Use networking to boost your confidence
Having strong communication skills is essential if you want to succeed at anything. Whether you are applying to join a franchise company or applying for funding, you must be able to communicate clearly and effectively. The way you carry yourself, your body language, and the way you promote or market yourself contribute towards a successful outcome.
Let’s say you want to apply for funding, the way you introduce yourself, your body language, and the way you promote or market yourself contributes towards how you will be assessed by the person you are having a meeting with. You need to be able to convince the person investing in you that you are worth their investment. You must know what you are talking about and you need to be able to confidently sell yourself as someone who can be trusted. You must be able to clearly communicate your plans and your goals on how you are going to pay this money back.
If your dream is to own a franchise business, then you will need to learn vital skills such as communication skills, sales skills, basic marketing skills and negotiating skills to help you get your foot in the door. We often admire those who have the ability to sell because we have this mindset that we cannot. People fail in sales and communication largely due to lack of knowledge and because they do not take the time to learn how to improve their communications and don’t spend time learning the art of selling.
This is where networking comes in. What you need more than money is people. People to believe in your vision. People to follow your cause. People to buy your products or services and one of the best ways to get to meet people is through networking. Networking events where people get to exchange information and connect with each other.
Networking helps you to boost your confidence which is what most people lack when it comes to sales and selling what it is they offer. People fail in sales because they:
- Lack confidence in how to approach people.
- Lack confidence in who to approach.
- Lack confidence in what to say.
- Even being able to do a basic introduction gets people nervous.
As an inspiring franchisee instead of thinking all is lost because you don’t have the funding, start attending networking events to help you boost your confidence. There is so much to gain from attending networking events, if you are not convinced, here is what you can gain:
Introducing yourself is one of the biggest hurdles and wasted opportunities at networking events. If it’s your first time attending a networking event, sit out and observe what others do so you can learn for the next event.
Learn from others, see how people introduce themselves:
- Learn from others, and see how they introduce themselves to give you ideas on how to introduce yourself.
- Listen to what people share in their introductions, is it clear? Did you understand what they offer?
- What can you learn from good introductions and what can you use to craft your own introduction?
Practice makes perfect and boosts your confidence. Unless you are retired or do not need to earn money, you will have to face people and you will need to be able to sell what you are offering. Whether you go for a job interview or have to sell your products or services to a potential buyer. In both settings, you need to be clear, confident and effective and most importantly the listener needs to understand you.
- Every opportunity you have to introduce yourself at a networking event is an opportunity to boost your confidence for times when you need it most, like having to apply for funding or having an interview with a franchisor.
- Networking in small settings gives you the confidence to present to larger audiences in the future.
- Networking gives you confidence through being able to learn and practice.
Another good use that networking has to offer, is using the audience as your sounding board. It isn’t easy to come up with words that describe what you do that will be understood by the listener or reader. Being in online marketing and having to sell my services I’ve had to learn to communicate in different settings and it isn’t easy. Sometimes you think you are getting the message across to discover later on that people didn’t quite get what you were wanting to communicate. And this is where networking can be a great asset on your franchise journey.
Having to come up with a short introduction that explains exactly what you want your audience or customer to understand pushes you to step out of your comfort zone and be creative.
- It’s a perfect setting to see if what you are communicating to others gets you leads, if it doesn’t then you know you need to go back to the drawing board.
- Having to come up with a short elevator speech gives you a kickstart to drafting your biography which you can use on your website and on sites such as LinkedIn.
- You can use the same introduction and convert it into something event organisers can use when you are invited to be a guest speaker.
Use this opportunity to help you with your due diligence process. See how different companies do things, observe how they present themselves. Learn what they share about the work they do and the business they are in and compare various franchise opportunities. Networking is a powerful tool to use to research your potential customer, to listen and understand what is on people’s minds.
One doesn’t need money to make money. One needs access to people, a network. Whether you are an established brand or you are just starting out. For established businesses, networking is a powerful information tool that adds value to help you understand people and human behaviour. What people are up to? To help you understand what is on people’s minds so that you can deliver better products or services. If you are looking to recruit franchisees, as the decision-maker you need to be out there informing people that you are open for business and ready to take on franchisees.
If you are wanting to buy into a franchise opportunity, use networking to learn and observe how people engage in the business arena. Use the opportunity to get noticed. Use the opportunity to practice and boost your confidence. First impressions count, use networking as a stepping stone to pivot you on your dream to being part of a franchise company you want to join. Instead of stressing and worrying about where the money will come from to buy into a franchise business, use your time wisely in preparation for the opportune moment and when that moment comes with each networking event you attend you will have gained confidence and knowledge placing you as the ideal franchisee ready for success.
Romany Thresher is a strategic thinker and natural connector with a talent for identifying opportunities for your business or venture.
Organising, and overseeing your online digital systems and processes for your webinars and virtual events. Website set up, email communications, social media marketing and set up registration and feedback processes. Ensuring that you collect the necessary information to help you obtain a better understanding of your customer’s expectations.
Romany adds value to your business always being on the lookout for new opportunities to connect like-minded individuals who can add value to each other for a mutual benefit. Assisting you in online networking, lead generation, and giving you ideas and strategies to develop relationships with key stakeholders, sponsors, partners, and suppliers in your industry. Working in the background so you don’t have to.
What do you need to implement and upgrade in your life and in your business and who do you need to align yourself with so that you and those you work with and collaborate with can make a positive impact in your collective environments and communities?
Let’s find out!
