How to host a guest at a networking event

This morning I had the opportunity to share with some of my team members, as to how to host a guest who is visiting a networking event.

First of all, the guest must be treated well and with welcoming smiles from all the members who are the hosts.

Now to bring this to the next level, once the guest has signed in, registered, paid all meeting dues for drinks and meals, etc., it is now essential to engage this guest effectively.

You mean this is a calculated affair?

Answer is a Yes! It is played with precision.

A Guest Host (also known as a Visitor Host) must first and foremost, introduce himself to the guest, and take the opportunity to exchange business cards. Even have a small conversation about the guest's business.

Now, the Host must take a moment to brief the guest on the meeting proceedings and how the guest can maximize results from the event. Explain when it is appropriate to pass cards, and inform that he will be invited to introduce himself to the rest of members during the formal part of the meeting.

Further, explain briefly that when members pass referrals, this is when they should observe and envision what type of referrals they can expect to receive if they were a member of the group.

Even go as far as saying: 'If you like what you see today, and would like to participate, we will show you how you can lock out your competitors from this group!'

If appropriate, even add elements such as: 'We are looking for an optometrist to pass our referrals to in this group. Let's see if this person can be you.'

Now the guest is prepared for the meeting proceedings.

This is when the Host must now deliberately bring this guest to the group Chairperson, or the President for a formal introduction.

The conversation with the Chairperson may take a few minutes. Yes, time well invested. All others in the group must avoid, interrupting this meeting, unless invited by the President.

Once complete, the Host must next bring this guest to another officer in the Chapter, preferably the officer in charge of Membership Affairs.

This conversation will also last a few minutes.

Then, introduce this guest to a potential contact sphere member: whose business is not competing with the guest, however, sharing the same customer base.

Example, this morning, we received a guest who is in the skin-care products business. Therefore, this guest must at this point be introduced to say, the Life-insurance rep in the group, as they share the same customer base.

You will get the idea by now.

You see, a guest, pretty much like this skin-care products supplier, have never thought of tying up her services with anyone else, in a synergy fashion like how it is described here.

Finally, if time permits prior to the next part of the meeting, introduce this guest to a member in the group who is a performer, such as the person who consistently brings in plenty of referrals or invites guests to the meeting, so that they can have a conversation.

Therefore, the guest now is totally engaged in the meeting, and would be very attentive throughout, and even be anticipating to join the group to receive referrals.

More importantly, these are perception points of a group with a guest. After the meeting has adjourned and the guest have left, these five perception points can give their views on the guest, and the potential resources and energy they can represent into the group once admitted into the group. Not to mention, having close rapport with the guest, so that eventually, they can collectively mentor this new member into the group.

Hope this helps and I welcome you to share your experiences by providing your feedback via the comments facility below.