Networking

A bit of a personal share, as one major part of my representing world is two other reps with whom I have weekly check-in chats for many years now. I never thought I’d be able to trust others in our business, as I was warned against it. Well, I gotta say this is what gets me through. Not feeling alone in this business may be crossing a risky line, but it may be well worth the investment. 🩷 @bigleoproductions @poppycreative

One of the best professional lessons I learned was to keep negatively emotionally charged reactions in check. 

Frustration is a normal part of our business, but unleashing that onto people we work with is not cool and not professional. Don’t risk it even if it feels rational at the moment. 

We can either respond to our business’s ups and downs with a personal defense or a professional strategic approach. Trust me, be aware of personal reactive emotions, and don’t let that unconsciously close doors by guiding the long-term direction of your career.

Q:

What steps should you take if you failed to fully deliver on a client project, and how do you bounce back?

A:

 I assume an issue arose, and communication had not relayed the proper message. What caused this? How could you have handled this differently? The real fix to this situation is understanding and learning from the experience. React to this client in the manner you wish you had done initially, address this with expertise and professional know-how. Any time we mess up, it can work in your favor by shedding light on an area of our business that needs our attention.

The entrepreneur MYTH that can actually hold us back is thinking we must protectively do this alone! No, not true. I have teamed up with others for NETWORKING portfolio-showing events, and it’s a life changer. Instead of having this sole survival attitude, we can double down by hand-picking the right creative comrades, gaining success in numbers. 

Q:

When you talk about Marketing Outreach, does this include following up with phone calls?

A:

Do unto others as you’d like to be done to you. This sounds biblical but is also very practical in a business sense. I personally do not call clients unless it’s in the heat of the bidding moment when I can hopefully get a sense of the budget for a job. A marketing outreach phone call risks really turning off the potential client, so I would not recommend it. 

Have a genuine self-sales chat (elevator pitch) ready for those awkward portfolio showing or Zoom meeting moments when you need it at the drop of a hat. Be prepared with a few quick stories that won’t sound like sales, but rather, you sharing a story of how you handled a production mishap or an experience that represents more about how you work. 

Industry OUTREACH trends come and go, so when you see an opening to meet in person – TAKE IT! 

Be careful when it feels satisfying to share our negative opinion about others in our PROFESSIONAL world because those words live on forever, even if they never get back to the person in question.

Public relations is the backbone of our marketing. Curating connections comes from listening, asking questions, and relating to those we want to remember us. Where are they from? Is there anything interesting on their LinkedIn or IG? Comment with interest as a part of your brand.