Oh Andy! I’m Jealous!

There is a great review of Seth Godin’s new book The Dip over at Andy’s blog. He explains what The Dip is, how it can affect you…and as an added bonus, there is a link to a mindmap that basically gives a summary of the whole book.

You may not know this but I live about 20 miles away from Mr. Wibbels. He met Seth Godin at an event in downtown Chicago on the 22nd of this month. I know this because:
a) There’s a picture of them together on Andy’s blog.
b) I stared at the registration page to attend the event for three days.

You see, Seth Godin is my hero. Ok, I don’t know if he’s kind to the elderly or if he gently lets spiders out of the house or just squishes him…so I’ll be more specific and say  he’s my business hero. (Even though I’m pretty sure he’s a really nice guy, too.) But when I thought about going, and wanting to make a good impression and say something witty and smart and not knowing what the layout was or if I’d even have a chance to talk to him…

I got a little woozy.

Then I got a little nervous.

So I’d walk away from the computer and think it over again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

I’m getting so much better at networking. I have fun, it’s a good time, I get clients. Now I have to get over that "I’m not special" feeling I occasionally have. No matter how much I know my business, no matter how strong my background and skills are…when faced with the prospect of meeting someone that I consider to be a very important business person – I choked.

I’m not just whining here, people! This is a business lesson!

If your networking skills are sub par – work on them. You don’t want to miss the chance to meet your hero when the opportunity arises because you were scared. The worst part is that you know you have no logical reason to be scared. You have a good service you’re offering, you are smart and capable and started your own business! You are amazing!

People WANT to meet you. They NEED your services. You are doing them a disservice if you don’t let them know about it. Be secure in your skills (or, if you’re not good at what you’re selling…change your services…then be secure…)

And go buy a copy of one of Seth’s books. I’m a fan of Small is the New Big. He is the absolute go-to-guy when it comes to relationship marketing and permission marketing, which is something everyone needs to do more of.

It’s not about getting a vague message out to as many people as possible. It’s about touching one person at a time, getting one client at a time, getting one referral at a time. This method grows exponentially, where just spreading yourself everywhere…gets you nowhere.