Adrenaline Buzz - Speed Networking & Attendee Objectives

Blue Oyster Product Development recently attended a Speed Networking meeting in London, in the CitiGroup building in Canary Wharf.

2 minutes each to describe business, objectives, possible customers, and some 20 or so businesses to present to.

What a genuine buzz this was !

We discussed providing a feedback form to organisers to help assess customer reaction, and got to thinking what attendees might reasonably hope for as objectives, and the extent to which their expectations might be managed.

We believe the following objectives are reasonable as a meeting attendee. Should you attend, you should expect a good number of the following:

1. to be motivated.
2. to feel comfortable inviting business associates and friends to come along to take part and enjoy the experience.
3. meeting facilities to be supportive, and speakers to talk on relevant subjects.
4. the meeting to be informative and managed well.
5. to want to find out more about topics of discussion afterwards.
6. to be interested in joining a circulation list for a periodic newsletter.
7. to want to join a free community of attendees to get enhanced value from that day's networking.
8. to be able to do the following:

• Raise awareness of my business and its USPs
• Recognise new channels to pursue for my business
• Gain new insight into the wider business economy
• Gain business advocates who can help spread the word
• Get help from the networking team where needed
• To arrange follow up meetings to explore further opportunities

If feedback is asked for, you should be happy to give it to help improve meetings in future.

Of course, it’s not realistic to expect a sale from every meeting, but hopefully it’s not completely out of the question either.

Understanding attendee needs will help attendees refine product and service offerings in a very rapid time frame. Speed networking is something Blue Oyster Product Development recommends for businesses both small and large.

Peter Jones is a Consultant for Blue Oyster Product Development, Harrow UK.