How To Thrive and Network at Events

by Machelle Lee
(Santa Cruz CA)

The sun is out, the days are brighter and longer and many of us should be spending more time out at events networking.

Keep in mind that most people are not natural minglers. However, practice and preparation will help you develop the skills it takes to be an effective networker at any event. As difficult or awkward as it may feel at first, the ability to meet and make a positive, professional impression on people will become ever more important as you come into contact with future prospective clients and other business people.

Many of us are shy or reluctant to approach strangers in new social situations, so understandably it's not always easy to muster the energy to try and connect with people and network at events. That's why it's key to get mentally geared up before you even show up. Because your attitude often guides your behavior, you must overcome any negative self-talk that could hinder you from reaching out to others.

Networking is NOT about meeting and trading business cards. It is about establishing meaningful and beneficial relationships. The goals of any interaction should be to make real and lasting connections with each person that you meet.

Fitness professionals need to be able to connect with potential clients and other business people on a professional level quickly and comfortably.

Listed below are 7 Tips to Thrive and network at any event.

1. When you introduce yourself to someone make good eye contact, smile, give a firm handshake and repeat the person's name.

2. Prepare and practice your self-introduction
to avoid being tongue-tied when you try to start a conversation with someone you don't know, prepare a self-introduction that is clear, interesting, and well delivered. What you say about yourself will depend on the nature of the event, but in any case, it shouldn't take longer than 8-10 seconds. Although practicing your introduction might at first seem silly and artificial, it will eventually help you make an introduction that sounds natural, confident, and smooth.

3. Avoid Using Jargon, especially when it comes to talking about what you do. Don't assume that the person you are talking to knows the basic principles of "interval training" or "core training." Instead lead with your job title and credentials. Make sure that a 10 year old would be able to understand what you do.

For example:
"Hi, My name is Machelle Lee. I am a mobile personal fitness trainer. I teach people how to Get Fit and Stay Fit without having to belong to a gym. I specialize in helping people fit regular physical activity into his/her daily life."

4. Listen!
Even though you should come prepared with a good sense of what you would like to convey about yourself, many people make the mistake of talking too much about themselves. Remember that you have 2 ears and 1 mouth. Try to spend 2x as much time listening vs. speaking.

5. If you are wearing a nametag, wear the nametag on your upper right shoulder area. Most people are right handed and will extend their right hand and your nametag will be easier to view.

6. Ask open-ended questions in conversations. This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussion and shows listeners that you are interested in them.

7. And last, but not least, don't forget how important it is for you to physically move around and about when you're at an event. You can't work a room when you're sitting down! So get in there and show them what you've got.

Machelle Lee and Ryan Andrews own and operate The Invisible Gym.
www.the-invisible-gym.com

Our frustration with the lack of resources for the mobile trainer led Ryan and I to start presenting at Health and Fitness conferences and we also created a resource manual called, The Mobile Fitness Guide To Business Success!
http://www.the-invisible-gym.com/mobile-fitness-professionals.html

It is our hope that mobile training become an integral part of the health and fitness industry and we are trying to create a mobile training community!

If you have any questions about mobile training you can contact us at: getfit@theinvisiblegym.com

Keep a pair of sunglasses handy, the future of mobile fitness training looks bright!