Now, I'm over the usual retirement age and have a decent pension lined up so what inspires me to continue to go out networking and recruiting new clients? And what attracts others to want to work with me?
We know we can motivate and be motivated by emotion. Everyone who has bought or sold anything knows that moment when you decide to buy is when it feels right!
So, this week, I am going to share with you the reason I'm still networking. It started in my childhood. I was brought up in East Africa as my father was in the colonial service. This meant we never lived anywhere longer than 2 years and often moved within 6 months. So, I was constantly in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by strangers and often lost, both physically and mentally. I was once rescued by the police and more often than not, just didn't know how to act around yet another new group of people.
This got more problematical when, as a teenager, we came to England and I was spectacularly unsuccessful in breaking into new friendship groups. This meant I was often very lonely until I joined the Red Cross and got in with a group who provided the first aid at major sporting events. Then I found it easy to make friends.
"I had joined a community with a shared sense of purpose and ideals!"
Many years later when I left the NHS and came into the commercial world as a leadership coach, I knew my clients would come from referrals so I set out to do this thing called 'networking'. Off I went to a large event and then I can only say I completely lost my bottle! It took me 20-minutes to walk into the room and join the others. Suddenly I was back as that little girl, in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by strangers and completely lost in what I was supposed to do.
Well, I did join the others and nobody ate me, but networking to win business was a bit hit or miss until I went on a training course with Asentiv and learnt the techniques. It transformed my business and then I bought a franchise in the company.
What made me do this? So that I could help others who have come out of employment and set up on their own. Often they are highly skilled in their own field, but completely lost in how to market themselves!
I particularly love it when they report back that they used to hate networking, but now find it's a major source of their work and, more than that, they now find that the group support sustains them. That's what gives me a punch of pleasure: that reinforcement of the emotionally charged connection with my business.
So, my tip this week is to find your deep pleasure and check out where that feeling comes from. Chances are it comes out of beating adversity and the opportunity to pay it forward too. Cherish this feeling and keep it as the focus of what your business is truly offering and remember to share your story too.
It will attract the right sort of client for you.
Until next time ...
JACKY SHERMAN
Would you like to know more?
If anything I've written in this blog post resonates with you and you'd like to discover more, it may be a great idea to give me a call on 07970 638857. Let's have an initial chat over a coffee and see how I can help you.
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