A Gold Nugget For Successful Networking
I think we have all been there:
You go to a networking meeting where people ask each other what they do.
And over and over you witness participants twitch, take a deep breath, look on the floor and mumble “I help women between 35 and 50 who struggle with feeling unfulfilled and undeserving release their blocks and beliefs so that they can feel feel better about themselves and become successful in their business.”
Really???
Is that what they do?
What does this mean?
I want to share with you, and this might make some people uncomfortable, that whenever I hear an elevator pitch like this, my first reaction is: This person is just starting. This person might even still struggle with these issues herself and now turns it into her message. The more meetings you attend, the more you will understand why this is a cookie cutter message that every new coach uses, and when you attend a conference with 500 or even 1000 people, you will hear that exact pitch over and over and over again.
There is nothing unique about stating that we help women who want to be successful.
It’s kind of the general job description of being a coach, isn’t it?
Unless you have earned specific expertise that would give you the right you to put your stake in the ground as the “women over 50 expert”, like a book, a youtube channel for this specific population, a successful podcast series or a a truly targeted, purposeful program that you have been running for a while, chances are, that you will become invisible and forgettable in the crowd of other coaches who state exactly the same as you.
Don’t create a new name for what you do, if you want to be taken seriously by strangers
I have seen coaches go to the extent of calling themselves a new name, creating job descriptions that were running the gamut from cute “I am a “eat cupcakes daily coach” – because I help my clients feel deserving ion their life and eat desserts to celebrate” to: “I am a money story coach, because I help people understand why they have no money and how they can fix that.”
Do you see how the business ideas behind these names were actually specific and good, but when you hear the description, you go “huh – that’s weird!” in your head?
So why even try to be different and unique just for the reason that nobody else has ever come up with it?
Is it really necessary to be different and unique to run a successful business?
Yes, this might be the German in me, but I always sigh a sigh of relief when coaches just tell me what they do:
“I am a business coach, and I specialize in helping small business owners put the systems in place that they need to run their company on autopilot….”
Or: “I am a success coach, and I specialize in helping women create the necessary business mindset that they will need to break through 6 figures.”
This is pretty clear, isn’t it? And no-nonsense, right?
And memorable and professional, would you agree?
Why do you think that these people can be so clear about what they do?
If you are a new coach, you might not like the answer, but here it goes:
Because they have experience.
They have actually done it.
They have actually helped enough people to know exactly who they want to work with.
They know where their talents are most needed and which clients will do very well when they invest into their services.
What can you do as a new coach who doesn’t have that experience yet?
Well, the easiest answer would be: Go out into the world and get it!
Talk to people, see if you can help them!
See who has problems that you can solve, and find ways to solve them.
talk to people that you have already helped and ask them what was good about working with you.
Then ask the same people what was not so good, what they would suggest could be improved.
Don’t be afraid!
There is gold in this information, and people like you even more when you are vulnerable and willing and interested to learnThe truth is, in my experience, that you don’t really need a fancy job description to start your business.
Over time, you will gain two things: The words that others use to describe you, and a lot more fun with and confidence in what you do. Doesn’t that sound more realistic and appealing?
So what do you say at these networking meetings as a new coach?
The trick is not to make people remember what you do, but to remember YOU!
So make a nice contact.
Keep it simple.
Tell them you are a business coach or a relationship coach, or whatever you do, and then ask them about themselves!!!
People will remember you when you ask a lot of questions about THEIR business.
They will remember that you are nice, trustworthy, not after their clients, and a great resource for information and connections.
The more you make your networking about the people you talk to, the more they will talk and remember you.
The purpose of networking meetings is to create relationships
So creating personal connections is the goal. Nad to know exactly who you need to work with and who is not in your field.
The more people know and like you, the easier it will be for them to remember you, even if you don’t have a lot to say yet.
own that you are starting out, don’t hide it but also don’t magnify it.
If you didn’t have a predisposition to do what you do, you would choose a different field, isn’t this true?
A piece of GOLD: Do you “work with” or do you “care about”?
Here is a piece of “gold” that I share with my coaches:
I recommend not to say “I work with” or “I help”. This is what everybody uses and overuses.
If you really want to stand out, use the sentence
“I care about…” instead.
People will always ask you why you care about them.
Then you can tell your story.
And then you can expand on what you know about their problems, and the pathways or solutions that you found.
Wouldn’t it be nice to talk to people at networking meetings that tell you who they care about and why, instead of “Helping women over 50…?”
Who do YOU care about?