Big Isn’t Always Beautiful – Why Smaller Networking Meetings Can Deliver Bigger Results
When it comes to business networking, is bigger always better?
We’ve all seen the photographs. A room packed with businesspeople, dozens of conversations taking place, and a caption proudly announcing that 100 people attended a networking event.
It certainly looks impressive. But here’s a question worth asking:
How many of those people actually made a meaningful business connection?
And perhaps more importantly, how many of those conversations resulted in a follow-up meeting, a new relationship, a referral or, ultimately, business?
Because surely that’s what networking is really about.
It’s Not About How Many People You Meet
There’s a temptation to judge the success of a networking event by the number of people attending.
The more people in the room, the more opportunities there must be. Right?
Not necessarily.
Imagine attending an event with 100 people. You might have conversations with 10 or 15 of them, exchange a few business cards and perhaps connect with several on LinkedIn.
But what about the other 85 people? You may never even discover who they are, let alone what they do.
Now imagine attending a smaller networking meeting with just 15 or 20 people.
Suddenly, there’s an opportunity to speak to almost everyone in the room. You can find out about their businesses, understand the challenges they face and discover whether there are opportunities to help one another.
Twenty people who get to know each other can sometimes create more opportunities than 100 people who barely exchange a hello.
Meaningful Conversations Create Meaningful Opportunities
The most valuable networking conversations rarely start with someone launching into a sales pitch.
They start with genuine curiosity.
What does your business do? Who are your ideal clients? What challenges are you facing? How can I help you?
When you have the time to listen properly, conversations become more productive.
You begin to understand not just what someone sells, but who they are, what matters to them and how you might be able to introduce them to someone who could benefit from their services.
That’s when networking starts to work.
And smaller meetings can provide the ideal environment for those conversations to happen naturally.
The Real Networking Happens After the Meeting
One of the things I regularly emphasise at our networking meetings is that the meeting itself should be the beginning of the relationship, not the end.
The objective isn’t necessarily to walk out with an order.
It’s to walk out having identified people you would like to get to know better.
Perhaps you’ve arranged to meet someone for a coffee.
Maybe you’ve discovered that two businesses could work together.
Or perhaps you’ve met someone who could introduce you to exactly the type of client you’re looking for.
Those opportunities are developed through follow-up conversations away from the networking meeting, where there’s more time to explore how you can help each other.
And here’s the important point.
You don’t need a room full of 100 people to make that happen. You might only need to meet the right one.
Smaller Meetings Can Build Stronger Relationships
There’s another advantage to smaller networking groups that is sometimes overlooked.
People tend to remember each other.
When you regularly meet the same businesspeople in a more intimate setting, you develop familiarity and trust.
You begin to understand their businesses in greater detail, recognise opportunities to recommend them and become more confident about making introductions.
And confidence is crucial when it comes to referrals.
After all, when you recommend someone, you’re putting your own reputation on the line.
The better you know someone, the easier it becomes to recommend them.
Of Course, Larger Events Have Their Place
Let’s be clear. Larger networking events can be fantastic.
They generate energy, excitement and opportunities to meet businesses you might never otherwise encounter.
They can be particularly valuable for raising your profile, expanding your network and making new contacts.
But smaller meetings offer something equally important: the opportunity to develop conversations and relationships in a more personal environment.
Neither format is automatically better than the other.
The secret is understanding that the value of networking isn’t determined by the size of the audience.
It’s determined by the quality of the connections you make.
Don’t Count the People. Count the Connections.
At Colony Networking, we believe successful networking is about creating genuine business relationships.
Whether there are 15 people in the room or 50, the objective remains the same: meaningful conversations that lead to opportunities beyond the meeting itself.
We encourage people to get to know one another, arrange follow-up meetings and discover how they can help each other’s businesses grow.
Because networking shouldn’t simply be another event in your diary.
It should be an investment in building relationships that deliver lasting results.
So, the next time you’re deciding whether to attend a networking meeting, don’t just ask how many people will be there.
Ask yourself how many people you might genuinely get to know.
Because when it comes to networking, big isn’t always beautiful – and sometimes a smaller room can open much bigger doors.
Simon Edmondson
Colony Networking | The Profile Club