Hello Awesome People!
As a half Persian Man, living in Western Sydney I totally love being surrounded by Awesome Business Women. Tonight, I was incredibly lucky to visit the Opening Cocktail party of the Success Women’s Network (by Natalie Moutia) in the City & Inner West. Amazingly, there were about 150 Women and I think I was the only Man in the audience.
It was an Amazingly Engaging Event. I made some great new Contacts and I am lined up with heaps of new Meetings, which I am very happy about.
I also had lots of existing Clients in the Room, it was a great Event for them meet and Network with other Amazing Business Women just like them. And the Event itself has very Different Vibe from when you have lots of Men Networking in one room. One key thing I found was the difference in energy, it felt more Social, Relaxed and Personally Engaging.
When you have lots of Men Networking in a room, things often get more Direct, more Focused and Faster Paced. When you have lots of Women Networking in a room, things get more Conversational & more Relationship Building based. This isn’t Necessarily Good, Bad or Indifferent in any Case – Purely a different Approach and Experience when it comes to Working with Women in comparison with a Male audience.
Men in Business tend to be Directional and being Focused on Outcomes. Which can be a bit of an Issue is in Business Networking. Networking is more about Building Long Term Business Relationships, getting to know People First until the other parties are Comfortable enough to Refer Business to you, whether Directly or Indirectly. Outcomes such as “Direct Hard Selling” to someone you have just met, can usually be a Massive Issue in Terms of Building Effective Referral Partners & Business Relationships.
Even though I may be talking down my own Gender on this one, take note Men – I think we can really Learn something from the Ladies here. While in many Instances * It’s Great * to be Focused on the Outcomes; but when it comes to getting to know someone, this Personal Trait can be a Problem in a Networking situation.
From my Observation tonight, it seems to me that Women are generally more Trust Based, Clicky and Relationship Focused than Men when it comes to Building Business Relationships, and this gives them a Massive Edge in Networking for a more Long-Term Trusted Clientele Base. Most Women would prefer to Spend Time getting to Know each other on a Personal Level, Build Friendships before allowing Business to flow as a more “Natural” Process. So even if your Target Clientele are Women, maybe its Time to start Laying Down a good Foundation and Trusted Relationships, in order to Build a Loyal Client Base for your Business.
I had a wonderful night Networking with these 150+ Women, in that they just wanted to get to Know you and whatever happens Business Wise, will happen as we get to know Each other better.
My learnings & advice from this one? Relationships definitely matter in Business and it’s all about Building Trusted Relationships First and then Buying, Selling, and Referrals second. Women are Instinctively Naturally great at this! If you are a Dude Reading this, Slow Down and make Friends First before the Reeling and Dealing. (could even work if you are Really Interested in getting to know a Lady) If you are an Awesome Chick looking to expand your Female Connections, Play to your Strengths and get Connected with your Target First before getting down to the Nitty Gritty.
The simple Reason is that if we try and sell TOO early, people just Switch Off and you get a big fat NO. It’s better for anyone to get to Know and Understand what you do First and the Right thing / or Sell will eventually take its Natural Course. This is the Exact Logic I have Successfully Built my Business on, and it certainly works. You never know when you will receive that Awesome Deal of a Life Time or Referral from someone you spoke and met up with for a Coffee a few years ago, etc…
Trust this has been another Helpful Topic. For more savvy tips and to keep up to date with New Ideas to Market your Business, please sign up to the “The Awesome Marketing Vault”
Love your work, and thank You for the read, enjoy the thoughts, Edward Zia sign out – Stay Awesome!!
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