Have you ever been given a business card from someone in a bar or other situation who is specifically “coming on to you”? Have you ever given someone a card under these circumstances? Whether a giver or receiver, read about this poor business card idea for the socially challenged.
http://www.asylum.com/2010/07/23/cheekd-dating-business-card-website/
By D’vorah Lansky – Guest Blogger
Continuing on with our theme of in-person networking, today I am going to share with you three more tips for building relationships by attending in-person networking events.
Bring Friends, Colleagues, and Networking Buddies with You to Events and Introduce Them to Others
Take someone from your BNI Chapter to your Chamber of Commerce meeting and introduce them to someone in their contact sphere or introduce them to people whom you feel would be a good connection for them. This will again increase your value and your likeability factor as well as make you an invaluable member of the business community. You will also be helping people at the Chamber of Commerce event to broaden their contact sphere as you help to connect them to people in your BNI Chapter, for example.
Bring your Networking Buddies with you to events but don’t hang out with them the whole time. Visit with them, introduce them to people and then go and mingle and encourage them to do the same.
Previously I gave the example of making a simple introduction between a Realtor and mortgage loan office. Following is an example of how to make a much warmer personal introduction. Let’s use the same example of a Realtor but this time, provide a warm introduction.
If you are speaking with a Professional Organizer and you know that her best referral source is Realtors. You may want to introduce her to one or more of the Realtors in the room. A possible introduction could go like this, “Lisa, hi, I know that you are a Realtor specializing in selling homes in this area. I’d like to introduce you to my good friend Donna. Donna is a Professional Organizer and she specializes in helping to increase the value of homes with her Home Staging Services. I thought that the two of you might enjoy meeting one another for a possible mutually beneficial relationship.” This can increase the services that the Realtor offers to her clients and this can create a great alliance between these two professionals.
Again, you increase your value and what you offer to the community and you are deepening your relationships. As an additional benefit to you, you will become more easily referrable as you will be on their radar and thus you’ll be able to grow your business.
Develop a 30-60 Second Elevator Speech That Causes People to Say, “Tell Me More”
Rather than saying, “Hi, my name is so and so and this is the name of of my business and I do this, that and the other thing and we have great stuff and you should go to our website and buy our stuff.” First of all, people will tune you out. This is a situation where the “less is more” factor comes into play. Rather than telling them everything that you do, share with them something that causes them to say, “Tell me more”.
I’d like to share a story with you told to me by my very good friend Sasha. She was at a luncheon for Financial Planners and being the conversationalist that she is, she turned to the person to the right of her and asked them, “what do you do?” That person went on to tell her all about their financial planner services in great detail. Next, Sasha turned to her left and asked, “what do you do?” This person said, “I show people how to get their children to buy them an island”.
Which person would you be more inclined to ask to tell you more? So, what can you say to get people to ask you to tell them more? You may want to practice on a few friends and let them know that you are working on your 30 second commercial and that your goal is to get people to ask you to tell them more. Ask them if they would listen to what you’ve come up with and then give you their honest feedback.
Get Together With People Over the Course of the Month
Select two or three people that you’d like to get to know better and schedule a time to meet with them over the next few weeks. It’s a best practice to meet with at least one person a week, outside of networking events. Some people make it a practice to meet with several people a week for coffee or over lunch. People may not have their calendar with them, so set a tentative date and find out the best way to reach them to confirm that you both have the appointment in your calendars. You don’t want to leave it up to chance with a note on the back of a business card as it might not make it into their calendar. Ask them what the best way to reach them is. You can say, “If I send you an emai confirming our appointment, will you be able to get back to me or would it be better if I call you?
These days many people prefer email as they can get to it when they have a moment, it’s right there next to their calendar and it’s easy to reply back to you. When you do go out with them, don’t use that time to give a sales pitch, use this as a time to get to know them and find out about their hobbies. This will strengthen that relationship. This is also a great way for you to get ideas for who you can introduce them to in your network. This increases your likeability factor and the value you are adding to the relationship.
I hope that the seven tips I shared over the course of this week, were helpful to you. Please feel free to leave a comment, share an idea or ask any questions. Consider taking one thing that you learned and putting into action within one week. I’d love to hear about your results.
Here’s to your success! Happy Networing!
D’vorah Lansky – Guest Blogger
M.Ed and Relationship Marketing Wizard
www.RealtionshipMarketingCafe.com
Kevin the discussion leader offered this observation which I will paraphrase. You go to a networking event and one of the networkers explains all the wonderful things that he can do for your clients and that of course you should refer him immediately. Then he is off to run down his next target. Kevin goes on to say, I am not usually going to refer clients to someone who does not bother to ask me what I do. I would be fairly sure that most who approach me like this do not even realize the impression that they are making; they are probably thinking that they are working hard to find business. Problem is they are not using the right tools to find business. There are really three tools that are vital to networking: a brain and two ears!
Denise responded: I have been to networking events where the same thing has happened to me. One person or persons go around the room and collect business cards tell about themselves then moves on. This would not be someone I could refer any business. When I network I am looking for power partners who can help each other . . . You are correct that you need to know someone and their business before you can begin referring . . . This takes time.
– – –
I hear this comment a lot and what it sounds like to me is this, “I am not going to network anymore because there are always one or two people not playing nice.” This is followed by, “I’ll show them. I won’t play with them.”
Who care about them?! If they really bother you, excuse yourself and move on to the contacts you want to make. Otherwise you might shout, “Hey! Let me tell you something about me.” I find most people are not intentionally trying to be rude, they’re just excited about what they do; they’re inexperienced; or they are just perpetually in sales mode. Don’t get stressed about it.
How about saying this, “Wow I can tell you are really excited about what you do, let me tell you about my great product or service.” Just because these individuals are a bit self centered it does not make them outcasts. Help them channel that enthusiasm and energy into being an advocate for you.
These networkers are not entirely wrong. They are just playing a different game. They know that networking is all about numbers and they’re hoping to score a knock out punch. But it is my observation that most people are far too passive. Remember that you do have to work the room. You do need to meet a lot of people. You do need to distribute and take a lot of business cards, because you do not know where the gold lies.
You might have a very nice meaningful in-depth conversation with someone who will never buy what you have and will never refer you to anyone. What good is that? You may have spent time nurturing that relationship at the expense of a better opportunity.
Most networking events are more similar to speed dating then they are to a Valentine dinner. At the average networking event you need to have as many short conversations as you can with as many people as you can. During that short period of time you need to communicate succinctly what you have to offer and find out a little something about the other person. Try to make a favorable impression. Ask for the other person’s business card and offer yours. After that you should have enough information to consider “a second date.” That might be a follow up email or phone call with an invitation to learn more or get to know each other better. Some people may not warrant that much attention but if you see them at another event take the opportunity to renew your acquaintance and learn a little more. That is the advantage of attending reoccurring events like Chamber of Commerce, Meetups and other monthly or weekly gatherings. At these events you can take the time to have multiple interactions and build rapport. At “one-off” events you have to be a bit more aggressive. Interrupt a person who is taking too much of your time. You can say, “ I am really happy to have learned a little about yu and your business but I would like to meet a few more people.” This is not a party. This is a business event. You might risk offending them but chances are he or she knows they talk too much.
Don’t grouse. Take control of your time and your networking opportunity. Respect other people’s time and ask them to respect yours. Don’t be too hasty to write someone off because they are a little too aggressive. These are often people who are connectors. They meet a lot of people and believe me most of them know that they reap what they sow. Take a tip from the martial arts masters and turn that negative energy to your purpose.