Re-Evaluating Your Networking Strategy for the New Year

Did you get everything you wanted and needed out of your networking efforts last year?

You probably know how important it is to set SMART goals, evaluate your results and decide what you want to start, stop or keep as you move forward in business.  But how often do you do these thing with regards to your networking strategy?

In this episode, we’ll explore the importance of evaluating your networking efforts, and why it's essential to look beyond the referrals you got and the money you made.   

We'll discuss:
• Questions to assess past networking experiences
• Evaluating tangible vs. intangible outcomes in networking
• Importance of consistency and engagement in networking
• Mindset's role in effective networking
• Actionable steps to reshape networking for the new year

Links & References:

Join us at our next PWR Virtual Speed Networking Event!

For even deeper connections, check out the Powerful Women Rising Community!

Learn more about Emily Aborn's podcast bundle here:  https://emilyaborn.com/podcaster-bundles/

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Connect with Me, Your Host Melissa Snow!

Melissa Snow is a Business Relationship Strategist dedicated to empowering women in entrepreneurship. She founded the Powerful Women Rising Community, which provides female business owners with essential support and resources for business growth. Melissa's other mission is to revolutionize networking, promoting authenticity and genuine connections over sleazy sales tactics. She lives in Colorado Springs with her two dogs, three cats, and any number of foster kittens. She loves iced coffee, true crime, Taylor Swift, and buying books she’ll never read.

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Chapters

• 0:04 Evaluating Your Networking Strategy
• 9:23 Maximizing Networking Success Through Self-Assessment
• 17:20 Evaluating Networking Mindset for Success

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome to Powerful Women Rising, a podcast for female entrepreneurs ready to do business their way. Grab your coffee and join host Melissa Snow, business relationship strategist and founder of the Powerful Women Rising community, as she interviews industry experts and shares insights on strategy, marketing, mindset and more. Here you'll find the tools, strategies and inspiration you need to feel empowered, take bold action in your business and keep rising.

Speaker 2: 0:36

Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Powerful Women Rising. Yes, it is the new year, yes, this is the first episode that I have recorded in a while and, yes, we have a new introduction and cover art, because why wouldn't we? For the new year, I just have to give a shout out to my dear friend, emily Aborn. She's been a guest on the podcast several times. That's actually how I connected with her to begin with. I have been on her podcast several times Content with Character and she just launched this new offering that she is doing because she has the best voice and she is doing an intro and an outro for your podcast. She also is a copywriter, so she is helping you write the description for your podcast episode, helping you write the description for your podcast episode, identify your podcast personality and all these other super cool things. So I partnered with her and she did it all for me and I love it so much. So if you have a podcast and you want a little revamp, a little zhuzh up this year, I am going to put her link in the show notes. Definitely reach out to her and you will love it. So, as I mentioned, this is the first episode of 2025 and the first episode that I've put out in a little while. Let's just address the elephant in the room. I did not really intend to take a break over the holidays, but they came and they went and here we are, so it's actually really interesting, given what I wanted to talk about today on the podcast, which is reevaluating your network strategy for the new year and really looking at what are the things that you're doing that are helpful and paying off and what are some of the things that maybe you need to let go of.

Speaker 2: 2:21

And I've been thinking a lot about this podcast over the past couple weeks and the things that I love about it, the things that I don't love about it, why I'm doing it, why I want to keep doing it, why I don't want to keep doing it. I'm just being real with you. It has nothing to do with how much I love you, because I adore you, and every time I get a message from one of you that's like, oh my gosh, your podcast, it's so amazing, it helped me so much, I'm like, okay, we'll keep going, but this is real right, this is business. We do things that one day we're like, oh my gosh, this is so awesome, I love it so much, and then a week later we're like this is terrible, why am I still doing it? And what I realized during this little break from the podcast is that it's important to really think about why you're doing something, especially in this day and age of social media and likes and followers and views and all of these things.

Speaker 2: 3:20

We can get so caught up in those metrics, like looking at how many people have subscribed to the YouTube channel and how many downloads do I have on Apple and all of these things, and it's like does any of that really matter? Because I feel like that's the kind of stuff that we look at and we're like oh, this is terrible, why am I still doing it? But does that really matter when you're getting emails from people that are like oh my gosh, that was exactly what I needed to hear? Does it really matter if it's something that is bringing you connections with amazing women that you may otherwise never have connected with? Like I learn something new every single time I interview somebody for this podcast.

Speaker 2: 3:57

So does all that stuff matter more than how many downloads I have this month compared to how many downloads I had three months ago? Probably not right, like I could be getting a million downloads, but if nobody's getting anything out of it, if nobody is like, oh my gosh, that was so great, I learned so much, if nobody is listening to the episodes and then joining us over in the Powerful Women Rising community or on one of the virtual speed networking events, like, does the number of downloads really matter? Not really. So that is your little reminder, and apply that to whatever you will apply it to. And it actually applies to what we're talking about today in terms of networking, because I think a lot of times we get caught up in like well, I've been in that group for so long and I haven't made a dollar. Like, none of those people have become my clients, none of those people have referred me. And one of the things that we're going to talk about today is remembering to look for other benefits in your networking other than just how much money have I made, how many people have hired me, how many people that have referred me? And not that that stuff's not important. It totally is, and that's something that you need to factor in when you're evaluating what you're doing in your networking strategy. But it's not the be all, end all, it's not the most important thing. It is one of the things that you want to look at when you're making your decisions.

Speaker 2: 5:20

So, okay, happy New Year. We're here, we made it. 2024 was not my favorite year ever and I got to end it with a little ringworm infestation in the home. Just for the cherry on top, I had a foster kitten that had ringworm and after she left, I disinfected the house 5 billion times and I thought we were in the clear, and then, about three weeks after she left, I got it, and then, a couple days after that, my dog got it. So we're having a lot of fun over here ringing in the new year. It's just really been swell. No, I'm just kidding. It's actually really nice to be getting back into the flow and the routine of things and be back here with you, be back with the women in the Power for Women Rising community.

Speaker 2: 6:09

There's a virtual speed networking event coming up on Thursday, january 9th. So if you're not registered for that, definitely get registered. Even if you're not feeling motivated, it's totally going to pump you up. I promise that it is, and you want to start doing some of those networking things sooner rather than later, because you are planting seeds that may take a little while to actually bloom, so the sooner you get them planted, the better.

Speaker 2: 6:36

All right, so we are kicking off the new year by talking about something that I think everyone needs to do, which is reevaluating your networking strategy periodically. And sometimes we hear the word reevaluate and we're like, oh, that sounds boring, but trust me, it's important. I will try to make it as fun and interesting and insightful as possible, but what it's really about is figuring out how to help you be more intentional with your time and your energy and your relationships this year, because, if you're like most people, you have probably been going to the same networking events for a while, showing up in the same groups or in the same spaces, doing the same thing, because that's what you've always done and that's very normal. However, habits don't always get results, so it's important for us to stop every once in a while. Whether it's networking, social media, podcasts, whatever it is. We have to stop every once in a while and take stock of where we're spending our time and our energy and our money and our efforts and ask ourselves is this still working for me? Was it ever working for me? Could it work for me again if I made some little tweaks, or is it something that I need to let go of? And before we dive into that, I just want to remind you networking isn't just selling your stuff or racking up referrals.

Speaker 2: 7:55

This is what I was talking about in the beginning of the podcast. It's really about building relationships, finding inspiration, sharing resources, having people who will support you and lift you up. But if you're not taking time to evaluate what's actually working and how it's working, or how you know that it's working, you might be wasting your time on things that are not serving you. So today, we're going to talk about how to evaluate the groups and events that you've been attending, some of the specific questions to ask yourself about your networking efforts. So you might want to listen to this one with a pen and paper or, if you're in the car, come back later and write some of these questions down, and we're going to talk a little bit, too, about why your mindset matters just as much as your actions when it comes to networking and the things that you're evaluating. Okay, so grab your notebook, let's dive in.

Speaker 2: 8:45

Let's start with the basics. Think about all the groups, the events, the networking opportunities that you participated in last year, and remember, networking doesn't just happen at networking events. I was doing air quotes but you couldn't see them. Networking really happens anytime you have an opportunity to connect with other humans. So you may be networking on social media, you may be networking through speaking engagements, you may be networking through guesting on podcasts. So it's really up to you what you want to evaluate and what you want to consider when we're talking about networking opportunities specifically.

Speaker 2: 9:23

So think about what you've done, the things that you participated in, the groups that you're a part of, the events that you've gone to, and I want you to ask yourself these four questions. The first is did I enjoy my time there or did it feel more like a chore? This is maybe the most important question you can ask, because if you didn't enjoy it and it felt like a chore and you dreaded going and had to force yourself every single time, I can probably already tell you that you didn't get great results because you didn't walk into that event with the energy and the mindset and the aura of positivity of somebody that people want to connect with, of somebody who is ready to take action and is positive and wants to support you and grow together. Right, you walked in there with the energy of somebody who has to do laundry and doing laundry freaking sucks. So this is a really important question Did you enjoy your time there or did it feel more like a chore? Networking for the most part, maybe not every single second of it, but it should feel good. So if you're dreading it every time, it's worth taking a minute to think about why, whether it is the dynamics of the group, whether it is a certain person or a few people, maybe it is the format of the event. Maybe you do better at ones with more structure versus ones that are more just like open mingle time or even just the time of the day. If there's an event that you're going to or a group that meets at 8 am and every time you have to get up at 630 to be there on time, you're like, oh, this freaking sucks. Maybe it's time to stop going to that one and find one that meets at 11 am. The important thing to remember is, if it is draining you instead of energizing you, it might be time to step away.

Speaker 2: 11:22

Some other questions that you can ask yourself about the groups and events and networking opportunities that you participated in last year. What tangible results did you get. So this includes things like sales, referrals, things that you can actually track numbers-wise. It also could include opportunities if somebody connected you with somebody else, if somebody that you met somebody else, if somebody that you met there gave you a lead for a podcast opportunity or a speaking engagement or something like that Could be people from that group or that event that you collaborated with, or introductions that moved your business forward, anything like that. And then you also want to look at what intangible results you got.

Speaker 2: 12:06

So this is the stuff that we overlook most of the time because it's not as specific, it's not as measurable, it doesn't fit into your SMART goals, but that doesn't make it less important. So this is things like did you get inspiration from it? Did you get new ideas? Did you connect with supportive people who were the ones that you could go to when you were like, oh my gosh, this is terrible. I need to vent, I need to feel heard and I need someone to tell me to keep going. Those things are really valuable too. So don't underestimate if you are attending events or a part of a group where you are getting those things, even if you're not getting sales and referrals. Sometimes those are even more important because they allow you to keep going in other spaces where you are getting sales and referrals.

Speaker 2: 12:56

And then the last thing I want you to think about is was this group aligned with my goals? Sometimes we keep showing up out of habit, even when the group doesn't align with our current business goals. Maybe it's somewhere that you started when you were new in business. But now you've been in business for 10 years Now. Your target market has changed, your knowledge and experience has changed, the way that you market yourself has changed, and it's okay to pivot. If it's not a good fit for you anymore, all right.

Speaker 2: 13:26

The second thing I want you to look at is evaluating your actions. So this first part was really about looking at the events and the groups themselves and whether or not they were serving you. This is about looking at your own self and how you were showing up in these spaces and how you were showing up in these spaces. So the first question I want you to ask is was I consistent? This is a big one and again, consistency doesn't mean constancy. This doesn't mean did I go to a networking event every single day in 2024?. It doesn't even necessarily have to mean did I go to one every week in 2024? But did I join a group that I went to twice and then never went to again and then was like I didn't get anything of that. I'm not renewing my membership? That's not consistency. Networking is not a one and done thing. So if you only went to a group or an event once or twice, you didn't really give it a chance and you didn't really give the relationships that could have formed there the chance to form.

Speaker 2: 14:26

People want to connect with you when they feel like you are going to be consistent. When they see you over and over again, that makes them believe that you are invested. It makes them believe that you're trustworthy. It makes them believe that you are somebody who is here to stay and not somebody that they're going to invest their time and energy into. And then, a month from now, you're going to decide that you don't want to have a business anymore. Or a month from now, you're going to decide that you have a totally different business that has nothing to do with theirs in the middle of a collaboration right. So consistency is very important for a number of reasons. So it's important to look at when we're talking about your behaviors. Were you consistent? Did you give things a real chance to work or not really?

Speaker 2: 15:11

The second thing I want you to look at is was I engaged? Did you actually go and pay attention? Did you listen? Did you connect with people that you didn't already know? Or were you scrolling your phone in the corner? Were you sitting with the friends that you came with and not really putting yourself out there? Were you half listening most of the time and sending the vibe that you didn't really care? It's important to be honest with yourself here, and I know that that's hard, because sometimes we don't want to admit that that is what we did, but I promise you we've all done it. I totally have gone to the things and been like well, I networked. I went to a thing. Nobody talked to me Okay, yes, nobody talked to you, but you also sat in the corner with the only two girls that you knew, and it wasn't really the most approachable situation, right? So, like you can't really say nobody talked to me if you didn't talk to anybody either. So be honest with yourself. Were you engaged the majority of the time that you were attending these groups or events?

Speaker 2: 16:18

And then the last thing I want you to look at as far as evaluating your actions is, did I take action afterward, and did I do this consistently? Did you have some sort of a follow-up plan? Did you have some sort of strategy in mind of how you were going to stay in touch with the people that you met, how you were going to keep track of them, what you were going to do with those relationships after you connected with them initially? Or did you just collect a bunch of business cards that are now sitting in a drawer of your desk that you don't even know are there? Be honest, go ahead, open the drawer right now. Tell me how many there are. You have to have a strategy in mind. You have to have some sort of structure and plan for how you are going to show up at these events and what you are going to do afterwards, and you have to execute on that follow-up plan consistently in order to be able to know if it's working or not.

Speaker 2: 17:20

The third thing I want to talk about is evaluating your mindset. So we talked about evaluating the groups and events that you've attended. So we talked about evaluating the groups and events that you've attended. We've talked about evaluating your actions and looking at yourself and how you're showing up. We also have to look at your mindset, because this plays a huge role in how effective your networking efforts are. So these are the three questions that I want you to ask yourself when evaluating your mindset in regards to networking in 2024.

Speaker 2: 17:47

The first question is was I open to meeting new people or did I stick to my comfort zone? So this kind of goes to that first question that I was asking you. When it comes to your actions, as far as being engaged and being consistent, it's easy to gravitate towards friends, to the people that you know, to the people that you're comfortable with, but growth happens when you step outside of your circle. The whole purpose of networking is to grow your circle, and so if you are consistently going to these events and these groups and spending time with the people who are already in your circle, your circle is not growing. So if you're not getting the results that you wanted to get from networking, that's probably a big reason why.

Speaker 2: 18:29

The second question I want you to ask yourself is was I authentic or was I trying to fit into someone else's mold? And I know this is a hard one, also to be honest with yourself about, because we all initially want to be like no, I was totally being authentic. But let's really think about it. When you went to that event or you showed up at that group, did you feel like you could walk into that room as yourself? Or did you walk into that room feeling a little bit intimidated, a little bit like I don't know if I belong with these women? They're all like real, legitimate business owners who are making like six and seven figures and I don't even really know why I'm here. They're going to find out I'm a fraud. If you're going in with those kinds of feelings, that's totally normal. But that's also probably a warning sign to you that you may be going in there as a more polished in there as a more polished fake version of who you think they want to meet, rather than being yourself.

Speaker 2: 19:31

And the most effective way to network is by showing up authentically. People connect with you. The right people connect with the real you. The wrong people are repelled by the real you and that is what you want. You don't want to be attracting the people who are attracted to the polished, perfect, masked version of you. So it's important to look at how authentic you were in these spaces and how much time you spent trying to be the person that you thought belonged there or the person that you thought they wanted to meet or do business with. And then the third thing I want you to ask yourself when it comes to evaluating your mindset is did I have a clear intention when I showed up?

Speaker 2: 20:17

Networking works best when you know why you're there ahead of time, whether it's to find people to collaborate with. Maybe you're looking for inspiration. Maybe it's the only time that you get to go talk to other adult humans. Maybe it's the only time that you get to talk to other business owners who just get it more than anyone else in your life. Or maybe you're looking for people who are smarter than you, people who know things about marketing and branding and finances and all the things that you don't know about when it comes to business. So know why you're there, know what you're looking for and know why you're showing up. That is also going to help you be much more successful. So, based on what you've learned from the last three steps evaluating the events, evaluating your actions and evaluating your mindset this is what's going to help you create a more intentional plan for how you network this year.

Speaker 2: 21:15

So there's three things for you to look at? What do you want to keep, what do you want to stop and what do you want to try? When it comes to what you want to keep, look at which of those groups or events brought you the most value, and again, that doesn't necessarily mean dollar bills. Which ones did you genuinely enjoy? Those are the ones that you want to keep. If a group or event wasn't serving you, if you didn't enjoy going, if you left there feeling drained, it's okay to let it go. Left there feeling drained, it's okay to let it go. Your time and energy are precious, so you need to spend them wisely, and going to a group or an event that you dread and don't particularly like is really just wasted time and energy.

Speaker 2: 21:57

And then ask yourself is there a new group, an event, maybe a format that you've been curious about, that you've assumed that you wouldn't like, but you haven't actually tried it? Is there something that you want to experiment with in this new year, to give it a shot? Find a new group, find a new event, try virtual networking, try speed networking, try one of the less structured or one of the more structured events, something that you haven't done before, to give yourself an idea of whether it's something that you like and want to do more of. So that is what I have for you today. That was a lot of questions. You're probably going to want to listen to this multiple times, especially if you didn't write down the questions, because it's going to take you some time to really think about these things and be honest with yourself and evaluate what you're doing.

Speaker 2: 22:49

But I hope that this has at least helped you feel inspired to kind of take a fresh look at your networking strategy and create a plan that really is going to work for you this year, because networking really isn't just about growing your business. It's about growing relationships. Because networking really isn't just about growing your business. It's about growing relationships, and the best relationships are built when you show up with intention, when you show up consistently, when you show up authentically and with a willingness to connect. So if this episode resonated with you, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram.

Speaker 2: 23:24

I'm spending a lot of time on threads lately. I just discovered it over the break and I'm semi-obsessed, so feel free to hang out with me over on threads, although I'll warn you, I talk more about cats than I do about business, so that probably wasn't the right strategy over there, but I'm enjoying it, and if you are looking for a supportive community to help you level up your networking game, definitely check out the Powerful Women Rising community. It is an amazing community for female entrepreneurs where we support each other, we connect with each other, we learn about each other, we refer to each other and it is just. It's the thing that I wish that I had when I was first starting out and growing a business, and it's something that I feel really lucky to be the leader of now, and there's some really amazing women in it, so I would love to see you over there. All right, friends, thanks for listening, and here is to an incredible year of connections, growth and success. See you next time.

Speaker 1: 24:27

That's a wrap on this week's episode of Powerful Women Rising. Thanks for hanging out with us. If you love the podcast, make sure to subscribe, share it with a friend, write a review or buy us a coffee. Your support helps more women like you step into their power and grow their businesses in a way that feels real and true to them. Want to keep the party going? Check out the show notes for details on our next virtual speed networking event or join us in the powerful Women Rising community. Until next time, remember that building a business your way is the best way.