Location and length of a networking event

For example, if you’re starting at 10am in central London, Ms Naylor says the delegates who are not south-east based will hit rush hour and very expensive train fares, which may deter them from attending.

The peak period for events is during February to June and September to November, Ms Naylor says. She says it is best to avoid school holidays as these often result in many delegates going away.

Ms Naylor adds the length of the event depends on the amount of opportunities available.

She says: “Delegates should leave wanting more, not leave early.”

The most important thing in deciding on location and timings is that your choices are aligned with your brand, says Mark Hutchinson, head of marketing at the Personal Finance Society.

If you position your firm as an expert adviser to high net worth city professionals then Mr Hutchinson says a local golf club might not attract your target audience.

Conversely, he says you don’t want to scare potential new clients away by giving them the impression that your services are out of their league.

Mr Hutchinson says the timings should be appropriate to the audience’s availability and the duration will depend on what core message you want to communicate, with sufficient time for refreshments and networking.

The frequency of events depends of the specific aims of the event you are planning, Mr Hutchinson says. If it is primarily an update for existing clients, Mr Hutchinson says once a year is probably sufficient.

If the objective is to generate new clients from guests and targeted non-client invitations then Mr Hutchinson says the only restriction will be your firm’s resources.

It is important to choose somewhere that is easy for people to get to, with parking if it is outside London, says Mark Charlesworth, national development manager at Sesame Bankhall Group.

Mr Charlesworth says guests can often be amenable to attending a networking event if it is at an interesting venue, so this is also something to consider.

If you want local business owners, then Victor Sacks, IFA of Ringrose Grimsley Ltd, says you should find a venue local to the high street.

If you want other start-up or micro business owners, then Mr Sacks says you need to position yourself near motorways/link roads as invariably they will be on the road.

He says: “I have attended early mornings, end of business day and lunch time network meetings and all have had equal attendances. Venues for the business sector tend to be hotels, bars and restaurants.

“Invariably, if you are meeting around mealtimes, then most venues won’t charge you a penny providing you have the meal there. You can even negotiate a cost for the meal.

“For example, I run a network group from 7.30am to 9.30am. I hold it in a hotel and they give me the room for free.

“A buffet breakfast is normally £17, but I negotiated down to £10. So the only cost to attendees is the cost of a cooked breakfast, which is good value.”

If however, you seek to engage with individuals, then Mr Sacks says you should think about where they spend their time. Golf clubs, leisure clubs, community halls, etc, will all be happy to facilitate at a small cost, he adds. Or Mr Sacks says you can offer to make a donation if appointments yield business.

He says: “I would suggest no more than two hours for the total meeting and don’t kill them with Powerpoint.

“By all means use it but remember the common mistakes of using powerpoint; you can spend time with your back to the audience and flip charts become easy things to lean on.”

Mr Sacks says he would suggest holding events fortnightly.

He says this is enough time for things to have happened in an attendees life to bring a discussion to the table and also regular enough to remember what was discussed at the last meeting.

Assuming a hardcore of regular attendees has been built up, then Mr Sacks says you could look at weekly meetings.

In terms of how regularly to hold events, Sesame Bankhall’s Mr Charlesworth says after you have established a strong group you could consider running regular events, but do be guided as to what will work best for the participants.

He says: “Be sustained in your efforts and be ready to run an event if needed at the drop of a hat. Never wait until you are desperate for leads to run an event.

“Marketing activity such as this helps to create awareness and build relationships, so regular events work well even if they are held only once a quarter.”