As you may remember from previous posts, I’m a networking junkie.
There’s something unspeakably cool about meeting a stranger at an event, meeting them for coffee a week later, and then hearing their voice on the phone asking if I can ghostwrite their weekly blog. (The answer was yes, btw.)
I was at one such networking event on Tuesday called the Schmooze, put on by Harlo Interactive.
I go to this event every month, and so do a lot of other professionals in Portland. Because there are so many regulars who attend, inevitably you start to see a lot of familiar faces.
Some might see this as a bad thing. Viewing networking as a way to meet new people to do business with. Seeing the same old faces means you’re not meeting anybody new, and thus, not drumming up any new business.
For those of you with this point of view, I would encourage you to instead see these familiar faces as opportunities to nurture and solidify existing relationships.
It’s true that prospective clients and partners will refer you simply because you’re the only copywriter or health coach or apparel designer they know, but imagine how much more strongly they’ll be invested in your success if they actually like you, know you and trust you.
So don’t snub those familiar faces. Give them a hug, catch up on the latest, and then move on to someone new.
Cake. And eating it too.
I had a meeting yesterday with a pair of compelling digital content creatives and the issue of freelance copywriter inconsistency came up.
They had an unsavory copywriter experience in the past where they, the agency in charge of the project, contracted with a freelance copywriter to provide the copy.
Not far into the project, they learned that the copywriter was inappropriately intractable when it came to her work.
Presuming she had more say in the project than she actually did, the copywriter refused to make requested changes to the copy and the agency ended up wasting precious time and money on this difficult copywriter.
Where do I stand on the issue of maintaining the integrity of the copywriter’s work vs. giving the client what they want?
Hmm…
It’s a struggle between art and business and unfortunately, sometimes the two don’t play well together.
At the end of the day, the freelance copywriter is a hireling that is supposed to write what they’re asked to, provide their professional opinion (when solicited), and then let go.
I’m not saying it’s easy. Because it’s not. What we create is a form of art and every single piece is a child born of our own minds, no matter who we’re writing for.
It’s hard to give that away at first, but if you want to be successful in this business, and foster a reputation as a reliable, quality, easy-to-work with professional copywriter…you have to learn to let go, and let the client.
All you can do is what you can, and that has to be enough.
It was a hard lesson to learn, but I learned it quickly. By doing so I’ve also significantly reduced the amount of stress in my life.
Bonus.
Where do you stand on this issue?
I just started reading my first Tom Robbins novel, “Another Roadside Attraction”, and couldn’t help but share this incredible sentence with you:
It is content, or rather the consciousness of content, that fills the void. But the mere presence of content is not enough. It is style that gives content the capacity to absorb us, to move us; it is style that makes us care.
The speaker of this quote is absolutely not talking about the content on your website or in your newsletter, but the content of our lives.
Being a copywriter/content creator, however, I see its direct applicability to written content.
It goes along with my earlier posts about copy and design being a celestial combination, and about how dressing-up/giving some style to RFPs can get you and your services noticed.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the well-written word (content) + beautiful design (style) can change the world…and our lives (and your website, and your newsletter, and your RFP, etc).
Piggy-backing on the last blog post about a good intention gone horribly awry, I’d like to share some conversational wisdom (that is, wisdom about conversations) as penned by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen in Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
So, when we’re having a conversation with someone and we think we’re just discussing the facts of an event/process/document, the person we’re talking to might actually be hearing condescension or blame.
Very tricky.
According to the trio, what we say is only the surface of what’s going on for us while there are underlying, insidious feelings and intentions lurking in the depths that we are most likely unaware of. Knowing what these feelings are and how to address them in ourselves and others is key to having more success while navigating difficult conversations.
Here’s the highlights:
The 3 kinds of difficult conversations:
1) The “What Happened?” Conversation
These are the conversations where we try to figure out who’s right (and consequently, who’s wrong), who meant what, and who’s to blame–truth, intention, and blame.
2) The Feelings Conversation
You can’t just push your feelings about a person, a comment, or a situation aside. Sure, you want to keep it professional and not come off as a wuss, but feelings affect the way we interact with people and how we respond to every situation. It’s important to address them in order to avoid potential miscommunications or tension in future dealings.
3) The Identity Conversation
This conversation is all about who we are and how we see ourselves. Anytime a conversation feels difficult, it’s in part because we feel it’s somehow about us; that something personal is at stake. What does this conversation mean about your professionalism, your self-image, your abilities?
This is what my co-conversationalist had going on while I was having the “What Happened?” conversation I mentioned in my last post. She felt personally threatened by what I was saying whereas I felt I was just laying out the facts.
Now you know there are different levels of conversation that can be going on at any given time between you and the person you’re talking to.
How should you deal with this realization?
Should you rehearse everything you say to a co-worker or spouse prior to saying it just to make sure you don’t offend them?
Maybe.
Emotional intelligence is important in any kind of interaction–personal or professional. Being aware that the person you’re talking to may not be having the same conversation you are is the important first step in having better interactions with the people in your life.
Check out the book if you think you could benefit from what it has to say in much more depth than I went into here.
Happy chatting!
(No pressure.)
I thought to blog about this because I go to a lot of networking events and not all of them are great. A large part of what makes an event great or not is how we use our time at those events. I confess I could have used my time more wisely at some of these events. Anyway, this isn’t a post about networking event dos and don’ts (this post is though), but I thought others might be experiencing the same feeling of dissatisfaction so I thought I would share my most recent experience. Thus, to blog.
I went to a networking event yesterday afternoon that was put on by the Portland Business Alliance called Lunch with Leaders. It’s an event series where members can attend a lunch talk with local city, regional and state leaders. The speaker this time was Tom Hughes, president of our regional governing body out here, Metro.
I arrived late to the event and there wasn’t a single person I knew in attendance. Sometimes I need to find shelter in a familiar face for a few minutes before moving on to new people and yesterday was one of those days. So I was immediately thrown off my game, I didn’t get to ask my very important question about how community gardens figured into the long-term regional development plan because some guy wouldn’t stop talking, and then everyone scattered as soon as the event was over. Extreme frustration. That’s what I felt.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Amber, you’re whining. The point?” Yes, yes, the point.
The point is that after I walked out of the air-conditioned conference room, I stood in the sun outside the building (a rarity in Portland. The sun, that is, not the building.) and thought about anything else I could do downtown while I was there. It turns out that two wayward clients had offices within a 10-minute walk of where I was standing. You see where this is going?
I stopped by the offices of these clients and when they gave me that, “Um, what are you doing here? Did we have a meeting?” look, I told them that I was in the area for an event that had just finished and I just wanted to stop by and say hi. Their confused forehead wrinkles turned into smooth smiles and I chatted with each of them for 5-10 minutes before wishing them a good day and leaving.
It was great. I felt immeasurably better afterwards and hey, maybe now those wayward clients will change their wayward ways.
So, the lesson to be learned from this story is that when unsatisfactory networking events give you lemons, make lemonade; when they give you eggs, make an omelet; when they give you oranges, just peel them and eat them on the spot.
