How many business cards have you collected at networking events that you’ve never done anything with?

And if we take that a step further, how many networking events have you gone to that have felt completely transactional?

You don’t learn anything new, the connections you make don’t go anywhere, and it all feels like a big old waste of your energy.

I know this might seem confusing and perhaps a little counterintuitive (especially coming from an avid networker myself). I want to challenge the traditional notion that networking events are necessary for business success.

Quality over Quantity

Traditional networking events often push quantity over quality. The pressure to collect a stack of business cards creates shallow connections. It becomes an exercise of how many people you can meet for fear of not getting to that one person who could be instrumental to your business.

Building a Strong Inner Circle

Instead, I want to focus on building a strong inner circle, a tight-knit group of 4 ideal people. This might sound small, but it's incredibly powerful. Here's why:

• Time Investment: A smaller network frees up time and energy for deeper connections.
• Meaningful Relationships: Focus on quality over quantity. Invest in cultivating authentic relationships with those who truly matter.
• Be Yourself: With a smaller network, you can be your true, authentic self.

The Magic Four

So, who should be in your inner circle? Here are the four key players:

• The Teacher: This person stretches your thinking and helps you build your competitive edge.
• The Promoter: Your biggest cheerleader, pushing you towards your goals and believing in you more than you believe in yourself.
• The Pit Crew: Your unwavering support system, keeping you grounded and present.
• The Butt Kicker: Holds you accountable and keeps you focused on achieving your goals.

Building Genuine Connections

Here are my top 3 tips for building a quality network:

• The “Thank You For” Approach: When reaching out to someone after an event, use the "thank you for" approach. Highlight something specific you appreciated about their work.
• Be the Little Fish: Step outside your comfort zone! Seek out opportunities where you're the "small fish" again, surrounded by people who can push you to grow.
• Conscious Connections: Audit your network and see where the gaps are. Start connecting with people you want to be part of your life's next chapter.

Remember, quality over quantity! A strong inner circle is the key to building a powerful network that fuels your business growth.

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As a leader, how many times have you found yourself overwhelmed, spinning in circles and unsure of the right direction to take?

In a world that pushes us to succeed, get ahead and do more, it can become impossible at times to see the forest for the trees. We become so engrossed with the details of the individual tasks at hand or the problems we’re trying to solve that we lose sight of the overall purpose of the venture.

It’s in these moments we need to step back and assess what aspects we might be overlooking in order to gain clarity on the bigger picture. Today, I’m sharing with you four key questions you can ask yourself to elevate your leadership and gain critical insights on the overall health of your business:

1. What am I not paying attention to right now?

2. What could really be going on here?

3. What are the people around me really worrying about?

4. What are people not saying that needs to be said?

We’ll explore each of these questions and the powerful impact they can have on your perspective in business.

I encourage you to give it a go this week - ask yourself these crucial questions so that you can better understand yourself, your business and those you work with. And remember, embracing moments of stillness and introspection can foster clarity, innovation and a stronger connection with your business vision.

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Do you struggle with being unnoticed or playing small in life? Do you feel like the world’s best-kept secret? Is the key to your success always just out of reach?

If so, you're not alone. Many of us resonate with these feelings, but you can overcome them by harnessing your unique genius. Not sure where to start? Don’t worry! I sat down with Sandy Halpin, a seasoned consultant whose career spans over three decades across various industries, to discuss the importance of embracing your true self and leveraging your strengths to pave the way for a successful future.

There is an all-too-common tendency for people to try to emulate others instead of embracing their true selves. We can break out of this trap through purposeful self-reflection that helps us recognise our unique strengths. By daring to be different and celebrating what sets you apart, you open doors to new opportunities and growth that align with your core values. But remember, talent alone is not enough. Sandy draws parallels to the world of sports, where deliberate practice and development are also key.

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Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

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Connect with Janine:

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Mentioned in this episode:

Take our 5-minute Focus Finder Assessment

Focus Finder Assessment

Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

These days, getting sales proposals over the line is tough. We find ourselves bending over backwards to impress our potential clients, only to see a significant lag in their decision-making. Worse, though - they’ve started ghosting us entirely.

Due to the ever-changing world of business we find ourselves in, those wonderful sales meetings we know all too well now require a different approach.

Today, we’re exploring three key strategies that will help you convert your audience into clients and get them the results that have them coming back for more:

1. Delivering Value: Identifying the Magic Pill

What are the challenges you’re hearing about from your potential clients? I talk about really tuning in and listening to their struggles, so you can find the "magic pill" – a simple, actionable strategy that can provide immediate value.

2. Achieving Results: The Power of Immediate Action

Our potential clients are cautious right now, and they’re questioning whether we can deliver the results they desire. Rather than just telling them what we can offer, we need to showcase our ability to achieve quick wins. I take you through examples of simple, effective actions that your clients can take to see immediate benefits.

3. Building Confidence: Empowering Potential Clients

The third challenge potential clients face is questioning their own confidence in making decisions. To overcome this, it’s crucial to provide them with the tools and support they need to feel empowered. By giving them a sense of possibility and instilling confidence in their abilities, you can help them overcome their doubts and move forward with their decision-making process.

I encourage you to have a think: what magic pills do you have in your business that you could get curious about and implement in your sales process? I bet you’re sitting on even more gems than you think!

LINKS:

Connect with Janine:

Elevate with Janine

The Focus Finder Assessment

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Apply to our Elevate Mastermind

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Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

You are not desperate - you are a hot commodity. But are you struggling to see, and therefore price, yourself accordingly?

I've been having so many conversations with clients over the last couple of weeks who, as a result of current market conditions and economic challenges they’re witnessing, are starting to get desperate in how they propose to work with their clients.

Today, we’re talking about self-worth and the crucial choice we all face: ditching the desperation and recognising your true worth. We’ll discuss:

- Owning Your Value

- Embracing Service

- Avoiding Short-Term Fixes

- Focusing on Building Trust

Remember, you are absolutely a hot commodity, and you need to own that. You need to own what it is that you do, the outcome that you can create for your clients and you to step into that power. Your clients want to work with the person that is the best for their business - and why shouldn’t it be you?

LINKS:

Connect with Janine:

Elevate with Janine

The Focus Finder Assessment

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Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

“Thank you” isn’t enough anymore. It’s become an expected part of human etiquette. There’s not much thought behind it and it doesn’t have any real acknowledgement of the impact the interaction has had on you.

On the other hand, saying “thank you for” is intentional and impactful. By taking the extra time, you can show appreciation for the information and time the other person gave you. It can be hard to know where to start which is why I created a framework to walk people through the process.

Step 1 (T) Thank You For: Whenever you make a new connection, take a moment to reflect on how that person impacted you. It could be their work, their presence, or something they said – the important thing is that it’s genuine.

Step 2 (A) Ask: The next step is to extend an offer to help or provide further assistance, which will deepen the connection. Many people push back here and say they have nothing to share, but I promise you that is not true. I’ve never known anyone without anything to offer, nor have I ever been asked for something I couldn’t provide.

Step 3 (D) Do Something: Finally, you need to be proactive in continuing your connection. This could be scheduling a follow-up meeting to update them on your progress, or to discuss collaborating, it could be providing them with information they asked for, or even just a commitment to reconnect at a later point. The first steps are about intentionally connecting and this final step is about turning that intention into action.

I hope this episode will inspire you to give the TAD framework a try. Not only does intentional gratitude build networking success, but it also makes the world a little brighter every time you do it. So add these three extra steps and watch your connections (and opportunities) flourish.

Until next time, keep shining bright!

Submit your Question: Spotify - click the button below. All other platforms - send me a DM on Instagram or email: support@janinegarner.com.au

Being the world's best kept secret serves absolutely no one. There are so many business owners out there who are amazing at what they do; they’ve built their expertise after years and years of doing their work and have now become masters.

Yet so many are at risk of being - and staying - invisible. If you can relate to this, today’s episode is for you. I’m sitting down with marketing expert Bec Chappell to talk about showing up even when we’re scared and marketing businesses with confidence.

Bec has called a branding gatekeeper, and is oddly data-focused for a marketeer. She herself has transitioned from working in corporate organisations to building her own very successful agency, where she also had to learn to quit being the world's best kept secret in her field.

She talks about how owning her spotlight has helped her build the business of her dreams, and shares tips on how you can do the same.

Overcoming Fear and Imposter Syndrome

Fear is often the dominant factor that keeps us from positioning ourselves in the market. Bec talks about how a common theme for her clients is that they’re just too nervous to do it. However, we don’t build confidence by holding ourselves back. It comes the same way we create anything in our lives - by doing. We talk about the importance of stepping out and doing what scares us in order to grow our self-belief.

For Bec, her particular fear was in saying no to people. But we know that every single time we say yes to something, we’re saying no to something else. She takes us through the reason she cut $20K from her revenue by saying no, and how this supported her to step into her power and honour her expertise.

The Power of Consistency and Discipline

We often put ourselves out there into the world - creating valuable content, sharing our ideas - only to receive what we think is radio silence. So how do we persevere and develop consistency when we don’t immediately see our desired results? Stats show that when people start something new, they do it seven times - and then give up! We also see business owners not hitting $20K months in the timeframe they want, and feeling like they’re not good enough.

Bec warns us against falling prey to negative bias, and takes us through her own journey of starting her podcast. We hear about how she pushed through and remained consistent despite receiving a disheartening number of listens at the start. We also talk about discipline and how it’s crucial in seeing results and getting wins.

Work Your Content Creation Muscle

We’ve all heard the advice that we need to be posting on social media constantly to make ourselves visible. However, if you haven’t put in the ground work to build that content creation muscle, it can feel impossible. Bec suggests that we first need to understand who and where our customer is and what message they need to hear. Then once you’re clear on...

It’s easy to fall into the trap of conformity without even noticing. I’ve been there myself. There were times in my corporate journey when I realised I was just doing what was expected of me and following the cookie-cutter approach to business. This may be an easy path, but it isn’t one that leads to success.

To reach our full potential we need to embrace our true, flawed selves and lead from there. This is more important than ever, as people's trust in businesses is declining year on year. The only way to cut through this is to be open and authentic so that customers can connect with the real you.

I hope this episode will inspire you to reflect on your life and find the areas you are stuck on autopilot. Identify how this is holding you back from authenticity and determine what changes you can make to align your actions with your goals and values.

Until next time, keep shining bright!

LINKS:

The Focus Finder™ https://focusfinder.scoreapp.com/

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Take our 5-minute Focus Finder Assessment

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