Month: January 2022

Is it me? Am I just “Old school”… and is that a bad thing?

Posted on January 17, 2022 by - Business relationships, Marketing, Networking

Recently I was talking to one of my contacts about what we wear when we are networking and let’s just say we have different styles!

I know that during lockdown some people changed their style…although I would never find that “I just got out of bed” look…or, even worse, the “I’m actually in bed just lying on top of the covers” look. I need to dress for work, and by dress, I mean make-up on, hair brushed and appropriate clothes on. In order to have full disclosure. when networking virtually I’m probably not wearing shoes, but apart from that I’m dressed as I would be if I were networking face to face. I’m representing my company and, because I want to build relationships with like-minded people, I dress smartly and by smartly, I mean business-smart. Smart casual is saved for the weekend.

The person I was discussing this with was dressed smart casual. I asked him whether he would change what he wore if he was meeting with a potential customer, a customer who would be the absolute best cherry on the cake. He said no, this is how he dressed for work. Since we know each other well I asked him “Is it me getting it wrong? Am I just a different generation? Am I old school?

He thought for a moment the he said basically “Maybe, yes and yes” That got me thinking. Do I need to rethink how I dress? One of my concerns is that if I move my style of dress for work more towards the smart casual, does that become the new norm and might it slowly move towards the casual? I believe that if I want to attract business people to me (particularly those I want to emulate) I should dress in a similar style. So my question is: Is it me? Am I just “Old school”… and is that a bad thing? For now I’m going to continue dressing as I have always dressed for work, where I feel comfortable which is not wearing “comfortable” clothes.

Whatever you are wearing as you read this, here is my gift to you: my Top 20 networking tips just follow this link: ebn.uk.com and complete the form to receive your copy.

Have fun

Glenys

New adventures?

Posted on January 4, 2022 by - Marketing, Networking, Networkingstrategy

Well that’s it, 2021 done, cards being recycled and now looking forward to 2022.

For some, the year will come as a bit of a surprise when it comes to marketing. For others, the marketing plan is simply being continued and for others, myself included, a new year is the time I implement any new plans. Throughout any year my marketing strategy is tweaked, and during the past two years tweaking has been a process of “Flippin heck what am I going to do now?”, discussion with smarter people than me, then rapid implementation. This year may still involve some of that process: I have control of lots of things but not the challenges the world throws at me! What I can control is my response to these unexpected challenges.

So I have a strong marketing plan, and I accept that some may have better, stronger, more dynamic marketing plans than mine. That’s OK, I am a business owner and can choose what I do, how I do it and when I do it. Last September I started to seriously look at what my marketing would include in 2022 and how I would adapt if government guidelines changed. So, plan A if face-to-face meetings are allowed, and Plan B if they are not allowed. Underpinning this is marketing as usual. What has worked, what hasn’t, what needs to be changed, what needs to be increased and what needs to be ditched. Some of this decision-making is based on what I want to do and how I want to develop my business.

In 2020 I added some afternoon online networking which was always going to be online, and available free to members and available to non-members for a small fee. I really worked hard at these, honest. Then I realised that a) most of my members are breakfast people. b) this was a lot of effort for little return and, most importantly, c) this was not my core business, so I stopped. Now this may not be for ever but it is for now.

Now, 2022 will be a time for new adventures: some will succeed, some will fail and, at the moment I don’t know which one is which…isn’t that exciting?!

Want some help with your networking? Here is my gift to you: my Top 20 networking tips just follow this link: ebn.uk.com and complete the form to receive your copy.

Have fun

Glenys