Thinking of holding your own conference? You may think it sounds crazy, but it actually isnít too bad of an idea. Throwing your very own conference can build up your credibility in the business world and holding a business event can do just that.
When planning for and sponsoring a networking event, you need to become a business leader in some sort of way. You will be responsible for bringing businessmen and entrepreneurs together. So, what can you do to make sure your networking event is a success and the most epic one? Here are 6 tips on how you can pull off a successful networking event.
1. Make it convenient. You can go for a pre-made registration application which allows attendees to register for the event that you will be organizing. Letting the attendees register in advance will help you estimate the number of people coming to your event ahead of time. Also, you get a commitment from the participants for your event.
2. Pick your location wisely. There are hotels that will let you hold your networking event in a patio area where a hotel bar is accessible or connected to the area. You have to ensure that the venue looks luxurious, easy to locate, and has a lot of parking space.
3. Make the on-site attendance hassle-free. This is a good idea to have the participants check in even if the event is for free. You would want to keep track of the number of people who attended the event. Plus, if you ask for their email addresses, you can send them announcements for your future events. But you do not necessarily have to insist on the getting their emails. If one refuses to give it out, then let them be. Make sure to have a lot of pens and name tags readily available. Also, your ushers should be friendly, welcoming, and professional.
4. Meet all the attendees. Introduce yourself to everyone who attends the networking event. Welcome them to your event and when talking to them, focus on what they do, not about what you do. Be genuinely interested in them and their business. They will surely remember you for that.
5. Connect with people. As you meet and get along with the people attending your event, always look for opportunities to connect the people who would get an advantage from meeting each other. For example, if you come across an inventor, introduce him to a patent attorney whom you just met in the event, or introduce a writer to a publisher. You can take note of these connections and follow up with them the next time you see them. Check and see if they have benefited from it.
6. Get anchors. There will be people who will attend your event but would stay in a corner or there will be attendees who are not talking to anyone. Get some volunteers to be anchors in your networking event. Their task is to make sure that everyone is talking with somebody. They should also be good connectors and can listen and take interest in other people.
Following these tips can help you make sure that the networking event you will be throwing will be a huge success. Your job as an organizer does not stop at the end of networking event though. You need to do a follow up with your attendees and ask how the event was. Get their feedback on how the event when and ask for their opinion on how the event can be better next time. And then you can go and plan another one. If you do this, you’ll be surprised that your events will be growing and before you know it, people will be talking about your great events.
