Networking is a fantastic opportunity for people to meet, share and learn. But it takes more than putting people together in the same place. You can plan and manage highly effective networking events people are eager to attend. Let TV’s “Mad Men” show you how.

Let the Games Begin

You see them at every traditional networking event: Self-obsessed, narcissistic, hard-drinking, career-focused people who are in it for “me” and determined to cement any kind of relationship it takes to get ahead.

They are the sharks in the water. In the 1960s “Mad Men” world of Madison Avenue ad agencies, Don Draper is just such an alpha type. He’s handsome, charismatic and has an uncanny way of seducing colleagues and consumers with his charm and creativity.

A World of Electronic Hermits

Let’s face it there are an awful lot of people who simply don’t enjoy networking events. The world is filled with introverts. In fact, social media is skyrocketing based on the idea that people can meet … without actually meeting. It feeds a vast generation of electronic hermits.

They are the ones who show up with no intention of speaking with anyone. They don’t know how to network and have no intention of learning. They are there because they feel they have to be. “Hi, I’m a person you need to know” comes off as awkward and very old school.

How do you deal with the Don Drapers and the introverts to engineer a better networking event? With a little smart planning.

“If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”

Don Draper – Mad Men

Like-Minded People

Networking is simple. The aim is to meet people with similar interests and goals. It’s about exchanging great ideas and making friends and contacts. The event is supposed to give everyone permission to talk. But in the real world, relations and friendships take time. They aren’t a drive-by shooting.

The Mad Men Guide to Networking Events

On Mad Men, Don Draper succeeds because of his uncanny ability to understand and appeal to the needs and desires of average people. He would do the same thing with your next networking event. He’d give people what they want:

A comfortable environment

Interesting people to talk with

Something to talk about

And enough time to do it

A Comfortable Environment

Traditional thinking says fabulous, effective networking will happen if you just host a cocktail party. Traditional thinking says pick a great location and a load of food and drinks. The reality is: Do that and everyone will stand around talking with their old friends.

No one wants to yell over the live music or search for a corner. Your event can be better if you let your fun, be fun. Let your networking be relaxing, quieter and spread out. Give people room to talk. Instead of having a giant event, have a series of smaller, more specialized ones. Divide the attendees by interests and the things they have in common. No one can network with 1,000 people.

Interesting People to Talk With

One of the biggest worries people have when they attend events is, “What am I going to talk about?” So fill the event with people who have things in common.

If it’s a break during the day at an event, have an expert come out after a workshop, or a speaker or executive after a session. Let them bring the conversation with them. The idea is that the person stimulates the discussion and doesn’t just field questions. Attendees want more time and contact with executives and outside leaders – this is the way.

A Pre-Questionnaire is the key. If it’s a planned networking event, send out a pre-questionnaire with a series of multiple-choice questions to help identify:

•  High-interest topics

•  Major issues

•  People the attendees want to meet

•  Personal interests

•  Personal priorities

A simple data-sort gives you a list of like-minded people with things in common. That’s your invitation list for each smaller event. Just before the event, email or message each person the names of five people they should find and what they have in common. If you have a customized event app, you can build this in. Now your event will begin with people already talking.

Something To Talk About

Networking shouldn’t be like running barefoot across a cow pasture. You don’t just step into a great conversation or relationship. Give your event a purpose and a goal. In your pre-event communications, ask people to bring answers to a list of four intriguing questions. Make them relevant to the overall event and the specific group of people.

Give them a structure and a task to share and people will have an excuse to talk to each other. Discuss a problem, explore options, and let the attendees accomplish something tangible. If you tie this to the four questions you sent out in advance, then people will feel prepared, more comfortable – and will leave supercharged about the meaningful contacts they’ve made.

Give People Time To Talk

We’ve all been to one or planned one. The event has every available minute scheduled, coordinated and plugged into the agenda. From breakfast to the late night, it’s wall-to-wall for 12 hours a day. Besides burning out the attendees and making content retention an endangered species – it makes relaxed conversation and genuine networking impossible.

You’ll have a more successful event if you can resist the pressure to control and label every minute of downtime. Build some pauses or “white spaces” into the day where attendees have some free time that they control. You will quickly discover that much of the real value of your event comes from informal conversations and interactions between the participants.

People attend events to learn from and network with like-minded people who share common interests. They come for the people, content and the experience!

The Big Pitch

The team at Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency put everything into the big pitch to the client. Don is the closer and sums it all up. If he was putting the Mad Men Guide to Networking Events into a few words, he might tell you this:

•  Don’t call it networking. Calling an event “networking” is like calling a trip to the dentist “teeth pulling.“

•  Networking isn’t the result of geography. Just because you put people together in the same place, it doesn’t mean they’ll talk.

•  A networking event is like having an affair. You want it quiet, intimate and with room to stretch out.

•  There are two kinds of people, the ones who are interested and the ones who are interesting. You need both.

•  Get people who share common interests together, give them a reason to talk and people to talk with. Then get out of the way.

Instead of setting your sights on a rapid-fire event filled with rushed turbo-talk, put it in slow motion. Four personal contacts with like-minded people are worth 40 casual conversations.

A Little Grin at The End

You can always tell when Don is about to deliver his clincher. He pauses and cracks a little grin. Here’s the clincher on planning effective networking events that people enjoy and want to attend.

You approach it with the idea that you are starting a relationship with a person with common interests. Then the experience isn’t just about connecting with a person who might be useful – it’s connecting with all the people they know.

Now, that’s something to talk about.

If you want to know more about making networking more meaningful just click on CONTACT US and get in touch.

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