You might be able to recall a situation where you struggled to complete a course assignment which took you down to mere minutes before submission. The finishing touches were on, and just as you were about to click on the print icon, the mouse stopped moving, and you exchanged frozen stares with the computer for an extended period of time. After two successful iterations of the ?rain dance? the computer was back on line, but all of sudden the printer was out of ink. Not having a dog faithful enough to eat your homework, and knowing the strict deadline ahead, you biked further than you have ever biked, neck in neck with Lance Armstrong, and then managed to get your friend out of bed at 3am, have your assignment printed in colour, stapled and bounded, ready to be submitted at 9 am.
Even though fictitious, this scenario expresses one simple fact?frustrations are part of life. They show up everywhere, in our personal lives and even in business settings. The scenario also demonstrates another simple reality: frustrations provide us with the opportunity to relinquish our efforts or the chance to excel. ?For example,? ?frustration with the ?outrageous? late fees associated with video renting resulted in Netflix. A fruitless year of searching for a pair of rain deterring pants resulted in Outlier, an innovative performance clothing company. Haphazard networking opportunities constrained by overwhelming rules and unrewarding relationships resulted in Stimulus Strategies Networking, a business networking company that empowers all business owners and professionals to prosper in their business networking efforts.
Frustrations generally arise when the outcome falls short of the expectation(s).? There are ultimately two sides to frustration? the do nothing component that potentially breeds anger which then leads to lack of confidence, spoils impetus and rears apathy. The other side is recognizing the frustration and using it to make the right adjustments which will allow you to succeed.
Many business professionals rely on business networking events as a vehicle for initiating quality business relationships. However, due to recurring or previous unsatisfactory results, some attend these events with a prejudiced attitude, or they mire in the harassing conversation of ?if this event is terrible, I am not attending another networking event?. The term terrible is generally linked to lack of leads, or the lack of networking opportunities. But the reality is that individuals, who evaluate a networking event to have been terrible, were perhaps much unprepared for the event. What they should have done is taken some to time to understand what the event is about, bring to awareness the things they dislike about networking events, and develop?a brand new approach. In essence, you will need to learn to differentiate between what you expect will happen, what will most likely occur, and what actually took place.
Understand what the event is about before you choose to participate
We are probably all familiar with the old adage ?time is money?. With that saying one can therefore postulate that ?time wasted, is money wasted?. As a business professional engaged in networking, the last thing you want to do is to attend an event where you feel you wasted your time. If you feel like you have wasted your time, then the grounds for frustration have been cultivated. One way of avoiding such a response is by first understanding what the event is about. Understanding what the event will entail will help to settle your expectations. More importantly you can decide ahead of time whether or not to attend. And if you do attend, you are more able to make the most of the opportunities that are available at the event.
It is also good to get a feel for what the general program will be like. For instance, a ninety minutes business networking event with a keynote speaker automatically reduces your networking time by about fifteen to thirty minutes. If that is the case, be there fifteen minutes early, and plan to stay twenty minutes after the event. If the presentation by the keynote speaker was irrelevant to your business then that approach enables you to recoup ?lost time?. You can contact the event organizer to get this type of information and from there you can make a final decision.
Be aware of your frustrations before you arrive at the event
Now that you have taken some time to understand how the event will unfold, the next step is to take some time to decide on your frustrations so that you are aware of them. This is easily accomplished by simply asking, ?What do I dislike about business networking events?? If it becomes difficult to unearth exactly what they are, start by thinking about the last event you attended and go from there. This exercise will lead you to generate a plan, which amounts to you preparing yourself. ?If you disregard this exercise then when you arrive at the event, and the first thing you will notice are the things that irk you most about these events, and you will respond how you have always responded: either by leaving too early and potentially missing out on excellent opportunities, or you will allow your frustrations to mask you and your business, therefore stifling potential opportunities.
?At our last business networking event, the Ottawa Business Networking Affair, I was standing at the entrance to the conference room, when I was approached by a hesitant patron. I invited him to go inside, but he resisted my invitation by remaining at the entrance and narrowly and hastily scanning the room. From where he was standing and traffic going through the entrance, he was not able to get a full grasp of what was going on in the room. He was not able to see the exhibitor booths and he was not able to see the full set up of the room. He said to me ?I don?t usually like these events because my kinds of people are not here?. I encouraged him to go on inside because there was still fifteen minutes until the official start of the event, and inside the other patrons were already busy networking. ?He obliged and to mollify my invitation, he told me that he would only stay for a few minutes. By the time I was finished greeting four or five others at the door, I looked in and noticed that he was already entrenched in a conversation with two other individuals. He ended up staying for the entire event.?
Taking a few minutes to make yourself aware of the things that bother you about networking events, will enable you to be better equipped to deal with them as well as assist you in having clearer expectations. Having clearer expectations develops a new perspective, which is a vital tool in creating a plan that will help you to conquer your frustrations with networking events.
Develop a new perspective and approach the event with the new viewpoint
How you perceive networking events will form the substratum of how you approach networking events. If you scrutinize them with an irritated mindset, then naturally you will find them to be of no benefit to you, and your participation/lack of participation will be of no benefit to anyone.
?I always attend these events but?I never get any quality leads.?
?I exchange business cards but the appointments always fall through.?
If you are able to accurately assess your frustrations then you will then be able to develop a realistic plan. Ultimately, business networking results in getting quality leads. But prior to that taking place, a relationship must be established and nurtured. Therefore, a business networking event is perhaps a less than opportune location for quality leads. The question is ?How can you capitalize on all opportunities presented at a business networking event?? ?The answer is simply to change your perspective, which causes you to adjusting your methods.
If you want leads, first change your approach to what is really worthwhile, building relationships. And since building relationships take time, alter your method of?haphazardly?handing out business cards to setting up confirmed meeting times before the conversation is done.? If you attend a business networking event and you intend on setting up five appointments, and you happen to get five appointments, ensure that have them booked before you leave. Your conversation should not end with ?see you Thursday at 10am?. It should end with something like ?Nice talking to you Bill and I am looking forward to chatting with you on Thursday about how we can collaborate?. This indicates that the meet up time is already established and the subject of the conversation is established. Verify that you have a definite date and a tentative date. ?Confirm that the business card has all the information that you need. Ensure that the communication method is mutually agreed upon. Don?t walk away thinking you are going to be making a phone call, meanwhile the other person is waiting on a confirmation through Facebook. Ask what social media the other person uses, and then as soon as you get some time prior to the meeting, add the person to the appropriate network. The value of this is that you get some more insight into who you are meeting.
Frustrations are commonplace and they have the potential to be destructive in our personal lives and our business dealings. With the right attitude and the right approach, your frustrations can become the catalyst that inspires change. When it comes to networking events, this type of behaviour comes with understanding what you are getting involved with at a networking event, mapping out your grievances, and developing a new perspective with which to approach the networking event. The result is that you can become the primary beneficiary of your frustrations and a benefactor to others.
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Stimulus Strategies Networking,
?Empowering your business through strategic networking.?
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