Finding The Needle

You need new business. The best place to find that new business is at a networking meeting. Everyone there know someone that you need to know. As you build relationships and gain practice, you can get them to introduce you to them. Let others search through their haystack and bring you the connections you need.

The Best Kind Of Meeting

We have met many people who feel that the best kind of meeting is a big one. The thing is though, this is a scattered shot gun approach. Certainly BIG feels better. It looks exciting. But, it is noisy. There is no chance for real communication, and you can only effectively meet 20 people an hour, if you are a master networker, so it is a big distraction without results.

A better meeting is likely one that is smaller. It is also one where you have opportunity for real discussions. You are looking for a meeting where there is not a speaker. The speaker is great if you are there to learn something, but if you are there to network, there needs to be time for networking.

Meeting The Right People

Some people feel that they need to be in a meeting where the “right” people are. They want a particular target market, or they are after larger companies to do business with you. In networking it is a lot like dating. You are not so much looking for “the one” as you are becoming “the one” that is desirable. That is a better method.

Those who are looking for the “right” people are usually disappointed, because there is no networking meeting where your perfect demographic is lining up to talk to you and buy right now. That is the wrong expectation, and it will not yield results. This is also incredibly arrogant to the rest of us minions who are not “the one” that is being sought. Why would we help this person? They are acting like they are better than us.

Instead consider that everyone in the room knows hundreds or possibly even thousands of people that they did not bring with them. Be nice to these people. Describe carefully the person you are looking for while being genuinely interested in the person you are talking to. This brings huge results. It makes that person like you, and they want to search through their haystack of connections and bring you “the one” that you are looking for. They will suddenly become your matchmaker if you don’t dismiss them prematurely. 

Everyone at a networking meeting knows other people. They have spouses, and partners, and staff, and clients, and friends, and family, and social media connections. There is definitely someone that they know that is either exactly who you want to meet, or they are connected to the one you want to meet. Give these people a reason to go through their haystack for you.

You may have tried networking and not had good results. Often it is these expectations that are feeding low results.

The Better Way

Find a good group of people where the same people come every week or every month. Don’t be discouraged that this small group of people has already heard your pitch. That is what you want. The better they know your pitch, the easier they can repeat it to “the one” you are looking for.  Join a weekly group if you can. The more you see these people, the more they are like family. They care about you, and they want to see you succeed. Build relationships with a group of haystack hunters who will regularly go through their haystack for you and bring you “the one” that you are looking for.