This weekend we were invited to attend a corporate hospitality box at the Ellis Park rugby stadium for the Lions versus Connaught in the United Rugby Championship. Under normal circumstances I would say no thanks but this is a good networking opportunity and you just never know who you are going to meet during the course of the afternoon.
I did not have high hopes due to this being a league match, but you always have to go with a positive mindset as anything is still possible. As you can see from the stadium it was only 5% full and most of the corporate hospitality boxes were not open. My son and I were armed with business cards just in case there is an opportunity of creating a contact that we could go and visit this week.
This was not a total bust as we managed to work the corporate box we were attending and there were a couple of other boxes further away that we popped our heads in and said hello. over all it was nothing special and managed to meet 3 corporate clients who may at some point become clients in the future.
If this had been a higher profile match then this would have been a prime opportunity to network amongst the various corporate hospitality boxes. The seating area is all open in the front so it gives you the chance to go and chat with others in the various boxes.
Many years ago when I was based down in Durban we had a corporate box at Kings Park and I would guess 50% of the business was done here on a Saturday afternoon or evening as we only used to leave at about 1 or 2 in the morning. We were always the last box open and many of the other boxes ended up joining in with us much to the stadium officials horror as they wanted to close the ground down and could not whilst we were still open.
Mixing business with sport/pleasure in a relaxed atmosphere with alcohol and snacks flowing is very productive and you meet so many people from various industries and these are normally those in managerial positions. Doors that would not normally be open would now be open and this is what you are looking for having a contact name which is what networking is all about.
Many companies have a policy of not being able to receive gifts, but being invited out to attend a sporting event is not deemed a gift and is common practice. Being able to invite a buyer of a company to your box as your guest to try and land the all important deal does happen and why these hospitality boxes are a great tool when used correctly.
The bigger deals will be done when the international matches take place with the next one being South Africa versus England in June and then the All Blacks in August. The tickets are very rare so being invited to a corporate box means you are a valued customer or a customer the company would like to land. This is all part of the razzle dazzle of spending your companies entertainment allowance and they need a return on this investment.
