Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Key Takeaways
- Effective networking can significantly boost your reputation and lead to valuable connections and business success — but there are five common mistakes that can undermine these benefits.
- These mistakes include being inauthentic, coming across as self-obsessed, being unprepared, not asking questions and forgetting to follow up.
I am a firm believer that building connections is of the utmost importance to a happy and successful life, and I am particularly interested in meeting people who come from vastly different backgrounds than mine.
Connections are even more important when you are a dynamic entrepreneur who is eager to put themselves out there for the world to see. A businessperson who networks is also keen to learn as much as they can about the industry they operate within, as well as from various business communities through the cordial relationships they foster through events, such as trade fairs and conferences.
This is a highly beneficial exercise because by making the right connections, one can increase their reputation, develop important business collaborations, as well as secure the resources needed to boost a company. In some cases, research has shown that successful networking leads to eventual startup success.
However, there is a caveat. Bad networking habits do develop among some entrepreneurs. There are various faux pas that entrepreneurs often commit during these relationship-building events, whether they do it knowingly or unknowingly, which can have a negative impact on their business. Here, I have identified five common erroneous habits that could ruin your networking efforts.
1. Being inauthentic
Honesty is indeed the best policy when you are introducing yourself and your business to a networking peer. However, many entrepreneurs begin their networking event by putting on a front about who they really are. While entrepreneurs are not required to reveal absolutely everything about themselves, it is important to approach a new acquaintance with honesty, politeness and a cordial attitude that doesn’t feel out of place with your actual personality.
Forced efforts to connect are painfully obvious at these events, so it is very important that entrepreneurs don’t accidentally project such an image when introducing themselves. Besides, you never know who you might end up meeting, whether that be a future investor or a prospective client.
2. Seeming self-obsessed
Self-obsessive behaviors are off-putting, especially when networking events are specifically organized to foster a give-and-take interaction. You are ideally playing a zero-sum game, which means that you have to listen to others and meaningfully respond to their opinions instead of simply talking about yourself without giving any attention back to the listener.
One might think that success stems from putting oneself first, even in conversations with others, but I beg to differ, being the figurehead of a service-oriented company with a rich history that goes back more than a hundred years. Your passion for your business and your industry should be conveyed in a down-to-earth manner, which opens up room for further discussions with others and possible knowledge sharing, instead of seeming completely consumed by your own pursuits and making everything about yourself.
3. Being unprepared
Although preparedness seems like an obvious character trait of an entrepreneur, many actually take this for granted when it comes to networking. When you meet a prospective client or simply a fellow entrepreneur with whom you could potentially collaborate in the future, not pitching your business as succinctly as possible could prove to be a grave error.
What’s more important for an entrepreneur is to convey their personal values and explain how these are represented by their company for interested parties. Before you enter that trade conference, make sure you are prepared to pitch what you do to people you meet. Keep that business card in hand. In addition, you can also do your research on who might attend the event in question, so that you will know whom you can prioritize in a room full of people.
4. Not asking questions
Listening to someone talk is one thing, but asking further questions is what truly shows your openness, engagement and curiosity about the topic at hand. A common mistake people make when meeting others is not driving the conversation with questions about a particular subject or about the individual, or questions that are more open-ended in nature, which could encourage participation from others.
A simple, “What inspired you to start your business?” could go a long way, as this sort of query openly encourages people to talk about their background and interests. This applies to online networking platforms, too, such as social media and virtual conferences, where sometimes a well-timed question can bring unexpected connections into your business life.
5. Forgetting to follow up
This is a very common but very serious problem many entrepreneurs face: what happens after a networking event. It is simple courtesy to follow up on the most interesting connections you have made, either on the very next day or at the very least, within the same working week. I would say that the sooner you send that email, the better.
Sometimes, you might have your connection’s business card and details, and you may simply forget where you placed it after the event. At times, a prospective client you met somewhere could be sitting in your phone’s contacts list, and you may forget they are even there. This is why you should be very organized and methodical about your networking. Take notes, create reminders to ensure that you execute every follow-up to the highest standards and that you don’t leave any valuable relationship hanging.
Key Takeaways
- Effective networking can significantly boost your reputation and lead to valuable connections and business success — but there are five common mistakes that can undermine these benefits.
- These mistakes include being inauthentic, coming across as self-obsessed, being unprepared, not asking questions and forgetting to follow up.
I am a firm believer that building connections is of the utmost importance to a happy and successful life, and I am particularly interested in meeting people who come from vastly different backgrounds than mine.
Connections are even more important when you are a dynamic entrepreneur who is eager to put themselves out there for the world to see. A businessperson who networks is also keen to learn as much as they can about the industry they operate within, as well as from various business communities through the cordial relationships they foster through events, such as trade fairs and conferences.
This is a highly beneficial exercise because by making the right connections, one can increase their reputation, develop important business collaborations, as well as secure the resources needed to boost a company. In some cases, research has shown that successful networking leads to eventual startup success.
