Become A Master of Networking

Networking is a developed strategy for meeting and conversing with like-minded professionals looking to promote their company, ideas, products, or services.

By attending networking events, you benefit by creating the opportunity to open new doors, strengthen relationships, build a strong support system, discover new ideas, and increase your professional visibility.

The opportunity is yours, but like any new venture, we are most successful when we prepare ourselves. When planning to attend a networking opportunity, it is important to have a strategy in place for what you are hoping to accomplish.

The following is a checklist for your event preparation:

-Clear goals
-A brief pitch or overview of who you are
-A stack of business cards
-An excited, engaging attitude

Once you have a clear objective, you will want to create a brief overview, also known as an “elevator pitch” for your business, brand, or idea to present when making introductions. The idea of an elevator pitch is to spark interest in a short window of time, roughly the time it takes to ride an elevator, hence the name.

With limited time to make that first impression, it’s important that you have a plan of action. Your pitch should include the following:

-Who you are
-What you do
-Client/customer identification
-Description of how your company is different/unique
-Your company goals
-Something interesting about you, your company, product, or idea