Networking & Referrals For Business & Career
I’ve worked with professional business networking organizations since 2007. There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly, and at the end of the day, you must decide where to spend your time, money, and energy to build solid, trusted relationships.
I’ve often received pushback (“𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.”) Sure you do – you’re reading this right now aren’t you? 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 with your time.
You drive to the “free” event, park, and go inside. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 with your time, fuel, vehicle wear-and-tear, any food or drinks you purchase, the cost of the business cards you hand out (or the app you use to send an e-business card), the mental/physical energy required to work the room, plus all the time and energy it takes to follow up, properly vet the people you’ve met, etc.
You Zoom in to the “free” event. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 with your time, electricity, internet, wear/tear on your computer/phone, mental energy to have multiple conversations in multiple breakout rooms, plus like above, all the time and energy it takes to follow up, vet people etc.
You scour the Facebook and LinkedIn business groups looking for leads and/or referrals. 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞.
So, yes, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 to network and build your business.
You say, “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰’𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕! 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕!”
That’s a valid concern, so it’s important to seek out organizations that prioritize their members over profit. Consider joining a few groups that require a fair membership fee as these organizations have dedicated substantial time and resources to develop effective, proven systems and processes for their members. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜. Also, aligning yourself with members who believe in reciprocity in business relationships is crucial. Avoid groups where individuals don’t demonstrate a genuine commitment to cultivating meaningful connections and building strong relationships.
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕? I’m glad you asked.
𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
1. Get clear on what you’re actually selling and who you’re selling it to.
2. Decide which networking approach and investment strategy makes the most sense for your business. Do you need to build relationships with colleagues around the room (virtual and in-person) or can you throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks?
Both approaches are valid. It just depends on your product and sales goals. If you’re focused on short-term transactions with quick product turnover rather than building long-term relationships with repeat customers, then the spaghetti-against-the-wall approach is logical because it relies on quantity over quality.
However, if you’re selling YOU, your service, your expertise, your knowledge, your education, and you’re looking to build long-term relationships, the spaghetti model is a huge gamble. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤? The risk of your reputation. The risk of bad referrals. The risk of the wrong clients. The risk of frustration and burn out because what you’re currently doing isn’t working.
3. Do the research and pick a few organizations/venues you trust and then be all in.
You can make a full-time job out of attending networking events and hope you get solid business. Or you can be intentional about it and develop trusted relationships where you consistently refer to each other because you know and trust each other.
𝐈’𝐦 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞?
Yes, I can. If you’re still unsure (or maybe you don’t even know where to start), feel free to message me.
𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
– your ideal client and referral partners
– where and how to network in event-driven towns and online venue
– what to say once you’re there
𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐣𝐨𝐛, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐞𝐭𝐜. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞.
I understand. Like, I 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑳𝒀 understand. I can help you with:
– reducing the stress and anxiety around your future career and/or educational choices
– discovering the next step to take in a career transition
– salary negotiation
– where and how to network to become visible to recruiters and/or people who can make things happen for you
Investing in yourself to get you laser focused will save you money, time, energy, and sanity in the long run.
Let’s talk!