The Cocktail Reception: An Invaluable Networking Tool

It can be boring, it can be awkward, it can be downright painful. But the cocktail reception is an integral part of American business society, and getting the most out of it can not only improve your social life, but your business life as well.

For whatever reason, these little get-togethers seem to work. Maybe it’s the combined determination of a roomful of people all bent on networking with each other. Or maybe it’s just the added relaxation factor of being able to sip a little bubbly while you chat.

“Networking within the insurance profession can be very productive when done correctly and disastrous if not done correctly,” says Dr. Ivan Misner, founder and CEO of Business Network International and author of “The 10 Commandments of Networking a Mixer” (among other works).

I asked Dr. Misner, who is also a professor of business management at Cal Poly University, Pomona, if he considered a cocktail party to be a good place to make contacts. “I believe that a cocktail reception has many of the same characteristics of a business mixer and would consider it a good forum for networking,” he replied. However, he said that “many insurance professionals shy away from networking for fear that they will be thought of as having ulterior motives.”

What ulterior motives could there be-aside from the desire to make money? I would venture to say that’s a pretty standard overall motive for every businessperson at a cocktail party. No, you won’t get a dollar for every business card you collect, but some of those contacts could pay off big in the end.

Of course, there’s always the potential for disaster: spilling something on yourself or someone else, bungling someone’s name that you should really know, introducing a spouse who really isn’t a spouse-the list goes on and on. But the odds of these disasters occurring aren’t really too high.

Here are a few things I’ve picked up about the networking process:

• Have enough business cards on you. It seems obvious, but nothing is worse than running out and resorting to the “give me yours, I’ll send you an e-mail” approach-not quite as effective as handing over that nifty card.

• Eat before you go. Going hungry means you want to eat, which makes talking difficult, not to mention juggling the little plate of fried shrimp with the plastic glass with the cocktail napkin. Now try smoothly whipping out your business card at the same time!

• Introduce yourself and get their name that way, as opposed to casually sneaking a peak at their nametag, or worse, craning your neck to chest-level to read the small print.

• (For the ladies) If at all possible, leave your bag or purse behind. It may be more of a mental thing, but I find it hard to relax with my purse dangling off my shoulder, in imminent danger of upsetting someone’s cocktail in a crowded room.

• Make mental notes about the contact and what they are saying so you can go back and jot it down on the back of their business card later.

• At all costs, no matter how dull the contact you’re chatting with, try to avoid the not-so-subtle look around the room to find out who else is there.

• Keep moving. You might want to set a 10-minute time limit per contact. That 10 minutes can feel like an hour; but if it ends up flashing by like 30 seconds, spend longer with the person rather than cutting it short for the sake of time management.

Dr. Misner recommends setting a goal for the number of people you’ll meet: “Identify a reachable goal based on attendance and the type of group. Don’t leave until you’ve met that goal.”

Now that sounds a little desperate to me. It’s 6:55 p.m., the reception ends at 7, and you are on Contact # 4 out of your goal of 24-suddenly, the whole evening feels like a giant failure. However, that #4 Contact may just get you the appointment you’ve been after all year.

In other words, you never know if the most important person you’ll meet all night is actually the one right in front of you.

So grab that little plastic glass of California white wine, set a determined smile on your face and charge into the networking ranks.