Have you ever considered how crucial authentic connections are to your business's success? Our latest episode of the Mindset & Action podcast brings you an eye-opening conversation with expert networking strategist Sarah Gemmell, who transitioned from an addictions counsellor to a thriving entrepreneur. Sarah shares the story of a transformative event in Florida that unveiled the untapped potential of networking for her career. Tune in to learn about the psychology behind successful networking and the profound impact it can have on your business growth.
Sarah delves into the nuances of building genuine connections, avoiding disingenuous approaches, and the pitfalls of reaching out only when in need—highlighting a cautionary tale that many can relate to. Discover the importance of turning your network into a supportive audience through authentic engagement and subtle yet effective strategies. Sarah provides actionable tips on optimizing your networking efforts by making small but impactful tweaks that prevent negative reputations and foster supportive relationships.
To round off our enriching chat, Sarah opens up about her online presence, including her active Facebook group, Activate, where she hosts networking events. Learn about her favourite professional development resources like the book "You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero, and get a glimpse into her personal life, from her love of horses to her favourite snacks. This episode is packed with invaluable insights and personal anecdotes that are sure to inspire you to master the art of networking for business success. Don’t miss this comprehensive guide to building authentic, meaningful connections!
My recommendations: Want to get booked more and get more out of your guest appearances? Join fabulous podcaster & Podcast Guest trainer Kelly Mosser for her signature Program Hell Yes Guest get 10% off the program with my link plus some extra bonuses from me check it out HERE FEA Create Simple all-in-one web, CRM, email system For graphics Canva For Email Convert Kit
Want to Guest? Apply here >>FORM Edited and produced by Donna Eade
Have you ever considered how crucial authentic connections are to your business's success? Our latest episode of the Mindset & Action podcast brings you an eye-opening conversation with expert networking strategist Sarah Gemmell, who transitioned from an addictions counsellor to a thriving entrepreneur. Sarah shares the story of a transformative event in Florida that unveiled the untapped potential of networking for her career. Tune in to learn about the psychology behind successful networking and the profound impact it can have on your business growth.
Sarah delves into the nuances of building genuine connections, avoiding disingenuous approaches, and the pitfalls of reaching out only when in need—highlighting a cautionary tale that many can relate to. Discover the importance of turning your network into a supportive audience through authentic engagement and subtle yet effective strategies. Sarah provides actionable tips on optimizing your networking efforts by making small but impactful tweaks that prevent negative reputations and foster supportive relationships.
To round off our enriching chat, Sarah opens up about her online presence, including her active Facebook group, Activate, where she hosts networking events. Learn about her favourite professional development resources like the book "You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero, and get a glimpse into her personal life, from her love of horses to her favourite snacks. This episode is packed with invaluable insights and personal anecdotes that are sure to inspire you to master the art of networking for business success. Don’t miss this comprehensive guide to building authentic, meaningful connections!
My recommendations: Want to get booked more and get more out of your guest appearances? Join fabulous podcaster & Podcast Guest trainer Kelly Mosser for her signature Program Hell Yes Guest get 10% off the program with my link plus some extra bonuses from me check it out HERE FEA Create Simple all-in-one web, CRM, email system For graphics Canva For Email Convert Kit
Want to Guest? Apply here >>FORM Edited and produced by Donna Eade
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Speaker 1:
You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast, the place to be to grow and streamline your business. I'm your host, donna Eade. Let's jump into the show. Networking is the art of building and maintaining connections for shared positive outcomes. Devorah Sack. Welcome to the podcast. Everybody, I'm so excited to have you here today and I am also very excited to bring you another fabulous guest, sarah. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you, I'm excited to be here. I am so excited and I always love it when I get a friend from across the pond to come, because I just love the accent. I could just literally listen to you all day.
Speaker 2:
It's so funny, because that's what Americans say about you guys. You know it is. It's so true.
Speaker 1:
It's so true. It's a nice way to work. It's a nice way to work, so tell us who you are and what it is that you do.
Speaker 2:
Of course, yeah, so what's up? I'm Sarah Gemmel. I am an expert networking strategist. Usually my day-to-day is like the queen of networking and what that really means is that I help entrepreneurs, teams, individuals who are actively networking to see a better ROI from that time in networking. Right, we all know networking is super time consuming. We spend a lot of time in meetings and coffee chats and all these things and it doesn't always feel like it's producing, but it should Like. It's a really, really effective way to generate leads and grow your audience if you're doing it the right way. So I come in and I'm usually making really small tweaks, but inserting more strategy, more systems, so that you can laser focus on exactly what rooms to be in, who are your power partners, how can you leverage the connections you're making, how can you follow up with people and nurture people in a way that allows for you to like really see that business growth? Um, so that's what I do now. But I got here.
Speaker 2:
I was actually an addictions counselor out of college. I dealt with substance abuse. Yeah, I have a degree in psychology. Like I'm a total psych nerd, love geeking out on psychology and when I got out of addictions I actually went into fitness and I became a personal trainer and, you know, got into that whole thing and that's where I discovered entrepreneurship and I was like, oh, okay, you know, I'm like okay, cool, I can start this entrepreneur thing. And it got me into online entrepreneurship and I started really discovering all these things in the entrepreneur world. And I went to one singular event in Florida and I had no idea what I was going for. I just really liked the girl that was hosting the event. So I was like, yeah, sure, like here's my money.
Speaker 2:
Didn't know what I was going to and it ended up being this conference, right, and I got so much out of being there and I was like why have I been sitting in my? I've been sitting in my house trying to grow my business on Instagram and I'm like I need to be out talking to people, you know. And I went home and I had all these things. I started networking on a weekly basis and I just started going to like all different kinds of meetings and conferences and what ended up happening was I ended up building a global fitness platform through the pandemic and I was able to go 100% self-employed.
Speaker 2:
Within the first 30 days of going 100% self-employed, I tripled my income and my main lead generator was networking. Like that was the one thing I was really good at, right. But I realized that because I was good at making friends, I'm good at talking to people, I was building a lot of connections and I was going to a lot of meetings, but like they weren't all producing and that's where this strategy came from. So I started to really look at like, okay, what is the psychology behind how people make a referral Right, what is the psychology behind successful networking and how people feel connected and how they're going to start introducing you, because networking is not sales. I'm not here to sell the person I'm talking to. I'm here to get them to put me in front of a new opportunity.
Speaker 2:
Yeah so that's how I got here. I have two, three cats and two horses, and I'm actually six months pregnant with my first human child. Oh, wow, congratulations.
Speaker 1:
Fantastic.
Speaker 2:
Thank you, yeah, oh, wow, yeah, so my life is it's full, full on. I was going to say yeah, my life is full crazy right now. You know it's okay.
Speaker 1:
Well, we've got one of the fur babies is actually making an appearance on camera and while Sarah was talking there, she did so professionally. The cat decided to climb up her back and come onto the table and the cat just disappeared and you wouldn't have heard any difference in Sarah's toes. She's a total professional. Absolutely love it.
Speaker 2:
So yeah, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:
She's standing you in good stead for when the baby comes. They're a whole new world Right, right.
Speaker 2:
At least the cats have learned to be quiet.
Speaker 1:
Move the baby over there. It's fine, just like real, nonchalant.
Speaker 2:
Like yeah, she'll pop up behind me and then you'll randomly see, like like a different cat pop up in five minutes. You're like wait a minute, that wasn't the same one, that's not the same cat love it, oh dear.
Speaker 1:
They do like to get involved. They do like to get involved. I am really excited to have you here to have this conversation, because I run an online networking group myself for business women and it is. It's so much fun and, just like you, I've done my numbers and 89% of my clients come through networking and I would like to see a better return on my investment in that. You know, I would like to see more clients and if that number is my number.
Speaker 1:
I would like to see more of my clients coming through that, so I think there's definitely room for improvement when it comes to my strategy, so I'm really excited to dive into this conversation. Um, so, first of all, I thought we would start with with with always the fun one. I always like to go to the, to the, to the worst, worst, worst. What are people doing wrong?
Speaker 2:
What are the biggest mistakes you see people making when it comes to networking, and I can see if I make any of them, and you know, to be honest with you, I made all of these mistakes too, but there's a few like top, top, top mistakes that get in people's way when it comes to networking. And the first and foremost thing is going in with the wrong intention or the right wrong mindset around networking, right, so the mindset of networking is sales, or the intention of going into a room of like I'm looking for my next client, right, I'm looking for my next client. I'm looking for who's going to buy for me. I'm looking to take, take, take, take, take. Like what am I getting out of this? And then, when you go into that space, you show up now with Eureka, commission, breath, right, you show up. You have this energy where people are not attracted to you, they're not, um, they're not magnetized to you, they're not drawn to you. They're actually repelled because it feels like a sales pitch.
Speaker 2:
That's the one thing we all hate about networking, but it's one of the most common things I see is that intention. So, instead of going in and doing that, it's going in with the intention of how can I build mutually beneficial relationships? So how can I also be looking out for how I can give? Right? I want to make sure that if I'm in a space that I can also give value to these people here, not just take from them. And I'm not looking necessarily to sell you, right?
Speaker 2:
So if you and I are in a networking meeting and you and I are talking, my brain is not thinking about how can I sell Donna into a program. It's just I'm going to tell her what I do, tell her who I'm looking to get connected to. Maybe I'm looking to get connected to a certain audience or a certain type of event or whatever. Right, if you say to me, sarah, that's me, I need your help with my networking strategy, I'm like cool, that's like a bonus, right, yeah, but I'm going to allow for you to come to me to say that. And when I come to you and I say, donna, here's what I'm looking for, right, Like here's exactly what I'm looking to do, here's the opportunity I'm looking for.
Speaker 2:
You can now say if you're not interested in buying it. You're like, oh, I'm going to introduce you to this person, I'm going to invite you to this event. You need to be in this Facebook group, and now it's a conversation of sharing resources, instead of you feeling like I'm just trying to pitch you, you know. So that is like first and foremost. The second one is going out, going in without a strategy. So not, um, not having prepared, uh, prepared, sorry, prepared before time, going in and just winging it. Like, how many times do you start giving your intro and you kind of black out a little bit because you didn't prepare. So you just start rambling, right, you're like, okay, not sure what I said, but not really having that strategy in place for when you actually show up to a networking meeting, whether it's your intro, your call to action, those kinds of things, but also not strategically following up with people, which goes into that third mistake of not nurturing people the right way, right? Not spending the time to really nurture your power partners before asking them for something or before trying to go in for a big ask or whatever, right? So in your strategy, you have tracking metrics, creating follow-up systems, how you're going to give your intro, what you're going to ask for, like your introduction should be so strategic every time you go to a networking meeting, because if you start laundry listing all your offers, or you list you know five different opportunities that you're looking for, no one's going to remember, right? So if you give these intros that are too broad or maybe it's the same intro every time, it's an intro that just doesn't resonate with that audience. It's an ask that doesn't resonate with that audience. Like, those are all the things I look at, right. And then having the follow-up systems on the back end, tracking your metrics to know exactly which meetings you're going to that are actually producing. Like, when I'm deciding where I'm going to spend time, I need to know that this group is actually giving me an ROI, this group is not. And I look at why, right.
Speaker 2:
And then that nurturing side of things, like really spending time nurturing people I do. I do it with systems. I have systems in place to keep track of people. Right, because I'm not going to manually remember a hundred people and much less more than that. Right. Like, I meet so many new people every month. I'm not just going to remember them by name and remember to go to Instagram and like oh, I'm going to go to Donna's profile and show her some love. I want to, but I also have terrible ADHD, so there's no way that's happening, right? So having these systems in place of ways to track your people, ways to track your data, really helps in laser focusing, so you're not wasting your time.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I think that's something I notice a lot with people, especially in the kind of areas where they're iNetwork is that people kind of have this aversion to making it systematized, like they feel like that's, that's almost leaning onto the scammy sales person, that is like leaning into that thing. What am I trying to get out of it? And I think that's quite a struggle for people to see that it's not about you doing this because you need to get something out of it, but it is about building those relationships and allowing you to do that in a more organic way. But you need those reminders because it is so easy like we're busy, you know nobody's going to remember to go to your profile.
Speaker 2:
Like your stuff right and I think that that's like a really important piece of the mindset behind networking is you can have systems and automation and still be authentic and genuine, like you can still prioritize people, you can still be heart centered, you can still keep people above profit and have systems and automation to keep up with them. There's a way to do both. Where I think a lot of people, like you, said they think of systems and automation to keep up with them. There's a way to do both. Where I think a lot of people, like you, said they think of systems and automation as so cold and it's really not Right.
Speaker 2:
But at the very, here's like a really good little nugget. At the very very least, if you're someone who doesn't want to do systems, just set up an automation that only notifies you. So instead of sending like email notifications to the person or text marketing or chatbots or whatever, you can literally just set up notifications to yourself every six weeks, or you know, one week for the first time and then six weeks and then six months of like, hey, talk to this person, hey, nurture this person, hey, check in with this person, and now you're the only one getting the system notifications.
Speaker 1:
But it's still automated, it's still a system right, yeah, and it's just allowing you to be reminded. It's like having a VA say hey, have you reached out to so-and-so lately Because they were a really good contact. You never know what's going on with them. Find out what's going on Exactly. Really good contact. You never know what's going on with them. Find out what's going on, um, exactly. I love that. That's so good.
Speaker 1:
And I want to tell, tell you a little story, actually, about a lady who does not do this. Well, um, so I got a message on my Facebook last night from somebody who literally was asking for my help. Um, she was like I've got this new thing coming out and I'd really appreciate it if you would share it. And she's reaching out in my dms and I'm like she's she's brave to do that for one, because I'm not one to to do that. I don't tend to ask for help when I need it and that's so I feel like impressed by her that she's done it. But then I also realized that the only time she reaches out to me is when she wants something from me.
Speaker 1:
So when I scroll back to the next message, it was I'm running this challenge Are you going to come along? And I said no, I'm not interested in that challenge at the moment. She said, okay, no worries. But when I went back to the beginning of that bit of conversation, it was a message with hi, how are you doing? I saw that you were doing X and then I responded and she was like, oh great, cool. And then she sent me a oh, I'm doing this challenge, come and join me. And then she sent this one with no preamble. I mean, she said how are you at the beginning of the message? But I'm just like you only message me when you want something. I think I'm going to unfriend you.
Speaker 2:
Right, and that's like. That's the one thing we have to be so careful of. Like, when you don't spend the time nurturing and you're only reaching out to people when you have an ask, and then not only are you reaching out with only an ask, but how you do it is so disingenuine. You are going to be remembered for that. You know what I mean. Like people notice that. Like exactly like the first message you said, where she's like I see you're doing this and she shows this like fake interest in what you're doing for one message, just to then pitch you something that is networking, not done, right, right.
Speaker 2:
Like your people want to feel like you actually care about them and every once in a while, you really just need to send a message that's like oh, I see you're doing this thing, how's it going? Nothing about you, right? There is no follow-up to ask for something, sell something, talk about yourself, ask your people about them, with no hidden agenda. You really should never have a hidden agenda, right? But like, I'm so okay with sending a message like that of like, hey, I have this challenge. Do you mind sharing it? If you and I have a really good relationship, if I know that I've nurtured you the way that I've nurtured you, right, yeah, that, yeah, that is such a good example of please don't do that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and it's true because there are a lot of people in my network that if they sent me something like that, I would 100% just go. Absolutely sure, no worries, I'll share it. In fact, I've got a couple of people that said to each other you know, when you're doing something, just tag me in it so I can share it, because I want to support you but I'm not always seeing your stuff, which is always the way. But that's getting that permission and building that relationship to that point where that's the thing.
Speaker 2:
So yeah, yes, because when you build a relationship with someone, they want to support you, like. They want you to tell them how they can support you, right, they want you to make it as easy as possible with a tag or like send it directly to them or directly ask them. Really well. So it's not the system itself that's not recommended. It's like there just needs to be tweaks to like what her intention is, what her messaging is, what her delivery is, right, like that's the whole thing about what I do is we're not making these like huge, you know business changing changes. It's little little tweaks. So, yes, still send the message, but instead of asking for something, ask them about themselves, right, and it's like just these small little tweaks to what you're already doing, which is what I think makes what I do so powerful, because I don't have to add a bunch of time to people's schedule, right, I don't have to, like, put them through a course, I don't have to add hours of learning. It's like cool, you're already sending the message, you're already in the networking meeting.
Speaker 2:
Like, just make a tiny little tweak and people are not going to be totally turned off by you to where they want to. Like never talk to you ever again. Like, when you see that lady in person, you're going to run the other way, absolutely. You don't want to talk to her, and that's not the reputation we want.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely not, absolutely not Okay. So when you have spoken about networking and when I sort of looked at the stuff that you're doing, you talk about turning your network into your audience, which I think is another thing that you know. One of our big ethoses behind Business Women Unlimited is you know, you do not add people to your email list. Don't do it, it's spammy. It's not what we're about. We're about building connections. So when you talk about turning your network into your audience, what do you mean by that and how can we do it? Because I think a lot of us do network with people that would be an amazing client of ours and we'd love to have them on our email list and become part of our audience, but we don't want to just add them. We don't want to be spammy pammies. We want to make sure that we're doing it in an authentic way. So fill us in.
Speaker 2:
Oh my gosh, I'm definitely keeping spammy pami in the back of my brain because I will be using that. That's brilliant, but that's here's the thing about networking right? Those people are allowed to be your ideal clients. You're allowed to want to work with them. It's all about your approach. Your approach is going to be much more nonchalant. It's going to take a lot more time and it's your job as the business owner to show your, your referral partners, your value and to be having a really strong marketing strategy so that when they follow you on Instagram, they see exactly what you do.
Speaker 2:
You have a really strong presence. They, you know you provide a lot of value. Testimonials, whatever. It is right. Allow for them to see that content on their own and make their own decisions. Right. If you put out into the world that you have a free masterclass, that that's your opt-in and that's your way to get people on your email list, talk about it. You're going to talk about it when you show up to networking meetings. You're going to talk about it on your social media. Allow for them to make that decision. Give that autonomy to your referral partners. It's okay to say that they're an ideal client, but you're not forcing it on them, right? And I think a lot of people want to skip that piece where they don't want to provide that value. They don't want to have that marketing strategy. They just want to meet you, get your email and a networking meeting and then just add you to something because it's quicker and because it's easier, right?
Speaker 2:
So when you have, so, when you go into a networking meeting, whether it's in-person or virtual you're growing your audience online, right On social media. You're sending them somewhere to connect with them. That's building your audience right there. Then you have these strategic ways to ask your network for help. That also builds your audience. So can they share to a Facebook group? Can they tag someone on a post? Even if your networking partner just goes and puts a comment on one of your Instagram posts, it still boosts your algorithm. It still boosts you out to other people. It gets other people commenting. Now you're growing your audience, right? They can invite you to other events. Other events allow you to grow your audience. Right, they can invite you to other events. Other events allow you to grow your audience.
Speaker 2:
So you have to look at that bigger picture of how can this person get me in front of new people? And we want to have really easy ways to do that. You don't have to have me on your podcast just to help me grow my audience. You don't have to give me a speaking opportunity just for me to meet new people, because that's a big ask and chances are, if someone has a podcast or if they have a group where they have speakers, they're getting pitched that a lot. They have a lot of people who want to speak on their podcast and speak on their stage, whether it's virtual or in person. Come up with something different, right.
Speaker 2:
It's almost like sometimes I see in networking groups there's a lot of people who want to be on podcasts, which is great. Obviously, I love being on podcasts, but I noticed that the podcast hosts will kind of shy away from talking about their podcast because it's like the anticipation of the pitch. You hear all these people saying put me on your podcast, put me on your podcast, put me on your podcast. And you're like I'm just going to not mention that I have a podcast because I don't want to be bombarded. That's not what we want, right? So that's how I look at growing audiences and then just being really strategic in my overall marketing to make sure that I'm constantly talking about my offers, constantly talking about what I do publicly, to then allow for them to make that decision on their own.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I love that and I love the way you kind of talk. You know, one of the things that I've always taken away from my networking is it's not the person in front of you, it's who they know, and so I think, when you look at it like that that you want to access their network, it's not about selling to them, it's about building a relationship with them where they like you enough to share you with their audience, and that's when it opens up. So I love that kind of it's. It's much more subtle. It's not a direct ask, it's not like give me access to your audience. It's like this post that I know I really want to. You know, boost it up in the algorithm. Could you like that post?
Speaker 1:
and it's on um, like LinkedIn, for example. Really good platform for this, because the number of times I get notification that somebody has liked something and I'm like, connected to the person that's made the comment, not the original poster, so I go over and I look and yes, new person connect yes, it, it works.
Speaker 2:
Yes, yeah, even like social like on LinkedIn, dropping a recommendation or doing social proof or testimonials, that also helps grow your audience. Figure out these ways to leverage these connections that you're making, and there's such easy ways to do it where, like, if you ask someone to comment on your Instagram posts, that is not a big ask, that is something super easy that, like I don't need to have a super good relationship with you to go drop a comment on your post.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
You know, and that's where I think people get messed. That's where people get messed up is they go in with such a big ass like hey, introduce me to your clients, hey, have me on your podcast, hey, buy from me. Those are big asks. Even just asking for an introduction to a potential client is a big ask. If you don't have that no like trust factor with that referral partner yet, it's probably not going to happen.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
But if you say, you know, maybe after a couple of times of meeting someone, if you say, hey, let's do a um, a podcast swap or a blog swap or a newsletter swap, right, so now we're sharing each other's stuff. How easy is that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Right, people eat that up, they love that stuff. So go in with that kind of collaborative, like bigger picture thinking. It's such a more effective way to grow an audience for networking.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I love that, I love that Brilliant. So we're convinced, we're convinced we're going to build our audience with our network. We're not going to make those mistakes, mistakes, we're going to do it much better. But you know, it's all a time thing. So how can we simplify the process of getting the best out of networking so that we're not literally spending all of our business time? Because I feel like it could, literally, from one networking meeting, potentially, you know, 10 to 15 new connections that could, you could spend a whole week doing the work that you need to do Literally, and this is why this is why I say that networking is one of the most time consuming lead generators.
Speaker 2:
Right, we all know it's time consuming, but in order to make sure that you're not wasting your time or you're just spending endless hours in meetings or coffee chats or you know whatever, you start with having that strategy that we talked about in the beginning, right, so you're really really clear on, like, who am I looking to get connected to? Where do I want to be hanging out? Who do I want to be talking to? All these things you get yourself in the right rooms, you give really strategic introductions in the right rooms, you give really strategic introductions, really strategic asks, and then, from each group meeting, my goal is to always schedule at least one coffee chat. But I'm very, very strategic about who I do coffee chat with. My coffee chat schedule is not open, right, like we don't want to just pack out our schedule with people just because they asked to have a coffee chat. So, having pre-qualification processes in place, having a structure and setting boundaries around coffee chats, like being really, really intentional, and it's something that seems kind of obvious, but we don't really sit down and think about it until someone prompts us to right, like how many coffee chats do you want to do in a week? How long is the first one going to be? Who are you going to do coffee chats with, versus none? Where are you going to leave time for people to do a second coffee chat? There's all these things to consider when it comes to coffee chats, because those are really the powerful one-on-one time. That's where we talk about referrals, that's where we talk about collab ideas, but they're also the most time consuming. That's where we can get really bogged down in our schedules. And then, on the back end of that, having the follow-up systems in place right allows for you to laser focus on your people, figure out who your people actually are and who they're not, but then taking the time to track those metrics so that you can make data-based decisions when you're deciding where to spend your time, where to go right.
Speaker 2:
If I'm really busy this month, I'm going to go to my core networking groups where I already have existing relationships. My first goal is always to nurture my existing people. Then I look at strategically adding in new audiences when I have the capacity to do so. If I don't have the capacity to even nurture the people that I already know. Why am I trying to add in new people? Yeah Right, like you should not be adding in all these new people. A lot of us want to go in and we just want to meet as many new people as possible, but if you're not even nurturing your people yet, you have no business adding in new people. So that's the kind of stuff you look at of like where, when, who, you know how you're doing the follow ups, and that's going to help you really laser focus your efforts into what's actually working, and then you can make those database decisions when things need to change, whether they're being added or subtracted or replaced.
Speaker 2:
Because a lot of times when we go, when we don't track those metrics, what happens is we don't really keep track right.
Speaker 2:
So networking is such a long game that this person here might lead you to a huge client, but it's like this roundabout way that it gets there. It might have taken six months and six different connections, but it all rooted back to this one person over here and when we don't keep track of that really roundabout, long-term, windy road that got us there, I've actually had people come to me and they're like Sarah, I have to leave this group. It's not working for me and I'm like, because I also host events, and I'm like, okay, well, I know for a fact that I have passed you at least $5,000 worth of business. You're not tracking that. So in your brain you feel like you're not getting anything out of it because you're not tracking those metrics. So now you're leaving a group. That's actually getting to me, in my opinion, right. If one connection is sending you $5,000 worth of business, that's a that's a pretty good start to you know, start to a group. It's just important to know that data right, so that you're not wasting, wasting time.
Speaker 1:
Yeah yeah, I'm a data girl as well, so I I love a good spreadsheet and, like I say, I've recently done a launch, so for me like doing a launch debrief and looking at that. That is what led me me to go. Where have most of my clients come from?
Speaker 1:
so what have I failed to do this time round. That's led to not getting as many clients in as I wanted to, and it's been a, you know, eye-opening actually to look at it and actually track those clients back to their original source, and it's been networking and, yeah, only a couple of my clients haven't come from that. So it's amazing to to be able to track that information and you can get really bummed out with tracking so much stuff. But you know, these numbers are really important to to doing that because literally, yeah, like you say five thousand dollars and they're like, oh, this isn't working for me. Well, that'd be working for me, I'd be okay, I'll be good with that I'll come to that meeting, right?
Speaker 2:
I'm like wait a minute. And they came from me, those referrals came from me. I was like wait a minute. That doesn't. That doesn't seem right you know.
Speaker 2:
I think that when it comes to data, it doesn't have to be super in-depth I'm actually not a data person, but I have to be, as business owners we have to be but just keep track of one little piece of data to start. Or even if you just look at how much has your email list grown over the last 60 days, Just that one number. How much has your email list grown? Or how much has your social media following grown? Or how many more listeners are on your podcast? If that was your goal when you went into networking, if you spend a whole month networking and your ask is always related to something that gets more eyes on your podcast right, Different levels, different types of asks, but it's always about getting more listeners on your podcast Then that's the piece of data you should be tracking.
Speaker 1:
That's a good point. Yeah, love that, love that. And I, just as you were saying that, I was like, ooh, I need to be utilizing my CRM a little bit better.
Speaker 1:
I love using my CRM to track these things yeah yeah, really good, really good point. Okay, awesome. Well, that has been an awesome little insight into how we can better utilize our networking, which I think is so, so important, because I think oftentimes we go into networking, we're looking at making business friends. You know, business can be very lonely when you work for yourself, so we're looking to make those friends and those connections can be very lonely when you work for yourself. So we're looking to make those friends and those connections and we forget that the whole point of networking is to actually grow our businesses, not just make mates.
Speaker 2:
Really important part of it.
Speaker 1:
And it can get lost along the way. So I really appreciate your input on that. Now I believe that you have got a fabulous checklist that we can use. Tell us about this checklist.
Speaker 2:
I do. I do. It's like the greatest thing ever because it's short, okay, it doesn't take a lot of time. I'm your ADHD friend, I'm not adding a bunch of stuff, but basically it's a checklist that allows for you to do a self audit of where in your networking strategy you can focus first. Because when I talk about networking strategy it's a lot like there's a lot of nuanced pieces of it and it can seem very overwhelming. You don't have to change everything at once. So the checklist is 10 things.
Speaker 2:
That walks you through like 10 really important parts of networking strategy and allows for you to figure out how exactly can you make your networking more profitable, because it's not a one size fits all answer. It's not just like oh, improve your intro, because your intro might be really really good, right? So if your intro is really really solid, then move on to the next thing. So it really just helps you identify exactly where you can make improvements in your networking strategy and really get you thinking about the strategy of your, of your networking efforts, right?
Speaker 2:
No one really talks about networking strategy the way that I do. It's like. It's not this, like, like I said before, we're not reinventing a wheel. It's not this like groundbreaking information, but we don't think about it without being prompted to think about it and just like making these tiny little tweaks and having outside um outside opinions on like how is my messaging, how is my delivery, how are, how are my systems right? You might think that your intro is really, really solid, but if it's not resonating with your referral partners, it doesn't mean a thing.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely, absolutely Brilliant. So I will have that checklist linked below for you. And where can people find you out there on the internet, sarah?
Speaker 2:
I'm really easy to find on Instagram at Sarah Gemmel, and from Instagram you can connect with me pretty much anywhere. I'm like always on Instagram. I also have a free Facebook group where we post a lot of different networking events and we're facilitating a lot of different connections through posts and live meetings on Zoom and all these things. So there's a Facebook group where we spend a lot of time and I can give you the link for that too, but it's called activate. So between our Facebook group and Instagram, that's usually where I spend most of my time.
Speaker 1:
Brilliant. I'll make sure to link those in the show notes as well. Thank you so much. So I have a little quick round I do with my guests just to sort of get to know you on a personal level a little bit more, which is always fun. So if you're up for that, I've got a few questions. I love it. I'm actually going to add an extra one because I forgot to update my template, so I'll throw I'll throw the curve ball in to start you with Okay, what is your favorite podcast that you enjoy listening to?
Speaker 2:
oh, my favorite podcast I enjoy listening to. There's one by um Joanne Balt, um, who's a good friend of mine. It's called the b word, um. That's a favorite right now. Um. What's the other one? The? Um? Oh my gosh, I forget the name of it, but Amyu. Amy Trau has a really good one too. When I listen to podcasts, I love like professional development podcasts.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, love that Brilliant and, on the professional development side of things, potentially a professional development book coming up. So what is the favorite book that has made the most impact on your life thus far?
Speaker 2:
Oh my gosh, you know a book I absolutely love, and it's something that there's two that I really, really love, but the one that is like the timeless favorite is you Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. I've read that book twice and I think I'll probably read it a third time. I don't know why I I don't know why I love it so much. I mean, I do know why, but like it's just such a good book. The other one is Get Rich, lucky Bitch, and that's, it's all about man. Have you heard of that one?
Speaker 1:
Yes, yeah, I'm listening to her current new book. She Chill and Prosper right now. Denise Duffield.
Speaker 2:
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay, I think she's like she might be UK based, isn't she? No, she's Australian.
Speaker 1:
I think she's like she might be UK based, isn't she? No, she's.
Speaker 2:
Australian, australian. Okay, I was going to say I knew she wasn't US based, but I randomly found her book like on Instagram, like an Instagram story, like so random. Love that book, yeah, love it. It's so good.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's one of her first ones, but Chill and Prosper is her current new book, and I'm enjoying that one just as much, so definitely one to put on your list.
Speaker 2:
I'm going to have to add it. Yeah, add it on, add it on.
Speaker 1:
Brilliant.
Speaker 2:
What's your go-to snack when you're in a hurry? Oh, my gosh Go-to snack. I love carbs.
Speaker 1:
I love carbs, so usually like a granola bar.
Speaker 2:
Yes, a granola bar. Yes, a granola bar. You know what I really love Apples and peanut butter, and I can do that on the go.
Speaker 1:
Do you know what? I love it when a guest says anything to do with peanut butter, because peanut butter is my favorite thing, favorite, favorite thing. So yeah, I'm with you. Apples and peanut butter go great together. Love it. I actually have apples and banana on my rice cakes.
Speaker 2:
That's my go-to lunch, so, oh yeah, okay, so good so have you tried peanut butter on your banana?
Speaker 1:
not just on the banana, but I slice the banana up on top of the peanut butter on the rice cakes and that is perfect okay, yeah, I was gonna say try it on like I eat a banana.
Speaker 2:
Just smear some peanut butter on, eat the banana regular yeah brilliant.
Speaker 1:
I love it. And finally, what is your ultimate me time thing to do if you get um? Definitely my horses quite busy, yeah me time is relevant.
Speaker 2:
It's funny because me time is like more work, but like my horses are a different kind of work. Yeah, um, where like it doesn't feel like it right, so I love being with my horses um, I'm still riding.
Speaker 2:
I'm still riding for another like month or so. Um, and the other thing I love to do, I love to be, like, outside in the summer. I find different waterfalls and I'll go to the different waterfalls. I love to just swim, like be in the water, whether it's a lake or the waterfall or the pool. So I try to get outside as much as possible when the weather is nice.
Speaker 1:
I love that. I love that. And there is something about horses. I have a network connection who actually works with horses and works with people with horses, and they're just such amazing, majestic creatures, so I can totally understand why, that would be a brilliant use of me time and I'm a water girl, so anything with water put me there.
Speaker 1:
I'm not so much in. I don't mind swimming in a pool, but I had a bit of a thing with the sea um the last time I got in it to swim. So a little bit, I'm all right if I can walk into it, but I ended up going down a slide into the sea and it was the first time I've been in this thing for like years and I was just like not ready for currents no, not at all.
Speaker 2:
That's a totally different beast, yeah, so like at least in a waterfall. You know where the water is going. You know, like that's what I like yeah, absolutely, absolutely, love that.
Speaker 1:
Well, thank you so much for your time today, sarah. It's been a fantastic conversation. I will leave all Sarah's links in the show notes for you guys. Please head over and connect with her and we will see you in the next one. Bye for now, thank you.
