Hi & welcome to my Go Global Insights newsletter — all about going & growing global. Promise to make this newsletter as handy and practice-driven, as possible. 💫
Today, I want to share with you my latest experience of trying to build a network and pre-schedule meetings before visiting the conference.
Let this be a self-reflection, but hopefully, you will learn something from my mistakes to refine your approach and achieve better results.
To give you a context
Before visiting any conference, I usually, use LinkedIn to connect with conference attendees and potential visitors as well. I invest in networking and make outreach for that purpose.
But is it really worth doing?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But nobody mentions the pitfalls that await you as soon as you start the journey and day-to-day practice.
Preparing for the Stockholm Tech Show, I wanted to establish new contacts in the market and build new business relationships (also, with people who, most probably, will be not attending the conference).
I wanted to put all my heart into communication, that’s why I was so focused on doing everything by myself. And, for my nature of a marketer — I just love testing and analyzing everything.
But, many of my attempts were just a waste of time.
So, let’s analyze together the successful one’s practices and those that were not as effective.
Here are the statistics I gathered after sending 361 personalized connection requests before the Stockholm Tech Show. I received an acceptance rate of 46% and a response rate (with positive or neutral answers) of 21%. Quite normal. But what was not good?
So, let me first outline the activities I consider to be GOOD practices:
1/ Content Production
Before any event, and not only, build person-to-person connections.
Sharing insightful stories, research, observations, and other types of insights, sometimes even personal stories, is always beneficial.
You can see mine on LinkedIn page.
2/ Be Authentic in Online & Offline Communication
Behave naturally and interestingly; as a real person, engage in conversations online & and, especially, offline. This can foster genuine connections.
3/ Proactivity
Driving discussions and showing genuine interest in others can help you build stronger relationships.
4/ Super Personalized Messaging
Connecting through super personalized messages is probably the only way to do it right. Analyzing the profile and background of the individual is a must!
However, despite these good practices (from my experience), several mistakes can still serve as valuable lessons.
Common Mistakes We Made
1/ Sending Non-Personalized Messages
Sending non-personalized messages was just a waste of time. In some cases, it may still be worth trying, but it wasn’t my case.
2/ Giving Value Before You Know Each Other in Person
The first rule — the audience must know you, and then, probably, trust you.
So, sharing content (even if it’s super useful) will likely not be accepted by your recipients. Establish trust and build relationships before sharing invitations to webinars or sending links to networking meetings. Even if it’s valuable to them, they might perceive you as a spammer (even though that was not your intention).
Also, make sure your content is relevant and valuable to the recipient.
3/ Repeated Messaging Without Added Value
Repeatedly reaching out to contacts without adding new value can come across as spammy. While persistence is important, ensure each follow-up message offers something new or responds meaningfully to a previous interaction.
4/ Relying Solely on One Channel
Sticking to just one communication channel, such as LinkedIn, may limit your reach. Consider following up via multiple channels, like email (if you really want to connect with that person and have something to offer). This is especially useful if initial attempts on LinkedIn go unanswered. It can help re-engage leads who showed interest but later disappeared.
5/ Lacking Timely Actions
During the conference, it is important to connect, message, and follow up in a timely manner. Therefore, there should be someone “in the house” — a team member to help you manage these activities.
Some things and contacts will inevitably slip through your attention. It would be very disappointing to realize you lost some of your contacts.
6/ Imprecise Meeting Time & Place Scheduling
Failing to schedule meetings precisely at conferences can lead to missed opportunities. Be straightforward in setting up meetings, specifying the exact time and place, exchanging contact details (both sides), and sending reminders on the same day.
Some Final Words
Networking and LinkedIn outreach are powerful tools for professional growth, but they require not only a lot of effort but also the ability to analyze how you do it.
Remember to be authentic, proactive, and considerate in your interactions, and always strive to add value with each communication.
Keep in mind that spammers and bots are prevalent—try to be different. People still want to meet real people. LinkedIn is just a tool to make meeting people easier.
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