Networking Tips Going Into 2017

It is hard to believe that I have been hard core networking for almost ten years now.   From my infancy days going to the Northeastern University Alumni Networking Events to now running my own business networking group called Mass Professional Networking,  the landscape has changed.   Back in 2008 and into 2009, the economy was at its worst and networking events were the place to be seen and heard.    Almost all of the events were packed mostly with professionals looking for their next job or trying to start a new business venture.   From Foxboro to Providence to Framingham to Boston, every event had well over 100 hungry professionals trying to meet as many people as possible.   I fell into the same routine, and aggressively build a large network myself.

Fast forward to the past year, I noticed the networking events have become smaller, but the quality of people and relationships are much better.    It is probably because the economy is much more stable and growing now.    There are not many unemployed attendees but instead professionals with great business ideas, expansion and growth.  It is actually a shame some stopped networking when their situation got better.    I always thought when things get better, professionals should network more than ever.

So we are now about to enter the year 2017.   The networking events are smaller, more focused and the attendees are more seasoned.    Here are some of my recommended tips to survive networking in 2017:

- Stop the sales pitch now.   When you are at an event, look to make friends.  Would you go to a bar and start pitching your product or service?   Probably not.

- Know why you are attending a networking event.   Who would you like to meet?  What questions you would ask to understand if someone you meet is worth following up with?   What is your thirty second non-salesy elevator pitch?  Having structure going into an event makes it worthwhile.

- Only ask someone for a business card if there a possibility of following up with that person.   I am guilty of being a business card collector.  I have three full shoe boxes of cards to prove it.   Chances are, I have a card from every company in Massachusetts.

- Go to as many events as your schedule allows. As I mentioned earlier, even when the going is good, you should continue to go to events.   You never know when your scenario will change.  You lose your job or your business no longer exists.

- Stop thinking social media is for kids.   I still meet people that think Facebook or Twitter are for children and they wouldn't be caught dead using social media.  Social media is here and now and the #1 way to meet the right people.   The best way to use social media is for follow-up with professionals you have met at an event.

- Your goal is to become a people magnet.   I am going to end this blog with this tip.   When you are popular and a great resource, people gravitate to you.   Be a nice person and make everyone you meet to be about them and not yourself.

Happy Networking in 2017!