Reap the benefits - What you do before and after a networking event matters

This post came out from The Straits Times (22 Sep 2015)
Title - Reap the benefits

Some pointers that I've got are:
1. Planning and preparation
2. After the networking event
3. Learning from each event

On Planning and preparation

• For each networking event you attend, spend some time before hand researching it and its participants so that you know who you are going to talk to. You could also think about how many people you intend to speak at each event.
• Create a networking game plan, create an interesting story and think about scripted questions to ask others, as well as achievable long term goals. If you are well prepared, your confidence will come through naturally.
• During the event, keep track of everyone you talk to and any pertinent details required for your next action step. Do not rely on your memory. After shaking the hands of 10 or more individuals, you will have trouble remembering who you have talked to and what you both talked about.
• For professional networking to be effective, a positive mindset is absolutely essential. You need to be positive in order to motivate yourself to get out there and meet people. When you radiate positivity, it attracts people to you.

On After the networking event

• It is absolutely crucial to follow up with your contacts in power networking. Even if you are able to meet 100 people a day, nothing will develop if you do not follow up with them. Your initial meeting should grow into a relationship, which is your ultimate objective.
• When you follow up quickly, you stand out from the others. If you take too long, the warm contact will become lukewarm, even cold.
• To follow up, call or email your contacts. Start by reminding the person who you are. Apart from saying your name, job his or her memory by telling them when and where they met you. 
• Next, continue the conversation which started at the event. This will bring the interaction to the next level. Continuing the conversation may include asking for more information, sharing something you think they will appreciate, offering some kind of help, or arranging to meet up over lunch or coffee.
• In your follow up, be yourself. Do not try to hide your true intentions and just you did during the initial meeting, strive to be positive and make a good impression. Be transparent and real, but do not sound needy.

On Learning from each event

• Although meeting and following up with your contacts takes time, do not stop attending networking events. You may scale it back to once a week or so, but you should keep the momentum.
• An excellent way to measure your networking progress is to look at the things you have done for your new contacts. You can set a goal of doing something for someone everyday. It could be something as simple as providing helpful information or referring them to another contact who can help them. This is a great way to measure how effective your networking efforts are because it focuses on what you do for others, instead of what others do for you - which more often than not, pays off eventually. 

Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big