This morning I went along with a friend to a business networking event.
About 25 people in the room, in groups of 5, around small round tables.
It kicked off with some pretty dry formalities. Scheduling, timetables. Then over coffee and a hot breakfast, each person had a 60 second slot to stand up and talk about what kind of referrals they were looking for.
It went around the room – electricians, builders, designers…
People made notes on their paper of who needed what. Maybe they knew someone they could refer?
Once it all wrapped up, I started chatting to Alex, who had been sitting next to me the whole time.
A slightly older guy, he had his own insurance brokerage company. Recently he’d bought a second company and was merging it with his.
Turns out he was rehabbing his shoulder from an injury he got when he was training at a boxing gym. We both knew the osteopath that he went to…
The shoulder was almost better, and he couldn’t wait to get back into his surfing.
We chatted about surfing for a while – where he liked to go, what kind of board he rides.
Finally, he asked about my website and social media, so he could connect.
We might have spent 10 minutes together in conversation overall, and, now there’s “relationship.”
Networking events can certainly work to generate business. And, in most environments, a 60 second pitch, or a dialled sales page isn’t going to do much. On the other hand, an opportunity to share your story can at least start to build resonance.
Getting attention at the front of the class isn’t the hard part. The hard part is creating and sharing a story that resonates, creates relationship over time, and can start to build trust.
“No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story” – Gary Vaynerchuck
