Become a master mingler

Mingling isn’t just about movie premieres, champagne and hors d’oeuvres – your talent for business mingling can be crucial to your success.

Wear your name tag correctly
Your name tag should be placed high up to the right.  As you greet someone, lean your right shoulder slightly forwards – this makes it much easier for the other person to read your name tag. Wearing your name tag high up means anyone you are talking to can easily glance at it to remind themselves of your name and title.

Be aware of your body language
Never cross your arms or legs. It’s easier to approach someone who has an open body language. If you find it hard not to cross your arms, try holding something in your hand. Don’t sit down – at all.  It’s much harder to approach someone who’s sitting down. So make sure to wear comfortable shoes, because you will be standing up.

Make eye contact and smile
Be confident and make eye contact with everyone you meet. A lot of people find it uncomfortable and don’t do it.  In addition to making eye contact – you should smile. It doesn’t need to be your best photo smile. Just smiling slightly shows that you are happy to be where you are. This makes you seem more approachable and attractive.

Say “Hi”
You don’t need to have an arsenal of advanced sales pitches or rehearsed monologs. Making eye contact, looking happy and saying “Hi” equals the perfect introduction.

Start talking – or listening
We have two ears and one mouth.  Instead of telling visitors all about yourself, ask why they’ve come to the event and what they think about it, if there's anything particular they're looking for, where they work, and so on.  The truth is that people love talking about themselves. Let the conversation begin.

Your goal controls the discussion
Set a goal for your participation.  This goal ultimately controls how much you talk and what you talk about. Are you here to create as many new contacts as possible or do you want by-the-book business meetings resulting in a contract? All of these aspects will control how you structure what you say.

Conclude in the right way
A good way of concluding a conversation is to summarize what you have both said and what you have agreed on. Will you send a brochure within a week? Will you be getting together for lunch on Thursday? Will you be sending them a quote?

Only make promises you can keep
If you say you’ll email a quote within a week, make sure that you do.  It’s all about building trust – we do business with people we trust. Forgetting to send that quote you promised means that you have already betrayed the trust you were given.

Follow up and start networking
There’s just as much work to do after an event as there is before and during an event. This is the time to follow up with new contacts, send quotes and brochures, and set up lunch meetings. Now you’re tying up the loose ends initiated by your mingling and maintaining the relationships you’ve established. Start networking!

How can I practice in advance?
Visiting other exhibitions and events is a great idea. How are you treated? Who interests you enough to initiate contact? Paying attention to what other people do and practicing your skills makes you better at networking.