I met with a corporate lawyer this morning. Earlier this week he attended an event run by his local Chamber of Commerce. The event was billed as 'Networking by Numbers' and, as he outlined the format to me, I was horrified.
As I understand it, as well as the usual name badge, each delegate at the event was given a large number to wear. That number corresponded to their entry on the delegate list. This would allow delegates to hone in on the people they wanted to meet and ignore those they didn't.
I can't think of many worse ways to organise a networking event. I understand the reasoning behind it, helping attendees seek out their ideal contacts, but there are three major issues I can immediately see with this format:
1 - It invites preconceptions: One of the golden rules of networking is to be open to all connections, regardless of someone's industry or job title. The person you approach may not be immediately relevant to you or a prospective client, but you don't know to whom they are connected or the extent of their experience and expertise.
Focusing on an entry on a delegate list rather than finding out much more about other people in conversation leads to tunnel vision and missed opportunities.
2 - It encourages selling: Networking is not a sales process and when events become a series of pitches, most people are turned off. After all, if everyone comes to sell, who is going to buy? The right approach to networking for business development is to sell through the people you meet, not to them.
The approach adopted by this particular Chamber sends a subliminal message (or perhaps more overt than that). Check the people around you against the delegate list and then decide whether they are worth speaking to (for which many will read "selling to").
3 - It discourages conversation: I picture this room and see people wondering around staring at their delegate lists, looking for the people they want to meet and ignoring everyone else. Purely focused on why they want to meet that person (and rarely why that person would be interested in meeting them) they will ignore all other people in the vicinity as they hone in on their target.
As you might have gathered, I don't see many bright points about this approach to running a networking event. The errors above were compounded by giving one colour badge to lawyers and accountants and another colour to everyone else. The lawyer I met with felt stigmatised by having to wear a different colour.
You simply can't network effectively by pigeon-holing people before you've even had an initial conversation with them. It is far more effective to find people with whom you have interests in common and can develop a rapport than rushing around trying to chase job titles.
Yes, there is a role for studying a delegate list and knowing who you'd like to meet while at an event; but that should never be at the expense of random conversations with the people around you. I fear that this approach won't have encouraged positive networking.
Andy Lopata is a leading Networking specialist in the UK. He is a professional speaker and cna be booked for events in Australia through www.speakersadelaide.com.au /andylopata/
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