Hosting a good networking event can sometimes be a challenge. It is always good to keep the goal in mind, no matter what that goal may be. For example, it could be to meet a bunch of new contacts and broaden your business allies. It could be to raise the awareness of your products or services for other colleagues in your industry. It could also be to simply generate income.
There could even be different reasons than I have listed above. Whatever your motivations may be, here are 5 things to avoid when hosting your networking event;
1. Avoid not having name tags at your event. Name tags are important at a business networking event because it helps attendees to identify who they would like to speak to. Before a word is even said, a person may spot someone of interest and purposely speak to them because of what they read on their name tag. I have held events with and without nametags but I have found that using them helps my guests significantly.
2. Avoid arriving to your own event late. This may sound like common sense but I have to admit, I have done this in the past. It could be traffic, a work related situation, or any number of different things. It’s always good to overcompensate when it comes to arriving on time. If you are set to be there at 5pm, do all within your power to arrive at 3:30pm. You will find if you keep this mentality, you’ll never be late and you’ll be able to greet your guests.
3. Avoid not having a good system for recording the information of your attendees. When you hold your own event, it’s a prime opportunity to meet new contacts and gather their information. This is great because you have the opportunity to contact them at a later time and they will always remember you because it was your event. If you don’t have a sufficient system for capturing this data, you will regret it later.
4. Avoid the promotion of a guest speaker before they have made a solid confirmation. If you book a guest speaker for your networking event because the person may have told you they would be happy to come on a certain day and time but there has been no written correspondence of the fact, don’t go ahead and promote it as a done deal.
If you do, and the guest forgets about the event and schedules something else, you could have several disappointed attendees at your event. This is not the brand you want to put on yourself.
5. Avoid having your event at a venue that is either too big or too small. When you are planning a networking event, you must realistically estimate how many people will attend. If you are a dreamer and expect hundreds of people to come and your promotion is not significant and 20 people show up, it will make your event look small and amateurish.
On the other hand, if you have a large contact base and sufficient promotion, don’t book a venue that can only hold 50 people if you’re likely attendance will be 200. Yes, it will make you look like the most popular business in town but the crowding and guests who aren’t able to get in will never forget this.