernarizona.score.org, send an email to mentoring@scoresouthernaz.org or call 505-3636.
