Networking – Notes Including 1-2-1s

One-To-One Framework - Person - Company - Venue - Date

Introductions	Time available for meeting? What do you seek from it?
Purpose	What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Skills, accomplishments, CV, personal & career background	How did you get here?
Basic organisational background	Short organisational history. Number of staff. Turnover, if not confidential. Current legal status (such as limited, sole trader, LLP). Status - pre-trading, pre-funding, trading, cash-positive? Funding methods and revenue streams.
Products/services	Elevator pitch. Current products or services. Status of new ones.
Niches & business development	What markets are you in? Competitive position such as innovation or least-cost. What do you know about the competition? How do you differentiate yourself? What promotional methods do you use? What are the first few contacts with the potential client like?
Red flags	How can I tell someone needs you? Even if I cannot fully understand your business, what symptoms are there? What signs will I see, phrases will I hear?
Customer psychology	What do you know about the customer’s likely buying behaviour? Do your customers/clients tend to have common traits such as buy the cheapest, intuitive, rational decision, status-driven, profit-motivated or risk-averse?
Associations	What experiences and opinions do you have of associate relationships, as prime or sub contractor?
Referrals	What experiences and opinions do you have of referrals from networking? Do you accept/expect or pay referral fees?
Networks	Are you involved in (other) networking groups?
Goals	What are the relevant prevailing trends in your industry? What are the goals, including your personal ‘dream assignment’?
Frustrations	What issues make your life difficult?
Interests	[If wish, personal interest outside work.]
Referrals – from (my contacts of interest)	Which potential clients do you want to meet, and how can my contacts usefully extend your network? [Check notes for company names from previous meetings.]
Referrals – to (I seek)
Actions from meeting	Follow ups – resources, actions, introductions. Date of next meeting, if relevant.

Martin Tate, Decision Evaluation Ltd +44 (0) 1772 752704
martin.tate@decisionevaluation.co.uk