Want more referrals but need help in getting them from a networking session?
Tired of sounding like everyone else?
When someone asks you, “What do you do?” that is a EXCELLENT marketing opportunity!
Avoid saying, “I am a _______,” because your contacts will automatically believe you’re like every other person they’ve met in your profession. They will figure they know who and what you are. Instead, focus on solving a SPECIFIC PROBLEM for a SPECIFIC GROUP of people.
As speaker PJ Van Hulle says, “When you do this, the mind of the person you are talking to will automatically start to search their mental filing cabinet for people they know that belong to that group and have that problem. Now, you are much more likely to get a referral out of the conversation.
Test this template out for yourself:
“I work with [insert specific group] who are having the challenge of [insert specific problem].”
See if you get a different reaction at your next networking event. If someone asks you, “How do you do that?” it’s time to get excited because that may mean that you have found an engaging response to the question, “What do you do?”
Of course, that also means that you need to have an answer prepared for, “How do you do that?”
Finally, if you have an opportunity to deliver an “infomercial” (where you talk about yourself and what you do in front of a group, usually for 30-60 seconds), you want to make sure you’re prepared for that, too.
If you have 30 seconds to give your infomercial, that’s only 6 sentences, so keep it brief.
Then, after giving and receiving a business card, the next important thing to do is FOLLOW-UP. (So easy to forget!)
It’s all a part of building relationships, so people will know, like and trust you.
All the best,
Lynn Sanders
