When it comes to local networking, there seem to be two camps; those who are all in and spend hours a week lunching, brunching, and one on one-ing and those who avoid their local MeetUps and Chamber events like the plague.
So why do some people seem like natural networkers and others can’t quite get in the groove? Let’s look at 3 rules for a great networking experience.
It’s Not About You, But Your USP Does Matter
Can we agree on one thing before we move on? Networking is NOT about you. If you go into networking events with the idea that you’ll gobble up a new set of clients, you’re really setting yourself up to fail. BUT my business coach told me networking is an essential part of growing my business – so what in the heck are you talking about?! Yes, being active and meeting folks is an important part of growing your business, but you should head to your next luncheon with the idea of connecting on a personal level and helping your peers. If you’re not seeing the clear difference, let me give a few examples.
1. Don’t Be a Show-Off
ME-centric business owners can be a pain to deal with. Especially if you’re stuck with them for an hour and a half with no great excuse to move tables.
I once attended a lunch and learn and sat with a fellow marketing business owner. I love meeting other marketing folks because I feel like there’s always something I can learn from them. And boy – was this lady ready to teach. We spent over an hour “discussing” the success of her company, her MENSA-level business management, her decisions to offshore development work and pay “workers” (her word, not mine) pennies on the dollar what she would pay in the US. I learned from her that my business will never succeed as long as I continue to hire and work with locals. That once I was truly successful I wouldn’t need to “wear clown clothes” for meetings anymore (apparently my suit was offending her). And that when my business fails she may have a spot open for me, if I’d be willing to work for a bit over minimum wage.
I left that meeting feeling gross. I left feeling like I wanted to have nothing to do with the group if she represented what they were all about. And I left feeling like all her bragging and pushing had completely gotten in the way of us ever helping one another in our businesses. This is not what networking is about.
Wouldn’t it be better if they listened and helped instead?
A few weeks ago at a women in commerce luncheon I ran into the owner of a large marketing and web development firm here in Denton. I honestly braced myself for another round of “my shit don’t stink” — but instead of telling me how awesome her company is, she asked all about what Blue Steele Solutions does and who we do it for.
Here’s where a strong USP (unique selling point) comes into play. Her company has a well defined audience, they know who their ideal client is and they’ve developed a top-notch product to meet that clients’ needs. We, Blue Steele Solutions, also have a defined audience, and our processes and solutions are geared towards delivering the best product possible in that audience’s budget range. As we chatted it quickly became clear that there was a potential for us to help one another through referrals and contracting. When a lead doesn’t quite fit my ideal client base, but does fit theirs I have a great place to send those leads and vice-versa. We met up last week and started working on defining a relationship and process. Had she not taken the time to listen, had she only been concerned about how well her business is doing and making sure everyone knows about it, we never would have spoken again after that initial meeting. Now we have the potential to send business to one another and utilize resources through one another right here in the same town.
By clearly defining who your ideal client is and how you serve that client better than anyone else, you can stop worrying about telling everyone how great you are and feel confident that word of mouth will do that job for you.
2. Stop Worrying About The Competition
Have you ever walked into a room and realized out of the 30 companies represented there 5 others do pretty much the exact same thing you do? Have you ever been the new guy in that group? You’re the last to give your 30 second commercial and want to just give up and say “I do exactly what she does, and she does, and he does, and those guys over there do. Maybe you should just go ahead and hire your buddies.” Have you ever had a competitor snub you or take over a conversation? Or even worse — UNINVITE you?
A colleague and buddy of mine, Carrie Dils, ran into this situation about a year ago with one of our local WordPress meetups. Carrie was invited by a member of the meetup to come speak and then was abruptly uninvited by the event organizer – because Carrie posed a threat as a competitor to the organizer. You can read the whole story on Carrie’s blog, along with her fabulous response to why we need to all stop shaking in our drawers about competition.
Needless to say, Carrie (and the WordPress community) were rubbed the wrong way. An opportunity for like minded folks to come together and learn from one another was lost. Respect for the event organizer ruined (only because she came back to out herself in a ridiculous rebuttal – read the comments on Carrie’s post). All over fear of competition.
But what if the organizer had welcomed Carrie with open arms?
Let’s write our own alternate ending to Carrie’s story. What if the organizer of this event had a clearly defined audience and a unique offering that made her the best fit for that audience? What if, instead of staking claim to all business owners loosely related to WordPress she had carved out a small niche of those folks and worked hard to provide the best products and services to them? If she had done that work in her business, the threat level of bringing Carrie into a meetup as a speaker would have been zero.
Take that a step further and if this individual had taken the time to understand Carrie’s USP and audience, she would have understood everything Carrie lays out in her blog post — that Carrie is not her competition.
We can all create a business where we have very little competition. All it takes is finding an underserved niche and providing the best solutions to their pain points. Don’t feel like that’s possible in your business? Then you’re not looking hard enough for the pain points your potential customers face. Find those problems and pains and be the one to address them, and you will be successful. You may even find yourself on the receiving end of a slew of referrals from your old “competition”.
3. Be a People Connector
Think about it like dating, do you remember the pushy, arrogant person you met in a bar or the friend who introduced you to your spouse?
I see this play out all the time. The new business owner at the networking group. They’re green, a little overwhelmed, and the moment they introduce themselves they are inundated with business cards. The CPA, the marketing pro, the landlord, and the business coach can’t wait to jump on this fresh meat and close a new deal.
They’re not listening to his concerns, his problems, or his goals. They just want to get their pitch heard and schedule a meeting.
Be the awesome friend that brings a happy couple together
Instead of going in for the kill, stop and listen. What does this person really need to start their business, to get through the day, to remove the giant ball of stress in the pit of their stomach? And who do you know that can do that for him? Help solve his problems even when they don’t directly relate to your business. You’ll not only prove that you’re a decent person, you’ll strengthen your personal network and professional relationships.
Chris Lema provides an awesome example of this at the end of his blog post on taking your business to the next level. (The fact that the example is my friend and awesome colleague Pam Aungst is just icing on the cake!) Chris explains how Pam met him at a conference and instantly saw a potentially powerful connection between Chris and Pam’s contact Dino Dogan. Now Pam could have easily spent her few minutes with Chris (who happens to be a very influential person in our industry) wooing him on her SEO skills and asking for referrals and introductions to his clients. But she knew there was more value, and more potential of building a relationship with Chris by introducing him to someone who Chris really needed to know.
Now, this point is not intended to dissuade you from taking meetings and discussing your own services, when there’s a fit, but to help you focus on the bigger picture of what networking is all about.
So where does USP fit into the equation here? When you clearly define the value you provide to your audience, and that word gets around, you’ll have people connectors introducing you to potential new clients left and right.
