Today I want to tell you a story, it's a story about a kind business lady called Sarah, and how she was too shy to network.
It's also a story about how she overcame that shyness, and it's a story about you, and me, and how we can become better business people by following Sarah's lead.
A couple of years ago Sarah was unhappy at work, her employers swung between ignoring her and exploiting her until they were finally hit by the recession and made her redundant. Of course she wasn't alone in this, thousands of British people have gone through similar recently, I wonder, were you one of them?
Sarah decided to use her redundancy money to support her while she started her own business as a virtual assistant. She also moved back to her home county where the house prices were cheaper and her money would last longer.
She faced many of the same struggles you did when starting your business, the interminable form filling, finding reliable suppliers, trying to define her service and USP! But her biggest problem (and I'm sure you'll sympathise with this) was finding customers.
Having recently moved Sarah didn't know too many people and she knew deep in her heart that she would have to get out and meet some. But she was so shy, the thought of going along to a chamber meeting or a BNI chapter terrified her.
"Imagine, me in a room full of all those successful business people! They'll probably laugh at me,” She thought, shuddering.
She searched the Internet, looking for smaller networking groups in her area and found one that had an online forum attached, she browsed through the posts the members had added and found one that seemed to tell a story she could relate to, it was about using social media to strengthen your networking skills. She posted a comment, thanking the author and explaining she really was shy but was going to take the plunge and come along.
What happened next shocked Sarah!
Several of the group members instantly got in touch to reassure her that she would be welcome and they also offered to connect with her on other social media sites. She took them up on this and found out a lot more about her fellow networkers by perusing their LinkedIn profiles, she even shared a couple of jokes with them on Twitter.
The posts author offered to meet her for coffee alone first so she wouldn't walk into a room full of strangers! This really helped build Sarah's confidence and by now she was looking forward to the meeting.
Her online reception meant she built a strong network within the group very quickly, and happily accepted invitations from them to other networking events, even groups she had found a little scary at first now held no fear for her!
She continued to build her online network too and now is well known throughout her home county and beyond. And, more importantly has got business from network!
How do I know all this? Because I was the author of the post she commented on, and I'm so glad she did because it allowed me to meet another new friend and business associate!
So if you share any of Sarah's previous situation, or just want to grow your network, imagine what saying hello online could do for you ... In fact don't just imagine it, do it! We'd love to meet you!
Gemma Thompson is a communicator and endlessly curious. Use of Facebook & Twitter led to excellent brand awareness for her start-up business a few years ago. In less than a year she had a substantial ROI – £4,083 of business for £950 hours spend, and was being asked to teach others how she was doing it! She is now a full time social media consultant. For help growing your business through twitter, facebook, blogging or LinkedIn get in touch – www.socialmediailluminaton.co.uk.
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