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“Network is your net worth” I mean, how many times can I keep repeating that right? Our last episode was about “5 Networking Mistakes that Are NOT Letting You Grow Your Business”. And again, I’m back in this episode to give you more insight into networking. In case you haven’t listened to our previous episode, please click here and check it out. So today, we are going to talk about the do’s and don’ts of networking in Dubai that is going to help you grow your business. So, let’s dive into another episode of the Bilna Sandeep Show!
So, with our last episode about networking, I know a lot of people, especially women who are small business owners and especially the ones who run a business from their homes, find networking quite a bit of a challenge, I’ve heard a lot of people come back to me and tell me that, “I have tried networking and it has never worked for me”. Probably that is because of the five mistakes I discussed in my last episode. I’m not going to keep repeating that, so it’s good if you haven’t listened to that; you can go back and listen to it.
Because for me, though I have a remote team; though I have an agency, I have a marketing agency, I still consider myself a homepreneur because I still run my business from the comfort of my home. I mean, when I say the comfort of my home, it’s quite cliche right? I mean it really is not very comfortable running a business from home because there’s a lot of distractions and there’s quite a lot of challenges when you do it from your home, which is why, in this episode, I’m going to talk more about one of the huge challenges of running a business from home, and that is not being able to see many people, which is why we need to embrace networking.
Embrace Networking
I see a trend that a lot of women experience when they’re running a business from their home, even if they have previously worked in the corporate sector. After they quit their jobs and start working from their homes, what happens to a lot of them is that slowly they get into a comfort zone of being at home. They don’t want to go out and talk about business or their work because they feel like, “I’m okay, I’m doing fine”, and this “I’m doing fine” is somehow leading to a point where they think that networking cannot work for their business.
Whatever the size of a business, big or small, I would say go out there and do networking in Dubai because nobody is going to come and help you, nobody. It is only yourself. In most of the cases, you might be a solopreneur as well, or you might have a small team, so whatever the case may be, there is nobody who is going to come from outside and help you, even if it’s your friends and family or even your spouse. There’s a limit to what they can do in order to grow your business. So, if you want to grow your business, you must come out of that. Speak about your business and speak for yourself. Have the courage to go out there and hit that market. I want all of you to start embracing that discomfort. Now, if you’re not comfortable connecting with someone, I would say that you’re not aiming high enough.
Now, on a personal note, I am an introvert. Okay, so I grew up as the only daughter; I don’t have a brother or sister in my family. If I look at myself, my childhood wasn’t very active, and I didn’t have a lot of friends. I only have a few people who are really close to me. But, you know, I have always embraced being alone with myself, and because of that, I became a huge introvert when I grew up because I really don’t enjoy having a lot of people around me. I prefer to sit somewhere in a room, have my coffee, sit in my pyjamas and, you know, watch Netflix, or maybe watch or listen to a podcast or learn something. These are things that I actually enjoy doing.
But for me, when I was trying to grow my career, that is when I first realised the importance of having a network in Dubai, and that is what helped me actually climb the ladder. So, despite being my network, I decided to put myself out there. That was when I started growing my career. It is mentally speaking. It’s a bit challenging for introverts like me; if you are an extrovert, it might come much more naturally to you. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert or something in between or whatever that is, I would tell you that there are certain things that you can do and you shouldn’t be doing in networking. There are dos and don’ts to networking. And that is what we will cover in this episode, okay? So now, if you’re an extrovert, don’t think that networking comes naturally to me, so I don’t have to listen. If you want to use that network from the angle of a business if you want to make use of that network to grow your network in Dubai. There are some things that you need to be doing and not doing during a networking event.
1. The No-Sell Rule
Now, for example, if you’re going to a networking event, the first thing that I want you to remember! This is the most important point of this episode, which is: “Do not sell”, okay? You are not walking into a networking event to sell yourself. That’s the last thing you should be doing. Okay. Nothing will shut down your chance for a real connection faster if you try to sell. The moment you go into a selling mode, people will repel. They’re going to just run away thinking this is another sales guy or sales lady who’s come into this room. You don’t want to be treated like that person. So, selling should not be part of your agenda.
You are only there to grow your network, and you’re not hunting for clients at a networking event. What you are hunting for are real, true connections—people who have the potential to connect you to their network; that is what networking is all about. It’s not about selling to the people you meet at a networking event in Dubai. It’s about selling to their network, and that will only happen if the people you meet there are going to trust you; they are going to build a relationship with you. So, if you go back to our previous episode, you will know what the things are that you need to be doing once you meet somebody. So, I’m not going into detail about that.
Here are some handy tips on supporting mumpreneurs
2. Complaining is a Connection Killer
Now, the other thing that you need to do is another thing: you shouldn’t be someone who keeps complaining. So, when you walk into a networking event, maybe people will discuss how other markets are dull or that business is dull, you know. I’m not getting clients, or some clients are like this; we don’t close the deals, and some are not paying. So, all these are very negative things, right? I mean, it may be the truth. It might be the truth of what is happening. But do not drive your conversation over to that negative side. Then all they are going to remember about you is that complaining guy or that complaining lady I met from that Network.
Create a positive impact; do not talk about the negative things that are happening. Even if you talk about a negative thing, bring a positive angle to it because that is what is, you don’t want to be remembered for that- for being that complaining person in the room.
3. Don’t be a Sycophant
The next thing that you need to do is, to avoid being like a sycophant, which is basically somebody who tries to talk about people like, you know, like if you see somebody, if you see that he’s in high net worth individual, or a big businessman or a big business lady, they’re doing quite successful, you see that person is the highlight of the room, then you go and, you know, kind of talk in such a way that they are the best, you try to acknowledge their work. But you don’t have to overdo it.
You don’t have to try to be the person trying to impress them. That is not the whole point of it. It’s, of course, important that you understand why that person is in the room. Of course, you will have an internet connection on your phone, right? You can do a bit of research about that person and do a little bit of understanding about who that person is, who is getting all that attention in the room, and it’s, of course, okay to go and speak to that person, but you don’t have to be that person who’s trying to impress him. That is not the thing that you need to be doing.
4. Stay on Topic
And then the next thing I see many people do is to try to drag the conversation out of that room into a completely different set-up. There might be a theme for that networking event in Dubai. If there is something, or if there is something that is happening at that moment, try to be part of that meeting, try to be within that context of that meeting, do not try to go overboard and, you know, mix it up with a lot of other things, try to stick your conversations in such a manner that it is within the meeting. It is within the theme and within what is happening during that meeting so that people don’t see you as a distracting element of that meeting. So don’t try to be that person.
Try and do your homework before you go to a meeting as well. Try to understand the kind of people who will come to that event. If you already know that you have a guest list or if you already know these are the kind of people who’s going to be there in that meeting, try to do some homework before meeting them or even when you’re sitting in a room probably, you know that so-and-so person is there in this room because the world has become so much easier, that you have that internet connection on your hand, on your fingertips, on your mobile, you can do quick research on who that person is before you go and start speaking to that person. So, you have much more context on what that person will likely enjoy talking to you. So, you know, it brings more interest into the conversation.
5. Connect, Collaborate, and Conquer
And always try to add value to the conversations that you bring to the table. Instead of talking about the features and benefits and all about your product, try to look at what the other person is interested in, what is the thing that he’s going through, and if there is a value that you can add to him, do it on the spot.
Or, for example, you meet somebody, and they might be saying, okay, I am into so-and-so business. So, you know, that there is somebody else in that room who is already connected to you, and you feel that both people could become a right connection, that moment itself, you can take action. You can say, “Hey, you know what, you should speak to this guy” and just call them up in that room, then you should speak to this person or speak to this lady and just connect them both and tell them you could give your suggestion on probably you could work on these areas together, you know, you both are probably the right fit to work together. So if you can make that sort of connection to people within the room simultaneously, that will bring a huge value to those two people, plus you are becoming the master connector of that event. That is something you can really try doing.
6. Introduce Yourself at the Next Networking Event in Dubai
And another thing that you need to do is like, you know, when you bump into somebody and see someone at a networking event, probably you met that person one or two months ago somewhere, okay? So, it is not always necessary that they remember you because that person might be meeting so many other people as well, so it’s always worth introducing yourself again.
Do not assume that they remember your name, you can go and say, “Hey, I’m Bilna, you remember we met at this event, probably you might not remember, but you know, we met this time….” and try to bring in that context in one or two lines so that you know, they remember who you are and even if they don’t remember you, it’s okay, you know, it just means that it didn’t make an impression in the last time, but it’s fine you are still trying to connect with that person, but never assume that somebody remembers your name.
For me, personally, it’s a very big challenge for me to remember people’s names. When I see someone, if I have met them somewhere, I always remember them by their face but when I’m speaking to them sometimes, I find it hard to remember people’s names. So, it’s a challenge when some people come and start speaking directly without introducing themselves because they assume that I know their names. The same thing will happen if I also do the same thing to them. So, I always try to introduce myself again. Once again, I’d say “Hey, I’m Bilna”, so sometimes they might say of course I know you are Bilna; we met last time, that’s fine, even if they say it’s fine. But always try to take that moment to tell at least your name so they know, Okay, this is this person!
7. Don’t Sell, Connect Instead
Again, one more point, which is the very first point, which I discuss in the start of this episode itself, do not sell to them. That is the most important part. That is the biggest mistake I’ve seen a lot of people try to make during their networking events. They go there thinking that I’m going to meet some clients and I’m going to sell something to them. Do not do that. That is not the aim of any of the networking events.
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That’s all for now. See you in the next episode.
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