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Last week I shared 8 easy-to-make networking mistakes that can be avoided and this week I dive into the first one:

I assumed I didn’t need to network because I believed that all of my clients would find me online.

Why spend all that time and effort to find and attend networking events when my ideal clients would find me online?

While it doesn’t immediately seem like it, there are two parts to this question.

The first part is that I genuinely believed that my ideal clients would find me online and I was deaf to any suggestion otherwise.

And my coach at the time handled my naivety quite well, she suggested that I attend networking events anyway. I trusted my coach, so I went.

I’d like to point out that this is something I did right – not only did I have a coach I trusted, but I listened to her even when I thought I was right.

While I made many mistakes, I would not be where I am now had I not started then.

The second part is more obvious. I felt it was a better use of my time to do more productive things. Sometimes the inside of my brain sounds like this:

There are THINGS! that need to be DONE! and done NOW!

Here’s a truth about being an entrepreneur: There are always things to do. Usually, it’s a matter of assigning priorities. Which I was doing, but looking back it was more about staying comfortable than anything else.

What it all boils down to is something that I didn’t realize at the time: meeting people in-person is very important and networking is a great way to do that.

Why is networking so important?

Have you heard of the know, like and trust factor? It means that people will buy from those they know, like and trust.

The easiest way to build know, like and trust is to meet people face to face.

Think about it. How well do you feel you know, like or trust someone after spending five minutes on their website? How about after talking with them face to face?

When you meet someone in-person, you get a feel for if you click or would work well together. While online, it’s much more difficult to tell in a short period of time.

I followed my current coach online for years before I bought anything from her. But the second time I saw her in person (at her 3-day event), I invested in her yearlong program.

What I did right:

With everything I did wrong, I did do something else right (in addition to having a coach).

And that was I kept going to networking events.

What you can learn from my experience:

• Go to networking events! After you meet someone, your website is a good place to point them to learn a bit more about you, but it’s NOT required. Those in-person meetings are much more important.
• There is no easier way to build know, like and trust then meeting someone in person.
• Doing something “wrong”, “incorrectly”, or “imperfectly” is great! It means you’re out there doing something and you’ll learn much more from trying than from not doing anything at all.
• Get a business coach. Coaches encourage you to stretch and do things that you didn’t think you were capable of.

Why is going to networking events important to you? Share in the comments below.

Imagine this:

The year is 2010. I’ve just left my full-time gig to venture into the world of entrepreneurship. At the insistence of my coach, I’ve picked a couple of networking events to attend.

However, I’m pretty sure I don’t need them.

Why?

Because I found my coach online, and we didn’t meet in person until we’d been working together for over 6 months. I was convinced that my people would find me the same way.

However, despite my fears and my belief that I didn’t need to network to find clients, I went anyway.

And then the mistakes started. (Can you spot them?)

At one event I stood up, fumbled over my elevator speech, and quickly sat down again. I remember clearly who I sat next to. His name was Mike, and we talked about his young grandkids (he didn’t look old enough to have grandkids).

At another event I spent most of my time talking about what I was really comfortable with: my previous job. I even walked away with a referral for my old company! In retrospect, the leader of that group, Christina, tried to help me out a bit. She asked me questions about my new business and gently offered suggestions about how I might tailor it to the women in the room. But I was too naive to realize she was trying to help (a classic case of really not knowing what I didn’t know).

At one of the events, I met Robin. She sold insurance and reached out to set up a coffee date. I agreed and immediately regretted it. I just knew she was going to try to SELL ME insurance! It was going to feel icky, and I’d want to leave.

I arrived 30 minutes early with a book so I could order and get settled before she arrived. When she got there she asked me a few questions and then proceeded to give me some great advice, make a recommendation for an accountant (who I still happily use), and only much later, tell me more about her business.

There was no hard sell—just her getting to know me better and wanting to help me out a bit.

Now, let’s talk about all of the phone calls I made to the people I was meeting… Oh wait, I can’t, because I didn’t make any phone calls.

And why not? Well, coffee dates are meant for getting to know people so you can refer others to them, right? And I didn’t know anyone. So, why should I spend my time doing that? I didn’t make sense to me.

So what did I do wrong? Let’s (lovingly) review:

1. I assumed I didn’t need to network because I believed that all of my clients would find me online.
2. I wasn’t comfortable talking about myself, and I wasn’t prepared to share with others what I do.
3. I was only clear on what I used to do in my former job.
4. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, so much so that I didn’t have a clue what to ask my coach for help with.
5. I assumed coffee dates were only for selling your service/product.
6. I didn’t do follow-up calls with people I met or set up coffee dates.
7. I assumed I had nothing to offer in the way of connections or possible referrals.

Learn from my experience and mistakes.

Over the next few weeks, let’s dive into these mistakes that I (and probably many other people) have made when networking. We’ll explore each one and learn what to do instead so you can make the most of networking.

Share with me some of your networking mistakes in the comments below. I’d love to know that I’m not the only one who made them.