My regular readers will know that our very own beautiful Princess Lily The Lamb loves nothing better than getting out and about whenever the opportunity arises. She recently took a step away from her regular haunts of National Trust properties and country estates and embarked on her first ever business networking event!
On a warm, sunny Wednesday morning in the upstairs room of Lichfield’s
Spark Café Bar, 22 women and one Princess Lily gathered for the first meeting
of the Lichfield Women’s Business Brunch group – a newly formed networking
group which has been put together by several local business women following the
demise of a national networking club they all belonged to.
Lily looked very smart, sporting her brand new felty flower in her
fleece and she was pleased to see a very good turnout for the first meeting,
with a real buzz and lots of positive energy in the room – although at times
her sensitive lamb ears were overcome with the volume of all those ladies!
Lily was amazed at how powerful business networking can be. Just by listening to what was being said, she
learnt about 22 businesses, all local to Staffordshire and all run by
women! For some in the room it was their
first networking event, whilst others were old hands at giving their 60 second(ish)
pitch and extolling the virtues of their products or services.
Lily picked up some valuable tips, which she’d love to share here with
you.
- Don’t be nervous. Everyone experiences their first networking event at some point. Yes, it can be difficult talking in front of a room full of strangers but it will get easier over time
- Be yourself. People buy from people and the best way to sell your business is to act naturally and get to know others in the room
- Take lots of business cards! It may sound obvious but you’d be amazed at how many people go to a networking event without any ….
- Think before you speak. Sometimes nerves can make us talk faster which makes it harder for others to understand what we’re saying. Take a deep breath, stand up straight, shoulders back, chest out ……. and tell the room how great your business is!
- Respect the timings given. Most networking groups give members 60 seconds to present their “elevator pitch”. This doesn’t mean that you can talk for 10 minutes.
- Have an idea of what you want to achieve from the networking meeting before you even arrive at the venue. Are you looking for new business within a certain sector? Are you looking for someone who can help you with your business, such as an Accountant or VA? Being prepared will be far more productive that “winging it”.
- After the event has finished, remember those follow-ups. Too many of us are guilty of promising to connect and then never making that call or sending that email. Following-up is the key to successful networking.
The Lichfield Women’s Business Brunch meets once a month in Lichfield. For more information about meetings look for
the Lichfield Women’s Business Brunch group on Facebook.
Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X Thank you for taking the time to visit Tigerlily Makes The Felt-making Blog Lisa X All content and design work, including text, photos, etc are © copyright 2013 Lisa Marie Olson owner of Tigerlily Makes (unless otherwise stated and named whereby copyright resides with said named person)and cannot be copied without prior permission from the copyright owner. Tigerlily Makes is a member of ACID (Anti Copying in Design and all designs are registered and protected. www.acid.uk.com www.tigerlilymakes.co.uk www.facebook.com/tigerlilymakes www.twitter.com/tigerlilymakes
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteNice to see this Blog. Say Hi to Lily to me:) I used to have no trouble at all standing up in front of a room full of people speaking, not sure I could do it now :( So hide behind a screen and do it that way. Lots of Love to you Skye x