For the last year I have been trying to maintain my business. Luckily for me, I'm a one-person operation, so I am not on the hook for payroll, much less overhead for a staff. But while in the throes of a pandemic, I have had to look for a whole new clientele that is hunkered down in isolation. Meeting people has been tough to say the least.
Sure, people are going places, but everyday events like going to the movies, festivals and other places have been rare. And I'm the first to admit that Zoom meetings are not my forte. In person networking meetings, on the other hand, are right in my wheelhouse.
I love a good networking event, so much so that I even discussed how to get the most out of one in my book. So you can imagine how thrilling it was to actually attend a good luncheon again this week.
This particular group typically meets once a month and always was a great source of clients and referrals for me. It's a very loose knit group with not a lot of structure. No dues or officers, just one very nice lady who organizes it each month. She finds a location, which provides lunch, and a speaker. The group is based on businesses which provide products or services for seniors. With that our speaker (who was a last minute fill in because the original speaker apparently got sick) was director of the local Meals On Wheels.
The original email inviting us to this meeting mentioned that "Covid protocols will be followed" and they were. Everyone kept their masks on until it was time to eat, and I noticed that no one was shaking hands, but bumping elbows was the preferred method of greeting.
In the end I managed to talk up my business with a few people who were sitting at my table. One was a financial adviser I have met on several occasions. The others were an elder law attorney, who was very interested in some of my information, and a nice lady who is a personal chef and specializes in helping older people who are more or less shut in.
Due to time constraints I couldn't stay as long as I had planned, but I felt accomplished. My networking skills were a bit rusty, but I managed to get a couple of good leads and tried to position myself apart from a few of my competitors who were in attendance as well.
Speaking of competitors, in this type of group there are always a couple of people who are looking for the same prospects as me. It's a "non-exclusive" group which means that several people from competing businesses will be attending. For those people who are used to being in an exclusive group where they are the only ones from their profession, this can be an issue.
My view on that is that life is not "exclusive". If you are in sales, a contract employee, own your own business or otherwise self-employed, you will always have to deal with competitors. Networking groups shouldn't be any different.
And this is when professionalism is important. I treat my competitors with respect and courtesy, usually asking how their business is going and if they see any trends, good or bad. Yes, there are those who love to tell you how awesome the world is and how they are blowing it up. I've learned to work around those people and find the ones who are willing to trade ideas and information.
On the whole, it was good to get back into the swing of things again. When this pandemic is finally out of here there is going to be a lot of catching up to do with my fellow networkers.
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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