Oh what a night!
Last night I attended my second real marketing event and it was a great learning experience. I’ve always been the type to shy away when people approach me, so to be put in a situation where I’m there to meet people and talk to them was a different thing from the norm. You mean, you want to know about me? Don’t mind if I do!
So what did the networking event teach me? Multiple things.
- People want to know you if you are confident about yourself. Hold yourself to a higher standard and let your surroundings know that you’re not to be messed with.
- Not everyone who talks to you is hitting on you. This one is huge for me! Of course a few creeps will sneak their way in, but most people are genuine when they approach you about your business and show interest in supporting you.
- Know what your product is and prepare your conversations beforehand. On my drive to the venue, I practiced my introduction, what my product was, and why people should come see me. I felt crazy when I was doing it, but it paid off because I knew exactly what to say when I met a new person.
- Work on your smile in your free time. This one is a given. Practice your smile, you posture, your gestures. Everything you say and do makes an impression, so let it be a good one.
- Have easy names on social media accounts. Half of the people I met asked for social media accounts before they asked for a business card. This made it easy for automatic connections and it’s guaranteed that you will remember to follow up with them.
Of course, I learned more lessons, but these seem to be the ones that stuck out to me most. Now I get to take these tips and use them for next week’s happy hour! What a night it was, and I look forward to having more of them.
