"It helps hone your 90 second pitch. Also helps people get over the barrier of talking to strangers."
"Far easier than social networking; you have none of the fear of breaking into a group of people..."
What is Speed Networking?
Speed networking concentrates purely on networking. By meeting lots of people in a structured format, you have more chance of meeting the best contacts for your business. Speed networking is proving a winning formula for many businesses who simply want to generate results; on average, each attendee creates £500 worth of new revenue per event.
At each event between 30-60 business people meet at a central location. After registration, the event is explained and the first networking session begins. The event is broken into two sessions by a speech from an invited speaker, and there is plenty of time to catch up with key contacts when the formal part of the event closes.
Each of the speed networking sessions last for about 1 hour. This entails forming two rows, the inner row moves at the whistle and the outer one stays still. You have 3 minutes to talk to each other; we recommend 90 seconds for each person. You then move on to the next person and repeat the process. It's as simple as that.
How to get the most from Speed Networking.
Here are some tips to help you make the most of your time and enjoy the experience. We recommend that you spend the first 30 seconds with a brief explanation of what you do. Then spend your remaining time working out how the new contact you're sitting opposite might be useful. By using your time constructively, you have more chance of making good connections that you can follow up on.
When you are listening to your new contact talk about their business, remember to keep an open mind and ask questions. If you can't immediately see a way in which you can work with them, it's good to know more about who's doing what in case you hear of something, and can refer business to them. They might just do the same for you. Also, people buy from people they like. If you take an interest, they are more likely to want to talk to you in the future.
Remember to smile, enjoy yourself and follow up on your initial contact. If you see an opportunity to do business, call up the following day while the contact is hot. Remember they've also met 50 new faces and it's important to spend some more time cultivating the relationship.
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