Be Curious to Create Connections and Referrals

Professional events like conferences and conventions offer opportunities to grow your mindset, your network, and ultimately your business. That is, if you attend them with a bit more purpose than simply walking away with a nifty new t-shirt. Commit to having intentional interactions and creating long-term relationships that will serve you for years to come. There are a few things you can do to ensure you make the most out of your attendance.

Be Approachable

Imagine you are attending a large session, perhaps with hundreds of people milling about trying to get the best seat. You find a chair a few rows back from the stage. To your left, there’s a large group, likely from the same business. They’ve roped off a few chairs and have a huge cut-out of someone from their team soaring above them, and they are chatting excitedly.  To your right, there’s someone glued to their phone, texting or triaging email with a blank face. Who do you feel more comfortable talking to?

Phones are conversation stop signs. According to a study by the University of Connecticut, when someone is in a social interaction where they are trying to communicate something but a cell phone is present, it can lead to people feeling less connected and less likely to engage at all. “Phubbing,” that is the snubbing of someone in favor of a phone, is as frequent as the common cold these days. Don’t let your potential referrals get infected!

Put your phone away, even if you’ll be pulling it out later to share contact information. This will make you more likely to make the connections you’re searching for.

Find Common Ground

One of the biggest values of a professional event is that there’s a bit of pre-work done for you. You can assume that by attending, the people you’re about to talk to have some connection to the same industry as you. Congrats! You’ve already got something in common to talk about.

Former Central Intelligence Agency operative Christina Hillsberg shares a technique that the CIA taught its spies called “You Me, Same Same.” This tactic involved sharing interest in a topic in which their “intelligence asset” was also interested in – essentially, having common interests meant that a spy could start to build trust with their target. You don’t need to be 007 to connect with people who you have things in common with – just be yourself!

Ask Questions

One of the fastest ways to build connection with someone is to be genuinely curious about them as a person. Where some would-be networkers fail is coming on a bit too strong with the business and not taking the time to get to know someone on a deeper level. 

Don’t be yucky. Let the business talk come from the connections and conversation, rather than being forced. If you’re feeling a bit stuck, you can use a trusted conversation framework like FORD.

Follow Up

Now collecting all the business cards or starting to follow loads of new social media accounts doesn’t really do anything for your business is you don’t actively follow up with your new contacts when you get home.

Create a time block for following up with your new friends within a week or two of the event.  As you reach out, make sure to add your new contact to your database and double-check that you have accurate information. It helps to sometimes add a little bit of context to your note, reminding them of how you connected. Don’t overthink your message. It can be as simple as this:

Hi Gabi, it’s April. We met at the up-and-coming investor workshop – I really appreciated getting to know you. Good luck with your first short-term property! Let me know how it goes and if you ever have anyone looking for a place in upstate New York. 

The important thing is to solidify your connection and set up a system for future contact.

Do you have any tips for networking and gaining referrals? Share them on our Facebook page. Don’t forget to check out the KellerINK blog for more articles and research. Looking for worksheets and slide decks? There’s a resource page for that.