Social events (cocktail parties, networking events, parties, conferences, etc.) are great ways to network and sell yourself and your business. Let’s face it – they help you to make connections that might pay off in the long run with a job offer or business. But not everyone is comfortable with such events. And certainly you don’t want to be seen at the event as only interested in making money by selling to others. That’s a sure way to get off the invitation list! So – how do you work a social event?
Here are some tips to get you started:
- If you are attending a cocktail party or another party – bring something with you. Flowers or a bottle of wine for the host/hostess or a small token gift – for example a travel journal if the host travels frequently. Don’t show up empty handed.
- Dress appropriately for all social events – if no dress code is given, go in business casual dress.
- Bring a stack of business cards with you.
- Greet your host/hostess as soon as you arrive and thank him/her for the invitation.
- Mingle among the crowd.
- If you see people you know, go up to them and say hello.
- If you see a group talking, approach them and listen to the conversation. Contribute where you can. Then…take a moment to say hello and introduce yourself.
- Someone by themselves – go up to them and introduce yourself and start a conversation.
- There are many topics to start conversations: current news, an upcoming event, a recent book or movie, a new restaurant that has opened, something happening in the town/city, etc. If you know the person, ask them about a previous topic – for example, were they in line for a promotion the last time you spoke with them – how did it turn out? Did their son or daughter just graduate high school or college – ask them about it.
- Ask the person you are speaking with about their job – what do they do, what challenges do they face, etc. Share what you are doing in your job, your challenges, etc.
Challenge yourself to meet and socialize with a minimum of 5 new people at each event. Exchange your business card with these individuals to stay in touch. Send them an email the next day thanking the individual for his/her time at the event, telling him/her you enjoyed the conversation and it was a pleasure to meet him /her. Can you follow up with something related to the conversation? Let’s say, for example, you were talking about how an increasing number of larger organizations are focusing on developing their high potential employees and you came across an article in the Wall Street Journal about high potential employees and how companies are grooming them for executive level positions – send a link to the article to the individual saying that based on the conversation you had with him/her, you thought he/she might be interested in the article. This keeps the connection going and helps you to build a relationship with the individual.
Don’t just jump into topics about careers and work. And most definitely don’t solicit business. By establishing a connection with someone – same hometown, similar role in another company, interest in a hobby, similar challenges faced, etc. – you begin to build a relationship with the individual.
Let me give you an example, I was, not that long ago, at a breakfast meeting. I met an individual there from another consulting company. We got to talking and he mentioned that his biggest challenge was getting a mentoring program off the ground. He was having difficulty getting buy-in to the program – no one wanted to be a mentor. But his boss, the SVP of Human Resources, felt it important to develop a mentoring program to support the more junior members of the firm. I shared with him how we had launched a mentoring program at another organization that was having similar difficulties. Additionally, I mentioned to him I had a few resources that might help him get started. We exchanged business cards and the next day I sent him a few articles plus links to a couple of blog posts related to our discussion. We set up a phone call to review the information and I provided some suggestions on how to best move forward. Based on the advice I provided and the brainstorming sessions we had, he was able to get the mentoring program off the ground. I helped him put in place a plan to monitor the program and measure it’s success over a certain period of time. Bottom line – he was more than happy that I was willing to help him and introduced me to the SVP of Human Resources as he felt I would be able to provide support to the organization in a variety of ways.
Feel energized? Great! Now…get out there and work that social event!
Have some stories of your own? Please share in the Comments field below. Thanks!
