Bryan Connor - Young and Freelancing

Proper Schmoozing Etiquette for Better Networking

Schmoozing is not only fun to say but it is a powerful tool for building a genuine network of contacts for advice, support, and new projects. The word does have some negative connotations and to some implies a level of insincerity and phoniness from the people that practice schmoozing in this manner. Use the points of etiquette listed below to avoid phony schmoozing and make quality, long lasting contacts.

The Place to Schmooze

Where can you put these tips into practice? Any place where there might be people who should know who you are. This could be a formal event, an opening, an organization’s dinner or  your local coffee shop. A friend of mine and fellow blogger, Anthony Mattox, just attended an exhibition opening at the Maryland Science Center which included and interactive piece of his creation. The event was packed with funders, researchers, and doctors who had contributed to the event and all had a targeted interest in the field of study Anthony’s Stem Cell Map was all about. As you can probably guess he was schmoozing up a storm and managed to get several more projects upon leaving the event than he had walking in.

The People to Schmooze

At any given event or get together there will probably be more people than you have time to individually introduce yourself to. You can target your schmoozing in advance by getting an idea of who will be there are who you might be interested in talking to. Knowing a little bit about the people who are attending an event might be the detail you need to get your foot in the door. See if you can find a guest list or ask a coordinator who will be there.

Polish the Pitch

Wherever there is an opportunity to tell a captive audience what you do, you had better be sure you have your pitch ready and that you can keep them interested. In a few words let them know what you do and what you are interested in. Practice in the mirror a few times the night before and be ready to casually spit it out at the event.

The Basics of Human Interaction

You aren’t going to get very far by standing in a corner the whole time being shy. These settings are places for outgoing people to get themselves noticed and remembered. Introduce yourself to people with a firm handshake and eye contact. It may sound simple but body language and first impressions are very important in face-to-face networking. Now remember, there is a right way and wrong way to schmooze. Handing someone your business card and acting like a bad telemarketer is not the way to get ahead. Ask questions and start a genuine conversation with someone and leave them with contact info if all goes well. Idealog has an article on How To Schmooze Up A Storm with more tips on the art of conversation and human interaction.

Have Business Cards

Assuming you are able to carry on a conversation and get someone interested in you and your services, you had better be able to give them something to remember you by. Business cards have been around for quite a while but are still a very effective form of self promotion and memorability. Check out this Flickr set of well designed and memorable business cards. Bring a stack to an event like this and hand them out like candy. If it pertains to your work you might even bring some other promotional material and possibly some work samples.

Get Business Cards

Make it your goal to get as many business cards as possible at an event. Collect them like trading cards a build up your deck of contacts. Even better than just getting the cards is remembering a snippet of conversation that went with each and even the face the goes along with the card and the name. Associate the look of the card with the face and the conversation and look like a pro if you meet that person again and remember their name. These associations will be helpful in some secondary schmoozing.

Drive People to Learn More

Send them to your website and get them interested in what you do. Make your website clearly visible on your business card and mention it by name a time or two. Even if the person you are talking with has nothing for you, they probably know someone who does. The power of referrals is exponential so get in the loop with an effective sales pitch and a supporting website.

Make Yourself Memorable

Is it your business card? Your pitch? You personality? Your clothes? Do something that will make you stand out and be memorable to the people you are talking to. This could even be knowing something about the person’s profession before you start talking to them. You decide what this “it” factor will be for you but make sure it’s something to differentiate you from everyone else with a sturdy handshake and a nice shirt. Bnet has a great and very extensive article on Branding Yourself and that is essentially what you should be doing at these events; promoting your brand of freelance.

Do Secondary Schmoozing

Pay attention to who is meeting who and what they talk about. You can glean a little more information from the people around you and what kind of social network they already have set up between themselves. After the event send follow up and thank you emails to the people you met in order to stay in touch with them and remind them who you are. Include another link to your site and include any follow up to the conversation you had if you remember it. This is an important strategy in the aftermath of an event like this and a good way to initiate another form of contact.

Find People On Social Networks

You’ve done the leg work to make new contacts. Now make sure you secure them with a friend on a social networking service and officially add them as a contact. Any reminder that you met them could trigger something and help them realize that you really are the perfect person for their next project.

What do you do at these events to get noticed? Do you have any tips for follow up schmoozing and what do you do differently?