These days, meetups and networking events pop up on every street corner in every city. This is great for entrepreneurs who are encouraged to get out there, meet people and find new customers and fans. But how do you actually close a deal at one of these events?

How do you make sure you’re not wasting your time?

Founders School expert and University of Chicago Booth School of Business professor Craig Wortmann has been in this situation before.

“You go to a networking event. Maybe you have some wine and cheese. You talk to three people and you leave,” Wortmann said. “But did any of that do you any good? Were they the right people you should have been talking to in the first place?”

Entrepreneurs are constantly working on a short timeline, with limited resources. They don’t have time to be making idle small talk with everyone while failing to qualify any real customers, resources or potential investors.

In a previous Founders School LIVE event, Wortmann laid out how entrepreneurs (and all sellers) need to be approaching these events in order to get the most out of them.

How to Work a Room