When I was ‘aged out’ of the foster care system at 18. I experienced every financial hardship you can possibly imagine (homeless, jobless, car-less, cashless and parentless).
There are THREE business skills responsible for transforming my financial trajectory: Sales, Communication and NETWORKING.
I have never hated networking.
Recently however I was speaking with a lady who started the conversation with, “there was a time where I HATED networking …” and it really got me thinking.
She was a high achieving Real Estate Attorney turned entrepreneur who started to realize what worked for her in her cushy corporate job, simply was not going to cut it on her entrepreneurial journey.
Back in her 9-5, she led a team of three who supported her every need. All sales and rentals were generated by a marketing team created specifically to bring in and nurture qualified leads and successfully take them through her company’s sales funnel. All she had to do was sit back, let the sale or the rental roll onto her desk and then perform her legal duties.
She did not have to make human contact. Her PA was well trained and dealt with most interpersonal matters at her request. She was happy to say “I am not a people person.”
But then she decided to ditch corporate and go out on her own and boy was she in for a rude awakening!!! It was there that she realized she had a real networking deficit.
She was among the 96% of women who did not know how to effectively leverage or monetize her network and boy did this have some serious implications for her young business.
She had spent years hiding behind a desk, never really understanding the importance of deliberating building and nurturing key social and professional relationships, and this was now to her detriment.
She was learning the hard way that she could be the BEST in her business, but in if no one knew her or what she did, there would be no money coming her way.
She started to learn “How” to network.
She realized that the art of networking was not about rolling into someone’s inbox with a “forcing the sale, Hello …”:
“Hi how are you? I’d love to hop on a call and share how my services can help you” as so many people seem to do on LinkedIn.
Neither was it about just having boring, brain draining chatter with no intentionality or deliberateness of purpose. Rather she learned that networking takes WORK and is a super critical part of a businesswomen’s arsenal, and it all starts with sharpening your skills, thinking strategically, and surrounding yourself with women who genuinely want to see you succeed and who want to see YOU RISE TO THE TOP.
“Your Network is your Networth” – Porter Gayle
She learned that when you become a masterful networker, you KNOW that the next sale, the next piece of advice, the next bit of help is literally around the corner.
Why – Because you are surrounded by a community of fierce female entrepreneurs who will open doors for you, LEAD people towards you and encourage them to buy your products & services.
So, if you are anything like her, and are tempted to think that networking is the frilly stuff and your clients/customers will fall from the sky, think again.
Networking is the savvy and chic way to generate leads and sales without the sleaziness of hard selling to the wrong people because you desperately NEED the sale.
When you know how to truly build SOCIAL CAPITAL, then leverage and monetize your network repeatedly, making sales goes from being inconsistent and unreliable at best, to easy, effortless and in full flow where you wake up every morning expecting to see messages like this:
“Hey I’m interested in working with you …”
“Can you share details of your program with me?”
“I’ve heard so many great things about you from [insert name of person from your network], I am sooo ready to get started with you.”
There is no worry about how few likes, loves, or follows you have, that so many female entrepreneurs get caught up with because at the end of the day you know that with or without them, through highly effective networking, you are slaying it all the way to a business with CONSISTENT EARNING POWER.
Is this something you would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to start happening to you?
I can help.
Let’s set up a quick call to see if our boutique style network fits you like a glove. A global community of women who are enjoying the benefits of powerful Networking and profitable partnerships on a daily basis.
#IConnectWomen
Thanks a TRILLION,
Ungenita Prevost
If you’d like to join the the top 1% of female entrepreneurs leveraging LinkedIn, send me a DM on LinkedIn and let’s connect. I’ve helped thousands of women build SOCIAL CAPITAL + MONETIZE THEIR NETWORKS. I know without a doubt I can help you.
Ungenita Prevost is an Award Winning Feminine Leadership Expert. She is the founder of SellingINStilettos®, FEMME 500 and host of the podcast BILLION DOLLAR ROLODEX. She helps “socially bankrupt” women build social capital and monetize their networks.
Join her LinkedIn community and the #1 Business Networking Event for women, Networking IN STILETTOS. She can be contacted through Direct Messenger on LinkedIn or through her website by clicking here!
