Networking Insight

7 Items to Check Before You Attend an Event

Before you attend an event, it is extremely important that you are prepared to meet other people. You want to be perceived as professional at all times so use the below checklist as a reminder before you leave the house or office. This post is a follow-up to a previous post, What is an Emergency Toolkit?

1. Business cards in your jacket pocket, wallet, purse, portfolio, etc. - Make sure that you have plenty of cards so you don't run out.
2. Clean and professional looking shirt - Make sure that you don't have stains or rips on your shirt.
3. Polished shoes - Make sure that your shoes are shined and don't have scratches or nicks.
4. No food in your teeth - Make sure to look in a mirror to make sure you don't have anything in your teeth.
5. Professional pen - Make sure that you bring a quality pen to take notes.
6. Professional notebook - If you want to bring a pad of paper, then make sure that you have a quality looking portfolio or notebook.
7. Motivaation- Make sure that you are motivated and want to attend an event, otherwise, it will show and you may have a difficult time connecting with others.

What other items would you put on your checklist?

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Does Your Firm Ban Social Networking?

According to a survey by Robert Half Technology, "54 percent of CIOs said their firms do not allow employees to visit social networking sites for any reason while at work. Nineteen percent of the survey's 1,400 respondents said social networking is permitted for business purposes only. Another 16 percent allow limited personal use and only 10 percent give employees free rein regarding Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other sites".

This reminds me of the days when the Internet was brand new and corporations didn't know what to do. I believe that companies are still trying to figure out how social media fits in. What is your perspective on social networking and the workplace?

To ready more, go to No Tweets Allowed: More Than Half Of Businesses Ban Social Networking

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What is an Emergency Networking Toolkit?

Jeffrey Mitchell, author of the blog, Chicago Networking Examiner, was recently interviewed by Fox Chicago about networking. During this interview, he shares one of his networking strategies, which is to bring a networking emergency kit with you to all events. In the below video, Jeffrey discusses what goes into this toolkit. While I prepare myself for events and even bring some items, I never thought about it as a kit. I believe that Jeffery may be able to sell this idea as a networking product. Also, to read more about this idea, read Jeffrey's blog post, Top 10 things you should bring to a networking event.

Who Do You Want to Meet?

Part of the fun of networking is you never know who you will meet and where that relationship will take you. Each person has a unique background and something interesting to offer. Also, each person comes with his/her network so you never know who you can meet through an introduction.

At the same time, if you want to take your networking to the next level, you sometimes have to put the pieces together. For example, if you are interested in landing XYX company as a new client but don’t know anyone to contact, then you should try to leverage your network to find the right contact. A warm introduction is usually better than a cold call.

So, how do find the person you want to talk to? Below are a few tips:

• Search LinkedIn for a person or company and ask for an introduction from someone in your network
• Search your own contact database for people at the firm you are targeting
• Seek out events in which your target person will be speaking
• Search online for this person and reach out directly
• Ask people in your network if they know this person and then request an introduction

Be aware that it can take time to get in front of your target person. It can take several attempts or introductions to finally get in front of the right person. It can be fun to follow the path that your network has taken you until you reach this person.

Do you have any stories to share about how your network helped you reach someone?

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One Week Away! Tales From the Entrepreneurial Trenches

In one week, I will be moderating "Tales From the Entrepreneurial Trenches". We have a new panelist, Eric Fosse, founder of Homemade Pizza.

In this panel discussion, hear first hand from several entrepreneurs on how they successfully started and grew their businesses. Learn how they did it and come away with some new insights into running a business.

The discussion will include the following topics
• The “Aha” moment when business idea was formed
• Raising capital to fund the growth of the business
• Landing the first client and growing sales thereafter
• Hiring the right staff
• Fine tuning products and services
• How business has evolved from beginning to today

After the discussion, guests will be able to participate in a Q&A session with the panelists. Open networking will take place before and after the panel discussion so you can interact with other entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Panel
• Rick Mazursky, The Executives Profit
• Kim Shambrook, Bespoke Cuisine
• Eric Fosse, Homemade Pizza
• Patrick Stakenas, ForceLogix

Moderator: Jason Jacobsohn

Date: October 8, 2009
Time: 8:30-10:00 a.m.
Location: 120 N. LaSalle Street, 11th Floor Conference Room, Chicago
Registration: $20 (includes continental breakfast)
Sponsors: The Executives Profit and American Chartered Bank

Register or contact Andrea at 847-317-9296 or andrea@theexecutivesprofit.com for more information.

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