BNI networking old habits die hard

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

Have you ever entered a room on your own where you know absolutely no one, and they all seem to know each other? I used to do this on a regular basis during my networking days when I started Gosh Golly in 2007. I was taken right back this week when I attended a coffee morning for parents at my son’s new pre-school! There were small groups of people everywhere, all happily chatting away, all stood in circles, making approaching them very intimidating. I felt the only way I could enter a group would be to squeeze in sideways and push my shoulders up square... so perhaps not the best option! My old networking habits kicked in and I was on the lookout for anyone like myself entering the room on their own so I could make them feel welcome, but this did not happen, I was the only person on their own! Networking was the best thing I did when I started working for myself, and especially with the BNI I made some great ongoing clients and suppliers and just as importantly I received fantastic support and advice on networking and business skills: not to stand in a triangle so as you do not have your back to anyone, make sure you ‘work the room’ and chat to new people, make newcomers feel welcome so they will want to come along again, introduce people and generally help make connections. Clearly I was the only person in that room who had been a BNI member! I ended up talking to the organiser and the two mums pouring tea, so at least I did manage to make some conversation. One of them eventually offered to introduce me to other mums (in her defence it was early in the morning!) so it didn’t turn out too bad in the end, and I’m glad I went against my burning instinct to run out of the room!