Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about how to get ready to network with new people.
Today’s Quote: You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. – Dale Carnegie
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
Networking is always going to be the solution that I mention when it comes to finding clients.
But networking is also how you grow your business. Your contacts. Your audience.
Connecting with the right people can lead to the best clients. Collaborations. Awesome learning opportunities.
When it comes to your VA business, the people you know can help you grow in every area.
When I travelled to the events that my clients and their colleagues were going to, I increased my visibility by 300x. Instead of just talking to my client over Zoom and then hoping they would send me a referral, I literally went to the events they were going to with their business coach.
We spent 3 days together – and with the people in their community too – and it was so easy to get clients.
No, I didn’t know any of them when I went, other than my clients, and no, I didn’t get all of my business or new clients from there from referrals.
It was the opportunity that I gave myself to be in the same place as all of them.
Yes it cost me about $1000 each time I went, but the clients I got while I was there paid me way more than that. Some even paid me $1000 a month.
And that was 15 years ago!
Why? Because trust is built easily in person, but also when you are part of a community where people are all trying to grow their business.
Luckily we have much more opportunity locally and online now to network but it’s all networking.
How do you feel about networking?
Today I want to talk about how to start networking with new people.
Preparing to Join a New Networking Group
The first thing you want to do in any new group is look around – do a little research.
You first want to know that it seems like the best group for you right now. That might not be evident right away but you can get a sense if you take some time to look around.
Online you can look to see who posts, what they post, who responds, and how the group generally communicates with each other.
At an in person group you can see who greets each other, who stands with whom, who knows the host, and even who stands alone.
Group dynamics are a thing in all groups and all you need to do is find yours.
You might join a local business networking group, groups that your clients are in (ie entrepreneurs groups), platform groups (systems that you and your clients use).
I usually advise to join and be active in no more than 3 groups at once. You can certainly do whatever you want, but to be present the way you need to in any group you want to be really focused on it. Spreading it over 10 groups just takes more time. Find the ones that really work for you and spend your time with them.
Set Goals
Be sure to set goals for every group and event that you take part in. Are you looking for visibility? practice having business conversations? clients? referrals? partners? learning?
That might differ for each event, or each month, but know what you are looking for. And be sure it’s not just clients.
I mean if you are looking for clients that should be your end goal – but how do you get there without just coming out and pitching? That’s what you should be focusing on in your day to day connections with your new people.
The elevator pitch. I do not like an elevator pitch. That’s nothing new to hear.
But you do need to be able to describe who you help and how you help them.
The problem with elevator pitches is that they are too big, they contain too much, or worse … they are too succinct and just confuse the person you are talking to.
When someone comes up to me and says what do you do? I say I’m a virtual assistant, what do you do?
I don’t say I’m a virtual assistant who helps 6 and 7 figure business coaches with their marketing implementation so that they can fill their programs and make more money.
That might be what I do, but it’s not necessary to jam it all into one sentence.
And what if the person isn’t a 6 or 7 figure business owner, or coach, what if they do marketing or have someone who does their marketing? What if they don’t run programs and they already make good money?
You can see it’s important for ME to know what I do, so creating your concise marketing message is still necessary – it’s just not necessary in my opinion, to recite it in a networking conversation.
Use it to make conversation.
Someone might say I’m a fitness instructor. Then you can ask them how they work with their clients.
If they say they run fitness groups, you can ask them how they fill their programs.
If they say they are struggling with that. boom. You can talk to them about what you do.
Are they your ideal client? No. But can you help them? Of course you can.
Now you can settle in to the conversation and chat about what you know – and what they need. It doesn’t mean they will become your client, but that person will have a very good idea of what you do, who you help and they can repeat that to others. Referral.
Always be helping. That’s your role in any group you belong to. Especially if it’s a new place for you.
Networking is never about self promotion. But of course what you do is going to come up in the conversations you have.
Not in a salesy way. But in conversation.
I did a podcast episode about how to market your VA business without breaking self promotion rules. I’ll link it in the show notes.
It’s really important to learn how to do it – because it’s relevant for in person conversations too.
What kind of value can you bring to the person you are talking to, or the rest of the people in the group or community?
Always think about who you can help today.
Make a strong first impression. Show people that you are not shy to chat, and that you are here to help.
It’s also very important to be aware of hogging the conversation or hijacking threads.
Asking questions will always put you in a position of not being salesy AND able to get the information you are looking for.
Listen to what the other person says and respond accordingly. If it is a post or post comment, really read it through and clarify what the poster is asking if you aren’t sure.
Another thing that is really important is to be present. Be there. Engage.
Lurking is not going to get you anywhere. You need to be actively taking part.
Think about what Dale said in today’s quote – you can make more friends in 2 months by being interested in others than trying to get them to be interested in you.
Build Relationships and Trust
Focus on building relationships.
Connect. Converse. Follow Up.
When you are taking your conversations offline or private, as the case may be, you want to continue focusing on the relationship,
You can’t be pushy, but you do have to follow up.
You can’t sit back and wait for others to initiate conversation or to reach out to you afterward.
You have to get comfortable with following up.
I can’t tell you the number of VAs who tell me they wait weeks to follow up with someone that said they were interested in having a conversation with them.
Or they email them once and then wait.
People are busy. People are inundated with emails and even messages these days. My Messenger is non stop some days.
You have to first reach out and then follow up. If someone tells you they want to talk to you, give them the chance to do that.
Create shareable content that helps people. Here’s a quick tip – when you see people inquiring about how to do this or that, create piece of content that will help them.
I used to write blog posts for things that were being discussed in the groups – and then I would share that blog post link in the group as part of my reply to the conversation. It works.
It shows not only that you can be helpful, but that you are a specialist and an authority on that topic, because you have content on your website that talks about exactly what they are struggling with.
The other thing that you really should get accustomed to doing is interacting with the people that you are connecting with.
Like, comment and share their content where it makes sense.
Sharing might only be possible if your audiences are similar, but you can always like and comment – interact.
Be thoughtful.
I always say the surest way to get a referral is to give one first.
And the surest way to get interaction on your social media content is to interact with someone else’s first.
It’s give and take – a relationship.
Don’t comment for the sake of commenting. Be honest and truthful.
Nurturing Your Connections
When it comes to follow up, be sure to use a master list or system that helps you keep track of everyone you are talking to.
I use a Google Sheet and it helps me find the people, where we are talking, and what our last conversation was about.
I connect with a lot of people in a lot of places, and sometimes there is a lot of time in between our interactions. It’s a good way to keep it all organized.
It also helps when you are talking to someone else, or just surfing online – if you come up with a resource that someone would have liked, you can use that as follow up.
Mistakes to Avoid
You most definitely want to avoid being sales-focused, or salesy. People don’t like it and won’t respond to it.
I used to belong to a networking group and there was a VA who would post every few days to hire her.
She never got engagement on her posts, and I don’t know if she got clients, but I am guessing since this went on for months that she wasn’t getting clients using her particular strategy.
Once she started actually engaging with people, that’s when they got to know her. And they learned how she helped people. And then she got clients.
It’s super important to keep the sales at bay unless someone really says they are looking for it.
There is a statistic that says something like 30% of the people in any group are ready to work with you now. That means that 70% aren’t. And I think it’s like 15% that never will. So focus on the 55% – there are so many of them and eventually they will know who to reach out to when it’s their time to get help.
I’m going to leave it here for today, but I hope I’ve given you some tips on what to do when you are joining a new group.
It won’t take long for you not to be a newbie when you show up everyday and take part – be active.
Let’s look in again at Dale Carnegie’s quote:
You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
I’d love to help you make more friends in two months. It’s easy. Joining the 50K VA bootcamp will make that easy. We will definitely be practicing how to be interested in other people in the bootcamp.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
If you want more information about the program, drop me a PM. I’ll share more info in the coming weeks across all of my social channels, but I’m available to answer any questions you have right now too.
Thank you again for trusting me to teach you and to guide you. I truly love to be here for you every week.
If I could ask you a favour – to subscribe to the podcast or leave me a review if you haven’t already. That’s something I should say every week and I never really do. But it matters and it will make sure that I know you are finding value in what I create just for you every week.
Do You Need Help?
If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about – a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, group coaching, and live and self study trainings. If you want to talk about how we can work together, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thanks for tuning in this week! I’ll see you next time!
What You Need to Do Next:
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants . We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING FALL 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.