Why “anyone who needs me” is costing you referrals
Why “anyone who needs me” is costing you referrals You’ll often hear networking professionals like me tell you to be specific and targeted when asking for referrals. Unfortunately so many business people get stuck though. They might accept they should be specific – they just don’t know how to do be specific. Let me help. There is […]
Where are the referrals
Where are the Referrals? I was stood by a lukewarm coffee urn at an accountancy conference recently, listening to a manager describe their “networking plan”. They were doing everything you’d expect from a busy professional team. Posting on LinkedIn. Turning up to breakfasts. Smiling for the group photos. Dropping comments on other people’s posts so […]
Coat Rack Networking
Coat Rack Networking Relaxing on the beach What I Learned Standing by the Coat Rack I once spent almost an entire Christmas networking event standing by the coat rack. Not on purpose. I’d arrived a bit too early (not a fan of that as an unnatural networker), hadn’t spotted anyone I knew, and couldn’t quite […]
How to show you’re ready for a new role
How to Show You’re Ready for a New Role: Unnatural Promoter Edition Relaxing on the beach If you’re the kind of person who cringes at the idea of “selling yourself”, you’re not alone. Many of the best candidates quietly get on with doing a brilliant job… and then wonder why no one’s offering them the […]
Networking without even thinking
Networking without even thinking A few years ago, I got an email from my friend Adam. It was nothing to do with work, just the usual post-dinner admin: “Here are my bank details so you can transfer your share.” (a big group of us had been out for a curry, and it really didn’t seem […]
Out of Office, Still in Touch: Rethinking Networking in August
Out of Office, Still in Touch: Rethinking Networking in August Relaxing on the beach I used to treat August like a networking write-off. Everyone’s away, I’d tell myself. May as well focus on admin, batch some content, maybe finally alphabetise my Google Drive. But a couple of years ago, I got an unexpected reply to […]
How to grow your business if you don’t like to self-promote
How to grow your business if you don’t like to self-promote I don’t like self-promotion. It makes me very uncomfortable. But I still need to grow a business – and I can’t do that if I bury my head in the sand and hope it’s all going to be OK. In business, the only way […]
Have you ever tried to sell when at a conference?
Have you ever tried to sell when at a conference? Try these instead… Not long ago I went to a conference, where I met an enthusiastic salesman who was promoting a combined fire and security protection system. He shook my hand enthusiastically and proceeded to hard sell his amazing new solution that would solve all […]
Why I don’t like blowing my own trumpet
Why I don’t like blowing my own trumpet That’s right – I don’t enjoy self-promotion. I don’t like blowing my own trumpet. In my last article (which you can read here) I discussed what self-promotion is and why so many people find it uncomfortable. In this second article in a series of 3, I’m going […]
Are you an Unnatural Promoter?
Are you an Unnatural Promoter? I’m an Unnatural Promoter. What do I mean by this? I mean that I’m not great at blowing my own trumpet. I’m very happy to talk about other people – but when it comes to talking about myself, I find it difficult and awkward. In this first article in a […]