Start With This ?

Hope you’ve had a good week.

It’s been either freezing, boiling or monsoon-like here in Mumbles – the weather doesn’t know what to do with itself! ??

I’ve been a bit sad what with the Rafa announcement (even though it was coming it still felt like a shock when it happened). ?? ?? ????

I’m currently stockpiling my tissues for the final farewell in Malaga in November. And will leave my tributes till then!!

The subject of networking has popped up both on my Growth Circle sessions and my ‘Ask Me Anything’ calls this week too.

A conversation I had with a ‘newbie’ freelance trainer got me thinking about the problem of building business contacts when you have just started out. ??

How can you let people know what you’re up to?

How can you begin to attract referrals or find other trainers to collaborate with?

Is your immediate future destined to be a blur of networking events?

It’s true that effective networking is crucial to the success of any business, even more so in the start-up phase when you are keen to develop new contacts.

And with so many online and in-person networking events around these days, there’s no shortage of opportunities to meet people and build business relationships.????

However, the key is to pick the networking events that will work for your business and especially put you in front of your ideal clients. ?

My advice would always be to do your homework and find out as much as you can about a networking event before you commit – many cost time and money and, without careful planning, can drain your energy and cash. ??

I wasted so much time in the early days of my business going to networking events that weren’t a good fit.????

I met lots of lovely people but they were either people like me (self-employed consultant/small business owner) or selling Aloe Vera!?

So it didn’t get me much further on in terms of building my business!

I soon worked out there were other places I could be going where people I wanted to meet were ‘hanging out’.

But I also realised maybe I should be focusing a little closer to home.????

Instead of being on a constant quest to meet new contacts, it might be a good idea to start with those I knew already….

It’s a strategy that’s often overlooked yet it’s the simplest and most effective thing we can do.

You can read more in a blog from my archive How to Build a Contact List From Scratch?here.

And there’s a LinkedIn post about Networking too - read that here.?

As ever I’d love to know your thoughts so if you feel inclined – hit reply and let me know.

It would be great to hear from you.

Have a great week!

Love from Sharon x ??

Sharon Gaskin is the Founder of The Trainers Training Company, Helping Freelance Trainers Create and Grow Successful Businesses.

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Looking forward to seeing you there! ??