Building a Relationship

Many people think that business meetup groups are about ‘selling’ yourself or your business to everyone in the room with you, but really that’s not what these meetups are always about.

Building a Relationship

Joining a meetup group is more often about building a relationship, as you meet people in the group it’s highly likely that some of them will be competitors of yours or in a very similar business.  Normally you’d just avoid them, after all they’re unlikely to buy anything from you.  You need to look at competitors in a different light, you need to look at what they can teach you.  This is the attitude you need to make meetups work for you, sharing information is a vital element of a meetup.

Be Someone People Want to Work With

Business networking goes beyond sales.  How can you ‘share’ with another business?  What added value do you give to potential customers?  How do you attract customers?  What information will you share?  How do you encourage your customers and other businesses to give you referrals?  All of these questions are really what meetups are for.  Everybody is there to promote their own company and service you need to think about how you will stand out.

Learn Some Networking Skills

Not everyone finds these networking events comfortable, but it is a skill that you can learn.  There are plenty of business networking courses you can take online to that will build on the skills you already have and help you make the right connections.  In the meantime here’s a video from TED on successful networking.

 

People Buy from People they Like

This is why going to meetup events is so important, it gives you the opportunity to meet and build relationships with new people.  Bear in mind that you aren’t going to make friends with everyone in the room.  You need to identify those you have built relationships with and can benefit, directly or indirectly, from what you offer like best pool cues .

What Qualities do you Possess that Make People Work With?

Think for a second about the people you buy from and do business with, the people you deal with directly.  Why do you choose that person?  They provide a product or service you needed at the time but that wasn’t the only reason was it?  You work with them because at some level you connected, no one wants to spend time with someone they hate.  Now sit down and think for a moment about the qualities other people appreciate in you when they work with you, make a note of them and make a note of things you’d like to improve on.

Before you head over to your next meetup, and it can be a social or business meetup, remember all the reasons you noted previously as you meet and greet new people.  Make your introductions reflect these qualities.  Successful introductions allow you to build the relationships you’re looking for.

Local Calgary meetup groups

If you’re just starting out in your professional career, or you’re new to Calgary, a common problem is where do you go to meet new people?  The desire to meet new people doesn’t have to be for professional reasons, it could just be to make new friends or hang out with people who share some common interests with you.  Local Calgary meetup groups are a great way to do this.

Not everyone is an extrovert who can strike up a conversation with just about anybody, meetups at least give you some common ground and a starting point to initiate a dialogue.  The organizers are also there to help with introductions and keep the conversations flowing. There are a ton of reasons why you should attend a Calgary Meet Up Group but for the sake of expedience here are the top three.

Professional Connections

No matter what stage you’re at in your career you can always benefit from networking, and if you own your own business networking is a must.  When you’re fresh out of university and looking to land that dream job don’t overlook meetup groups as a great way to get your foot in the door.  LinkedIn and job boards only show a portion of the opportunities that are out there.  Meet ups can provide you the opportunity to meet clients, employers and potential business partners if you use them.

Make New Friends

Meetups don’t have to be all about business, meeting people when you’re new in town is never that easy.  No matter how obscure your interests may be you can probably find a meetup group for it.  Competitive scrabble…no problem, medieval basket weaving…meets on Thursdays.  So that might be a slight exaggeration but Calgary is a big city, there will be people you share common interests with.  There are groups for people who share a love of reading, fitness, health and wellness, movies and technology, you can find something you like.

Learn a New Skill

There are an endless number of Meetup groups in Calgary and many of them are there to teach you a new skill.  The tech and the art scenes are hugely popular, learn to write code or paint a masterpiece.  If neither of those are your thing you can learn a second language, or unleash your inner foodie.  There are free or inexpensive events all over the city that will help pick up a new skill and meet new people at the same time.