Top Menu

11 Positive Outcomes From Hosting A Networking Event

St. Louis Networking Event

One way to expand your reach in the sports industry, or any industry for that matter, would be to host your own networking event.  It would be great to host a large industry trade show like the National Sports Forum, a Sports Business Journal Event, or the U.S. Sports Film Festival, but for most of us this would be a daunting task.  However, it would not be that difficult to host an event for sports professionals in your own city.

Think about it; if you live in a decent sized sports town there is a good chance you have a professional sports team, a few universities and high school athletic departments, sports agencies, sports marketing/PR/advertising companies, and other freelancers who work in the sports industry.  There is potential for a few hundred or even a few thousand sports professionals in your 50-mile radius.

There are many benefits for hosting a networking event, but first you want to complete the prep work upfront to ensure the event is a success.  Here are my do’s and don’ts for throwing an event:

Do: Make sure it is well attended: Send out e-mails and press releases, make phone calls, create events on social networking sites, and tell as many people as you can; Do whatever you need in order to maximize the crowd and build your trust in others.

Don’t: Come unprepared: Make sure you have food, drinks, name tags and banner, a sign up page or place to drop your card, and proper space in a central location.  If it is more of a trade show event, have tables ready for your sponsors.  If it is a symposium, make sure all panelists have what they need and your sponsors are properly displayed.

Do: Have an assistant: I thought I would be able to run the registration booth alone in my last event, but soon found a cluster of 30 people jammed by the door waiting to get a name tag.  Make sure you have a few registration tables and at least one assistant to help move the traffic along smoothly.

Don’t: Become isolated: If you throw an event, make sure you go around and shake everyone’s hand.  Listen to what the careers, goals, passions, and interests of your attendees are.  Don’t spend too much time with one individual or group of people, but be gracious and listen to as many people that you can.


I recently hosted an event for LinkedIn professionals who live in the St. Louis area (view the images above).  Many of the attendees said it was a great event because it was well attended.  There was free food (although I heard it was a bad selection; sorry guys!) and people made quality business contacts.  Your attendees can’t ask for much more than that.   Throwing an event is an accomplishment in itself, however, there are additional reasons why hosting a successful event will pay dividends in the long run:


1.    New Relationships: Nearly 300 people were in attendance at the St. Louis networking event and 290 of them were new faces to me.  This gave me the opportunity to expand my connections and build quality relationships.

2.    Filling a Niche: What are you passionate about, or what is your field of interest?  I am passionate about building relationships and using LinkedIn.  This led me to throw a party to fulfill those passions in St. Louis, a city I lived in for seven years.  Figure out what you are most interested in, and throw the event around that niche.

3.    Building Your List: If you have a newsletter, websites, or magazine then this is a great way to grow your audience.  Make sure everyone drops their card in a fish bowl or have them write down their contact info.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to add these individuals to your database.

4.    Personal Brand Awareness: Dan Schawbel runs PersonalBrandingBlog.com, a resource that shows you how to build your personal brand to ensure your professional success.  Read a few articles on his blog and you will see why hosting an event helps build your personal brand, and why building You, Inc. is important.

5.    Credibility: I recently attended the U.S. Sports Film Festival in Philadelphia and was wildly impressed with the way the event was produced.  Stephan Hartman was the founder and put together a great cast of directors as the chairman of the board.  Before the event I had never heard of Stephan, but since the event he has gained a lot of credibility and is on my radar as a mover and shaker in the sports industry.

6.    Extra Income: Unless your full time job is to host events, this is not a way you will get rich.  However, depending on your event format (cover fee, sponsorships, or taking a cut from the bar) you may come away with a few extra dollars in your pocket.

7.    Consulting and Jobs: Depending on what your objectives are, you may be looking to find new clients for your own business, or seeking out a new career.  Putting together a well-attended event should help you in achieving these objectives.

8.    Product Sales: Do you have a book, CD, or other products you are looking to sell?  Why not put your products up on the front table and offer a discount to all of the attendees?  If the product provides compelling value and is related to your niche market it is likely to sell.

9.    Press Opportunities: Any event is worthy of at least a brief mention in a local newspaper or online publication.  MySolutionSpot.com featured me after my event, and another newspaper said they would run a feature before my next one.  Send out a press release to a few publications that might share some interest and be prepared to put on your game face for interviews.

10.     Happy Venues: You can never become familiar with too many restaurants or venues.  By giving them the business and brand awareness to an audience, they will always be grateful and willing to help with future events.

11.     Connecting Others: It’s a pleasure for me to help others connect and mutually benefit from creating a relationship.  By bringing a large number of influential people together, it is only a matter of time that the right people will be introduced to one another, businesses will grow, and lives will change.

Did I miss any other Do’s and Don’ts?  Are there other positive outcomes from hosting your own networking event?  Please let me know in the comments section and feel free to add anything to the list.  Did you like what you read?  Then subscribe to my monthly newsletter and receive the latest networking features in the sports industry scene.

Latest Posts by Lewis Howes

The type guide of the Modern Language Association is often used in forms compiled by academics and professionals inside liberal arts areas or the humanities. MLA – style now is easier and more to-the-level than different types of quotation; it functions not long in- text details and an alphabetical report on solutions linked in the…

Edit Article Howto Be Considered A Salesman that is Wonderful Sales can be an art. Component aggressive, element inactive, if you balance the marketing and charm of a great salesman, you’ll be able to market ketchup popsicles to some girl in bright gloves to the 4th of September (although something marginally more practical is recommended).

Long skirts are advanced wonderful and ideal for preserving you cool through the hot summer temperatures. It’s outdated significant therefore it doesnt appear strict although, to mix them with all the right-top or plain boring. becauseclothing.com Watch all 9 photos highessay.com arbitrarilyvoguish.blogspot.com Take a look at which type of top matches which prolonged dress!

You realize anything about is a destination for a begin, check that highessay.com in case you want to write and sell Ebooks online, picking a subject. Some Guide writers are Professionals around the subject they write about, some are with the niche at minimum just acquainted. If you should be merely acquainted with a subject,…

Guest article by Oscar Ugaz. His view that an important part of the future will be in the hands of mathematicians and statisticians. And the reaction it received from more traditionally placed ‘experts’. Connect with Oscar on Linkedin and follow on Twitter. A few weeks ago, I was invited to participate in a round table…

 The Best In #Sportsbiz This Week is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Intern – Holly Koski Sports Business Eagles’ Michael Vick launches sports clothing line Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is launching a sports clothing line called V7 that will be sold exclusively at East Coast sporting goods chain Modell’s. The…

Sponsored Post by Brian Collin The NFL has decided to release its All-22 film to the general public for the 2012 season. An invaluable tool for football coaches, the All-22 film does exactly what its name implies – allow viewers to see all 22 players on every play. The tape, which has been dubbed as the…

Guest post submitted by Lucas Biebelberg Today, one of the greatest sports agents in history, Leigh Steinberg, was incredibly gracious in allowing me to interview him for Sports Networker. Leigh is the founder and CEO of Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, and has represented athletes such as Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Bruce Smith, Ben Roethlisberger,…

The Best In #Sportsbiz This Week is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Intern – Holly Koski Sports Business Nike and O2 launch sports loyalty scheme Nike has formed a first of its kind partnership with O2 to provide the operators’ customers with exclusive content and offers under the “Priority” loyalty banner….

A Guest Post by Steve Hamilton Many people believe that success in sports is driven solely by talent and training, but that’s not always true. There’s another “t” word that often plays an important role: technology. The recent controversy about the role that advanced swimming suit fabrics played in Michael Phelps’ impressive Olympic wins is…

, , , , ,

14 Responses to 11 Positive Outcomes From Hosting A Networking Event

  1. cz November 6, 2008 at 1:21 pm #

    Another “do” – which you've done, but forgot to add, is follow-up. Let people know how it went, make them feel like they maybe missed something great so they'll show up next time. Even if this event had only 25 people show up, there would have been something positive to report…

  2. Lewis Howes November 6, 2008 at 11:58 pm #

    Great point CZ. The follow up is very important or else you are not maximizing the opportunities from building the relationships. Thanks for your thoughts!

  3. cappellaula November 19, 2008 at 7:10 pm #

    Thanks for sharing

    regards
    online image hosting

  4. Tom Christopher November 22, 2008 at 8:01 am #

    This should be on a saturday night. Most folks can not go because they work the next day.

  5. Simmie November 23, 2008 at 11:02 am #

    Just what I needed! I sponsor monthly events for entrepreneurs. I just completed Ten Reasons to Attend . This goes along nicely with my information.

  6. Muniruzzaman Kiron September 17, 2012 at 9:14 am #

    Thank you for your article. it was a great article and your tips really helped me a lot.

  7. Stroitelnica March 18, 2015 at 3:37 am #

    Любая интересная и престижная работа требует профессиональной подготовки. Получение лицензии охранника и её регулярное продление в установленные сроки обеспечивает вам возможность вести профессиональную охранную деятельность длительное время.

    http://munania.org/sitemap.html

  8. lisa January 22, 2021 at 12:39 am #

    I think Hosting is main thing to make a blog healthy or running in a good condition. So whenever any one starts a new blog the first work which is concerned very important is choosing a right web host.

    Generally hostgator and bluehost are the major affordable and awesome hosting services from which we can also avail discounts. For indians Bigrock is also reliable and cheapest too.domain registration australia

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. A great idea - I wish I could take credit for it. « All Things SMB - November 5, 2008

    […] LinkedIn resources, I came across this blog post from Lewis Howes, President of Sports Networker: 11 positive outcomes from hosting a networking event. It is a great idea for most small business folks looking for a way to get their name into the […]

  2. webhost - May 3, 2009

    webhost…

    Choose the Right Web Hosting Package: http://www.webhost-reviewer.info -With thousands of web hosting providers all around competing for one’s business, it may be confusing to find the one that’s right for one’s web site. The following are some key…

  3. 10 Powerful Linkedin Tips | Linkedin Pro - Social Media Marketing - January 17, 2011

    […] You would not believe the energy and enthusiasm created by hosting a live LinkedIn networking event.  I’ve hosted over 20 live events and promoted them all through the LinkedIn events section.  One event had over 1,000 RSVP’s and the average event had around 350 paying attendees.  It allows you to connect with those online connections… offline, and make powerful face to face relationships.  Learn about the benefits of hosting your own LinkedIn event here. […]

  4. 10 Powerful LinkedIn Tips by Lewis Howes « Christine McCarthy - January 18, 2011

    […] You would not believe the energy and enthusiasm created by hosting a live LinkedIn networking event.  I’ve hosted over 20 live events and promoted them all through the LinkedIn events section.  One event had over 1,000 RSVP’s and the average event had around 350 paying attendees.  It allows you to connect with those online connections… offline, and make powerful face to face relationships.  Learn about the benefits of hosting your own LinkedIn event here. […]

  5. 10 Powerful LinkedIn Tips | Social Media Revolver - February 5, 2012

    […] You would not believe the energy and enthusiasm created by hosting a live LinkedIn networking event.  I’ve hosted over 20 live events and promoted them all through the LinkedIn events section.  One event had over 1,000 RSVP’s and the average event had around 350 paying attendees.  It allows you to connect with those online connections… offline, and make powerful face to face relationships.  Learn about the benefits of hosting your own LinkedIn event here. […]

  6. 10 Powerful LinkedIn Tips - Puzzle Pieces Marketing - January 10, 2022

    […] You would not believe the energy and enthusiasm created by hosting a live LinkedIn networking event.  I’ve hosted over 20 live events and promoted them all through the LinkedIn events section.  One event had over 1,000 RSVP’s and the average event had around 350 paying attendees.  It allows you to connect with those online connections… offline, and make powerful face to face relationships.  Learn about the benefits of hosting your own LinkedIn event here. […]

Leave a Reply