April 3, 2019 | Business News

YOUR FEMALE FRIENDLY TOP NETWORKING TIPS 

Women are generally ill prepared for networking, in general:

• In the beginning they feel they know no-one and are unclear about why they are there and who in the room could be useful to them
• They lack confidence and hate being in the spotlight
• When they start-up in business they have difficulty getting their heads around what they are selling

Social media tends to take all of the above away, so if we were to resolve the above in light of the new dawn of social media rising on us, here are some tips that you might find useful.

 

1. Networking – is all about working a net of people.
   Imagine any net you take out fishing, drawing and sweeping across people, trying to net them. So networking is about working your net of people successfully for you. We can all be busy fools, so it is essential that we are clear about what we looking to net before we start looking for the networks to visit, let alone join! Think about the people who will be:- Important stakeholders to the success of what you do
   – Your peer group
   – Your competition
   – Your potential customers
   – Training providers for your profession
   – Business support divisions who support your sector or the sectors of client you are targetingNo one network will provide everything your business will need from it’s networking activity, so be prepared to join at least 3.
2. Just like wartime – a network meeting is a collection of all shapes and sizes, all intellects, but generally they are ordinary folk all putting themselves out there to get to know as many people as possible. They will be feeling just like you – so why not think about how you can put them at their ease. You will be so busy concentrating upon helping them to feel better about themselves, you will forget all sense of any possible lack of confidence.After-all networking is all about listening, not talking.

   You know enough about you, why not start your networking journey going out just to listen to what other people are doing or listening to advise they have to offer. People will feel so comfortable with you and feel really valued by you knowing they are being heard by you.Watch, listen and learn – in time you will find a style of networking that works well for you and as you become more comfortable with your style of doing things –your confidence will automatically grow.

3. Before you go out networking, be clear as to the benefits of your business.
   Too often we go out networking listing lots of features of what we do, but forget the benefits of why people buy from us. People buy on benefits not features.Also develop little stories relating to clients you have worked with and how you helped them to solve a problem, satisfy a need or succeed in their life/business because of your interventions. People tend to remember anecdotes and stories and when the time is right, these could be the very things they use to connect you in their network of contacts.In this ever changing economy, nobody knows everything about everything – if they say they do they are mad, bad or sad!Networking is a great place to learn some great business tips, advice and experience shone on something you need to know.Before you attend any event you need to research your audience and what their potential needs are before you start looking to network with them. Once you know what they need in the context of what you are looking to sell this makes life a lot easier.A product or service is sold to a person or an audience and so you need to be clear if the audience needs it and how your message needs to be shaped to mirror their needs. You might need to take props, samples, a customer who has experienced what you do or photographs. Mobile devices can display and say so much to others quickly about what you do, so think about pre-loading videos, sound bites or interviews.

To conclude networking is all about KNOWING, LIKING and TRUSTING one another. Getting to know someone sufficiently takes time, so don’t seagull network, decide where to join and be consistent. By people getting to KNOW you, they will gauge over time if they LIKE you and how you do business. If they KNOW and LIKE you then you will start building TRUST together and it’s at that stage that business between people starts flowing freely.

But are you ready to make that investment?

If you do success awaits you, fail to do so, you might as well roll over and give up NOW! Ignore networking at your peril!

 

Written by Cheryl Bass
e: info@iamwoman.biz
t: 07581 210004