Actual article date: Jul 23, 2013

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The fear and excitement of networking, at events, is an inherent feeling that we all have. No matter how strong the intensity is, it happens to all of us. In just moments from entering the venue, you’re handed a name pass with your name on it. Hopefully, this name pass has your company’s name or role underneath. These, and your trusty name cards are the only arsenal you have against the barrage of people before you as you enter the cocktail reception. Like wild animals at a desert watering hole vying for water, the games begin. While moving to the coffee queue your eyes shift furtively as you struggle to find a familiar face. Suddenly, they rest upon a pair staring right back at you. You don’t know him. The man in a the suit standing 3 feet away from you with an entrée plate nestled tightly between his arm and his chest. Networking! In brief moments you’ve already assessed how much “worth” there is to this conversation continuing. It’s time to bail, the crowd is still growing, your count is 0 Networking.

Networking at events is a battle for the most number of business leads and valuable contacts. It makes absolute sense that we prepare ourselves for this battle at events. Clearly a name pass and name cards aren’t ammunition enough. This is what I think we need on top of that:

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1. Enough Intel

All of the great battles of this world are fought with the support of superior intelligence. Our networking battle shouldn’t be anything different. A list of the people who will be at the event together with some information about them would be invaluable to the strategy and preparation. The information given should be enough to retain in memory, otherwise it is just messy clutter.

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2. Curation

Sieving through 50 names could be tiring enough. Imagine sieving through all 500 names at your next conference. Intel is only as good as it can be applied. A system should be in place that can accurately curate and provide you with only a list of the relevant people to speak to. These are your targets. And you should secure them as soon as possible whilst picking off some stray frags in the process.

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3. Independence

It is important to be independent and not inhibited by anything when you’re at the event. Do not be dependent on the WI-FI if it may be unavailable. Most conferences face the challenge of providing fast and workable WI-FI to their delegates because of the sheer number of users in one area. Besides, being alert on the field allows you to jump into any open opportunity when you aren’t constantly using your mobile device.

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4. Uninhibited data retrieval

Now the trick is to be able to meet your targets armed with enough of the right intel to close a workable relationship. It would be extremely useful if you could retain enough information about the target as this would allow you to take control of the meet up. But if you can’t retain that much, then the ability to readily access some bite-sized data would come in handy. It could be on a piece of paper that you wrote on, or, as simple as an email or a SMS.

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As Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “If I always appear prepared, it is because before entering an undertaking, I have meditated long and have foreseen what might occur. It is not genius where reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in circumstances unexpected by others; it is thought and preparation.”

So be prepared and get networking for real.

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