Business Networking for Introverts

Business Networking for Introverts

by | Oct 5, 2015 | Business, Marketing

There’s a couple of women doing business in Perth.

And man, are they doing business.

I follow them on social media and I’ve met them a couple of times at various events. They’re super smart, funny, exciting women with great business concepts and just being near them makes you feel supercharged: like you could run a marathon, or throw over a government.

I see them attending events nearly every night of the week.

I’m EXHAUSTED just WATCHING them (OK, stalking them on social media – same diff).

Networking events are by far and beyond the bane of my business existence. I am a WRITER for goodness sake.

I am a WRITER for goodness sake. Fundamentally, we are introverted, isolated freaks of nature who feel stronger relationships with characters in books than we do with our own mothers’.

Alright, yes, that’s probably just me, but you get the drift.

However, my ability to make money being a writer relies on connections with people who need writers. People who are generally a little more extroverted than I am.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am never one to say no to a party. Especially if tequila is involved. And someone is making homemade pizza. Possibly if I can also attend in my PJ’s. But getting dolled up and making small talk (my all-time least favourite thing to do) at 6pm in the evening after immersing myself in a client’s words all day then feeding the kids? That sounds tantamount to torture for me.

Sometimes, you’ve gotta turn up.

So, here are my top 5 tips for Introverts to Get Their Party Face On for the Sake Of Their Business:

  1. We’re not shy, we’re introverted. We are able to make conversation with strangers but prefer not to talk small talk. That’s OK, just have a conversation of substance. Well, why not? Just launch on in, discuss goals, theories, life, love, business, mess. What’s the worst that can happen?
  2. See Point 1. Because we also tend to be empathetic (which is also what makes me a good copywriter) we are usually good listeners too. Don’t try to be the entertainment, make someone feel as if they’ve really been heard. Practice some active listening, give good feedback. I promise your conversational partner will feel as if they’ve had a meaningful moment with you, rather than a run of the mill back and forth chat.
  3. Crowds are a pain in the proverbial for introverts. Unless there’s the possibility of the mambo, I prefer a spot of one on one. Look around, you’ll find someone just like you to chat with in a more intimate setting rather than in a circle of ten folk.
  4. You’ll need to recharge. At the risk of being an anti-carpooler, drive yourself. That peaceful drive home might just be the thing you need afterwards to get back into your own headspace and shake off all that energy from other people.
  5. Get creative. The research shows that introverts use the information they seek whilst being quiet to use later for creative projects. Take the opportunity while your guard is down to soak up all the new, good, loud ideas going on around you. You can draw on them later.

My (borrowed) mantra is

“no one gets into small business to be comfortable”.

So, I am uncomfy. And? Only just as uncomfortable as doing my books (numbers – eek) and asking that same, lovely client for the third time to pay their bill every. Single. Month.

Do it anyway. Show up. Not all the time, but some of the time.

The rest of the events, you can watch on social media.

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About Jay

Jay Crisp Crow

Yep, really my name

If you’re here for the intuitive mix of done-for-you, make-you-cry copy or you want to learn all my secrets so you can DIY like a pro; sister, you’re in the right place. I’m a copywriter, editor, and copy consultant and coach for businesswomen ready to move away from the boring as bat poop churning out of content. Words that sound the same as everyone else’s. Bah humbug! I am terrible at writing my own blogs but smashing at writing for clients. I live in the Hills of Perth, WA, and work with women around the world through the technologically spiffy powers of t’internet. Yay for that!
Socially Crisp
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“You… UNLIKER!” Why Getting an ‘Unlike’ on your Facebook Business Page is A-OK!

“You… UNLIKER!” Why Getting an ‘Unlike’ on your Facebook Business Page is A-OK!

by | Jul 13, 2015 | Business, Marketing

I was checking my Facebook Business page insights this week and noticed that first little dip signifying someone had ‘unliked’ my page.

In the past, being unliked may have just sent me into hysterics (internal hysterics mind):

Why don’t they like me?

What was so offensive about my page in comparison to the rest of the bumf on Facebook that they couldn’t just scroll past?

Couldn’t they have just left me in their likes list and gotten on with their day?

AND! Why don’t they like me? (Oh, yes, resounding theme).

But that was before I understood how Facebook for Business works.

Have you ever noticed this? Did you completely freak out? Let me tell you why those ‘unlikers’ have just done you a bit of a favour.

Let’s do a little case study: I have a new client who is a great student. (She was a teacher first, so perhaps that helps). She began to work with me with a couple of hundred likers and very little engagement. Her likers were mainly family and friends (which is great – never underestimate these people as they are your brand advocates and you should hug them and buy them cake) and some previous customers. She’s been with me for just over a month and in that time her engagement has gone from around

10 people per post to nearly 6000 people. SIX THOUSAND.

Guess how much we’ve spent? It’s less than $50. Guess how much her orders have increased? She’s up until early morning getting orders done. Every time I log on to her Business page she has 27 new messages, most of them orders. We didn’t run a silly competition to get a whole lot of people on her page who were never going to buy from her, we didn’t spend a lot of money (in fact, we haven’t spent any money on advertising for weeks, now that her engagement is up) and she doesn’t have a website that’s bringing in orders. The fact is that every single person who is now engaged on her Facebook page is someone that is GENUINELY INTERESTED IN HER PRODUCT. This means that every time she posts, she pops up on her new likers newsfeeds, she’s engaged with them recently and she’s delivering interesting and relevant information to them. They’re responding. *

So here’s how that ties in with being unliked.

Those two people who unliked my page this week, here’s the fact:

they are never going to be my clients.

They may have liked me in the beginning because they’re my mates and they felt obligated when I sent them an invite. They might be competition. They may be just random click happy folk who live in the area or know our family or maybe my crow picture enticed them… who knows? The simple truth is; they are not my ideal client.

I am not marketing to them because they don’t need my product. I am marketing to the other couple of hundred folk (plus few thousand who are engaged but not ‘yet’ likers) who will possibly need me in the future.

In the end, likers mean less than your engagement stats.

It’s worth it to entertain and keep likers in touch with you, because by liking you they’ve registered their interest in your service or product and their like means they’re staying connected. If they move away, or move on, or perhaps their babies grow up or they sell their business or they don’t ride skateboards anymore, expect them to grow out of your page too.

Who you are left with is the real ideal clients, plus your brand advocates. (I have one friend who comments or shares nearly every one of my posts. I adore her. She needs a medal).

Now there are reasons why someone might unlike you even if they are still interested in the kind of product you’re offering. We business owners are human, so perhaps we have made a mistake like too much promotion, not enough value adding. (For more information about how to do this, you can book a one on one session with me). Also, perhaps you don’t post regularly and then have a flurry of activity. Honestly, do you remember all 1000 pages you’ve ever liked? I don’t. Most of them aren’t on my feed anymore but I KNOW I haven’t gone back and unliked all the ‘Better Breastfeeding’ pages I liked three years ago. So, maybe your recent activity on your page has popped you back on their newsfeed. “Oh!” they say, “I don’t need that anymore” – Unlike. Or perhaps you used a term they don’t agree with. Or turned your profile into a rainbow to celebrate USA getting it right. Maybe you’re just not their cup of tea. Again, who knows?

You can only be certain that if you endeavour to consistently post valuable and content relatable information to likers on your Facebook business page, with sales being a small percentage of your posts, then you continue to add value to the prospective customers and clients that you really want to be watching you.

Likers taking themselves out of the game makes it much easier for you to recognise how many interested people you are reaching if you do decide to use Facebook as a paid marketing tool or even if you’re just insight watching. Learning how to read your insights is a big help in figuring out how your marketing is going. Losing one or two likers a month feels a lot less miserable than having 7000 likers and getting engagement of 200.

80% of us check you out online before we buy something. It’s OK to decide we don’t need you. It’s even better if when we decide you’re not for us, we get out of the way to ensure you can see that your marketing is getting to the right client.

Finally, sometimes, if you’re just liker watching, you won’t even notice you’ve been unliked. Those numbers only show up in your insights. Usually, if you’re like me, you’ve picked up another couple of interested parties around the same time as the unlikers clicked ‘no thanks’ and your numbers balanced back out.

Remember; likers are lovely but it’s engagement that counts.

Be engaging. Give value. Have a conversation. Share something of yourself. Be nice to your mum (OK, I threw that one in there for my son).

Like 🙂

*This lovely client has agreed to be my first case study. We’re going to lay out her marketing strategy and show how it worked for her. She’s pretty special; she does every single thing I’ve asked her to, even the ones that have made her feel totally outside her comfort zone.

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About Jay

Jay Crisp Crow

Yep, really my name

If you’re here for the intuitive mix of done-for-you, make-you-cry copy or you want to learn all my secrets so you can DIY like a pro; sister, you’re in the right place. I’m a copywriter, editor, and copy consultant and coach for businesswomen ready to move away from the boring as bat poop churning out of content. Words that sound the same as everyone else’s. Bah humbug! I am terrible at writing my own blogs but smashing at writing for clients. I live in the Hills of Perth, WA, and work with women around the world through the technologically spiffy powers of t’internet. Yay for that!
Socially Crisp
Resources I Love

6 Easy Steps to a Great Testimonial (Don’t Cringe – They’re Just Not That Awful)

6 Easy Steps to a Great Testimonial (Don’t Cringe – They’re Just Not That Awful)

by | Apr 2, 2015 | Business, Marketing

Who cringes at writing a testimonial?

In my regular job I wrote references for employees around ten times a year. Some of them were relief staff, some were long termers and all are looking forward to a new adventure with a healthy mix of trepidation and anticipation.

Testimonials and reviews are the references of the small business world and are absolutely important to the health and growth of a business. Did you know that a potential client or customer will read up to five reviews of your product or service before hitting that contact button for the first time? Word of mouth is such an important part of small business development and there is such power in someone else’s personal experience. As the owner or manager of a company, you will understand that your recommendation is a powerful thing. But when it comes down to it, when you sit down at the laptop to begin, do you find yourself suddenly in need to clean out the rabbit cage or double check your monthly billing? Maybe I can help. (If at this point you want to skip straight to the creative thought provoking questions – they’re at the bottom of this blog. It’s OK, I won’t tell).

When I write a reference or testimonial I try to think of where the person will end up next. What does the new place need to know about them? If I was their new prospective employer or their next client, what would make me think they were the right person for the job?

I also try to add something in that they may not list on the top of their strengths. Something that I see they do without noticing, or with compassion and with a level of excellence that they themselves may take for granted. I try to let the prospective employer see what is exceptional about them. You can use the same strategy to write your next testimonial.

For those of you who are time poor… well, let’s face it, that’s every small business owner this side of reality, testimonials do not need to be an essay. Two paragraphs, honestly and simply written, will do the job.

It is always an honour and a pleasure to write a reference for someone I have worked with. It may not be a pleasure for you, if writing isn’t your preferred mode of communication, but maybe it could feel like an honour. Because what is being asked of you is to put your stamp on that person’s value to you or your organisation and that’s important to the next employer or client. And it’s really important to the person you’re writing about. That’s not so cringe-worthy, is it?

That’s a pretty privileged place to be.

Try these questions to get the testimonial juices flowing. Start in dot points and then flesh it out using the template below:

  1. Why did you hire the person in the first place? What problem did you need assistance with?
  2. How did they resolve your problem?
  3. How was their resolution to your problem distinctive?
  4. What qualities about their work did you particularly like?
  5. What, in one sentence, summarises your experience with them as a whole?
  6. Would you recommend them to another business?

Then pop your ideas into this template:

My business needed **** because of ****.

**** solved my problem by ****. This was particularly important to my business because of **** and resulted in ****.

I especially appreciated the way **** performed by ****.

Overall, I would recommend **** to anyone in the **** sector/business and found the experience ****

You can snazzy this up with anything specific and particular you’d like to mention about your experience.

Keep in mind the T.E.A.S.E guidelines for testimonial writing – Tactful, Emphasise, Authentic, Short and Engaging.

If you are really stuck, pop onto the business website and see what other clients have written about them. There is no need to reinvent the wheel and a solid testimonial is more worthwhile to your provider than none at all. (Some of mine are here).

REMEMBER! Writing a testimonial isn’t the only way to give a good recommendation. If you’d prefer, do a video review! Turn your phone sideways and video yourself and Hey Presto! – one very Facebook, website and blog friendly testimonial that will really stand out from the others! (Not for the faint hearted).

Now, go give some love…

Jay-crisp-crow-crisp-copy-signature
About Jay

Jay Crisp Crow

Yep, really my name

If you’re here for the intuitive mix of done-for-you, make-you-cry copy or you want to learn all my secrets so you can DIY like a pro; sister, you’re in the right place. I’m a copywriter, editor, and copy consultant and coach for businesswomen ready to move away from the boring as bat poop churning out of content. Words that sound the same as everyone else’s. Bah humbug! I am terrible at writing my own blogs but smashing at writing for clients. I live in the Hills of Perth, WA, and work with women around the world through the technologically spiffy powers of t’internet. Yay for that!
Socially Crisp
Resources I Love