Business networking can sometimes feel intimidating, especially in a field like finance that might not always spark lively conversation in social settings. But with the right approach and a little creativity, business networking can open doors to meaningful connections and opportunities. Paul Skene shares his personal insights on making networking a more enjoyable and effective experience. From creating memorable first impressions to finding the right environment for networking, here are some of Paul’s best tips for making the most of your business networking efforts.
Finance is not the the coolest thing to be talking about in social settings so business networking can be a bit of a tricky situation, so hence at tonight’s business networking night I thought I would go all out and a wear a bright Hawaiian shirt. Hopefully someone attending will comment “nice shirt” or “that’s a bit different”, It’s my Icebreaker. Generally the standard issue for a finance broker is a chino shirt, so tonight’s shirt offers a bit of a change and helps you pick me out in a crowd.
Why is being different good when it comes to business networking?
I’ll share a quick story about a former colleague who was going to an event down in Melbourne. This event had over 400 people attending, all in fancy dress. He was heading into this event not knowing anyone, and as a big tall ex-rugby player. I was interested to hear how his trip had gone, and when he returned he was really happy to share that it had gone really well. I asked “What did you dress up as?” and he replied “I dressed up as Princess Leia from Star Wars”. It was a laugh to imagine, and then he shared how amazing it was that the so many people had come up to him to comment on his costume and look, have a laugh, and then turned into a organic conversation which then turned into connections.
People approached him purely just to share how much they loved his costume, and that got him a foot in the door for a lot of connections to build business from there.
Business Networking as a Conversation Starter
While my shirt may be a little tame compared to this next level choice, I did come across a interesting option at Kmart yesterday where there were a range of Easter bunny costumes, and being Easter time I did seriously consider purchasing one for tonight but I reconsidered and went with the shirt (I didn’t fully trust their one size fits all deal), so this is my top business networking tip and that is just think of something a bit different, something to open that conversation or have a chat, even if it is to comment on a shirt. What ever it is it is still that conversation starter with people.
Business Networking Groups Around the Central Coast
My other tip is there’s a lot of different business networking groups around the Central Coast. There’s so many options for people in different comfort zones, depending on what sort of personality you are, you can even do business networking online these days. With Linked Local Central Coast its a great space to just have a casual and relaxed chat with people. it’s not going into a cold room to sit at a desk where you are thinking what’s the next person going to say? Where you may be overthinking things. Its in the relaxed environment where business networking works, even if you if you’re a bit of an introvert or you’re not really into business networking because it scares you but if you can get the right environment and for people it works really well. There there’s so many different options out there and just about getting out and and having a chat and and just meeting people that’s all for me.