Features - September 2007

By Karen Brost

As the old saying goes, it’s not what you know, but who you know. And today, more and more people are using networking to find those contacts who can open doors. But simply meeting the right people isn’t enough. It takes some smart planning, strategizing and consistent follow-up to make networking opportunities really pay off.

Lillian Bjorseth, president of Duoforce Enterprises Inc. in Lisle, IL, is a professional speaker who specializes in the topic of networking. “The word networking has become so trivialized,” she noted, “yet it is the most powerful, easy and effective way to get a job or get business.

“Networking is becoming more important,” she continued. “If done well, networking is probably one of the most important parts of any conference and one of the reasons people will return to a conference. You’ll often hear people say they get more out of talking in the hallway with colleagues than from the educational sessions. One reason is that there is a dialogue. Sometimes when you’re sitting in an educational session, it’s all about the speaker giving and you’re taking.

“We network for four reasons,” Bjorseth said. “I call them AIRS. Just as your body needs air to survive, your business needs air to survive, too.” AIRS stands for Advice, Information, Recommendations or referrals and Support.

Bjorseth explained that when networking is done correctly, it creates what she calls social capital. “You build financial capital by saving dollars, and you build social capital by meeting people and forming relationships. What you’re looking for are knob-turners, people who can open doors for you. As people build social capital, they get more knob-turners in their network.”

Breaking The Ice
Creating an effective networking environment at a meeting takes a great deal more than setting up a bar in a ballroom. “Part of networking is that you give people an excuse to talk to strangers. Some people do not do well talking to strangers on their own,” Bjorseth added.

Icebreaking activities can be an effective way to encourage interaction among attendees. Bjorseth has successfully used networking poker, which bring participants together as they attempt to form a winning poker hand. “The great thing about this one is that men really love it. It’s funny to watch because they stand at the doorway waiting for people to come in so they can see what card they have.”

Another effective strategy is “speed networking” where guests find someone new to talk to for three or four minutes. Then a timer goes off, and everyone finds someone else to talk to. “It gets people mingling and meeting people. You get the old-timers and the first-timers all mixed together. You’ll also find some people who connect so well, they don’t want to break up. They’ll go off in a corner, and that’s OK.”

Welcoming Newcomers
First-time meeting attendees don’t always feel comfortable in a room full of strangers, so it takes a special effort to make them feel welcome. “Sometimes they just go into this mammoth ballroom and sit down by themselves at a table because it’s less conspicuous to be sitting by yourself than standing. It’s easy to forget how fearful and frightened some people are to meet others. But you also know that their company does not want to pay for them to sit by themselves in a ballroom.”

One simple way to welcome newcomers is to give them a different colored name badge and encourage “regulars” to seek them out and introduce themselves. Another idea is to appoint an ambassador who will host a table of newcomers. “People love to share information,” Bjorseth explained, “and if you give them the chance to be the head of the table, it really satisfies a lot of egos.”

She also suggests holding a special gathering for newcomers the evening before the event begins or during registration. Then, when the conference starts, the newcomers will have started building their network of contacts.

Bjorseth shared a story about how much more people can get out of a meeting or event when they learn networking skills. After a daytime workshop for a large group she was at a dinner by the pool. “A woman came up to me and said, ‘If it weren’t for your workshop, I’d be up in my room right now.’ The woman explained that she would never have gone to an event where she didn’t know anyone. But then she added, ‘Because of your workshop, I met people and I feel that I have friends here so I could come down.’ That made my day. I helped this person enjoy the meeting.”

Table Talk
Dining events are also excellent opportunities for networking. “I think many people waste a lot of good time at round tables of 10 when they don’t do an activity,” Bjorseth warned. “Because of the nature of it, you can only talk to the person on either side of you.”

One way planners can avoid this is by creating a table topic that ties into the event. “You just put up signs with different topics and people will sit down and someone will start the conversation. It helps establish a bond and it doesn’t cost a thing,” Bjorseth suggested. “If the group is smaller, let’s say 30 people, I make sure everyone has a chance to stand up and introduce themselves. Then at break, people already know who they want to talk to. It gives some structure to it.”

Splitting Up For Success
It’s only natural for meeting attendees to want to sit with their coworkers or other attendees they’ve met over the years. But to do that throughout the course of the meeting can severely limit networking opportunities. Bjorseth advises planners to develop seating arrangements that will encourage attendees to meet new people. “Meeting planners are always trying to give value, not only to the people who attend, but to the people who are paying for them to attend. Companies don’t want to pay for their employees to go sit and have water-cooler talk.”

Networking In Action
Linda Beckwith, CMP, director of monthly programs for the Indiana chapter of Meeting Professionals International, has booked Bjorseth to present a session on “What to Do Before, During and After Working an Event” for one of the organization’s upcoming monthly meetings.

“We surveyed our members, and networking was the number-one reason they come to our meetings,” Beckwith said. She explained that the monthly meetings give meeting planners, and hotel and hospitality sales professionals an opportunity to get to know each other. “You’re more apt to do business with people you know,” she added.

Another reason Beckwith booked a session on networking was to encourage members to join the organization’s committees. To facilitate this goal, attendees at the luncheon meeting will participate in a networking exercise and presentation led by Bjorseth. Afterwards, they will have a chance to practice their networking skills by visiting a series of food stations hosted by each committee. As they visit each food station, they’ll have a chance to interact with committee members to learn about their needs and opportunities. “We’re very excited about the program,” Beckwith said.

“Sea”zing Opportunities
Choosing the right setting for networking is another important consideration. Shari Wallack, president of the cruise brokerage firm Buy The Sea in Plantation, FL, believes cruises offer several key advantages for planners who want to create the optimal opportunity for networking.

“A cruise ship environment is more conducive to networking for many reasons,” Wallack said. “To begin with, you have a more captive audience than you do on land. This is particularly true at night or during days at sea when the guests cannot go offsite for other diversions as they might while staying at a hotel or resort. They remain onboard the ship for functions and will have an easier time finding other members of the group.

“The best networking occurs on a full ship charter where the only passengers are the ship’s crew and the corporation’s invited guests. It is much less intimidating to approach someone you don’t know and would like to network with when outsiders are not present. It is a much more secure and comfortable environment allowing you to meet and speak with colleagues, even outside of formal group events. Networking is more productive when it takes place over several days and not just at a one-hour cocktail reception or banquet dinner, for example,” Wallack concluded.

Cathy Schuster is senior director of field services for the Coppell, TX-based health and wellness products marketer Mannatech Inc. Her company recently worked with Buy The Sea to charter a cruise ship for its fall incentive trip. “Our associates love the opportunity to network, so whenever we are planning our incentives we always look for venues that are conducive for networking. Our groups are large, so when possible we love to charter a cruise ship. That way we have an entire ship full of people who are always willing to share their experiences and ideas,” she said.

Networking Technology
Technology also can play an important role in facilitating networking. The Boston, MA-based technology company nTag Interactive offers an innovative system that it bills as “the world’s first interactive name badge.” Attendees complete a personal profile during registration that is entered into the nTag system. Each attendee is then given an nTag Wave name tag, a small wearable computer that can be used to exchange information electronically. The device includes a keyboard for sending text messages, and it even can be used to promote networking by helping attendees find a common ground based on their profiles.

Austin, TX-based Freescale Semi­conductor recently used the nTag system at its annual developer’s conference. The event drew more than 2,300 attendees. “We put our own branded label on the nTag devices,” explained Sarah Lavender, marketing communications manager for the Freescale Technology Forum. At registration, each attendee was given an nTag Wave with step-by-step instructions.

The learning curve for the nTag system proved to be short. “They’d all play with it by the registration desk and if they had questions, they’d grab someone,” Lavender said. She explained that nTag team members handled the registration process and were on hand to answer any questions. “We have a lot of pictures of people laughing when they got it to work. It was actually a fun icebreaker.”

Lavender explained that her attendees found nTag’s electronic business card exchange capability to be one of the device’s most valuable features. When two attendees wanted to trade business cards, they would each simply hold up their nTag devices and press a button to exchange the information electronically. “People really used it,” Lavender commented. “We had 50,000-plus business card exchanges.”

Retrieving the contact information was as easy as exchanging it. Each attendee was assigned a personal nTag Web page where they could access all of the contact information they had gathered.

Freescale also took advantage of nTag’s peer-to-peer messaging capabilities. “They could take their nTag device and go to a kiosk and e-mail people at the conference that they had exchanged business cards with,” Lavender explained. Freescale also used the nTag system to survey attendees and update them on classes and schedule changes.

The nTag system also can be used to create interactive networking games. For example, each attendee can be assigned a “secret partner” that they have to find by using their nTag Wave.

“The nTag team was so responsive to our needs. They were always looking for ways to tweak not only the product itself, but its capabilities and the reporting it provided us,” Lavender concluded.

Start With A Strategy
Bjorseth believes that effective networking begins before the event. She suggests that before attendees arrive, they should develop a strategy for what they’d like to accomplish at a meeting or event. “A lot of people worry only about working the room, but they have to have goals,” she said. She also advises guests to dress appropriately. “We ‘say’ a lot before we speak. If you’re not dressed appropriately, you may be shouting out ‘I’m not organized’ or ‘I don’t have good judgment.’” And if guests are going to drink alcohol at the event, they need to remember that they’ll have to face the same people the next day.

Once attendees have a plan for what they want to accomplish, they need the right tools to reach their goals. Bjorseth recommends that people develop what she calls a verbal business card. “Think of it as the front end of your elevator pitch,” she explained. “It should be only a sentence or two, because that’s all you have time to say when people say ‘what do you do?’ It has to be laden with benefits.”

Some people feel that the “work” of networking is over when they walk out the door of the event. In reality, however, that work is just beginning. “Nothing happens until you take action,” Bjorseth cautioned. “It takes time, care and commitment.”

As a first step, Bjorseth recommends that networkers make notes on the business cards of each of their contacts while the information is still fresh in their minds. “Use the airplane ride home or time back at the hotel to make notes,” she advised. “After all, if you can’t remember who people are or what they did, you might as well throw the cards away.”

Nurture Your Network
It is only after the event that the real work of networking begins — making phone calls, sending e-mails and setting up appointments that will help encourage new contacts to open doors. “Relationships are not built overnight,” Bjorseth cautioned. “You can’t expect to have an instant relationship. It’s going to grow as fast as you nurture it.”    C&IT