Networking gets a lot of hype in the business world. Thousands of events put it front and centre of what they offer, and companies spend serious money getting their people in the room. The Business Show London is one of the biggest examples, packed with founders, freelancers and corporate teams all working the floor at once.
So does it actually pay off? It can, but only if you go about it the right way. Here’s what that looks like.
Don’t go just to pitch, and don’t just pitch
Too many people treat these events as a straight lead generation exercise. They send their best salesperson, hand out stacks of cards and count success in how many pitches got delivered. That misses the point.
Networking is about building connections and spotting where your business and someone else’s might actually fit together. Sometimes that leads to a sale. Just as often it leads to a partnership, a referral, a supplier, or someone worth knowing three events from now. Go in with an open mind about what a good outcome looks like, not just a sales quota.
Be confident, but don’t force it
Walking up to a stranger at a packed event is genuinely hard for most people. It’s tempting to spend the whole day with colleagues or people you already know. That’s fine for the first ten minutes, use it to settle in, but don’t let it become the whole strategy.
A simple way in: ask what brought them to the show. It’s low pressure, it works on almost anyone, and the answer usually tells you within thirty seconds whether there’s a real reason to keep talking. If there is, stay. If there isn’t, thank them and move on. You don’t owe every conversation fifteen minutes.
Do your homework before you arrive
Most exhibitor lists and speaker line-ups go live before the event. Spend twenty minutes with the Business Show London’s list beforehand and flag five or six people or businesses you genuinely want to speak to. Walking in with a short list beats wandering the floor hoping for a good conversation to find you.
Use speed networking at The Business Show London
The Business Show London runs dedicated speed networking sessions as part of the programme, and they’re worth building your day around rather than squeezing in if you have time. The format is quick, short structured slots where you get a minute or so with each person before moving on, so you can meet a genuinely large number of people in a single hour. The trick is having a tight, thirty second version of what you do ready before you sit down, because there’s no time to warm up mid pitch. Don’t try to sell in that minute either. Your only job is to work out fast whether there’s a reason to keep talking afterwards, then note down who’s worth following up with once the session ends. Treat it as a filter for the rest of the event, not the whole strategy.
Follow up while it’s still fresh
The event isn’t where the value gets created, it’s where the conversation starts. Whatever you collect on the day, whether that’s cards, LinkedIn connections or notes on your phone, follow up within a couple of days while you’re still a face in their memory and not just a name in a pile. A short message referencing what you actually talked about will always beat a generic “great meeting you” template.
The bottom line
Networking at an event like The Business Show London isn’t about how many people you meet or how many pitches you get through. It’s about the handful of conversations that turn into something real afterwards. Go in curious, stay open to outcomes you didn’t plan for, and treat the follow up as seriously as the event itself.