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How Not to Network

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Meetings are often full of experienced business networkers, professionals who are apt at introducing themselves, handing over their business cards, offering their services, asking about what other companies are all about. With no hesitations about talking to strangers or moving smoothly from one conversation to the next. Even a shy or first time networker will feel at home in this crowd.

As we all know networking is about meeting businesses and making conversation. But there's much more to it than that if you want to go beyond a handshake. Your mindset needs to be in the mode of marketing - seeing every meeting, every situation, every person you meet as an opportunity to make a business connection. It's not always appropriate to take advantage of the situation, but at least you will see it and make a conscious decision to act or not.

Here is what it means to be in the Marketing Mode:

1. Make Your Name tag a Conversation Starter. Name tags are almost always sabotaged because you'll naturally grab a ball point pen and print your full name like you always do. Resulting in a bunch of people walking around with almost illegible names. No one has a clue what your company name or title is or what you do. A name tag has the potential to be a silent conversation-starter, which is especially helpful for those who are nervous talking to strangers. If all you write is your name, you aren't giving other attendees anything to work with. Its a small thing that has a big impact.

Here's what to do instead: Think a moment before you decide what to write. Ask yourself: Is my company name familiar? Does it say what my company does? (If not, your tag line may a good thing to include on your name tag as well). Also:

• Make sure your name is legible and written with a thick marker, if possible, so it's visible from afar and people don't need to squint or lean in close to read it. For the same reason, don't use your business card as a name tag.
• In bold, easy to read letters, include your name, your professional designation, your company name and your title.
• Put your Web address on your name tag too. Not only will it be a conversation starter, but it will plant a little seed for someone to visit your Web site.
• You can even use it to ask a question about a resource you need ("Know any good designers?") Make it funny or unusual. Others will notice and see it as an invitation into conversation.

2. Introduce Yourself with Pizzazz. "I'm a Realtor," is not the most engaging way to start a conversation, especially because there are several types of Realtors, and so many different ways to react to the statement, "I'm a Realtor." Preferable is to hear what type of Real Estate you practice and/or what kind of clients you work with. Saying, "I handle Real Estate for corporations and work with CEO's and business owners for their next ideal location." Garners attention.

3. Don't Use Jargon. "I work for 'company name'," is very common. If it's a familiar company it can certainly help to orient others toward your industry. But what exactly does it tell about who or what you do? If others want to know more, they have to ask a few more questions. Usually "What do you do for 'company name'?" - it is not suffice to say "I'm in Print Management," for instance because this is jargon! Most know what each of those two words � print and management -- mean by themselves, but is unclear what they meant together. Alienation is often the effect of jargon on those outside your industry. That's why it's essential to think first about who you're talking to before deciding what to say, even in answer to the question, "What do you do?"

4. Always Follow Up. This is Networking 101 but it bears repeating because no matter how well you know the importance of follow up, very few people actually do it. Email messages saying, "Great to meet you." suffice. It does take a few minutes to compose a short email message and if you don't remember exactly what you discussed, you may assume the other person doesn't remember either. But no matter what you tell yourself when you're sitting in front of a blank screen with a stack of cold business cards, push yourself to make the effort to write a short note. That way, your email address and message is in their inbox, just in case.

One objective of networking is to plant seeds for future relationships. But if all you can think of is, "What can this person do for me right now?" you'll miss out on a lot of great opportunities down the road.

If you miss the chance to expand your network today just because you don't take the time or don't know what to say, you may never know what you're missing. The executive you follow up with today may just be the person hiring tomorrow or the one who could put in a good word at a company you're talking to. So even if you recognize the value of networking and consider yourself a seasoned networker, always be striving to improve your networking.

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