Your Guide to Speed Networking

It is important when speed networking to get the most out of your time. Using our system, you only have 5 minutes to work out whether the person you're talking to is a potential new customer, supplier or partner.

2 minutes of that time is allocated to you to talk about your business. 2 minutes is allocated to your partner to talk about his or her business. You have 30 seconds to score the meeting, then 30 seconds to move onto the next meeting.

We recommend that you spend the first 30 seconds with a brief explanation of what you do. Then spend your remaining time working out how the new contact you're sitting opposite might be useful. By using your time constructively, you have more chance of making good connections that you can follow up on.

When you are listening to your new contact talk about their business, remember to keep an open mind and ask questions. If you can't immediately see a way in which you can work with them, it's good to know more about who's doing what in case you hear of something, and can refer business to them. They might just do the same for you. Also, people buy from people they like. If you take an interest, they are more likely to want to talk to you in the future.

Remember to smile, enjoy yourself and follow up on your meetings. If you see an opportunity to do business, call up the following day while the contact is hot. Remember they've also met 15 new faces and it's important to spend some more time cultivating the relationship.

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