Some of us are natural networkers.
Hopefully your chamber ambassadors are, but if they aren’t, do you give them networking tasks or instructions to help them make the most of your chamber events?
While your ambassadors are volunteers and members, giving them goals or instructions (for those who need them) to maximize their networking time benefits their business and yours.
Putting Your Ambassadors to Work
Thinking of your ambassadors, you probably know who needs networking help and who doesn’t. If you approach it from giving them tasks or goals for events instead of “networking tips” it might be more palatable.
Ask Them to Introduce People
Encourage your ambassadors to approach people they don’t know at events and introduce themselves. After finding out about that person’s business, ask the new friend if there was someone specific (or someone in a specific business) s/he wanted to meet. If so, have your ambassador introduce them.
Give Suggestions
If there are new members, lonely members, members who haven’t attended in a while, or specific people you want your ambassadors to introduce themselves to, let them know ahead of time. Maybe someone signed up who hasn’t attended an event before, or in a very long time. Don’t be shy about asking your ambassadors to be a little more friendly to that person.
Some chambers secretly mark name tags based on newbies and established members. This can easily be done with different icons on name badges. At first glance they appear decorative but your ambassadors will know their true meaning.
Give Them a Topic
Ambassadors can also function as an unofficial R&D team. Some members may shy away from telling you how they really feel about your new website, for instance, but they may confess to another member that it wasn’t designed with the user in mind. If you’re curious how your members feel, give your ambassadors a specific question for them.
Often chamber ambassador groups are only as strong as the freedoms they’re given. If you have been dissatisfied with their event networking, help them out by giving them something specific to do.
Interested in this topic?
Here is a free chamber-specific resource for you…
