Yeah! We made it to 2021, and now it’s that time of year when we have a great excuse to wipe the slate clean and start fresh by creating new habits. What does this mean for us as speakers? Aren’t we just supposed to be ready to speak no matter what time of year it is? Yes, we are… but this is a great time to look at how we’re approaching some of our non-speaking activities.
When I first started At the Podium, I was attending at least 3-4 networking events per week, hell bent on overcoming my wallflower personality and getting my name out there. It was a rookie networking mistake—thinking that the number of events I attended was what mattered. As soon as I recognized the difference between quantity and quality, I paused, analyzed how well the quantity approach was working (it wasn’t working well), made some choices, and began making relationship building the goal of my networking.
What’s the difference between networking and relationship building?
You’re right if you’re thinking they’re pretty close. In general, I think the difference is with intention. If the intention is to leave an event with a stack of business cards, or in today’s virtual world a list of contacts from a ZOOM chat screen, that’s easy enough and it won’t matter what types of events you attend because most people are willing to share their contact info. Unfortunately, just having someone’s contact info is no guarantee they’ll be willing to take your call the next day.
Sharing contact info is just the first step in networking. After that, it’s up to us to nurture our new “luke warm” contacts with next-step conversations that will help us decide if there’s a genuine connection to be made. To be clear, I’m not saying you should be trying to build a relationship with everyone you meet. Just remember that every successful business venture started with that initial introduction. And, if that’s the case, then why not expand your networking strategies beyond traditional networking events and limits.
Follow other speakers: Don’t think of other speakers in your field of expertise as competition. Each of you is unique, and each of you has something unique to offer. So why not make an effort to find out who else is speaking within your local/national industry and reach out to them. You might find a great referral partner, and/or realize that your speaking topics are different enough to totally compliment each other.
Strengthen your network of referral partners: Like any kind of relationship, if you don’t pay attention to it, it’s going to wither away. Don’t let this happen. Instead, think about what good referral partners do for each other. Do you remember who connected you with people who became your clients? Are you open to returning the favor by making connections to potential clients from within your network? Are you willing to be the first one to extend a referral? Are there ways you and one of your referral partners could pool your speaking topics to each other’s benefit?
We’ve all heard the expression, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Well, when it comes to public speaking, you have to think one step beyond that. It’s who knows YOU! If people don’t know you, or that you are a speaker, they can’t invite you to speak. If you don’t know people, you’re really going to struggle to find speaking opportunities.
So what do you think? Is 2021 going to be the year you started stretching your speaker comfort zone? If there was ever a time to do it, now would be that time. So let’s do this together. Instead of ending this year with a bang, let’s start it with one.
‘Til we speak again,
~Beth
Why Would a Chicken Cross the Road?
