What’s the plan with networking events?

There’s a caveat to this column. I am deeply introverted, so I am not a fan of company or industry events. Small talk drains me. My personal tactic is to allow extroverts to lead. Ideally, I would like to see the extroverts consciously harness their characters to attain set objectives, but this can be a bit like herding cats.

When I attend an event, I focus my interactions on the professional side of things, with the goal of discussing work matters (if needed), fleshing out my understanding of the environment, building cordial relationships, getting leads and leaving as soon as my professional obligations are completed, and it is polite. I don’t attend to discuss the drought, sports or who is well dressed. In other words, I go in with a plan.

Event management and attendance can cast a glamour. This much is evident from a scan of social media, particularly LinkedIn, where people vie for attention in a way that places the event and its purpose secondary to being seen. Yet the event comes with a high cost. How then to add value to the event?

The most obvious solution is to have a plan and a result at the outset.

A one-on-one meeting is an expense which asks for a result and accountability of both participants. As it is a meeting on a broader scale, the event should deliver a defined return. At this level the return should be quantitative. It won’t be immediately measurable but should be tracked over about six to nine months. That will allow for assessments and decisions on subsequent events, and changes if the event is to become a regular fixture.

The basis for planning is tricky but could be along the lines I mentioned above: understanding the environment, cordial relationships and getting leads. Anything less is an informal party that can be conducted at home, or can be shifted to another budget, particularly the one-on-one meetings budget.

Attendance and the guest list should be narrowly planned as well. Placement of guests on specific tables used to be part of the event discipline but seems to have fallen by the lazy wayside. I remember vividly working out who should sit with who, then making laborious table plans to guide people to their company for the evening. Nowadays I have seen CEOs sitting by the door, unaccompanied by any representative of the host.

There will be two categories of guests: firstly VIPs, stakeholders and influencers, and secondly guests who are the reason for the evening, for instance hot prospects or highly active clients. The first category is the main attraction, probably identified by board, marketing and exco. The second category is worth dwelling on. Exco should be able to identify what their social outcomes should be then assemble teams to identify guests and assign staff to those guests with specific outcomes in mind and clear objectives for each table host.

One further word of advice. Assign value to your guests with your choices of food and beverages, not just the decor. There is an obvious temptation to choose items for savings. Don’t go cheap and do go smart. Check the wine online for reviews. Bear in mind that many red meat selections will arrive at the table at lower than the temperature at the initial plating and may be tougher than a saddle as well. If your guest receives a good meal, attendance is likely to be repeated and an invitation more welcome.

The object of the exercise is not a cummerbund and bow tie competition for the office narcissist. The plan that you develop should be goal oriented and also reward the guest.