Friday, November 16, 2007
My Networking Event Checklist
Last night I attended TECH cocktail 6 (TC6) in Chicago, which was attended by hundreds in the tech, online and entrepreneurial community. The breadth of people in attendance made it a successful event, and I met a variety of people I hope to reconnect with in the future. I’d like to think part of the success of the night was my preparation, making sure I was mentally and physically prepared for the event.
Physically you say? Yes – I consider what I wore and carried with me essential for the event. Here’s what I did to prepare for TC6:
- Get my head shaved earlier in the day at The 316 Club
- Pickup my blazer from the dry cleaners
- Eat beforehand – juggling a drink and food is hard to do at a crowded event
- Re-read John Wall’s post The Case for Drinking at the Ronin Marketeer blog
- Carry plenty of my business cards in my front right blazer pocket
- Carry my Moleskine notebook in my inside blazer pocket, and lucky pen in my shirt pocket
- Bring my new folding reading glasses from Peepers.com in my pants pocket
- Wear my green Omniture scarf made by my client Sports Scarf – a promotion at TC6 was giving prizes for people who wore green (they can make a scarf for your company too!)
- Carry a new box of Frisk mints
- Get cash for when the bar closes
- Check my fly – yes, wearing lined pants gives guys a false sense it is zipped
- Walk through my elevator pitch in my mind as I walked from the "L" stop to the venue, trying not to move my lips
I commonly follow these steps for most all networking events. Do you have a checklist or ritual you follow?
Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 11/16/07 at 08:14 AM
Business • (4) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink •
