Networking, Needworking and Its Not Working
Over the last year I have made an attempt to become better at networking. I am one of those people who is more comfortable giving a presentation to fifty people that introducing myself and my firm to two or three people I do not know. Thus, I have followed Jason Alba's discussion whether networking works with great interest.
Yesterday I attended Utah First Fridays, a monthly networking event. The attendees ranged from people who had started a business that week, to experienced entrepreneurs, such as Steve Spencer of Twelve Horses and Utah Tech Spotlight and Craig Bott of Grow Utah Ventures, as well as a number of well connected people from Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake County and USTAR.
The most interesting part of the networking portion was observing how differently people viewed networking. Some viewed the it as a chance to make a sales pitch dozens of times. A stack of business cards in hand, they went from group to group telling about their goods or services and passing out their cards. While some may have obtained a lead or two, I think their efforts were probably of little benefit as business networking. When they see the same people in the future, those people are likely to think - Oh no, here comes the sales pitch.
The more experienced business people seemed to take a very different approach. They had conversations that often had little to do with the business of either party at the beginning. It was more about getting to know the person than finding out about the business. Once they had decided that they liked the person or had something in common, the conversation would gently turn to the business of one or the other. The more experienced business people also seemed to be more proactive in showing interest in the start-ups, while the start-ups seemed more focused on getting their message out.
Another dynamic was the the "introducers". These people would introduce a new acquaintance to someone they already knew and also tell about the acquaintance's business. People seemed to cluster around the introducers. They made it easier on the new business person - who did not have to pitch his/her product - and on the established contact -who avoided the sales pitch. Over the last year I have noticed that I instinctively look for the introducers at networking events. I am poor at introductions (just ask my wife) and realize that this is a networking skill I need to work on.
After the networking portion, Craig Bott gave a presentation on Grow Utah Ventures and gave some valuable advice on the skills that make new businesses successful. One of his most important - successful growth companies (Inc. 500) are able to leverage their relationships with service providers and vendors to preserve cash. I would bet that most of these companies are led by people who use networking to build relationships - rather than as an advertising venue. I would also bet that most of these people are introducers.
Yesterday I attended Utah First Fridays, a monthly networking event. The attendees ranged from people who had started a business that week, to experienced entrepreneurs, such as Steve Spencer of Twelve Horses and Utah Tech Spotlight and Craig Bott of Grow Utah Ventures, as well as a number of well connected people from Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake County and USTAR.
The most interesting part of the networking portion was observing how differently people viewed networking. Some viewed the it as a chance to make a sales pitch dozens of times. A stack of business cards in hand, they went from group to group telling about their goods or services and passing out their cards. While some may have obtained a lead or two, I think their efforts were probably of little benefit as business networking. When they see the same people in the future, those people are likely to think - Oh no, here comes the sales pitch.
The more experienced business people seemed to take a very different approach. They had conversations that often had little to do with the business of either party at the beginning. It was more about getting to know the person than finding out about the business. Once they had decided that they liked the person or had something in common, the conversation would gently turn to the business of one or the other. The more experienced business people also seemed to be more proactive in showing interest in the start-ups, while the start-ups seemed more focused on getting their message out.
Another dynamic was the the "introducers". These people would introduce a new acquaintance to someone they already knew and also tell about the acquaintance's business. People seemed to cluster around the introducers. They made it easier on the new business person - who did not have to pitch his/her product - and on the established contact -who avoided the sales pitch. Over the last year I have noticed that I instinctively look for the introducers at networking events. I am poor at introductions (just ask my wife) and realize that this is a networking skill I need to work on.
After the networking portion, Craig Bott gave a presentation on Grow Utah Ventures and gave some valuable advice on the skills that make new businesses successful. One of his most important - successful growth companies (Inc. 500) are able to leverage their relationships with service providers and vendors to preserve cash. I would bet that most of these companies are led by people who use networking to build relationships - rather than as an advertising venue. I would also bet that most of these people are introducers.
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