I wandered the patio seeing several groups of two to four people chatting with each other. This was the first business networking event I attended in the last four years. It took two complete circuits around the bar before I finally found the courage to approach two men and ask, “May I join your conversation?” 

 “Sure,” the young guy on the left said. “We were just talking about self-help books.” As he said this, the two men naturally moved to include me. I asked if either of them had read “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. The conversation took off from there.

Battling Discomfort With Meeting People

Every time I’m in a situation where there’s a room full of people with small groups talking to one another, I find myself incredibly uncomfortable and awkward about how to join in conversations. The difficulty lies in getting started, as I feel like I’d be stepping on toes to try to join their dance of words. This discomfort also occurs in social gatherings like weddings and parties. Especially those where I’m unfamiliar with guests. However, in every situation, I have no problem once I’ve joined the dance. Tapping my life experiences allows me to join the flow, contribute, listen, and learn from their experiences.

Commitment to Selling My Services

I’ve committed to making my freelance business, Tumblemind Writing, succeed. Filling my client pipeline requires business networking. I managed to join at least five conversations using the “May I join your conversation” strategy. Given the need to start finding clients, I met a gentleman, Boyce, who develops websites for his clients. I asked if any of those needed blog writers, and he said yes. We traded LinkedIn information and connected. I will follow up with him next week to keep our discussion fresh in his mind.

The second potential client discussion involved a woman, Brittany, who I found runs an events business. She has a location where they host weddings, parties, and other events. Curious, I asked about her company’s web presence. Brittany stated they have a website that describes the benefits of their location for events.

Did her website have a blog post telling the events’ stories? I watched her eyes light up at that query. I described how I could write stories about events in a blog. An engaging story allows potential event clients to envision a fun time for the event they are planning. She asked for and obtained my website from my QR code. However, I was highly frustrated when I could not get my phone to scan the QR code she presented. I tried to snap a photo of it to scan later, but somehow, I didn’t get the picture. That issue left me no way to follow up with Brittany. I hope she gets in touch with me.

Business Networking Environmental Difficulties

I encountered two difficulties, one environmental and one personal. The event was provided through Network After Work and was held in The Dogwood located in Austin, Texas. This is on the main drag of the city’s famous entertainment area and part of the “Live Music Capital of the World” vibe. As such, the music there was a bit loud for holding decent conversations. This not only made discussions difficult but also made it difficult to hear people say their names. I kept having to ask people to repeat their names. It’s bad enough that I have difficulty remembering names, but it’s worse when I can’t hear them. As part of my developing business connections, I plan to study and act on ways to improve my name-retention skills.

I enjoyed attending the business networking event at a location with a cool vibe. However, it would be nice if the event hosts would ask the location to reduce the music volume.

Questions Drive Conversations

My last conversation of the night was with Richard, CEO of a local logistics and delivery company. We discussed his encounters with thrown packages (instant-fired contractors.) He described how using contract drivers reduces the company’s liabilities and insurance required to run such a business.

It helps to find clients at business networking events if you can engage in good conversations. One of the speaking tools I’ve always used is to ask lots of questions. Questions drive conversations because every question/answer pair leads to ideas for new questions. Never be shy to ask questions!

Taking Home Business Networking Victories

After our conversation wound to a close, I had reached courage saturation. Half an hour was left in the networking schedule, but I knew it was time to go. Time to celebrate the small victories obtained by meeting and talking with many very nice and friendly people. And a bonus of finding two potential leads. I learned that this introvert could join the dance without stepping on too many toes. In-person networking is an effective tool for developing clients and putting my business on people’s minds.

My next networking step is to find a local community of freelance writers. I would like to tap their experience to help my business journey. I look forward to attending more events and researching more polite ways to engage in discussion.

Please feel free to contact me if you need a freelance writer.