How To Maximise Your Return On Investment At Networking Events

First Of All - Dress Appropriately 

You can never go wrong with being the best dressed man (or woman) in the room.

There is literally zero downside unless you're wearing a suit and it's 40 degrees celcius outside and you look and feel like you've just stepped out of a pond, however the upside is than you will leave a lasting impression on people.

Now, great style is subjective and depends on one's style and perspective on what well dressed means, however I want to make one statement clear:

The man in a plain t shirt and jeans with suede shoes and is in good physical shape, will look smarter and more professional than the obese man wearing a £4000 suit.

If you wear clothes that fit you, then your style points will increase tenfold, however if you are of normal stature, then wearing smart clothes appropriate to the respective event will be better than wearing a hoodie and shorts.

Your Behavior Dictates Who You Meet

Nobody wants to go to a networking event, get spoken at for two hours, handed a business card and being left trying to find someone else to speak to having formed zero rapport in the last 120 minutes.

Everyone wants to go to a networking event to either find like-minded individuals, or those who we could use to benefit our business.

For you to receive either of these results, you want to behave in a professional and charismatic manner.

This dosn't mean either be stoic and act like Tommy Shelby, nor does it mean you should be doing star jumps and playing tig with everyone, you need too find a balancing point.

Always behave in a way that makes you seem like a professional, to do this you want to be well-mannered, composed, humourous and well-spoken.

These can all be achieved with training, and seeming like you know what you're doing or speaking about will definitely increase the chances of potential collaborators finding you.

Speak To As Many People As Possible

If you have 20 people in a room with you at a networking event and you leave the room having spoken to 4 of them, you're perhaps going to leave with a few regrets aren't you?

There's 16 other people in that room who could be a potential future business partner, a collaborator, a friend, a colleague etc, and you'll never find out because you never spoke to them.

Some people tend to find their circle at the event and speak to them for the duration, however please try your best to get in as many cool conversations with people as possible, because you never know who they could turn out to be, or who they know.

Be Authentic

I understand this may be contradictory to the first point I made, as suits and fancy dress may not be your style and you may perceive them clothing items as inauthentic to you, however authenticity is more about your personality than your clothing.

Don't be afraid to be humourous and make jokes (appropriate to the situation of course), talk about your interests and try to put a positive spin on things that are negative about your life.

Always try your best to be calm and relaxed, ensure you're breathing through your nose, and just treat conversations you have as you would with friends, no matter how important you perceive the other person in the conversation to be.

Action Step

The next time you're networking with new people, implement the steps you have learnt here, dress up smarter than you did previously, if you can then wear clothes that fit you well.

Go to the gym and build some muscle so clothes will always look better on you, no matter how flashy or expensive they are.

For more in depth lessons on how to network professionally and improve your social skills, check out our "High Value Networking and Social Skills" online course below!

https://citadelbusinessacdmy.gumroad.com/l/networkingandsocialskills