Effective Networking Tips for Successful Events

00:00:24 - Amber Hawley
Welcome to season two of the My Biz Bestie podcast. I'm Amber Hawley.

00:00:28- Maelisa Hall
And I'm Melissa Hall.

00:00:30 - Amber Hawley
And today, we are introducing our Networking Accountability Challenge. Wow! Yes! We know you've been waiting for it. That's the throngs of people who are so excited that this has finally come.
Yes. And happy June, by the way.

00:00:47 - Maelisa Hall
Can you believe it?

00:00:49 - Amber Hawley
How has half the year passed already?

00:00:51 - Maelisa Hall
I know. We are in the final month of Season 2.

00:00:54 - Amber Hawley
Wow. Crazy. But yes, Melissa and I were talking, as we often do, and we thought the whole reason that we started this podcast was to help people find their business support system. And what that is, is having relationships and building deeper relationships that are reciprocal, supportive, and healthy.
And where do we get relationships from? From meeting people. So we wanted to issue you all a challenge and a challenge for ourselves. to get our butts out there and do some networking. That's right.

00:01:28 - Maelisa Hall
Whatever that means for you. So it doesn't mean that you have to go and sign up for a conference right now or attend like five lunches, although you could. But it's really, really important, I think, to think about what... Well, first of all, what is the purpose of your networking?
What do you need? Do you need clients? Do you need business support? Are you looking for your bestie? What is the purpose of your networking?

00:01:53 - Amber Hawley
Yes. And I think that's always the first question to ask. What is my intention around this? I would argue, though, that everybody who is a business owner, especially, or even working in corporate, but especially for business owners, it really is important for you to be getting your business and your name out there.
And like we said, it's about having authentic relationships. I think we've talked about that a lot in this podcast. So it's not just about schmoozing and wheeling and dealing. It's really about building those connections. But it is important to check and see like, what am I needing right now in my business?
Because that'll tell you where you should be spending your time and kind of who you should be reaching out to.

00:02:31 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. And it'll help you determine what path you want to take. Do you want to meet new people? Do you want to follow up with people you've already met? All of those things will matter, right?

00:02:41 - Amber Hawley
Exactly. So what we're going to say for our networking challenge is every Thursday at noon for the We are going to do a Facebook Live in our Facebook group and we will be answering Q&A if you have questions about who should you be targeting or how do you get yourself out there or not even really knowing where to start or you know what you need to do and you just want a little bit of accountability.
You can pop in there, let us know and then check back in and follow up. So there's an opportunity for some encouragement, accountability and some feedback.

00:03:15 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. And that's really, we would like to be that support system for you as you're building these things up. And Amber and I know we need our own support system, right? And we have one another. And actually, we talked about creating this challenge because we were both talking about ways that we could keep one another accountable with different goals.
And one way we know we can keep ourselves accountable is by telling you all on our podcast that we are going to be on these Facebook Lives every Thursday. So if we say we're going to do that, we're going to do that and we're going to be there and show up.
So that's what we're doing. But we would really love to be able to support you in doing that. And especially this first Thursday, which is right after this episode releases, so on June 7th, if you want to pop on and then let us know what you'll be doing for the challenge.

So like, what is your goal for this networking challenge? What are you planning to get out of this, doing this in the month of June?

00:04:11 - Amber Hawley
Yes, because if you are motivated by public shame as we are, then that is the best we can do. It's so true. Once we've said it out loud in this kind of venue, we are going to follow through, let me assure you. But we're also going to be sharing our networking intentions for the month as well.
And I do think that Everybody has to decide personally what works for them. So we're going to talk a little bit today about how to maybe structure that or what that looks like or give you some ideas to come up with a plan. I feel like if you're in a place where you need more clients or you're feeling really isolated, you should be doing at least one thing a week where you're reaching out to somebody, either someone who's existing in your network and just deepening that relationship or reaching out to somebody who you've always intended to kind of meet up with or follow up with.

So for some people, that's a lot. But I've always said, hey, if you, you know, depending on the type of business that you have, let's say you're service oriented, and you have like five openings for clients, well, then you technically have time. to be meeting with people.
So it's really about prioritizing it. And I think for us, Melissa and I, we have a pretty extensive support network. We've been working on this a long time and I feel very lucky to have all the people in my network and who I can lean on as friends or business support or whatever it is.
But I still want to put myself out there and I still want to deepen those connections and I still want to meet new people because it's fun and there is value in it.

00:05:42 - Maelisa Hall
And you never know. I think this is also like one thing we wanted to highlight is that regardless of the type of business you have, in-person networking is really important. And we're all about the online coffee chat. So we're not discounting that at all.
But you never know who you're going to meet. And I think when you put yourself out there in person, a lot of times you're more likely to meet someone where maybe you're thinking like, oh, their business doesn't necessarily relate to mine, or I don't know if they could be a potential referral source or how that's going to work out.
But I just had lunch this week with someone who has a totally different business here in Southern California. And yet, This time when we met for lunch, she's thinking about doing something online. And we've just kind of been meeting up because we had some other like outside mutual interests and we're both business owners, but hadn't really thought of like mutually referring or anything like that.

But just having this business discussion was really helpful for her this time around because she was asking me about like, what platform are you using for an online course? And what are some things I should consider? And then I was telling her about something else I was interested in and randomly like her mom's interested in that too.
So you just never know. You can't plan that stuff out ahead of time, but you also don't get to experience it unless you're like, you know what? Yeah, I will go have lunch with this person and see.

00:06:59 - Amber Hawley
Exactly. And I think we've on our podcast a few times talked about the serendipity of doing live events or meeting up with people. And I do think, I would say we both equally network online as well as in person, but you're not going to have that space online to sit and kind of just randomly chat about that stuff as easily, right?
So those kinds of things aren't usually going to come up unless you're having a phone call or a Even, I mean, technically you could be doing that if you're on like FaceTime or Skype or something like that. But I do think that in real life is really important.
And there's so much, we're getting inundated with so much stuff online all the time and emails and Facebook and messages and pop-ups and this and that. Meeting in real life is just, we need it more now than ever.

And we need that in-person contact. And even for you introverts out there, we're not advocating the giant 5,000 people meet up kind of thing. We're saying those one-on-one relationships. And so there is so much value in that. So yes, you can do a combination.
You have to figure out what works for you. So my suggestion is one thing a week. And it doesn't have to mean that you're going to one lunch or one coffee date. or whatever that looks like if you can't do it. But I would say in the month of June that you need to at least meet up in real life with somebody at least once, like just one time.
And the rest of the time, it could be other things. So we had some ideas of other stuff that you could do. Melissa, do you want to touch on any of them?

00:08:35 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. So like one thing you could do, especially if maybe you're newer or if you are an online business owner and you don't know as many people in your immediate area, which is so silly that that's a thing now, but it is. You can check up meetup.com and there's always lots and lots of different kinds of meetups and try it out.
And you might say, I just want to attend one networking event. So it doesn't necessarily have to be a business networking event. Like for example, I'm in Southern California. So there's a ton of meetups, like hundreds, thousands. And maybe for you, it's like, oh, I didn't know there was a hiking meetup.
I'm going to go to the hiking meetup. And you meet someone new doing something that you already enjoy doing. So I would say whatever will help you make it more appealing, make it interesting, and not have it be something that you're dreading doing.

Because so many people talk about dreading these networking events. So if you can find a way to make it fun, we're all about that.

00:09:35 - Amber Hawley
And that's the important thing. If you're going to go to a meetup that's not business, quote unquote, oriented, make it something that you're interested in because meeting like-minded people, there's a benefit in that and just getting yourself out there.
And of course, your willingness to do that is going to be based on kind of where you're at in business, how much free time you have, all of that. I think sometimes people think it's like the short game. Networking is not a short game. Networking is building relationships.
And so it's about investing in people because you see value in people, not because they can do something for you. Now, there are times where you're going to strategically try to network or meet people, of course, but realizing there's so much value in just building people where you have this positive experience with, because you never know what may come of that.

00:10:25 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. And I don't know why, like when you were talking, I was thinking of the stereotypical business, like older white men playing golf and doing business. But like that's a stereotype for a reason. Like there were a lot of business meetings held on the golf course, you know, because again, they're doing something that's not, business isn't all about just doing business.
Like there's a reason that, you know, we have these stereotypes about like good old boys club and all that stuff because they were doing other things that they wanted to do.

00:10:56 - Amber Hawley
Yeah, it works. And the thing is they were having fun. They were enjoying golf, although I'm presuming most of them did, but they were also talking about their families and, you know, giving each other a hard time and just enjoying themselves. And that's the thing.
It shouldn't, if it is something like, oh, I don't want to do networking. Well, then you're doing it wrong. You're approaching it wrong. Cause it's really about, do I want to meet somebody who could potentially be someone I can enjoy or be a friend with.
And not everyone is going to turn into a friend, right? But they might stay an acquaintance, but you won't know until you kind of put yourself out there. So we see a ton of value in this, which is why we're doing the challenge. For yourself, decide what is the frequency going to be?
And maybe it's just saying, I'm going to do two things around either deepening my relationships with my business support system that I already have or going out and meeting somebody new.

You determine the frequency and you can determine what those things look like.

00:11:50 - Maelisa Hall
Right. Like deepening a relationship could be maybe you met someone at a conference or maybe you have a coworker, like a former coworker, you know, anyone that you met. and you haven't talked to them in a little while. So maybe you send them an email and say, hey, I was just thinking about you.
I wanted to check in and see how things are going. Maybe you send someone a physical card in the mail and just like a little, hey, I was thinking about you. How's it going? And sometimes those things can feel a little uncomfortable, but people really enjoy that.
That's really the key is when you're making other people feel special. So if you... especially if you're someone who doesn't like talking about yourself a whole lot, networking is actually perfect because then you can set up a meeting and just focus on asking someone else.
Ask them all about their business. Ask them how they're doing.

Ask them how you can help, if there's anything that they need. And you might actually be the support that someone needs right now because you reached out.

00:12:47 - Amber Hawley
Exactly. And that's the value of when you have these networking groups that you go to regularly is that's part of it is you go and you say what you are needing, whether that's hiring an employee or you're needing help with graphics or social media or anything like that.
That's the value in that too. I will say if you're reaching out to somebody you've never met with before though, make sure you're offering something of value to them, why it would be a value to them. Don't make it about yourself. I think that's the number one mistake.
I see when people reach out for in-person networking. I've had that where people send me an email. Can I pick your brain? Yes, exactly. Don't do that. No pick your brain emails. Do not put that as a comment. You are not allowed to do that. No more. No more of that.
Unless they're a really good friend, then you can.

Yes, you may pick that person's brain because you're going to be thoughtful. And there's a relationship there. So definitely do that. Just like if you're doing the online version, which we have said and we talked about in an episode with our Biz Besties, our Meet Our Besties episode back in March.
where you could do a virtual coffee date. So, you know, there are opportunities or you can just be connecting and sharing and supporting each other online, whether that's in Facebook groups or Instagram or wherever it is, you know, you can still be connecting with people online.
It doesn't all have to be in person, but I think you just need to decide for yourself. So Melissa and I are so passionate about this and feel, I mean, this is a strength of ours. So for us, it's been kind of easy and natural to, create these things. But we really have put a lot of thought and effort into what does that look like?

How do you structure it? What are the challenges we see people having? Or when people reach out to us because we're doing this podcast and let us know what their struggles are. So we have put together an amazing masterclass on networking. And really, that's relationship building, which is our expertise as well.
So we are so excited to be announcing that. It is going on sale today. And... We will definitely have a link in the show notes where you can go. So it'll probably be mybizbestie.com forward slash networking. You see the confidence I had in that one. And so definitely go check out that link where we are going to go soup to nuts and give you an awesome, everything you could possibly do and kind of things to think about and conversation starters and giving you a handout.

That gives you a structure for how to set up your intentions and plan around networking and how to follow up because really that's a huge piece of it is how do you follow up and keep track of this? So we're going to go much more in step there, but we wanted to still start here and say, let's get started.
Let's pick something. So you're going to pick a frequency and then I want you to pick, you know, how is it you're going to do that? What is going to be the task that you're going to do? And again, you can head on over to the Facebook group and let us know what that is.
Even if you can't join us live Thursday at noon for the month of June. Pacific time. Pacific. That's a good thing to say. Pacific for the entire month of June. If you can't join us live, still pop in there and leave us a note and let us know what that is because we can still follow up with you and harass you and make sure that you've done that.

00:16:08 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah, because we'll want to see how it's going. And if you are someone who can't always think of ways to do this, we have a million ways for you to do it. So make sure that you check. And if you are someone who is not coming up with lots of ideas for how to network, and that part is still a struggle for you, that is really where Amber and I shine.
We have a million and one ideas. for ways you can network.

00:16:33 - Amber Hawley
So many ideas.

00:16:35 - Maelisa Hall
So if that part is like, if you are all about like, I'm going to do the challenge, but that's the struggle, like seriously check out the masterclass and then use this accountability challenge as a way to implement what we are talking about in the masterclass.
Be a great, great fit.

00:16:51 - Amber Hawley
Yeah. And for people who are looking for that structure, because some people, it's like the haphazardly network. And I think a lot of people do that. So not everybody has that fear or that like, ugh, I don't want to have to do this kind of thing. I mean, a lot of people do.
But for those who are like, yeah, I like meeting people, blah, blah, blah. But they don't feel like I have this structure or I have this way of kind of tracking or being more thoughtful about it, more intentional about it. I think the masterclass is good for that as well.
But definitely. So head on over to Facebook and let us know what your frequency is and what kind of activities you're going to do that you're going to commit to doing in the month of June. And I think June is great because I know that it can be busy with graduations and school ending for people who have kids and all kinds of things going on.
And sometimes, I know every business and industry has different busy times and flows.

So maybe it's your busy time in your business. I don't know. But... For a lot of people, I feel like summer, it's kind of like a slowdown time. You still can do a couple of things to know like, I'm starting this to kind of build for the long term of my business.

00:17:59 - Maelisa Hall
Oh, yeah. And it's actually great when people have those things going on because then you do start those more personal conversations. It's not just a, oh, tell me about your business and blah, blah, blah. It's like, you'll hear that, yeah, they were going to so-and-so's graduation or they just got back from this trip.
And it gives you another point of connection with someone.

00:18:17 - Amber Hawley
Absolutely. So, and like we said, if you have questions or confusion or not sure where to start or how to structure it, come over on June 7th at noon for our Facebook Live and we will be happy to help you with that because we love to brainstorm. Yes.

00:18:33 - Maelisa Hall
And every Thursday in June, we will be there on Facebook at noon Pacific. Yes. So come join us and say, hey, and you can even just say, hey, guess what? I did my task this week.

00:18:45 - Amber Hawley
I did it. We'd love to see you there. So head on over to mybizbusty.com forward slash networking and check out all the deets on our masterclass for building deeper and lasting relationships in the biz world.