The Private Practice Guide to Networking Events

The Private Practice Guide to Networking Events

Perhaps you’ve just opened your private practice and need to gain clientele, or maybe your practice is more established and you’re looking for a collaborative partnership. We know the world of private practice can be isolating, so maybe you’re just looking for a friendship with someone who just “gets it.”

From client referrals to collaboration opportunities to simply making new friends, growing your networking circle has so many benefits to not only your private practice and business but also to your daily life and well being.

Before you’re completely turned off to the idea of going to networking events, listen up. We’ve gathered tips and advice for networking every step of the way. From setting goals before the event to sending follow up emails, we’ve got you covered.  

Before the Event

Set some goals – We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Don’t do something unless you have a desired outcome. So, before you head to the big event, set yourself 2-5 goals. They don’t have to be huge goals, either. Maybe your goal is to connect with three people, or getting one new client lead. Hell, if your goal is to reconnect with an old friend, that’s fine too! Once you’ve clearly defined your goals, map out a strategy of how you will complete this. Without goals, you won’t have anything to feel accomplished over or have any sort of benchmarks in your business aspirations. 

Strategize – Take a look at the event’s itinerary and see where you can utilize your time to make the most out of the event. Research the keynote speakers, look into who will have booths. If there are people you want to meet (and impress) scope out their LinkedIn profiles to learn the basics about them and look for common connections.

Dress to impress – First impressions are everything, and you won’t make a good one if you look disheveled, disorganized or too casual. Pick out a professional outfit that also makes you feel great. Because as mom always said, ‘If you feel great, you’ll look great. Inside and out.’ And when you feel confident in your own skin, you’ll make lasting first impressions with whomever you meet.  

Practice your introduction – As mentioned above, first impressions matter a lot. And it can’t get much worse than hearing a ton of filler “uh’s” and “ah’s” when asking someone what they do for a living. So practice how you’ll introduce yourself to other practitioners and professionals.

During the Event

Find a networking buddy – You don’t have to go to networking events alone, and having a buddy can make them much less intimidating. So grab a colleague or friend and bring them to your next networking conference.

If you do have to fly solo, we challenge you to reach out and make just one connection. This way, you’ll have someone to eat lunch with and someone to wave hi to and introduce to others. Reaching out to just one person can propel your networking efforts forward as they introduce you to their personal networking circle.

Relax – While you’re there, take a deep breath, look around and realize that most of the people there feel just as anxious and out of their element as you feel. So relax, and smile. You don’t have to initiate every conversation, but standing against a wall looking like a deer in the headlights won’t help you connect with more people.

Ask the right questions – A lot can be learned about a person simply by the questions they ask, so let’s make sure you’re asking the right ones.

What makes a good question?

Really, any open-ended questions that ask for more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Keep in mind that you want to evoke opinions and ideas, not just data. When they answer your question, listen to them. Don’t think about your response and just listen. Repeat what they said back to them in your own words and ask questions that encourage them to go deeper into the subject.

Hand over your phone – Don’t just exchange business cards. If you’ve made a connection with someone, hand over your phone and have them enter their number right on the spot. Then, make a note in your phone with all your new contacts to keep your new connections straight.

Take notes – We can’t emphasize this one enough. Take notes on the people you’ve connected with at the event. Write down their practice or company name and jot down a few things you two spoke about. Trust us, there isn’t anything worse than going to a networking event and connecting with amazing people, getting their contact information, and the next day forgetting who was who or what was spoken about with which person. Take notes. You’ll thank us later.

After the Event

Review your goals – Did you meet the goals you had set for yourself before the event? If you did, that’s awesome. If you didn’t, take a look at where you fell short and how you can achieve that goal next round.

And while we’re on the subject of goals, go ahead and create some new ones pertaining to keeping these connections you’ve just made. Maybe you want to have a monthly lunch with a few new connections, or maybe you want to establish a podcast partnership. Whatever your goals are, write them down, set a timeline and hold yourself accountable.

Connect on LinkedIn – LinkedIn offers a ton of great tools to help you keep your connections in the forefront of your mind, and what’s the harm in knowing when they have a work anniversary or get a new job? These are great reasons to reach out and reconnect again.

Remember birthdays – It’s the small things that matter. Even if you don’t have a contact’s birthday on file, Facebook and LinkedIn make it pretty darn easy for you to reach out. Do a little R&D (and totally not stalking) on your connections. Someone having a baby? Having surgery? Celebrating a family occasion soon? Reach out and send your well wishes. These small gestures are memorable and go a long way – especially if it’s a handwritten note in the mail.

Send out emails – Maybe you met someone at a networking event who you’d love to connect with again. Send out a “So glad we got to meet” email to that person, but gain some points by making the email a bit more personalized. Toward the end of the email, link to an article that relates to what you two spoke about during the event. Say something like, “At the event, you talked about potentially adding couples therapy to your practice. I saw this article on the benefits of expanding services and thought of you. Have you read this?” These emails don’t have to be super long or formal, either. And yeah, it seems simple, but that added personal touch goes a long way.

Buy some coffee – Particularly interested in reconnecting with a person? Ask them out for coffee. This casual setting will lighten up the mood and give way to more in-depth, sometimes not work-related, conversations. So go ahead and ask her out, the worst that can happen is that she says ‘no.’ And in that case, don’t dwell and move onto the next connection.

Host dinner parties – Networking guru Keith Ferrazzi, author of bestseller Never Eat Alone, suggests this one, and we couldn’t agree more, as it is a powerful way to get to know your connections as people. Ferrazzi suggests inviting an array of different professionals in your networking circle out to dinner and having each person talk about one personal thing and one business-sided thing currently going on in their lives. This way, the conversations will be much more in-depth than the general introductions usually received at networking events.

Set connection reminders – Relationships take effort. Set reminders for the next time you need to reach out to your connections, and make it personal when you reach out. Ask them how they’ve been, how their practice or business has been running and if they’d like to get together to catch up sometime soon.  

There you have it: Tips on setting yourself up for success before networking, how to authentically connect with someone during an event, and how to follow up to make those connections last.

Integrate some of these tips into your own networking strategy and watch your networking circle grow.

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About Perry Rosenbloom

Perry Rosenbloom is the Founder of Brighter Vision, the worldwide leader in custom therapist website design. His connection to therapy and therapists runs deep: His mother-in-law owns a private practice in Jacksonville, FL, his father-in-law is in recovery and just received his 30 year chip, his Uncle (who he never met) died at a very young age due to drug use, and the heroin epidemic has hit his hometown very hard. With so many connections to therapy and therapists, he is immensely proud to be able to help support them in their work and enable them to be successful business owners.