So be the guy (or gal) who knows. You don't have to be a walking event calendar, but if you do pretty much keep tabs on existing good networking opportunities and are one of the to hear about new venues or groups, you can do a good service for others by letting them know about events that you like or you think might be appropriate for your listener.
Now, of course, you don't want to run into an event and start hollering right off in front of the host and organizers about a really cool event across town or across the street (duh!). And it's not cool to compare events, particularly if you're going to put people or places down. That can play a little bit differently in the northern U.S., but for sure if you start dissing people and their events in the south you'll find yourself talking alone.
Remember that not every great opportunity for networking looks like a business networking event, so if you discover another good avenue, be sure to share that, too. For example, in the greater Wilmington, NC area there are lots of periodic (like monthly or sometimes weekly) concert in different parks or towns and some of them are super for networking before or even during the event. Also, there are some business shows and expos that can be good opportunities for people to people from other businesses.
So keep your mind open for other business networking opportunities and share the love with people who are interested.
This post is one in a series on how to make the most of in-person networking events. If you're going to go (and I suggest you do if your business benefits from relationships), you might as have the most fun possible and give and receive the greatest benefits from the occasion.
If you know of a networking event in the greater Wilmington Area [which means to me anywhere from Topsail Island, NC to North Myrtle Beach, SC] that's open to visitors, drop me a note ahead of time and I'll try to post it.
