How do you prepare to make your networking efforts successful? What do you do before you meet with someone face to face or attend a networking event? Today I'll share some ideas on prep work you can do to get significantly more return on your networking investments.

Be honest with yourself. How much work do you do prior to a networking interaction? If you're going to an event do you know who's going to be there? Who you'll want to meet and why? What about a face to face meeting. Do you know their background? Have you thought about the questions you might ask them to have a highly productive conversation?

Don't feel bad if you don't typically do this type homework. It's pretty rare, but it's one of the things that really sets the great networkers (who get great results) apart from just about everyone else. So here are some thoughts on the homework you might want to start doing before you head out to your next networking event. I'll break this into 2 sections. Event Prep & Meeting Prep

Preparing for a networking event

First make sure that you're physically prepared for the event. Dress appropriately and arm yourself with business cards and a couple of pens (one for you, and one for a new friend).

If there's going to be a speaker learn about them prior. Read their bio, and think of a question you might ask them prior to their presentation. It's MUCH easier to talk with speaker's before their presentations. Afterwards they'll be famous and everyone will want to talk with them. Really want to help them out? Think of a brief personal story related to their topic that you can share with them. Very often they will share your story and your name with the audience as a way to help them better connect with the audience. Win/win!

Find out who else is likely to attend the event. Who do you want to meet? Prepare the questions you might ask of those key individuals should you have the opportunity to connect with them.

Finally, think about what you really hope to gain from this event. Keep these goals simple and achievable. Make sure you have a plan to accomplish your goals and make this event a success!

Preparing for a face to face (1:1) meeting

Your coffee or lunch meetings can be insanely productive if you put in just a little bit of extra effort ahead of time. First and most importantly research the person you'll be meeting with. Look at their LinkedIn profile, Google them and their company. This shows a lot of respect and will also keep you from asking any questions that you easily could have found the answer to online (So, tell me about your background?)

Give some thought to how you might be able to help this individual. Is there an introduction you can prepare to make. Do you think they might like a book or article that you read recently? This is an incredible way to make an immediate connection with someone, and they'll want to start looking for ways to return the favor.

What questions will you ask? What do you want to know about them? Also think about asking a question or two about their future so you'll know how to help them next time (career goals, business growth goals, other focus areas, etc.)

Finally what is your ideal outcome from this meeting? How can you get there? What will be your next steps be that you'll both agree on together?


Sure doing this homework is a little bit of extra work. Though I think you'll quickly find that your results will be significantly better than average, and the impressions you make on others will be much, much stronger and more favorable.

Happy Networking!