If you are like me and you go to networking events as much as possible, you might find these ‘6 great tips to make your networking even more successful’ really useful. I have developed them after years of trial and error and would love to share them with you.

Please feel free to comment and share with me your thoughts and tell me if there is anything else I can add to this list!

1. Just going to a networking event, speaking with people and going back to work isn't enough. It's like planting a seed in the ground and forgetting about it.

Find 1-3 people that you had good interactions with, and keep in touch with them after the event. Invite them out for a coffee, go to visit their office... just to build a relationship, not to sell anything!

2. Arrive at the event with an ‘abundance’ mindset. This means, if you come to the event desperately looking for new clients, people will feel it and it doesn’t give you extra points! Instead visualise that you have the money that you want, you are a busy and happy person and you are here to keep up the flow of your work, and are happy to continue to tell everyone about your service/product. (This also applies when a client calls you, think abundance, and put yourself in the mindset of an achiever.) Positive thinking creates positive results. Try it; you’ll see it really works!.

3. If you see people who are busy with their phone, go over to them and introduce yourself. Some people don't feel comfortable starting a conversation so they keep themselves busy by watching their phone. Invite them into the conversation, they will thank you! Also, as much as possible try to avoid using your phone while networking, although it's a good idea to keep it with you so you can connect to people straight away on social media.

4. Listen to the other person, and asked them questions that can help you to help them.

Questions like; ‘who is your ideal client?’ and ‘what is your biggest challenge?’ can often lead to a good referral.

Perhaps they will tell you that they are looking to speak to lawyers. If you know a good lawyer you can give over the information and/or introduce them.

5. Remember, do not sell anything!! You might meet someone who is currently looking for your specific services, so this is really good, but mainly the idea is to 'sell yourself' to people the other person knows. Be as specific as possible and build long term relationships

6. Take responsibility; everyone is busy and probably the majority of people will not contact you. You be the one to take responsibility and contact them to continue your relationship with them.

I hope these tips are helpful for you and I would love to hear what you can add from your own experiences.

Video I filmed and edited from BNI Networking Group.

(All photos in this post are from unsplash)