Networking Do's & Don'ts

hello and welcome have you ever left a networking event and thought to yourself oof did I come off too desperate or perhaps you think to yourself I could have done that better navigating the world of business networking can feel like you're walking through a minefield one wrong step and you might think to yourself I should have just stayed home hi I'm Jana Hennemann founder of We&Co and today we are covering networking dos and don'ts this will help you turn potential opportunities into business in a way that's not cringy so what is the point of networking there are many benefits to cultivating your Professional Network one you could find a new career you can also find number two referral partners and number three you can expand your book of business that being said let's just jump right into uh what not to do in a networking setting number one quit your pitching I love saying that it's one of my catchphrases so what does that mean when you go to a networking event and you're reciting your elevator speech the whole point of your elevator speech as mentioned before in a previous video is to cultivate interest right you don't want to pitch them in 30 seconds it's not going to happen but this is what I find happens at a lot of networking events there's a lot of people who go around and they're just trying to sell you their product or service right when they meet you so what does that look like I once hosted a ladies only event when I first moved back to Springfield back in 2016 and there was this lady who showed up and she brought with her her tablet and she went around the room during the networking portion of the meeting and was trying to get people to sign up to her downline it was so funny because I'd watch the whole room full of women and as soon as she'd come up to try to pitch herself uh they would disperse and go to the other end of the room and then she'd follow them and go to that group and then try to do the same thing don't do that it's cringy people didn't show up to the networking event to be sold something they're there to meet people talk a little bit about their business meet referral partners and maybe find some new opportunities they're not going to be sold something this isn't a time share presentation the lesson networking is not about closing on the spot it's about building relationships so quit your pitching number two the bamboozler have you ever met someone who seemed interested in your work and then when you go to sit down with them face to face they're trying to just sell you their product or services or even persuade you into a personal date I once gave a talk to a group of people over in Malaysia and there was this gentleman who approached me he was very impressed and he's like oh my gosh I want to learn more about your business are you available next Thursday at this time said yeah and he said well let's meet at this venue and I went and what it turned into was literally a presentation for an MLM company I was not amused I did not stay for it I just felt like he wasted my time if you're genuinely interested in someone's product or service meet up with them to learn more about it don't oh I'm really interested in your product or service uh let's meet up so I can pitch you that is going to turn people off so fast it's not even funny in fact that whole experience was very manipulative and I'm a firm believer of um how you do one thing is how you do most things so if you're acting and pretending that you're interested in my product or service and you're saying you want to meet up to learn more about my business and then you bring me to a pitch presentation I don't want to do business with you I don't want to meet up with you again and that's kind of what happened I left halfway through the presentation because I was under the pretenses that he actually wanted to learn more about my business and I genuinely wanted to learn more about his however he Bamboozled me into it so don't be a bamboozler number three avoid being sleazy skeezy or rapy now what do each of these items mean so have you ever been to a networking event and it was clear that the people you're talking to aren't really there for networking maybe they want something a little more they want to close some business if you know what I mean sleazy is what I refer to as coming off as a used car salesman by the way no offense to anyone that's in the used car sales business that's that's not what I mean just that dirty gross feeling not all Ed car salesmen are like that but there's a stereotype sometimes sleazy is a combination of the first two we just talked about the pitcher and the bamboozler skeezy Behavior that's uh one level up from being a little sleazy it could include inappropriate advances during a networking event or grabbing someone inappropriately at a professional event and I've actually had this happen I've had to ask people to leave my own events because I'm just not going to put up with that I'm here for business I'm not here to find someone to date or for someone to grab me inappropriately the most alarming though is rapy this includes those people who are attempting to compromise your safety for their own gain such as slipping you a little something in your drink or following you home after an event listen I know people are looking for love people want to have sex I get it and if that's what you're looking for there are a myriad of online portals you can go to to find this each one of these sleazy skey rapy they break the foundational trust that networking tries to provide so again and don't be sleazy skey or rapy number four don't be the trash talker hey it's highly likely that when you go to a networking event you're going to meet someone who's in your same industry probably with a different business that's fine you're going to meet your competitors while you're out and about it's part of business but when you trash talk them it doesn't make them look so bad as it makes you look bad and I'll give you an example years ago um I was insurance and I hosted my own business mixer it was great we had a lot of people show up and she would come and I never asked her to leave I get it you're my competitor fine you're here to network and build those relationships as well but she literally would sit back and watch everyone that I would go and talk to now I had a few clients in the room as soon as I was done talking with them she'd come up right behind them and talk smack about my company talk smack about me me mind you you're at my own networking event so why would you do that and I had a few clients that came up and was like Hey so this girl she was uh talking smack about you and your company and I even lost a client or two that night now I'm a single mom or I was at the time single mom no child support this lady literally came to one of my events that I've been hosting and putting in all the Blood Sweat and Tears for so that I can meet more people so that I could put more food on the table for my kid and she was coming behind me at my own event and talking trash don't do that I get it it's business bis sinness I get it however when you do that a lot of my clients were so turned off to that that they blocked her on all their social channels so do you want to be that person I I hope not I hope you don't want to be that person number five don't be a driveby the driveby network worker and we've all met them they're the ones trying like using that machine gun approach just trying to meet as many people as they can pass out their business card share with them their elevator speech and then bounce off to the next person you're not cultivating relationships in that way you're not opening yourself up to New Opportunities if anything you're making yourself more forgettable to more people right so don't be a driveby you know when I go to a networking event if there's a hundred people there or regardless whether it's 20 or a hundred people uh each time before I go in okay I'm gonna make five new connections and I'm really going to spend at least five to 10 minutes talking to each of them that's about an hour right I want to get to know them I want to know how I can support them I can introduce them to people they don't know maybe find them a referral partner or two just something so that they remember hey that lady was really nice and she connected me with some people when you're a driveby you're not doing that that you're there for yourself you're just making it rain business cards it's not going to work and number six do not be a stage five Clinger you know these people they stick to You Like Glue they follow you around everywhere you go in the networking event and they make it really difficult for you to meet new people or cultivate relationships with others they just they're like a parasite they just cling on and it's not fun it's not nice and hey I get it it's natural to seek comfort and familiar faces especially if networking is new to you and you're not quite brave enough to walk up to someone you don't know and say hi who are you what do you do who can I introduce you to in the room I get it you kind of want to stick with your person but when you do that might not understand how you're affecting them and their Mojo so don't be a stage five Clinger and in future videos we're going to talk about how to be more open and social during a networking event especially if you're an introvert because honestly I was not an extrovert I kind of had to learn it I got my first job at 16 working in a restaurant and realized hey if I want to make more tips I have to be more personable then I started reading books on it and I became more personable right so again we'll cover that in a future video in conclusion understanding what not to do at a networking event is as crucial as learning the Right Moves to take during a networking event by avoiding these common pitfalls you're not just avoiding potential awkwardness you're Paving the way for more fruitful and genuine connections your next step or your challenge reflect on your networking style are there habits you can improve upon or eliminate is there something you can do better at a networking event remember the most fruitful connections are built on trust respect and genuine interest in mutual success I'm Yana henan wishing you safe meaningful and success networking experiences and as always remember to follow us on our social channels