10 Ways to Make Networking Events Easy

Key Takeaways

Networking is about relationships, not selling. Focus on listening and helping.
Prepare for networking events before you go. Polish your elevator pitch, bring cards, craft a client-focused LinkedIn profile and website, dress well, and book a few meetings.
During the event, be approachable. Start and end chats smoothly, and give more than you take.
Set simple goals. Aim for 2 to 3 quality conversations, and take breaks as needed.
Follow up within 24 to 72 hours. Connect on LinkedIn, email a short note, and keep in touch.

Networking events like conferences and meetings are the best places to meet clients and colleagues who can refer work to you. But leaving the safe cocoon of our offices to go to a networking event is stressful for most freelancers—even scary. Here are 10 tips for making networking events easier:

Understand networking
Develop your marketing tools
Dress for freelance success
Schedule some meetings
Be approachable
Give more than you take
Be strategic
Have reasonable expectations
Take breaks
Follow up

Prepare Before Networking Events

1. Understand Networking

If you want to make networking easy, then you need to understand what networking is and isn’t.

Networking is not about “selling yourself.” It’s about getting to know people. When you’re at a networking event, remember that:

Everyone is there to network.
Many of the people there are also shy or scared.
Most people are nice.

And networking is a skill. Like any skill, the more you practice, the better—and more comfortable—you’ll get.

2. Develop your marketing tools

Take your elevator speech and plenty of business cards with you to the networking event. Your elevator speech is what you’ll say so that people understand—in 30 seconds or less—what you do and how you help your clients. Include:

The benefit clients get when they work with you
What you do (your services)
Who you work with (type of clients).

Your business card is an easy way for the people you meet to remember you. Make sure they’re clear, high-quality, and error-free. Make notes on the back of the cards you collect so you remember who you want to get to know better and what you talked about.

And make sure you have a complete, client-focused LinkedIn profile and/or website to impress the people you’re meeting when they check you out.

3. Dress for freelance success

People form opinions about you within a few seconds, based on your appearance. Make that all-important positive first impression by dressing for success. Business casual works for most networking events, unless your clients and industry are more formal

4. Schedule some meetings

Accelerate your results by scheduling some meetings with people you already know and people you want to meet. Meet with people:

During breaks
For a meal or a drink
At a session.

Be Confident During Networking Events

Being prepared helps you feel more confident during networking events.

5. Be approachable

Make it easier for people to talk to you:

Smile to relax and appear reliable, relaxed, and sincere.
Don’t bury your face in your phone, tablet, or computer during breaks.
Pay attention to you look (appearance and body language) and sound (tone, volume and cadence of your voice).

Most people will be happy if you talk to them. Try these opening lines:

Why did you decide to come to this conference?
What sessions are you attending?
How did you come to be a [WHATEVER THE PERSON DOES]?
What do you like best about your work?

Ending a conversation is harder than starting one. Here are some nice ways to move on so you can meet other people:

It’s been so nice talking to you! I hope to see you again.
I don’t want to keep you from everyone else, but let’s connect. Here’s my card.
I need to run to my session. Take care!

6. Give more than you take

Helping others without expecting anything in return—or giving more than you take—is the best way to build trusting relationships. In his best-selling book Give and Take, Wharton professor Adam Grant reported that people who give their time, knowledge, ideas, and connections to others without expecting anything in return (“givers”) are more successful than people who think it’s a dog-eat-dog world and focus only on self-promotion (“takers”).

The people you help will remember you when they have a freelance job or something else to share. Also, it’s also easier to ask someone for help if you’ve helped her or him.

7. Be strategic

Be nice to everyone you meet, but spend most of your networking time with the people you think will be most useful to you, and you to them, especially other freelancers. Having a strategic network of freelance friends helps you get more referrals, and get practical advice and support.

8. Have reasonable expectations

Don’t expect to leave a networking event with new clients and dozens of deep relationships. And don’t worry if you don’t get to know a lot of people. The quality of the people you meet (in terms of their relevance to you) is much more important than the quantity.