Hi, and welcome to this next episode from Paula at Boss Lady coaching.
Today’s episode is going to be three steps about successful networking for introverts.
I am an introvert and it’s only something that I’ve realized I actually am if he wanted to put a label on it, which I’m comfortable doing. Only in the last few years, I have actually realized that I am an introvert and that’s okay.
I can be an extrovert when I need to be an extrovert, but generally my overall psyche is being an introvert, and networking sometimes can be super hard.
I wanted to share with you these three steps that I find successful when you’re networking your business:
1. Know your limits.
As an introvert, and also as an empath, I can get quite exhausted from networking. I have to set my limits to know when I need to stop. Usually, it’s one a week, sometimes I can push myself to do two networking events a week. Other times, not so much. It’s really just asking myself how I’m feeling at the time, what I’m prepared for, what other things I’ve got going on in my business at the time, if I’m doing other interviews, or group meetings or things like that, and where I need to spend my energy at that time.
Knowing your limits will give you those boundaries to be able to set.
Recently, I was really exhausted, I had been to 3 networking events in a week, which was a lot for me. A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to another one on the on the Friday of the same week. I just thought to myself, you know what I’m done, I’m peopled out, as I like to say (it’s my quirky term). It’s nothing against people in general, it’s nothing against particular people, it’s just me having the energy to give, to network, and to do it well, to really represent my business.
Knowing those limits is being able to know my boundaries and being able to say no. I love hanging out with my friend, and we go to networking events together quite often but I still need to know my limits.
Sometimes I just need to say to myself “hang on, it’s not in my best interest to do that and I’m going to struggle if I do it.”
Think of it as a recharge pad. Like those vacuum cleaners that go around your house automatically, when they’ve done everything that they can do and there battery start running flat. When their energy is draining, they need to go back to their recharge pad, recharge, so they’re ready to go again. Think about it that way, if you get out there, you do what you need to do, you really give the energy to the networking, and then you’re finding yourself drained, then there’s nothing wrong with going back to your recharge pad.
2. Pick the right networking group.
Finding the right networking group is going to actually reduce the energy that you need to put into it. Obviously, it might take some energy to find that group. But once you’re in a consistent flow of the group, you’ll relax and all you’re really doing then is hanging out with friends.
That’s really what it will be about rather than having to get out there and sell your business and constantly put all that energy in, all you’re doing is hanging out with your favorite people and building connections.
That’s really all it needs to be. AND it’ll reduce the energy that you need to put into it. You might even be able to extend beyond the one or two events for the week. You might be able to push yourself to three or four even, I know people will do some every day if they can.
3. Connecting one on one.
When you find that group of people, keep that connection on a one on one if you don’t want to go out, set up a couple of zoom meetings. For me, being an introvert, I love zoom meetings.
Well, one being a virtual assistant and online coach, that I love anything online, of course it makes it easy for me. Being in zoom chats mean I don’t have to go anywhere! I don’t have to be in more people environments, which takes a lot of energy out of me. I don’t have to juggle my workload to get out of the office. When you meet someone face to face the meeting is also always a little bit longer than a Zoom meeting. This isn’t necessarily a bad things it can be quite a good thing if you’re getting into a flow conversation. But doing a zoom chat is actually you can make it a bit shorter, you can make it a lot more to the point, you still get to connect with people. Then you’re still building those connections.
When you are at the event, it’s just that connection building. I would recommend when you do a networking event, include a one to one with someone via zoom once a week or once a fortnight.
That’s going to help with your energy levels as well. It’s also going to give you maximum return on your networking. After all, if you’re putting this energy into your networking events, and we need to get some sort of return from it right? Otherwise, what’s the point, you’re using that energy but you’re also not getting anything back from it.
Find what works for you and really stick to that, you will excel and it’ll be an amazing journey for you.
If you’d like help in growing your business to that next step and that next level in your business, then reach out to me for a free 15-minute session and we can talk about how to move your business forward. I will give you strategies to get you into that next level.
Click on the link below to book in a session now.
https://calendly.com/bossladycoach/15min
