Episode #92
92: The Emotional Resilience Networking Requires
Networking can bring referrals, relationships, opportunities, and clients into your business. It can also bring no-shows, bad referrals, awkward mistakes, criticism, and a whole lot of “no.” In this episode of Business Networking and Referrals, we’re talking about the emotional resilience required to stay in the networking game for the long haul. Because some things are simply inevitable. You’ll probably get stood up for a one-to-one. You may double-book yourself and have to apologize. Eventually, someone may send you a referral that’s a terrible fit. Someone may misunderstand you or even speak poorly about you. And when you keep putting yourself and your business out there, you’re going to hear no. But guess what? There’s another side to what’s inevitable. You’ll be mentioned in rooms you aren’t in. You could be one introduction away from one of the best clients you’ve ever had. You’ll receive messages from people telling you that your work made a difference. People will trust you enough to share what’s really going on. And along with all those no’s, you’re going to get some pretty incredible yeses. In this episode, we’ll talk about: Why expecting some networking disappointments can make them easier to handle When to give someone who stands you up a second chance The right way to handle it when you’re the one who has to reschedule How to respond when someone sends you a bad referral What to remember when you hear that someone has spoken poorly about you Why you don’t have to take sides when two networking relationships collide How to keep issuing invitations without becoming attached to the answer Why learning to forgive yourself is part of becoming a more resilient networker Networking means building relationships with humans, and humans are sometimes messy. The goal isn’t to network perfectly. It’s to keep moving your conversations, your relationships, and yourself forward. Ready to create more curiosity in your networking conversations? The Creating Curiosity Workshop begins September 4th. You’ll learn how to answer the questions you already get asked in networking conversations in ways that help people lean in, ask more, and become genuinely curious about what you do. The workshop includes four virtual trainings, an in-person practice session for those in the Oklahoma City area, and a virtual practice session the following week, so you can participate from anywhere. Join the Creating Curiosity Workshop Go and network, my friends. Keep moving forward. Keep moving your conversations forward. Keep moving your relationships forward. And practice forgiving yourself.
