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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, October 21, 2009
10 tips for techies: How to network effectively
MHT's Galen Moore: Hiring trends and opportunities
MHT's Doug Banks: 10 Women to Watch in tech
Flash Slideshow: Mass High Tech All-Stars Thought Leadership Roundtable
As they say, “She wrote the book on that.”
Yes, Diane Darling of Effective Networking Inc. in Boston is the author of “The Networking Survival Guide,” and speaks frequently about subjects such as how to meet people who are key to your success and how to work a room at an event. She offered 10 tips for tech-sector entrepreneurs who may be looking for financing or partnerships, and helped answer the question: How do you work with people who can introduce you to your next investor?
— As told to Managing Editor James Connolly
• Take the pressure off by doing some prep work ahead of time. Find out who is going to be in the room. Check the event website and then get some background on those people through LinkedIn or Jigsaw.
• When you know that someone whose introductions are valuable is going to be an event, write to them ahead of time to tell them you would like to speak with them. Put a stamp on it to get their attention. How many things do you get with stamps on them these days?
• Offer to volunteer for things like handing out name badges, which helps you meet people. I don’t like to go to an event without having something to do.
• Try to be one of the first people in the room. Then you don’t have to figure out how to break into those little clusters of conversation.
• Use the event to find the people who will do the introductions for you. When you’re looking venture money, use one-on-ones.
• Use a notebook to scratch down the key elements of your conversations, and then use those notes in follow-ups. Follow-ups are where the rubber meets the road.
• Send a thank you note to a speaker, and suggest getting together for coffee. That’s coffee, which may take 15 minutes, not lunch which is longer and adds the complication of who will pay.
• Always have a question during the Q&A. It’s the polite thing to do. Asking a question also can lead to someone approaching you, or helps the speaker remember you when you follow up.
• Value everyone, whether they are running a small business or may be someone like a security guard, because they can help. Remember that executive assistants are called “gatekeepers” for a reason.
• If you’re under 30, buy a watch. Don’t look at your iPhone to find out what time it is.
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