Heading along to your first business networking group? It can be pretty nerve-wracking to attend your first networking group.
You might imagine a room full of confident, experienced professionals who speak in industry jargon you don’t understand. It’s easy to feel like an outsider.
Luckily, for the most part, people at networking groups aren’t as serious as you might expect – they’re just people after all! You just need to break the ice and make a great first impression.
The good news is that making a great first impression is not about being the most knowledgeable person in the room—it’s about being the most approachable, genuine, and memorable.
Here’s how you can walk into that room with confidence and make a fantastic first impression:
1. Shift Your Mindset
It’s not as serious as you might think! Everyone in that room felt the same when they attended their first networking event or group. Business groups are designed to connect businesspeople, whether they’re just starting out in their respective careers or well-established.
Newbies can often get the most out of networking groups. You have access to all those experiences from well-established business people, plus all their industry knowledge! Plus, being new to the group means that you can bring fresh ideas, new challenges, and different experiences.
So, instead of focusing on what you don’t know, focus on what you can bring to the table and all the support you can get! You deserve to be in that group as much as anyone else.
2. Body Language for First Impressions
Your body language speaks before you even say a word; to make a great first impression you want to have positive body language.
So stand tall, smile, and make an effort to talk to people before and after the meeting, even if you’re feeling nervous. Try coming a bit early to introduce yourself to the facilitator, who will introduce you to members of the group as they arrive. Hopefully, that will help to calm your nerves!
We recommend you leave your phone in your pocket, bag, or even in the car so you won’t be tempted to take it out and scroll!
3. Handshakes Unlock Potential
You’ll probably need to shake lots of hands as a business owner, especially when you attend networking events and groups. So now is the time to get used to it!
People often use handshakes to judge and confirm their first impressions of someone. So, you might like to get some practice in if you’re a little rusty. Practice with your relatives, partners, kids, neighbours, colleagues, strangers on the street, pretty much anyone.
A good handshake is made up of three parts:
1. Hand placement.
You want to connect the base of your thumb with the base of their thumb. Try not to grab and shake their fingers, it’s awkward.
Just use one hand and keep both hands vertical, if you try to put your hand on top of theirs, it shows that you’re trying to be dominant, and if you put it under, it shows that you’re being submissive. At a networking group, you’re all equal so shake like it!
2. Firmness
No one wants to shake hands with a floppy fish! So, try for a 7/10 firmness and one or two pumps. This shows that you’re confident and professional, which is what experienced business people like to see.
3 . Eye contact
People want to be looked in the eye when making an introduction. It shows that you’re confident, excited, and happy to be there.
A confident handshake means that you’re memorable for all the right reasons!
4. Introduce Yourself
You’ll likely be asked to give an elevator pitch. We’ve covered these in another blog, How To: Create the Perfect Elevator Pitch in 3 Steps, if you’d like to look into it in more detail.
By this stage, people have likely already got their first impression of you, but you’re there to represent your business! This is where they’ll be developing their first impression of your business. Yikes!
To keep it really simple, what most people say is:
Their name
Their business name and industry
And their title
For example: “Hi, I’m Bob. I run Marketing4U, a small digital marketing agency.”
When introducing themselves, people fall into the trap of just saying their title, rather than what they do.
Try to expand on this by explaining what you actually do and how you help your clients. Using the example above, a digital marketing agency helps its clients stand out from the digital noise so they get seen online!
This helps you make a great first impression because it piques the interest of the people in the room. It also educates them so they understand the benefits of working with you, which can open up more conversations. People will ask how you do it and what successes you’ve had.
5. Don’t Hide Behind Your Business Cards
Having your business cards on you is useful once you’ve made some connections in your group. Just remember, this isn’t Pokémon, you don’t need to catch ‘em all. Networking isn’t about swapping as many business cards as possible; it’s about making meaningful connections.
It’s far more important to be actively engaging in conversations and starting to build those connections. By being interested in others, they’ll be interested in you and your business. This will make a great first impression, rather than a pushy one where you’re trying to give and get as many cards as possible.
Try to reserve giving out your cards for when it feels natural. If someone gives you theirs, at the end of a conversation, or if someone asks for it.
When you do hand them out, make it clear that you’re expecting them to follow up with you. Even better, every time you give a card, get a card, that way, you can be in control of the follow-up.
6. Extra For Experts: Follow Up After the Event
So, you’ve been to your first networking group and made a great first impression. There’s one thing that you can do to nail it home after the group. Follow-up!
This is especially important if you’ve promised to connect with them outside of the meeting.
If you managed to get their card, send them an email. Otherwise, you can connect with them on LinkedIn or through their social media pages.
It doesn’t have to be a long message, something simple like “It was great to meet you at the networking event! I enjoyed our conversation about X. Let’s stay in touch!”
NOTE: If you’re connecting on Social Media, stick to their business pages. It can be pretty awkward to get a friend request from someone you met once at a networking event.
Making a great first impression is quite important when you first go along to a business networking group. But knowing that can make you more nervous! Networking isn’t about proving that you’re the most knowledgeable, experienced, or best person out there. It’s simply about building relationships, which is easy when you focus on being approachable, showing how you help, and showing genuine interest in others.
So, take a deep breath, step into the room with confidence, and enjoy meeting new people. You’ve got this!
