10 Tips to Prepare for Your Next Ottawa Networking Event

Today we are sending out some of the best networking tips we have to offer. Feel free to share your additional tips in the comments!

• Buy your pre-registration tickets: Pre-registration tickets not only are discounted from at the door tickets, but it also ensures you get a nice pre-printed namebadge and have to spend less time at the registration table
• Get your business cards ready: If you order now, you’ll have them in time for the event. Make sure you check on your stash and make sure you have plenty, because finding out right before the event that you are down to your last 10 is not fun! Don’t have business cards because you don’t have a logo or website or business yet? No worries, print some out at home or order some that contain your name, email, and phone number.
• Update your LinkedIn profile, website, and Facebook page (or any other place you can be found on a google search). Odds are that anyone interested in working with you will search you within 24 hours of meeting you, and you want to make sure you don’t have any expired information.
• Practice your elevator pitch. This should be a short summary of what you do an what makes your business unique. It should be memorable. Write it out, revise it, practice it in a mirror, practice it on friends and family. Know what you do, who your ideal customer is, and what makes you passionate about your business.
• Get an idea of what industries or influencers you would like to connect with (set goals) you would like to meet – not just clients, but successful business owners or potential partners (such as a writer with a graphic designer, or a sports psychologist with a physiotherapist)
• Pick out that outfit to give off your best impression. Make sure you didn’t lose any buttons or get any stains at the last wild and crazy networking event you attended!
• Get informed on who is likely to be at the event and check out their websites and linkedIn profiles or Facebook pages. Think of some questions you can ask them.
• If you are going with someone else (or a group) make a game plan – make sure they know who you are hoping to meet and you know who they would like to meet, so when you split up at the event you can make sure to do introductions.
• Make your driving arrangements.
• Log into twitter and make sure it’s still there – that you know how to use it! Practice with us at our live tweet events, because if you tweet at the eSAX networking event you can be entered to WIN prizes!

You can get your tickets to the next eSAX Ottawa Networking Event for Entrepreneurs at: http://esax.eventbrite.ca/
Tickets will be available at the door after Pre-Registration closes!