21 Proven Business Networking Tips From Sales Experts 2022

“Find an established group with regular attendees who can vouch for the success being in the group has brought them, be that commercial or social, and always aim for a long-term view of gaining success from them. Don't see networking groups as a route to gain business solely for yourself and not put/offer anything in return. Be as sure as you can about your own network and own client roster or personal 'black book' and be ready to make the right sorts of introductions when appropriate.”

— Alex Hill, Sales Director, SEO Works

“Before attending an event, have a goal in mind. Are you looking to promote your brand? Are you looking for a business partner? Are you looking for a mentor or to become one? Once you have a goal in mind, prepare an elevator pitch. Rehearse what it is that you’re going to communicate to others to make sure you have it down to a succinct few sentences.”

— Alex Melen, Co-Founder, SmartSites

“When you attend a networking event with the hope of increasing sales, know who you want to target. If there's a list available online of attendees, check it out and investigate. If there's not, request one from the event organizer.”

— Erin Stone, Head of Sales, Hinterland Co

“Connecting with people on your list and other attendees on Twitter shortly before the start of the conference or a particular session can help break the ice and allow you to walk away from the conference having networked with your targeted contacts plus others whom you didn't anticipate.”

— Ben Lamarche, General Manager, Lock Search Group

“One of my favorite general tips for networking is to get the other person talking about themselves first. By listening to the other person before speaking, you can use what they tell you to personalize your pitch to them based on what they say.”

— Todd Ramlin, Manager, Cable Compare

“Whether you’re having a conversation with friends, getting a drink with some business associates, or just schmoozing with some friends at the gym, listen for any sign of a business opportunity. Maybe someone mentions a cousin who just started a new business. Maybe someone mentions a business associate who is struggling in an area in which your business can help them. People are actually telling you all the time about new business leads if you listen and read between the lines a little bit.”

— Sophie Chiche, Founder & CEO, becurrent

“I am a fan of public speaking to raise my profile, build my pipeline, and increase my credibility. I like speaking to groups (now online mostly), have a lot of topics I can talk about, and find it is a great way to build my brand and grow my business. It adds instant credibility to me as an expert and thought leader in my field too. I have gotten media coverage and quoted as an expert, and it has led to other speaking engagements and allowed me to raise my prices as a known expert with higher Google rankings.”

— Paige Arnof-Fenn, Founder & CEO, Mavens & Moguls

“Instead of opting for a sterile home office setup as a backdrop, or a green screen-type background, I recommend decorating your space to leave an impression. You can use swag from your own brand or just go with items that might make for good talking points. Anything that people can bond with you over will increase the odds that they're willing to talk to you again later.”

— George Nguyen, Editor, Third Door Media

“I always have a goal beforehand of whom I'm looking to meet to avoid wasting my time or anyone else's. And when I have the opportunity to introduce myself on the chat, I provide a quick intro along with my LinkedIn URL. And I keep my social channels open so that I can respond instantly to connection requests. Virtual events have a more relaxed atmosphere than in-person gatherings, making meeting the right people even easier.”

— Chris Gadek, VP of Growth, AdQuick

“For online meetups, log in a couple minutes early, follow up your introduction with a chat to everyone on the call giving your company name and details, send private chats to folks you’d like to connect with, and conclude with more in-depth conversations with targeted folks in the breakout rooms.”

— Pam Hill, Founder & Managing Director, My Smart Cousin

“During events meant to network your brand, it's easy to forget to smile. Wearing your best smile during an event will make you look friendly and easy to converse with during sessions. Another tactic I like to utilize is not overusing questions. Instead, I like to take people's answers and dig deeper into their responses to discover and establish a stronger professional relationship while networking.”

— Lattice Hudson, Business Coach & Founder, Lattice & Co

“Bring plenty of business cards, even if you don't think you'll use them all. But don't just hand them to everyone you meet at once; it won't get you anywhere. Instead, talk with people, and when exiting the conversation leave a few business cards. There’s a high chance these people will remember you and stay in contact with you.”

— Andrew Taylor, Director, Net Lawman

“Networking is an important part of being an entrepreneur; however, it's not always easy. It can be awkward to be at a networking event where everyone is hovering above the hors d'oeuvres or clutching their cocktails. My number one tip is, as silly as it sounds, to start conversations. I usually try to approach the people who are by themselves, as sometimes these people are shy and just need a push! I have gotten to meet amazing people by doing this, and this has also led to great business opportunities.”

— Rich Rudzinski, Founder, Drivey

“The most important lesson I've learned in networking (which I'd wish I'd known years ago) is to take every advantage possible to meet new people — efficiently communicating and never dismissing a single soul. You never know who you're talking to, who they might know, or how they'd be able to contribute. When attending networking events, I find that it’s most advantageous to go alone so that you’re forced to talk to new people.”

— Lori Cheek, Founder & CEO, Cheekd

"The biggest missed opportunity I see in networking is building a process around connecting on LinkedIn afterward. If I meet a new connection — either in-person or virtually — I'll immediately follow that meeting with a connection request and a personal message. Not only will this help me build my network more steadily, but I'll always have that personal message as my trick to remember how we met."

— Samantha McKenna, Founder, #samsales Consulting

“Sending personal notes that highlight parts of your conversation, reference aspects of their business, and mention characteristics of your business that they showed interest in are ways to demonstrate your attention to detail and form a human connection. By customizing your communication to each networking opportunity, you will set a better foundation for them to get back to you.”

— Adelle Archer, CEO & Co-Founder, Eterneva

“One of the best tips that I would suggest is to surprise the people in your network by making rapport-building phone calls just to see how they're doing. You can ask them about their families, how work is going, how their favorite sports teams are doing, what hobbies they are into lately, etc. The idea is to ask about anything that shows an interest in them as people because you can often build strong relationships just by taking a few minutes of your day to catch up, which could end up making a big difference in your future success.”

— Kathleen Ahmmed, Co-Founder, USCarJunker

“The best chance of success comes from networking through a second-degree connection to get to your targets. When leveraging your connections, keep your ask very simple and easy for your connections to copy and paste and top and tail a message to your targets. You just want an intro, and your note should have enough of a high-level value story — of course, personalized to the company and individual — to attract interest from your targets through your mutual connections. Couple this approach with a strong brand presence on LinkedIn. Your chance of successfully networking directly or through connections increases 3x if you have a great profile, post engaging content, and come across as someone who people want to meet and do business with.”

— Chris Kelleher, Enterprise Sales Leader, Modern Health

“The biggest mistakes when connecting on LinkedIn are the following: 1) sending a connection request with no relevance, 2) sending a connection request with a generic ‘we have mutual connections,’ 3) sending a connection request with a pitch, 4) sending a connection request to 'pick your brain' or 'discuss synergies.' All of these scream desperation and the receiver knows a pitch is coming. And ultimately, they are bad because they are all about you, the sender.”

— Richard Harris, Founder, The Harris Consulting Group

“Try something like, ‘I see that we're both members of X group or attended Y conference, so I thought you might also be interested in this resource.’ Then share a valuable blog post or guide that might actually be helpful to me. It's a better way to nurture a lead than hitting my inbox with some bland introduction before sending me a sales pitch in your very next message.”

— Dan Gower, Owner, Buddy Gardner Advertising

“To network successfully while limited to online meetups, I'd recommend being particularly active and engaged with the community. This means answering and asking questions, sharing experience and ideas, but also calling to action anyone interested to meet up and discuss in more detail the shared ideas.”

— Mike Sheety, Owner, That Shirt