$8,000 contract from a networking referral
Business networker: Bridget Holland
NoBull MarketingI’m Bridget Holland. I run NoBull Marketing. We offer content marketing, copywriting and specialist blogging services.
We’re different from many of our competition because we have a huge focus on original content in your tone of voice. Every – pretty much all the content we do, we start by interviewing you on Zoom. We record all that. That means that we can capture your words. It also means we can dig down into your stories and your experiences.
You don’t get some kind of generic vanilla. You get you, you get storytelling. We’d love to talk to you about what we can do to help get your message out there and get you heard with a whole set of words that work harder for your business.
Why I value business networking
How does business networking help me and my business? Well, first of all, I’m a very small business and just going out and networking with other people rather than being stuck in this lovely home office, helps me to feel validated as a real business person and gives me confidence and gives me connection. And that’s fantastic.
Above that it gives me clients – not necessarily the people I’m talking to, but people they talk to.
One of my tips and tricks?
I think a great recent story is that somebody whose services I actually used probably four years ago now recently referred me to another of her clients. And, you know, I have an $8000 original piece of work out of that, and then I have more opportunities that came last week that roll out from that. It’s not about going out and selling.
It’s about going out and connecting. And the more you help people to find the people that they need, the more in return, they will refer people to you when you’re what those customers need. It also just makes the sale so much easier when you come referred and warm recommended.
There’s less suspicion, more trust.
It’s just much easier to kick off a project
My networking groups
So I belong to a number of different business networks, and I think that’s important because then they cross fertilise each other, which gives you much more value.
I’ve been a member of BNI. I’ve just started in my fifth year in BNI. I find that really good because it’s accountable, regular and keeps me going. I also belong to a couple of the local business chambers. They are a slower burn and more social, but they’re really warm and supportive. And I belong to a couple of alumni associations, bigger companies rather than the small business networking. So they’re good in that sort of a way.
And I run occasional women business owners lunches because I think there are things that small business owner – women who own small businesses – have a set of challenges that they that are different from men who own small businesses. Not better or worse, just different, and once in a while it’s good to connect with those people.
