3 Guidelines for Creating a Winning Networking Action Plan

Do you wish your networking efforts were more successful?  Do you find yourself leaving events, having invested your time and money, without seeing any results?

We’ve all had this frustration and my recommendation is to develop a networking action plan. To do so, just answer the questions below.

What am I hoping to achieve?
This first question is one many people have never considered. There are many goals you may have when attending an event – meeting people in your industry, building your reputation or presence, learning something new, meeting vendors, identifying referral sources, or finding prospects.

Choose just one or two goals at a time, depending on what’s going on in your business. Your goal will drive your choice of events and your actions when you are there.

What kind of events will help me achieve my goals?
You might enjoy more casual networking events, but are they really the best place to build your reputation as an industry expert? Maybe your goal is to develop a network of referral sources – you’ll need to figure out who these sources will be, and what kind of events they are likely to attend. If you want to meet prospects, ask your current customers which events they attend.

How many events should I attend?
Set a goal for yourself, and stick to it. I’d recommend setting monthly goals with weekly check-ins – it’s long enough to give you some leeway, but not so long that you are likely to wait until it’s too late to get started. 

If you plan to attend six events per month, try to schedule two a week. That way, even if something comes up at the last minute and you miss an event, you won’t fall behind on your goal.

Remember to take your budget into account – some events are free, but many are not. Some events are discounted for members, and if you attend many events with the same organizer it may be worth investing in membership.

Where will I find events?
Once you know the kind of events you’d like to find, and how often you’d like to attend them, identify at least two or three sources of these kinds of events. Some great sources are social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn groups, community-focused publications (e.g. The New York Enterprise Report, or networking organizations (e.g. Networking for Professionals).

Remember to ask your customers, colleagues, and even vendors what events they are attending! You may be able to attend exclusive events as an invited guest.

I hope the strategies above are helpful as you network – feel free to keep us posted in the comments!