So before we begin, I’d like to talk really briefly about why it’s worth it to try networking as an introvert.
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Hi there. My name is Michelle Grasek. I am a practicing acupuncturist and the host of the Acupuncture Marketing School podcast, as well as the lead instructor for acupuncture marketing school, the online class. And today I am looking forward to sharing with you some really helpful, practical tips to make networking more.
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Comfortable and effective for introverts. And before we dive in, I’d like to thank the American Acupuncture Council for the opportunity to be here with you today. All right, let’s get into the slides. I.
So before we begin, I’d like to talk really briefly about why it’s worth it to try networking as an introvert. I have found over the years, I’ve been teaching marketing in our industry for about 11 years, and I found that. Most acupuncturists are introverts, at least the ones that come into my orbit, which is maybe not surprising because I am also an introvert.
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So I’m speaking from personal experience as well as what I’ve been sharing with my marketing students and clients over the past more than a decade. And most introverts will say, why? I don’t want to do that. Why would you suggest networking? So first of all, if you, if you’re watching this, you’ll probably have some level of interest in trying networking, but I always tell people to think about your marketing, like an experiment, try new things.
You might be surprised about what’s a good fit for you and what’s effective in your community. And if you try something and it doesn’t work for you, that’s okay. You don’t have to do it anymore. Commit to other ways of getting visible in your community. But the reason I always recommend that introverts at least try networking is that, especially using these tips I’m going to share with you to make it more comfortable.
Networking is an incredibly effective way to build trust in your community. And really, marketing for acupuncture is about building trust. It’s about helping people understand that acupuncture can help their symptoms and trust. Trust you to put needles in them, trust in making a financial investment feel safe, sharing their personal health information with you their story, their background, et cetera.
So we need to build a lot of trust in our marketing as acupuncturists and any sort of in-person interaction builds trust very quickly. And I think we, we really can’t, we really have to acknowledge how significant a referral is from someone who knows you, right? That’s a very trust building type of marketing, a personal referral, and that’s our goal with networking, is building relationships so that people get to know us so that they feel comfortable referring people to us and also so that we are top of mind.
If they’re speaking to someone about acupuncture or maybe our specialty or something we’ve discussed, so they can say, oh wait, I know an acupuncture from my networking group. Okay. So that’s why I think it’s worth it for introverts to try networking because it really is very effective because one-on-one conversations and getting to know people in person, that’s what builds a strong referral network.
Okay, out of all of these seven tips I have saved my personal favorite for last, the one that I think can make the biggest difference in how comfortable you are with networking. But I hope that all of these are really useful for you. So let’s dive in. The first tip is to always bring a friend with you.
If you are an introvert, going to a networking meeting, there’s absolutely no reason that you should torture yourself by trying to go alone. Most of my. Introvert marketing students and clients have told me that they’ll say they’re gonna go to a networking, they’ll make the commitment and then it will approach and they’ll feel pretty nervous and bail at the last second.
So bringing a friend. It has two purposes. One is there’s accountability because if you’re meeting someone there or if you’re gonna drive together, this person is expecting you to show up, right? So it makes people much more likely to show up and go to the event. And of course, bringing a friend or an acquaintance gives you.
Kind of a fallback so that you know at any point during that networking event, there’s always someone that you can talk to that you can find or turn to. So you’re never just standing there alone awkwardly with a drink. ’cause that’s the thing people tell me they’re afraid of the most, is walking into this big space filled with strangers and a lot of people, and having to stand there by themselves until someone approaches them and introduces themself.
Or having to get up the gumption to approach a group of people who already seem like they know each other. It can feel a little cliquey. It’s really hard to just walk up to them and introduce yourself alone, right? So bringing a friend helps soften all of these things and gives you accountability and also helps you have someone to talk to in case maybe you’re having a nice discussion with someone you just met and they see someone else they know and they have to go.
You can always turn and chat with your friend. Now, I would say the one thing you wanna be careful of if you bring a friend is do not only speak to each other. That is also very common, right? So you have to make a pact, make a commitment beforehand that you are going to try to meet other people and you’re not just gonna stand in a corner and only talk to each other.
Okay. Bring an extrovert friend if you can, because obviously they are going to be a little more comfortable in the situation and probably get you introduced to more people. And lastly, when I say bring a friend, it doesn’t, it could be just like a. Personal friend most networking events, you can bring a plus one, but it could also be your receptionist or it could be a fellow business owner.
Okay? So just someone that you’re already familiar with makes a huge difference. So tip number two is a big mindset shift that matters a lot. It helps a lot. Often people tell me they don’t wanna do networking because it feels pushy and salesy and they’re just expected to hand out business cards to as many people as possible and try to get someone on their calendar.
And if they don’t schedule a new patient, they feel like it was a waste of time. So this is way too high pressure, I think. It’s much more useful to think about networking as a long-term game in which you are becoming a member of this community. If it’s the Chamber of Commerce or BNI or Toastmasters, whatever it is, your goal is to build relationships, which is building trust so that people get to know you well enough that they wanna refer people to you and that you’re top of mind.
And. I think that approaching it from this perspective takes a lot of pressure off because you get to be yourself. You’ll probably make some. Fellow business owner friends, and you can also think about how can I be a resource for other people in this community? How can I get to know them and understand like what are the things that they might need help with?
Who can I refer them to? I just had my roof done and then I hear so and so is talking about getting their roof done. I have someone who did a great job for me, and I can share that, right? So think about this as. Taking time to become part of a community where you can be a resource and other people can be a resource for you.
You can support each other and refer to each other. Okay. But it doesn’t have to be the kind of thing where you’re just throwing your business cards out at everybody who walks by and you’re trying really hard to convince people to get on your calendar. I will say, if you are speaking to someone and they seem really interested in acupuncture.
Do ask if they wanna get on your schedule and pull up your app on your phone and say, oh, I could put you in right now if you’d like. Don’t miss that opportunity. I’m just saying that, if you go to a networking meeting and you feel like I didn’t get a new patient from this event, that is normal.
That’s not really how we are thinking about the purpose of this exercise. Okay. Which also brings to mind that, relationship and trust building. Takes not only time, but repetition. So it is very important to try to go to these events regularly, right? If there’s a monthly meeting, trying to go to most of them is really helpful for building relationships.
You become a familiar face. Tip number three is I think it can be very fun. You can host your own event. Now, most introverts prefer to be in control of the environment, we’ll say. So let’s say that really big noisy meetings with a ton of strangers. Are just not your cup of tea, but you still wanna get to know some people in your community.
You could, for example, host a networking event in your office for fellow wellness providers. You could invite, I don’t know, four to 10 very specific people. You could keep it brief, maybe 45 minutes. And this works for a lot of people because you’re in control of the location. The duration, the number of people and the specific guests.
And that helps a lot of people just enjoy the event more and feel like it’s not so overwhelming. I. I also think it’s really a great idea to host this kind of event in your office because then people can see what your space is like. It’s gonna bring up questions about acupuncture for them, and it helps build trust because now they can picture themselves being comfortable in your office space, and they can easily extrapolate that to getting a treatment or referring someone to get a treatment there.
So again, ideally if you’re gonna host your own networking event, you’d want it to be repeated so that you can build relationships with these specific people that you’re inviting. I know some wellness people who do this, and it’s a book club. So they invite, like the wellness business owners, the wellness entrepreneurs in the area, and everybody reads like a wellness oriented book.
And then they discuss and then. It’s very casual. It evolves into other conversations between people. Okay. So think about how you might make this event something you’d actually enjoy going to. Most of my introvert friends and colleagues really like reading, so that could be a nice way to make this something that you actually look forward to.
Tip number four is to practice some conversation starters before you get to a networking event. And I, this is one of those tips that is actually so helpful and effective, but it’s so basic that people don’t do it. They’re like yeah, that’s not gonna help me. It will really help, especially if you’re an introvert and especially if you practice your sentences out loud.
And again, I know it sounds lame, just give it a try. I before your next event come up with a couple questions that you can ask. We’ll say just two questions to have in your back pocket that you can ask new people. Say, if you are standing next to the buffet. Or if you are maybe you’re already eating and you’re standing in a corner and there’s a group near you and you wanna get an in with them, come up with two questions that you can start a conversation with.
And these are so basic, they just need to be open-ended. So no yes or no questions and focus on the context that you share with this person. So if you are just meeting them, probably the only thing that you know that you share is the event, the location. The food, if it’s a charity fundraiser, then you’re both here for that reason.
So you share that. But you could start a conversation simply by making eye contact with someone and then just saying I see you got the shrimp. Do you recommend it? So basic, right? You can also think about, let me back up. I would have two of those types of questions, right? If it’s a charity event, your other icebreaker question could be, why do you support the Boys and Girls Club of America?
Or something like that. But practicing those questions out loud and mentally preparing to have them helps you actually say them out loud when the moment comes. ’cause I know that a lot of introverts. It’s, they have a hard time being the first person to speak, okay. Which is necessary for meeting new people at these events.
Okay, so pick two super basic icebreakers about something that you have in common with this other person, and then just go for it. Okay? The other thing is that. People love to talk about themselves. So an icebreaker question that I like to use, and this maybe isn’t an icebreaker because it’s not like the first question, but when I’ve been introduced to someone new I like to ask about their history in their career and also.
What is their favorite part of their job? So for example how did you get into real estate or what inspired you to become a chiropractor, or what’s your favorite part about being a massage therapist? People like to talk about themselves. These are open-ended questions and they help. They’re memorable questions because it’s not every day that a stranger says to you, what’s your favorite part about your job?
It really requires them to think and hopefully they like their job and they’re gonna feel enthusiastic and passionate as they’re answering you, and they are going to remember you. This is a memorable question, and again, our goal is partly to stay top of mind. We want to be memorable. Okay, so again, I know these are basic.
Give it a try. Tip number five is to try speed networking. So hear me out. I always think this is a little funny, but can actually be an enjoyable experience even if you are an introvert. It’s just like speed dating, but it’s just to meet new business owners locally. Or professionals locally. So you spend three or four minutes with someone, you exchange business cards and then a bell rings and you move to the next station.
So just like speed dating, but for professionals. And the beauty of this for introverts is that it is structured so you don’t have to walk into a big room and try to introduce yourself to strangers. You know that you’re gonna sit in this spot. And then other person’s gonna sit with you, you get to talk, the bell rings and you move on, right?
There’s no awkward standing around or introductions. And because it’s fast paced, there is no time for awkward silences. So the downside of this, of course, is if we’re trying to do relationship building, this is quick and superficial for that to happen. So what I recommend is when you are done with the event, if you met 15 people.
Pick the ones who you are really interested in getting to know, or you think you could be supportive of each other. You wanna build a relationship with them and send them an email, ask, do they wanna collaborate or could you buy them a coffee? Okay. And then that really can get the ball rolling to build that connection.
Okay? So tip number six is to ask. Anybody that you know at the event for an introduction. So people love to, be connectors and introduce us to other people that they think will genuinely enjoy. It’s like it gives them an endorphin hit to be helpful in that way. So let’s say you go with your receptionist, they’re the friend that you bring to the event and you say to them, do you know anybody here?
And they’re like actually I know one person. They’re standing over there oh, could you introduce me to them? And usually that one introduction has this ripple effect where, you’re gonna talk to that person in a group, you’re gonna meet other people, and then you’ll be carried along that wave for the rest of the meeting, whether it’s like an hour or 90 minutes.
So just one introduction can really help start that process. And let’s say that you get there and you don’t know anybody right away, but you manage to introduce yourself to one person. Even if you just met this person, you can say, Hey, thank you so much. It’s been so nice to get to know you before you, go mingle.
Would you introduce me to someone that you think would be interesting or can you just introduce me to one person? And they trust me, they’ll be happy to do this. Okay. They’re never gonna say no watch and see how their eyes light up and they’ll be like, oh yeah, I’d love to. Okay. So the last tip, and one that I find incredibly helpful is to get to know the people who are hosting the networking event.
So this is assuming that you are going to regular events. For example, the. Monthly Chamber of Commerce small business mixer event, whatever they call it. I’ll share a personal story with you. Since I’m an introvert as well. I have always felt very uncomfortable going to networking events by myself and walking in the door and just being confronted with these groups of people who know each other very well, and they’re.
Standing together, it feels very cliquey and I just stand there awkwardly with my drink. So it occurred to me that maybe it would be helpful to get to know the employees at the Chamber of Commerce. So what I started doing was when they were hosting fundraisers, I volunteered with them a couple of times and just through volunteering, I think three times.
I became such a familiar face to them and they’re, they’re so appreciative when you’re volunteering to help them at a fundraiser that whenever I go to a networking meeting now, I always am greeted by them like an old friend. And. It makes it that there’s always somebody at the networking event that I know I can speak to.
’cause there’s five employees at the Chamber of Commerce. So even if they’re not all there that day, I know at least one of them will be there running the thing. And I can approach them and I can say hello. We can have a nice chat. And I usually ask them. While we’re here, can you introduce me to someone new today?
Which they love doing ’cause that’s literally their job. But I found that getting to know them through volunteering with them was really helpful because, I walk into a Chamber of Commerce meeting now and they’re like, oh, hi, how are you? And that has really expanded with each person they’ve introduced me to.
Okay. They, and it’s I’m a regular. You know what I mean? That makes the pressure to go by myself so low because I know when I get there, there’s gonna be people who are basically my friends now. Okay, so don’t underestimate this tactic. I guarantee if you message the Chamber of Commerce and ask if you can volunteer with them a little bit, they’re going to say yes and be so grateful and always happy to see you.
Okay, so I hope this was helpful. Just keep in mind that networking is a long-term game and you are there to build trust, build relationships, make business friends, become part of a referral community that is genuinely supportive. And I think this will make the experience more enjoyable, less stressful, and overall more effective.
Okay. So as always, if you have questions, I would love to chat with you. My email is michelle@michelleGrasek.com and I really hope you’ll listen to the podcast, acupuncture Marketing School. And before I go today, I would like to thank the American Acupuncture Council, one more time for the opportunity to be here with you today.
Have a great day.