Networking isn’t working!
Last week we had a call from a business woman who said that she was going to give our network “A go” because she had been recommended to network, and yet after a year of networking, she had gained nothing from it.
“Nothing?” we asked.
“No, nothing” she said.
We found that hard believe. And we as asked more, this business woman did change her viewpoint a little, okay she had gained;
- Some great contacts
- Some nice people to have coffee with
- Some nice 1 2 1’s
But when we asked if it had resulted in anything that was good for business, the answer was clearly no. Okay you could say that networking is a slow burner. As our founder likes to say “A marathon, not a Sprint” “A little acorn that grows into an oak (with the right attention!)” however for this business woman, that clearly was not the case.
So we did 2 things. Firstly we gave her some advice (which she took and it changed the results of her networking) and secondly she is joining us at our networking this month. So firstly here is our advice we shared;
- Don’t dismiss a network until you’ve given it at least a few months.
- And make sure you attend regularly.
- Are you at the right network? Look around you, is this the right environment for you and your products and services. People may say they love what they do, however are those nice comments turning into sales? Most networks are groups of nice people, although those nice people are not necessarily your target market, so check that you know who yours are.
- What are you saying? If you walk in and talk about what you sell or do, then stop it. Noone cares what you do (sorry that’s a tad harsh, but its true), they care about the results, and the irony is that although so many people know its about talking about results, and not being salesy, when people network, they slip into telling us about what they sell and what they do. Tell us about the results, your happy customers. Tell us about a million other things than being a 80’s car sales person! Still worried your selling? Check out our reports on this website for some great ideas to get better results. (Our master class slots our packed with ways to sell without selling too!)
- Follow up. It scares up that so few business women follow up effectively between networking session, that’s between session. Yes we see business women hopping onto our page to post about their event, or to say how much they loved our event or to comment on the brilliant photos, but that’s about it. What about popping in and saying “Hi” and telling us what you are up to this month? What about sharing your top tips for social media marketing, or email marketing, or public speaking, or getting more out of your day, or even how to control your accounts. Remember when you are a useful business woman, you become a powerful networker. And people that are useful, kind and caring get remembered for all the right reasons. And guess what that could do for business?
- Think this is girlie, “Not going to get me business stuff?” on the contrary this is the stuff that could be the difference between more sales this month (and for the next 6!) and less sales. Remember networking is about supporting your marketing strategy, its not your be all and end all marketing, so what else are you doing? And is that structured and consistent too? Remember networking needs to be consistent and structured. What is your goal, your aim, who do you wish to talk to and what about (don’t start selling) Your aim’s should be something along the lines of; “Make 4 contacts within these industries who are the decision makers in these businesses and arrange to have follow up conversations. And to connect on social media, email and telephone.”How will they factor into your sales funnel for the next month, and we aren’t so keen for them to get added to your mailing list. How is that making you a caring respectful business woman that wants to get remembered for all the right reasons in a months time?
And lastly, make sure you’ve signed up to our newsletter, (because we won’t add you to ours., we appreciate how busy you are and only get in touch with people that want to grow their business and hear from some of the greatest business authors and trainers in the UK) we are currently in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk and in talks to launch in Herts, Kent and London. And are happy to discuss launching anywhere in the UK with business women who would like to get paid to network, would like to work with our founder Business Coach Mandie Holgate for free and get the support to make their networking events a success.
Because in our opinion networking in the right places can be a very powerful way to success. And our business women will tell you it does far more than just increase profit, sales and success. Its confidence, motivation, friends and so much more. Now that makes us very happy!
