Nov 09
18
Getting the best out of your coaching network events
The purpose of you attending a networking event is usually to identify new clients or new business; how you approach and deal with these events on the day is crucial to you achieving that purpose. There are numerous networking events, relevant to your niche area, that you could attend on a regular basis. Some are available daily, if you are prepared to travel, other are not as often.
With a little creative planning you could make it a full time job attending network events but where would that leave you. You’d have a list of potential clients, a rather large travelling expenses claim in addition to your accommodation bill, but no time to convert those clients into income. It’s probably quite obvious that you need to commit the appropriate amount of time to all your business functions; networking being one of them. Failure to do this will result in unnecessary strain on certain sections of the business. As with other business functions, networking events have to be planned into your daily schedule with an equal amount of consideration.
So with the preliminaries out of the way and the networking events in your schedule; the next thing is to consider how are you going to ensure you achieve the best results from the networking event? How are you going to guarantee that you return to work with a list of potential clients. This calls for a little bit of forethought. As your coaching practice develops you have to be careful not to forget about your own personal growth and self development. This doesn’t just mean the development of your coaching skills but also the business skills to support your practice. You might want to read a previous blog, life coach directory. Consider the following 7 ideas:
1. Business cards
Always ensure you have an ample supply of business cards and the information on them is up-to-date and free from errors. Nothing too fancy, fairly straight forward with you company logo if you have one, ideally only printed on one side. This allows people to write any notes on the reverse; for this reason I would suggest you don’t laminate them.
Keep your business cards in one pocket and use another pocket for cards given to you. This will prevent any confusion and inadvertently hand out a business card you’ve just been given.
2. Elevator speech
An elevator speech, so called because you should be able to deliver it in the time you spend in an elevator. It is a prepared speech you use when meeting with other people at networking events. It’s also useful for everyday use should somebody ask you what you do for a living; rather than mumbling some utterances about how hard you job is you can deliver a precise clear summary of what you do.
Prepare your elevator speech, refine it, practice and then practice it. Make it sound natural and part of your everyday conversation.
3. Be remembered
When you leave the event you want to be remembered by your potential clients; make sure you’ve made a good impression on them.
When you identify a potential client; rather than spending the time telling them all about you and how good you are, listen! Yes, ask them to tell you who they are, what they do, about their successes and listen with sincerity to everything they tell you. Ask them questions, without ‘butting in’ about what they are saying. Show a real and genuine interest in them and their company. If this exercise is done correctly they will realise you are a person of honesty and integrity and return the gesture.
This will then give you the opportunity to tell them about who you are, what you do and your success. However, a word of warning, do refrain from ‘diving’ into a long endless droll of ‘this is me aren’t I good’ speech. Just stick to your elevator speech and let the conversation develop from there. Don’t forget you don’t want to be spending to much time with one person. You have access to probable hundreds of other potential clients.
4. Meet with the movers and shakers
Get to know the key people, both event organisers and sponsors. If there is a speaker get to know them too, introduce yourself and your company. Show an interest in what they are doing, if something wants doing and you are able, offer your services. Get yourself remembered, give them a business card, if it doesn’t help on the day it may in the future.
5. Attend the seminars
If there are any seminars within the event make sure you attend all those that you can. If you are stuck with a dilemma that means you’ve got a real choice, make your decision go with it. If this is the case seek out the speaker from the seminar(s) you can’t attend and offer your apologies; collect any information they may have, again give them a business card.
6. Give them something for nothing
As you speak to your potential clients give them something for nothing. Something that will be of benefit to them, make sure it’s not something they can pick up from anywhere. It must be part of your service. Maybe a free appraisal or a free coaching session with no obligations.
7. Follow up
When you get back to the office and certainly within the next two days send all the people you have spoken to a courtesy email thanking them for their time, tell how you enjoyed their company and you’ll contact them again in the next few days to discuss their requirements in further detail. Keep a record of your successes in our journal diary.
Next time to attend a coaching networking event try these 7 easy to follow steps and watch your client acquisition rate increase and your coaching practice look a lot healthier.
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