Last week we talked about why, as voiceover talents, we fail at networking events. Now lets talk about how we can succeed at them. That’s a lot more fun, don’t you think…?
Two weeks ago I attended three networking events in the same week. I usually don’t go to so many in such a short period of time, but it just kinda worked out that way. Let’s call them “The Panel”, “The Show & Tell”, and “The Lunch”.
I went to each event for a different reason. They were:
The Panel – to learn
The Show & Tell – to share
The Lunch – to connect
The Panel was a local networking event (New Jersey Creative Network) that held a panel about Integrated Marketing. As both a voice talent and a comic book producer, I learned a lot about how to integrate all the facets of a marketing campaign (primarily social media) to craft a strong, consistent message. It was fun and I took a copious amount of notes!
The Show & Tell was another local networking event (this time for Media Communication Association International) that held its annual “Show & Tell” event where you could showcase your recent projects. I played an Explainer Video and a clip from “We Move Animals”, but the thrust of my presentation was about my comic book “Agent 1.22“. I wanted to practice “pitching” it and see how a crowd of media professionals would react to seeing the images on a big screen. It was well-received!
The Lunch was a Chamber of Commerce luncheon. There were almost 300 people there and I had a great time. I put some of my logo-emblazoned letter openers on the business card table and within a few minutes they were all snatched up. I decided to spend the rest of the event restocking them and starting conversations with whomever stopped by. Like most of these events, the majority of the attendees were financial planners and insurance agents, but I connected with some very interesting people.
TIP OF THE WEEK: If you want to be successful at a networking event, have a goal in mind that is beyond just trolling for clients. Like I said in my last post, people can see right through you. Never start a conversation with an offering of a business card. Talk about anything but your business. Share who you are as a person and take a genuine interest in them as a person. Develop a rapport based on mutual interest and likability. Then when contact information is exchanged, it’s organic, it’s genuine, and it’s much more likely to lead to work.
HAPPY HAPPYS!
Happy Post-Super Bowl Day, Carrot Cake Day, and Ice Cream for Breakfast Day! BTW tell me that wasn’t the most depressing bunch of commercials you’ve ever seen? What are they trying to do, flavor our nachos with our tears? Thank goodness for Danny Trejo…
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
STUFF!: My favorite Super Bowl commercial was the Snickers ad with America’s machete-wielding sweetheart, Danny Trejo. Here’s the teaser:
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!
From Tom Dheere’s apartment, this is Tom Dheere: GKN News…