Networking is a contact sport!

This week I went to networking meeting in the town where I live and work. It was organised by a group that have taken the bold step of starting a form of chamber of commerce. The group is called the Irthlingborough Business Forum. Whilst a lot of hard work went into getting people to this event and also organising some excellent speakers, a big opportunity was missed. There was no part of the agenda designed to make attendees introduce themselves to the meeting or exchange business cards with other delegates. I left the meeting not knowing 50% of the people who attended. I think that a meeting should give everybody a chance to get to their feet and state their name and very briefly the nature of the their business. BNI gives everyone attending a meeting a chance to give a 'sixty second commercial'. Another good idea is to have a credit card scramble, where everyone has 5 minutes to circulate the room and exchange cards. The after 5 minutes the person with the most cards wins a bottle of wine. These are just two ideas that will ensure that people will get more out of a meeting - remember, networking is a contact sport.