Focus on the positive: a few law of attraction tips for networking
| on June 5, 2008 at 4:34 pm | filed under Mindful communications |
I was just talking with a woman who recounted her first experiences with business networking. They were not so positive.
Her first impression was that the networking business women were “trying to get into my pockets.” Then her business coach asked her a pointed question: “What was she focusing on?” As it turns out she was focusing on the negative in the networking situations rather than being positively focused on what she could give others. When she realized her law of attraction mistake — focusing on what she didn’t want, rather than what she wanted — she was able to intentionally send out her own positive energy and get better business networking results.
We all do this from time to time. We unconsciously draw to us what we don’t want. And it’s all due to a lapse in awareness about our intention and our goals. Here are a few tips to help you consciously and mindfully attract an abundance of beneficial contacts, good energy, and business opportunities during networking meetings. They are loosely based on the law of attraction idea of keeping focused on the positive and the results you want:
- Before each networking event, mentally review your key objective. Perhaps you want to meet two new people you can get to know better. You may want to use your elevator speech to let people know about your new website. Or it’s your goal to alert people to a non-profit giving opportunity. The clearer you are, the more likely you’ll successfully communicate your intent and get the results you envision.
- Envision networking. That’s right, imagine walking into a room of strangers. Now see yourself taking a deep breath and happily moving forward to introduce yourself to a friendly face in the crowd. Picture yourself happily engaged in conversation and exchanging business cards for a specific purpose (not just so you can throw them in a drawer when you get back home or to your office). That purpose might be to email a website address you think will be helpful to the other person, or to put them in contact with a person who can help them with something they said they needed help with. The more clearly you visualize the process, even a minute of it, the more likely you’ll feel comfortable once you’re actually networking.
- Expand your energy. When you network for business or for social reasons, you want to attract others to you. You want to connect! A great way to do that is to know that you are energetically connected to everyone anyway. Everything is energy vibrating at particular level. So as you speak with people, intentionally expand your energy. Think of it embracing the energy of the person you’re speaking with. This will make you more energetically welcoming. You will feel “open” to others rather than “closed down.”
For more tips on networking, check out my eBook “Small Talk Secrets for Women Who Network.”
My hairdresser has complained she doesn’t like networking because, she says, “people are always trying to sell me things.”
I tell her, Just don’t buy!
But this is easier said than done for many people. Any tips on how to “resist”?
June 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pmThe best strategy is to be clear early in a conversation using language like:
June 6th, 2008 at 2:37 pm- What is most important for me to know about you and your business so that I can refer you?
- It’s so refreshing to meet someone who gets that networking is about relationship building and isn’t trying to sell me.
-I don’t need that personally, but I’ll keep it in mind for people I know who might.
-I don’t need that service; how else can I help support you?
When I first decided to join a networking group, I went to several. Some were boring, some were too small, some too “in your face”. The three I settled on were just right for me. One is a group of spark plugs, one is a bit more sedate but I always learn something new, and the other keeps me plugged in. I had to try six groups before finding three I liked. For people who think they don’t like networking groups, just keep looking!
I have another spin on the hard sell from others that, like most people, turns me off right from the start. I listen carefully to them - to make sure I never sound like that! I used to be a therapist and would often run group therapy. I could be working with a client for weeks trying to help them identify a behavior that was socially off-putting with slow progress. It was amazing to watch when two people with similar “issues” interacted with one another in group therapy. Very quickly, one or both had an “aha” moment, recognizing in the other person what I was trying to help them see all along. Now, I find quiet amusement in watching the reactions of those with a hard-sell approach encounter their counterparts at networking events! It’s fascinating to see their reactions.
June 27th, 2008 at 3:23 am