4 Ways to Incentivize Yourself to Attend that Networking Event

July 3, 2019

Read Time - 3:15

What gets us to do almost anything? The answer: incentives. Those are the reasons we will bear an afternoon with the in-laws or join our boss for dinner at his or her house. There will be something in it for us.

We know that networking can literally change our lives. We know there’s value. We’ve seen it work! But sometimes we just can’t bring ourselves to do it.

This quick read will give you four incentivizing tools to hold yourself accountable to Network so you can build a referral pipeline, make more sales and generate more revenue. Or, if you’re not looking at it from a business perspective, it will allow you to get out of the house, meet someone new and interesting and potentially grow a friendship/relationship. Either way, your life will be better for it!

First, if you are going to a networking event, pre-register. We do not like to have our name on something and then someone know that we didn’t show. That is the first layer incentive.

Second, if there is an option to pre-pay, do it! That added accountability that is now financial will hit you in the pocketbook should you not attend. Some may say “it’s only $10. It’s worth it for me not to go.” Be that as it may, a month of paid for yet unattended networking events will cost you $40. That’s at least, what, 3 cups of coffee at Starbucks? You’re pouring coffee down the drain. And that’s blasphemous. ☕️ If you pay, play!

Third, and I may receive hate mail because of this, invite a friend. An even stronger incentive than pre-registering and pre-paying is holding your friend and your friend holding you accountable. But what’s great about it is you can get together ahead of time and chat or go together and work the room together. Or go together, go your separate ways and after each conversation, meet back up.

You may find that your friend met someone that is useful to you or you are useful to them or your friend can help the person you met. There’s a lot of good that comes from it.

And finally, if it’s possible, volunteer to work the event. Many of our introverts and centroverts (thank you, Devora Zack, for this word) that are reading this like to have structure at their networking events. Volunteering to do a job while you were there gives that structure. It gives them a reason to initiate conversation. And once that ice is broken, they can always circle back around to pick up where they left off when they are off their shift. 

Typically, when volunteering at a networking event, volunteers only work half the event so that they can network the other half. This is a great way to get involved, feel useful and get the most out of your time there.

There you go! Four easy to deploy tools to hold yourself, and sometimes your friend, accountable to Network. 

Creating a strategy through incentives for accountability proves useful not only in networking but in every aspect of your life.

*Please feel free to reach out to me with specific questions or comments. I love talking about this stuff. Also, please share this with three people, in your own NETWORK, you know could use it.