Sébastien Alvarez and Harold Parisot, respectively member and founder of the Chinese Business Club, master networking. Following my interviews, I was invited to a monthly lunch. What are the best practices for successful networking? How to find the right people and break the ice without doing too much or too little ?
BEFORE A NETWORKING EVENT
– adapt your dress and speech (suit and tie for men, elegant outfit for women). – prepare your digital business card or several printed – prepare a 20 seconds pitch that clearly presents your USP Echoing the marketing concept of 4 pain points : which problem do you solve? – if you know the list of participants in advance, identify the target people Visit their LinkedIn profile to easy recognize them.
DURING NETWORKING
– if you are new to networking, arriving first and leaving last allows you to connect as many people as possible
– take care of your introduction. Personally I go slowly with a big smile, I wait for people to finish their conversation and I go straight. I speak about my expertise without revealing too much, so the guests feel likely to introduce themselves too. “ Hello, I’m Léa Ben Zimra. I am a French gastronomy expert what about you ? ”
– learn to question and listen to your interlocutor in order to understand their position and issues
DETAILS THAT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
– memory : remember a name and key information make the difference. – conversation : whatever people talk about, feed the conversation with smart talk – listening skills : understanding your interlocutor to identify opportunities and adapting your pitch if necessary
AFTER A NETWORKING EVENT
Be rigorous in your follow-up : 24 to 48 hours after the event, send an invitation to people on linkedin, adding a note if possible.
Content creation strategy : if you have a personal or a human brand goal, work on a real editorial strategy and post regularly. You don’t have to write everything, AI will save you time and share content related to your industry! What matters is bringing your perspective on content that is useful to your audience. (Remember 4 content creation goals : inform, educate, entertain or seduce)
Gastronomy is an underestimated asset in your professional success. Make your salesteam save time learning in a few hours how to better understand people & better work with them.
Empowerment : why and how gastronomy help you gain confidence. Leadership : the basics of communication and the art of asking the right questions. Culture : boost your conversation throughout historical meals & gourmet artists.