How to Turn Networking into Actual Clients: Lessons from Someone Who Did It
Let me tell you about Gemma.
Gemma Gooch is a virtual assistant, a WIN leader in Felixstowe, and one of my most trusted sounding boards in business. She is also living proof that networking, done consistently and authentically, directly leads to clients.
Her story is not a overnight success story. It’s better than that. It’s a real one.
In September, with her youngest child just starting school, Gemma came to her first Women Inspired Network (WIN) event in Woodbridge. She’d spent the entire summer holiday applying for jobs, genuinely unsure whether to go all in on her VA business or give up and get employed. She came to that event. She met a client. That client is now one of her biggest.
Since then, every single one of her clients has come through networking.
So how does she do it? And more importantly — how can you do it too?
Here are her top tips:
1. Understand that networking IS just talking to people — nothing more
Gemma said something really simple in our conversation that I think reframes the whole thing: “Networking is just talking to people. And if you don’t talk to people, you’re not going to get clients.”
We overcomplicate networking. We think it requires a polished pitch, a stack of business cards, a clear elevator speech. It doesn’t. It requires showing up, being curious about the people around you, and having real conversations.
The moment you stop thinking of networking as a sales activity and start thinking of it as simply talking to interesting people — everything shifts. The anxiety drops. The conversations get better. And funnily enough, the clients start to follow.
2. Show up consistently — even when it feels like too much
Gemma goes to at least three networking events a month. That’s a significant commitment alongside running a business, managing school runs, and everything else that comes with family life. And she’ll be the first to admit that it wipes her out sometimes.
But here’s what she said: “You just have to plan for that and factor it in. And it’s a positive wiped out.”
The business owners who get the most from networking are not the ones who come once and wonder why nothing happened. They’re the ones who show up month after month, who become familiar faces, who build trust over time. Because trust is what turns a connection into a client.
When you network consistently you are constantly filling your pipeline with new potential leads — even when you don’t realise it. There are people in every room you walk into who will remember you months later when they or someone they know needs exactly what you offer.
3. Play the long game — clients rarely say yes straight away
One of Gemma’s current clients is someone she first met back in September. They’ve only been working together for six weeks.
That’s months of relationship building before a single invoice was raised. And that’s completely normal.
People buy from people they know, like and trust. And that takes time. It takes seeing your face regularly. It takes a few conversations. It takes someone reaching the point where they think — actually, I think I’m ready to work with her now.
This is why the transactional approach to networking — going once, expecting a sale, leaving disappointed — doesn’t work. The seed you plant at one event might not flower for six months. But when it does, it’s because you showed up consistently and let the relationship develop naturally.
Sow the seeds. Water them. And trust the process.
4. When you lose a client, keep going — something else is usually coming
This is one of the most honest things Gemma shared and I think it’s so important to talk about.
She lost two clients in quick succession early on. It was devastating. And then the next day, an inquiry came in.
It happened again more recently. A client didn’t renew their monthly contract. Within a week, three people had reached out to say they’d love to have a chat.
Now I’m not saying this happens by magic. It happens because Gemma networks consistently, which means there is always a warm pipeline of people who know what she does and are at various stages of considering working with her. When a gap appears, the pipeline fills it.
The peaks and troughs are real in self-employment. They are hard. But if you are showing up consistently, building relationships genuinely, and staying visible — the troughs don’t last as long as you fear they will.
5. It’s not just the people in the room — it’s who they know
One of the things Gemma and I talked about is how often the person you meet at a networking event isn’t your direct client — but they know someone who is.
This is why it’s so important not to write off a networking event just because your ideal client isn’t in the room. Every person there has a network. Every person there has friends, colleagues, family members, Facebook contacts. When they think of someone who needs what you do, you want to be the first person that comes to mind.
That only happens if they know you, if they’ve had a real conversation with you, and if you’ve left them with a genuine impression of who you are and what you do.
It’s not what you know. It’s who you know. And who knows you.
6. Follow up — this is where most people fall down
Meeting someone at a networking event is just the beginning. What happens after is where the real work starts.
Gemma is brilliant at staying in touch with people she meets. A message after the event. A comment on their social media. A check-in a few weeks later. Nothing salesy, nothing pushy — just genuine, continued interest in the person and what they’re building.
That consistency of contact is what keeps you at the front of someone’s mind. And when the moment comes that they’re ready — when the workload gets too much, when they finally decide to invest in support, when they have a conversation with someone who needs exactly what you do — you are the person they think of first.
Send the message. Leave the comment. Suggest the virtual coffee. It doesn’t take long and it makes all the difference.
7. Know your worth — and invest in yourself too
One thing that struck me in our conversation was how much Gemma has benefited not just from attending networking events but from being part of The Success Circle — our premium membership.
She attended a workshop on Google Business Profiles and walked away with the skills to set one up for one of her clients — something that client had no knowledge of or interest in doing herself, but that will directly help her business grow. That one session at The Success Circle has now had a ripple effect into Gemma’s client’s business.
Investing in your own learning and your own network isn’t a luxury. It’s one of the most direct ways to add more value to your clients and grow your own business at the same time.
The bottom line
Gemma said something near the end of our conversation that I keep coming back to.
“Imagine if you hadn’t gone to any networking. You’d probably be working for someone else being employed now.”
And she laughed and said yes. Because the summer before she came to that first WIN event, she was applying for jobs. Six months later, her business was full.
Networking is not a quick fix. It is not a guaranteed sale at every event. But when you approach it with genuine curiosity, show up consistently, follow up properly, and play the long game — it is one of the most powerful things you can do for your business.
Just turn up. The rest follows. 💛
About Gemma
Gemma Gooch is a virtual assistant supporting self-employed women with the admin, social media and behind-the-scenes tasks that free them up to focus on what they do best. She is also our brilliant WIN leader in Felixstowe. You can find Gemma at:
🌐 Website: https://www.gemmagooch.co.uk/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gemassist.va
👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gemassist.va
Want to hear the full conversation?
Listen to my full chat with Gemma on the Women Inspired Networking Conversations podcast, available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0DM7Ooc5nLezg4u91OklYo
Watch the podcast with the full video on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDVCZqf8LiBs92aTeEHZsWrtoNRJEVCXn&si=N4K48-iUGlWmP7mu
Come and find your people:
🌐 www.womeninspirednetwork.com/events
👤 Facebook: Women Inspired Network: Networking For Women In Business
📸 Instagram: @women_inspired_network