Ep 110 - In-Person Networking Strategies
Business Success + Life Coach, Debbie Shadid, is talking with you about why in-person networking is one of the most valuable marketing strategies for your coaching business.
Putting effort into networking is like setting up a chain reaction. The more you talk with people and share what you do, the more opportunities you’re creating for someone to hear about you and how you can help them.
The next time someone asks that person if they know a coach in your niche, they’ll say “Yes! I just met…”
Imagine the impact that could have on your business when you’ve been consistently networking for just a few years. You’ll continue to build connections and your web of people will grow.
Listen in on this week’s episode to learn how you can leverage in-person networking opportunities for your coaching business.
Transcript
00;00;06;05 - 00;00;24;04 | Debbie
Welcome to the Business Building Boutique podcast for new life coaches. If you are a newly certified coach who's trying to figure out how to grow your business, you're in the right spot. Join me each week to learn simple business growth strategies along with step by step marketing tips to get you seen by clients in your niche. I'm going to be your guide,
00;00;24;04 - 00;00;46;20 | Debbie
I'll tell you what to do so you can feel confident in your business. And here's the truth, ladies. You can build your dream coaching business without paid ads and without a fancy sales funnel. So if that sounds interesting and you're ready to get more paid clients, then let's get started. Hello, hello. What's happening? How are you ladies? I want to talk to you about networking today.
00;00;46;26 - 00;01;05;18 | Debbie
The next two weeks, I am going to talk about online networking and then also in-person networking. And today we're going to talk about networking in person. Let me start out by saying that I know you're going to tell me you're an introvert. If I was talking to you in person, you would say, oh, you know, I'm such an introvert.
00;01;05;18 - 00;01;26;23 | Debbie
It's so uncomfortable to go networking, I don't like to network. And I just want to tell you guys that I, too, as much of an extrovert as I sound like to you guys, I don't like walking into a room full of people I don't know, just like you. And I suspect that most people feel that way. Just so you know, it's uncomfortable for just about everybody.
00;01;27;05 - 00;01;46;08 | Debbie
Today, what I hope I'm going to be able to do is show you the value of networking and how much it will mean to your business and that you will set aside your discomfort because networking really works. OK, let's talk about meeting people, where you're going to meet them, I want to talk to you about what will make you feel comfortable with it.
00;01;46;09 - 00;02;07;23 | Debbie
Many of the women that I've been working with lately have really gotten good clarity on their niche. And this is the first thing I want to mention. Having clarity on your niche, knowing who you are talking to, will really help. Because when somebody asks you what you do, you want to be able to say, I help and describe the person you help.
00;02;07;25 - 00;02;32;29 | Debbie
You also need to really know their pain points and what their problems are. This is another big piece that I've spent a lot of time working with my clients on. We actually write copy. Now, what is the copy? Those are the words that are written on your website. Those are the words that you use in social media, in your email marketing, but also the same things that you talk to people about.
00;02;32;29 - 00;02;58;28 | Debbie
And if your coaching is not selling, if you're one of those people that has said, I've posted on social media and nobody's interested, or I talk to somebody and nobody's interested, I can promise you, you and I need to work together on your copy because this copy piece is important. So, when you go meet people and you network and you know who your niche is and you can talk about their problems very clearly, then networking will be easier for you.
00;02;59;08 - 00;03;21;22 | Debbie
So we will talk about that just a little bit more. Let me go on and explain that I am sharing this information with you guys because I want to have you sit down and write down what the problems are. I want you to be able to articulate the changes that you can make for somebody. What are the transformations that you get when you coach somebody?
00;03;21;23 - 00;03;42;20 | Debbie
Make sure that you think about all of the questions that somebody would have about the kind of coaching that you do. And you actually want to know answers to questions like, what is the difference between life coaching and therapy? I actually have those questions for my clients that we put in the Frequently Asked Questions section of their websites.
00;03;42;20 - 00;04;01;15 | Debbie
I give them a copy of all the standard questions that people are going to ask. So spend some time thinking about those so that you have answers. When you know who you're helping, what their problem is, what the solution is, and you know all the answers to any other possible questions that might come up, you feel much more confident, I can tell you that.
00;04;02;02 - 00;04;32;19 | Debbie
Now, I love marketing. I love marketing all the way around because marketing makes you money. Marketing is your ATM. You've heard me say that. Networking is so interesting because when you talk to somebody in person and you talk about what you do, you get an instant response. You guys can read their body language and see if what you are saying even makes sense to somebody. We are often guilty of spending time in our community of people like us.
00;04;32;19 - 00;04;53;17 | Debbie
We're around other coaches, we talk to other coaches in coach speak, and we forget that the rest of the world really doesn't understand all of this thought business, right? And they don't even really know what life coaching is. So I want you to make sure that you really make that conversation that you have with people like so easy to understand.
00;04;53;18 - 00;05;12;12 | Debbie
I know you also have heard me talk about fifth-grade language or as Donald Miller from Story Brand says, he talks about caveman language. You have to be talking to a caveman when you do your networking. This is going to be worked out because you're going to see what people's responses when you talk, you're going to hear the questions that they ask.
00;05;12;12 - 00;05;43;06 | Debbie
And right away you'll begin to see like, oh, I should say that differently. Because they don't actually know what I'm talking about. All right. The next thing is, even if you are talking to somebody who is not your ideal client, I want to tell you those people know people. We know this is true because the last time you needed a new hairstylist or a referral to anyone, a plumber, a gardener, whatever, it is, chances are you asked somebody else, hey, do you know where should I go get my nails done?
00;05;43;06 - 00;06;06;19 | Debbie
Whatever it is for you. You asked somebody else, and if they don't know who it is, you'll often hear, well, my girlfriend goes to so-and-so or my next-door neighbor uses this particular lawn service. That's why you want to make sure that when you're networking, you're open minded about whoever you're talking to because they could be connected to your next client.
00;06;06;19 - 00;06;28;23 | Debbie
I love to think about networking. I call it the circle of four that whoever you're talking to - one circle out, their immediate friends, and the next circle out, and the next circle out. Right? There's layers and layers of people that are beyond that immediate person that you're talking to. So, you never know who is going to find out about coaching through your networking.
00;06;28;27 - 00;07;06;20 | Debbie
All right. The other thing is networking is going to be good when you believe in your coaching when you believe in the offer that you have, when you believe in the transformation that you provide. And what I want to say to you guys is I want you to think about a transformation that either you have had, that you've maybe been fortunate enough to experience with a paid client or even your free clients or in your peer coaching. Think about some of the things that we have seen happen when we have witnessed people getting coached and they have had a breakthrough - some times that are breakthroughs that they needed to have years ago.
00;07;07;00 - 00;07;37;00 | Debbie
Right? Things that could have changed their life, the direction of life. But they finally have this breakthrough. How do you put a price on that? If it's something that maybe gets somebody to be brave and have that brave conversation they've been waiting for, or if it's something that causes somebody to stop having anxiety or stop overeating or overdrinking. Or in my case, when I help people and I finally help them become confident and know how to do business, how do you put a price on that?
00;07;37;14 - 00;08;00;29 | Debbie
Because I don't just help people earn money right now. What I teach you guys, like let's say this networking, what if I help you really understand networking and you network always in your business for years and years and years. How do you put a price on that? The amount of revenue that you're going to earn from what I teach you or the way that people will experience their life after they have coaching?
00;08;00;29 - 00;08;23;20 | Debbie
How do you put a price on that? In the early stages of your business, you might be lacking that belief. So, here's what I want you to do. I want you to build an evidence bank, this belief bank that you can refer back to. I want you to think about the coaching that you have seen. I want you to think about the transformations that you maybe have experienced or that you have helped people experience.
00;08;23;27 - 00;08;51;16 | Debbie
And I want you to put that on a list. Because when you start having doubts, and we know you will, 50% of the time you might have some doubts and 50% of the time you're going to be flying high in true belief. So, we need to have that evidence list. So, when you start having those thoughts that like, I don't know about this, I don't think this is working, you can go back and look at the results that you have created, the awareness that you have helped somebody have, or the awareness you've helped somebody receive or you've seen.
00;08;51;28 - 00;09;23;02 | Debbie
Right? You can write down what somebody learned about something through coaching. You can write down the changes that have taken place because of coaching about the results all the way around that you've created. I also want to mention to you guys that when you coach, let's say, a mother on being a better parent, the ripple effect of that. Or when you coach somebody on the relationship that they have, the effect that that has, let's say, husband and wife on their kids, oh my gosh, you guys, how do you measure that?
00;09;23;08 - 00;09;41;19 | Debbie
So, make sure that you build that evidence list so you can get yourself fired back up about it. Because I always have a tendency to believe in my clients coaching more than they do, right? I know what is possible so often. And so I have built this evidence list, so I want you to do that, too. All right.
00;09;41;19 - 00;10;03;22 | Debbie
Let's dive into the actual networking part, the building of your network. You guys have heard it before. Your network is your net worth. So, do you have a good network? Because if you do, it's going to generate revenue. And I know that we talk about $100,000 a lot in the coaching business. That's sort of the number that everybody wants to get to.
00;10;04;03 - 00;10;27;14 | Debbie
I just want to tell you, that you can do that with networking alone. When you meet people and talk to them about your business consistently, that's the key, guys. You have to network consistently. You will find the people that will buy coaching. All right. So where do you start? Where do you find somebody to network? How does this all begin? It starts by you going to Google. Go to Google and ask Google, where are in-person networking events?
00;10;27;27 - 00;10;46;28 | Debbie
And I want you to think outside the box because there's going to be like Christian women's groups. There's going to be like moms of twins groups. There's going to be some kind of weight loss groups, there's going to be business groups, there's going to be singles groups, there's going to be church groups. Oh, my gosh. We could go on and on and on about the kinds of groups that there are.
00;10;47;12 - 00;11;15;15 | Debbie
You just want to go to Google and look up networking events. The next thing that I want you to do is to go to Facebook and I want you to look at events on Facebook. You guys remember there's a place to do events on Facebook. And I know in the last few years there hasn't been very many events. But honestly, you can go there and in-person networking events will be posted there. So, again, it could be a lunch group. And you don't have to go to a networking event with a friend.
00;11;15;15 - 00;11;33;28 | Debbie
You can go by yourself oftentimes they're a lunch that you have to pay for or maybe a coffee that you have to pay for, maybe a small amount of money to go to a networking event. You do not need to join any networking groups. I know some of you guys will ask me about B and I. You do not need to join that now.
00;11;33;28 - 00;11;57;20 | Debbie
Someday, maybe, but not now. I get questions about the Chamber of Commerce. You do not need to join that. Again, maybe someday, but I kind of doubt it. There are so many people that will buy coaching. You just need to go consistently to networking events without joining any of them. Most of the time you can go a couple of times kind of as a guest before you have to join and there are plenty of places to go.
00;11;57;24 - 00;12;15;18 | Debbie
Now, let's talk about what you're going to say when you get there. This is where getting clear on what you do really helps. The first thing that you want to do is have your "I help" statement. Again, this is something that I help everybody that I work with work on, I help. And that's what you do, what your niche is.
00;12;15;18 - 00;12;39;19 | Debbie
You help whoever it is in your niche with whatever the key problem is. And then you offer this solution, right? I help life coaches who are unsure about how to grow their business. That is my niche. That's their problem. And the solution that I offer is super simple how-to marketing strategies. I tell people what to do. I show people how to do it, and then I explain why they need to do it.
00;12;39;19 - 00;12;59;14 | Debbie
So they learn everything they need to know to grow their life coaching business. You want to be able to say all of that about the person you're coaching. I know what your guys' problems are. It's more than just needing to get clients, that's one of the problems that you have. But you also don't like technology. You also don't love social media.
00;12;59;14 - 00;13;14;03 | Debbie
You also are not sure about what to say, like you know who you want to coach and. you know. what you want to coach on, but you can't put it into words. So, you want to know all of those things about your person, too. You want to be able to list the problems. I can say what my solutions are.
00;13;14;03 - 00;13;27;14 | Debbie
I can say that what I offer is different than anybody else in the marketplace. That I am the one coach that is going to tell you what to do. Then I'm going to explain to you why you do it that way, and then I'm going to show you how to do it. This is what you want to be able to do.
00;13;27;20 - 00;13;46;07 | Debbie
Offer the solution in a way that is different than what others do. All right, next question. Should you have business cards? And the answer is yes. Now, I love business cards because so many people don't even have them anymore. You can order a small amount, you guys. And I really want to encourage you to invest in high quality business cards.
00;13;46;22 - 00;14;12;09 | Debbie
I use a company called MOO and they are very thick, very impressive business cards. They're slightly larger in size, the luxe version, LUXE, if you get those cards, is slightly bigger than a standard business card. And I promise you when you get a card like that and I'm talking about getting a small number of cards for maybe $35, not very much money, you put it in somebody's hand.
00;14;12;09 - 00;14;35;11 | Debbie
They are impressed. The business card alone will cause a conversation right there. Of course, you can use digital business cards, but I want you to be different. I'm always looking for you to look ultra-professional when you're a life coach. Because I want to have that extra step of professionalism because people think, oh, she works out of her house. Right? No,
00;14;35;11 - 00;14;52;06 | Debbie
you want to be able to hand somebody a card and show somebody that you really are in business. All right. In the next step, after you exchange cards, you tell them who you help. Their problem is how you solve it. You have a little small talk. You get to know them, right? You want to be authentic, and very relatable.
00;14;52;10 - 00;15;10;21 | Debbie
Make sure that you can get to know them because you never know. That could also be an opportunity for you to potentially do a workshop somewhere, to do some kind of teaching, maybe at their office. Or maybe you'll find out you could be connected at a women's group that you could be part of. You never, ever know until you start talking.
00;15;11;03 - 00;15;32;13 | Debbie
You also want to have answers to those questions that people are going to ask. What's the difference between life coaching and therapy? Whatever those things are, those key questions, make sure that you have those well thought through. Also, I want you to think about a few stories that are going to be the ones that you like to tell that you know, will showcase lots of different kinds of coaching.
00;15;32;16 - 00;15;52;00 | Debbie
One of the things that people are concerned about is when they narrow down in their niche, they say, oh, but what if somebody asked me about weight loss coaching? I'm like, well, great. Look, I want you guys to sell coaching. So yes, you have a niche. And we do that because for marketing purposes, it's going to be so much easier for you to sell if you're able to talk clearly about what you do.
00;15;52;17 - 00;16;10;01 | Debbie
But we know that when people hire you, we end up coaching them on whatever they need coaching on. So, of course, you can help them. So, have some stories that you can share about lots of kinds of coaching that you do if you want to do other kinds of coaching. The only kind of coaching I do, is I help life coaches with their business, that is it.
00;16;10;01 - 00;16;32;09 | Debbie
And I only help life coaches who are earning less than $100,000. All right? I do in the early stages of your business, this business foundational pieces and selling your first set of clients. So, that is my person. You guys want to make sure that you are clear about who your person is, too. So, I don't do other kinds of coaching.
00;16;32;09 - 00;16;50;13 | Debbie
All right. The next thing is you want to connect with them on social media right there on the spot. Get your phone out. And the reason why you want to do that is because that connection is the way that those people stay engaged with you. The reason why you want to do it in person, you guys, is because people have private accounts.
00;16;50;13 - 00;17;11;13 | Debbie
And also, my goodness, there are a lot of people with the same name. You can't believe how often I'll go to look up a coach that's going to have a consultation call with me, and I can't find him because there are ten people with the same name. So, while you're in person, say, hey, let's connect on social media. I don't care whether it's LinkedIn or Instagram or Facebook, but I want you to be somewhere and connect with them.
00;17;11;13 - 00;17;28;01 | Debbie
If you have a newsletter that you guys are doing regularly, and if you have a plan for your newsletter, you know, I like making a plan. So you can tell people over the next four weeks I'm going to be talking about these things, and I think you would love to hear more about this. I'm going to add you to my newsletter or something like that.
00;17;28;09 - 00;17;48;17 | Debbie
However it flows organically for you to get their email address and get them into your world when you attend a networking event. This should go without saying you guys, but talk to every single person there don't miss anyone, even the person that's over on the side of the room that is not coming over to talk to you. I don't care.
00;17;48;17 - 00;18;09;09 | Debbie
You go over there and talk to them. You just don't know who is going to need your services. You don't know who knows somebody who needs your services. All right? After you get done, I want you to go to your car before you go home. I want you to document every person that you talked to. And let me explain real briefly about the value of the person that you met.
00;18;09;18 - 00;18;29;09 | Debbie
If we're going to put a dollar amount on it when you run Facebook ads, and for those of you who have not done this, it sounds like it's a home run. But let me tell you, it's expensive when you get somebody's email address from a Facebook ad you're going to spend for every single email address you collect between five and $30 on average.
00;18;29;09 - 00;18;51;01 | Debbie
So for every person that you meet at a networking event, you want to document who they are because that connection is potentially worth $30 that you would have paid for a Facebook ad paid for that lead. This person that you just talked to is now a warm lead, not a cold lead. Those leads that you are paying for on Facebook, are cold leads they've never met you in person.
00;18;51;01 - 00;19;11;25 | Debbie
They've just seen you on an ad, they've clicked on something to get your freebie. So make sure that you are taking advantage of networking the day after you network with somebody. Send them a quick note, a quick email, a quick text, whatever it is that will be the easiest thing for you to actually get done. I do not want you to do something that you have to overthink.
00;19;11;28 - 00;19;33;26 | Debbie
So if a quick text message of, hey, great to meet you yesterday is all that you can do, then just do that. Let them know if you have a way to refer them for their business, and connect them with somebody. If you have an article to share that would be interesting. Maybe even about their business. You want to be the most helpful person that they've ever met that can connect them with people as well.
00;19;33;26 - 00;19;52;29 | Debbie
You are not selling when you are networking. I know that that sounds counterintuitive. Also, because you want to go meet somebody and sell them coaching on the spot. But what I want to encourage you to do is build a relationship with people. You want to become the most likable person who is super helpful because someday they're going to buy coaching from you.
00;19;52;29 - 00;20;15;14 | Debbie
And if it is the first time you guys meet and you are really talking to the right person and you've done a great job explaining your services, chances are they're going to ask you, how does this work? All right? Otherwise, take this time to nurture them. Nurturing; when we talk about that in a funnel, remember, a funnel in marketing is like the networking is at the top of the funnel.
00;20;15;14 - 00;20;39;24 | Debbie
You just met them and just shook their hand, and now you want to warm them up, take them down through the funnel, right? You want an email at the bottom of the funnel is where they are connecting with you and hiring you to be their coach. So, through that process, you're going to educate them and warm them up. As a general rule, I recommend that you got a one in-person networking event per month, one lunch, one coffee date, and one something.
00;20;39;24 - 00;21;05;22 | Debbie
You know, there are all kinds of networking events. And then I want you to meet one connection a week. So, make one new friend a week. And I am not talking about sending a direct message, I am talking about a connection. Make a new friend each week. If you do that, you guys at the end of the year you'd have 52 new connections that you met on a weekly basis just one time a week, make a new connection, and then 12 networking events that you would have attended.
00;21;05;24 - 00;21;24;21 | Debbie
If we talk about that ultimate $100,000 number that everybody talks about, you guys, you'll do it in the year. You will become the expert at what you say. You'll know how to market your business. You will know what people want because people will give you feedback and you will have sold coaching, I promise you that. Let me mention one last thing.
00;21;25;04 - 00;21;42;22 | Debbie
What will make networking easier for you are a few of the business foundations, and I can only tell you that once you get them done, that's when you realize it makes a difference. A lot of times people will come to me and they'll maybe already have a website that somebody else did for them. They hired somebody to do it.
00;21;42;23 - 00;21;58;25 | Debbie
Maybe they're a little bit on social media and they're like, it's not working. But when you get really clear on this copywriting message that I've talked about, you're really clear on your niche and you have a really beautiful business brand, which you can do all yourself. I talk about that all the time. I can teach you how to do that.
00;21;59;05 - 00;22;18;22 | Debbie
Your website is really well done. You can do that to yourself. You guys, you don't have to spend any money on that. You have some kind of presence on social media that is consistent when you know your offer. That alone is something people struggle with. They're saying, I'm supposed to have an irresistible offer. I have no idea what that is.
00;22;18;25 - 00;22;36;11 | Debbie
I'm going to teach you how to make an offer that is right for your client. One that you understand why you're going to offer it that way and what the price should be when you know all those things. You guys, it does make networking easy. It really does, because you can send somebody, hey, go look at my website.
00;22;36;26 - 00;22;53;09 | Debbie
And you can refer to something on there or hey, you'll get my newsletter on Saturday, this is what I'm going to be talking about. Or go check out my social media. I've got something about this posted. You guys are going to love that. When you network, there is a big sense of confidence that comes and you'll show up differently.
00;22;53;18 - 00;23;13;23 | Debbie
All right. So, what questions do you guys have? I hope I'm inspiring you to go network in person next week. We are going to talk about networking online in the business building boutique for life coaches in the early stages of their business. I teach all things marketing, and networking is just one piece of marketing. As I've already mentioned,
00;23;13;23 - 00;23;33;23 | Debbie
we talk about copywriting which is the best thing of all to do. Let me tell you, people love that piece. Once we finally get that done, really, that's when their whole attitude about selling, about talking to people changes. Because they know what they're talking about. From there, we do the website, we do the pricing, all those things.
00;23;34;07 - 00;24;09;05 | Debbie
If you guys have any questions and if you want to get your business finally built in just a matter of a few weeks and be having paid clients during the same period of time, then we should talk. All right, you guys, get on my calendar. DebbieShadid.com/Schedule. I have something super fun going on. All this copy stuff that I'm talking to you guys about right now, this marketing copy, I actually am going to be giving three people who are going to be working with me in the Business Building Boutique three people are going to get that, as a bonus, to get their copy written.
00;24;09;05 - 00;24;30;21 | Debbie
So if you guys are interested in that, let's have a conversation. Let's get your business built. Finally, get it done. All right, you guys, have an amazing day, amazing week. And I will see you next week. Until next time, bye-bye. That's it. Thanks for listening. Now it's up to you. Put what you learned today into action, do what you need to be seen, and then be hired by clients.
00;24;30;21 - 00;24;48;08 | Debbie
And if you're ready to stop wasting your precious time and get your business finally booked up, you're invited to join me in the Business Building Boutique for new life coaches where you will learn everything you need to be a coach with plenty of paid clients. All right. Have an amazing week, until tell next time. Bye-bye.