The Cost of a Networking Event

I was meeting with a client a few days ago, and he was talking about networking events he did and did not want to attend. He was very emphatic about not wanting to attend a $45 chamber mixer, and I agreed that his reasoning made sense for that event.

Which brings up the question. What makes a $45 event not worthwhile and a free event a “never miss event?” It’s not so much the cost of the event. It’s what you can expect to get out of it, and also how much it will cost you in time.

Is there an event where you land a new client almost every time? If so, it’s worth going to, even if it costs a bit in time and money. How about a free event where you never get anything? It’s probably not worth the time it’s costing you.

Remember to look at both cost in money and cost in time. Is one event right around the corner from your office while another requires a one hour drive? Each way! Even if both events cost the same amount of money, you’d better get a lot out of the one that “costs” you two hours in driving times.

So don’t forget to look at both $$$ and time when planning your networking marketing budget.

Speaking of good events. Does anyone know any particularly good ones in the DC metro area? I’d like to do a post on good events in our area. Feel free to send me a link and why you think it’s good, and I’ll feature both you and the event in an upcoming post. Recurring events only, please. I’d like the post to have ongoing value.

Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Virginia Colin

Most people probably do the cost-benefit analysis in terms of dollars and likelihood of getting more business from a networking event. I wonder how many include the cost in time.
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  @Virginia, not enough people do. They need to think of what else they could be doing, either with the travel time or the time at the event. I decided to skip an event last month, even though I’d paid for it, because I realized there were better ways I could use that time. It was the right decision. 🙂