I’m leaving tomorrow for a short retreat to work on some writing projects. I want to be able to focus on them, so I’ll be shutting off the phone, email and most other distractions. (Music is not a distraction, so I’ll have my iPhone with me, acting as an iPod.)
I want to focus on those projects, not the blog, though I’m sure my time away will give me some good stories to share.
I hope to come back with some significant progress! Wish me luck. And have an awesome week.
I’ve probably been way too cute for my own good with that title. But did it get your attention?
Two days ago, I talked about the dangers of using “you” in an elevator speech. Today I want to talk about when and how to use “I” vs. “we” in your speech.
I get this question frequently. Someone wants to make their company sound bigger than a one-man operation so they want to use “we” in their speech. Something like this:
“At 1 to 1 Discovery we offer networking coaching services to our small business clients.”
I’ve been accused of being a multiple personality before, but even that doesn’t give me the right to say “we” offer services. 1 to 1 Discovery is a one-woman operation, and it’s going to stay that way for a long time. So if I use “we,” I’m being deceptive, which makes it much harder to get over the “know, like and trust hurdle.
I was teaching a class earlier this week, and someone asked me about “I” vs. “we.” She markets a product. I asked her if she was the person who made the product. She said she was but that currently her mother helped out. And in the future, she plans to outsource the production. I told her it was okay for her to say “we make” in reference to her products. Is it stretching the truth a bit? Yes, but it’s not outright deception. In her case, it’s the business way of dressing for the job she wants, not the one she has.
What about when you ask for a referral? Do you say “please refer someone to me” or “please refer someone to us?”
It depends. Most of the time I recommend using “me” in that instance. It doesn’t matter how big your company is. Most people are referring you. You are the one they have built the relationship with. Honor that relationship by asking people to refer you.
But what if you are in, say, an administrative role in the company? You may be out networking on behalf of the organization, but you aren’t going to be the point person for new clients. Then go ahead and say “please refer us.” You may be the person handing out the card. A referral might call or email you directly, but then you’ll be handing the referral off to the right person in your company. Asking to refer “us” sets that expectation.
I hope these two posts have been helpful to sort through pronouns in your elevator speech.
And you thought the hard part was standing up in front of a group of people for 30 seconds?
Sorry, all. I’ve been recovering from a two-day migraine, and higher brain functions are not working enough to write coherently.
I’ll try to be back tomorrow with the conclusion to pronouns and elevator speeches.
Be well!
Pronouns are tricky things, and when and how to use them in elevator speeches is important. No, I’m not giving you a grammar lesson, but instead discussing how pronoun usage affects how people react to your speech.
I’ll be splitting this one over two days. Today, I’ll tackle “you.” Tomorrow I’ll discuss when you use “I” vs. “we.”
It’s very tempting to use “you” in an elevator speech. You are talking to a group of people, and you probably want to attract some of them as potential customers. But we resent being sold to uninvited and using “you” in a speech can come across that way.
Let me show you why. Take the following example:
“Hi, I’m Juli and I offer business services. I’m looking to work with people just like you, so if what I say interests you, please come talk to me later.”
Before you say that’s unrealistic, understand that I have heard speeches using that exact formula. It’s not wrong, exactly, and if there’s a good story there, someone might respond by asking “tell me more.” But it does sound like the speaker is trying to sell the group, which may leave some feeling uncomfortable. It also subtly discourages the audience from thinking of referrals for the speaker. The use of “you” sends us down the following thought process:
Do I need this product or service?
If yes, I might ask to learn more
If no, I’m done.
There’s nothing there that makes me think about finding a referral for the speaker. Let’s say this speech was given to a room of 20 people. That’s 20 potential clients. But the rule of thumb is that everyone knows at least 250-300 people on a first name basis. Why not structure your speech so it has the potential of attracting 5,000-6,000 potential clients?
Second example:
“Hi, I’m Juli, and I offer coaching services. I’m looking to work with small business owners who need to use social media more effectively. Who do you know who owns a restaurant or small retail business looking for more walk-in traffic? Please refer them to me.”
See the difference? The only place I used “you” was in the “who do you know” question. If someone in the audience fits my category, he or she can self-select to speak to me. But I’ve made it clear that I’m looking to work through the people in the room to get to their referrals.
This structure opens myself up to many more potential clients than using the “you” structure.
Make sense? Have you been using “you” statements in your elevator speech? Thinking you might change that?
Tune in tomorrow for when to use “I” or “we” in an elevator speech.
I’ll admit it. Last year was rough. Coaching in face to face networking wasn’t something people wanted to spend money on. I picked up a few new clients, but nothing like what I had wanted.
And my number of referrals was very low. So I spent my spare time researching social media, and now I coach people in that form of networking as well.
Guess what? My number of referrals and clients has shot up. While I am still picking up a few face to face networking clients through my own efforts, most of my referrals right now are coming from people talking about my social media coaching.
Why is that? Honestly, I have a much better track record with networking coaching. Social media is still fairly new for me, and while I can point to some successes, it’s still early days.
The people who are referring me know me, like me and trust me, which is very important. But that’s not all of it. They knew me last year and didn’t refer me. What’s different this year?
Social media. It’s a buzz word. People don’t understand it, but the media keeps telling us we need to master it.
I have successfully linked my name with social media with my network. So when someone says “I don’t understand social media” or “I think I need to market myself through social media, but I don’t know how,” people think of me and say, “Then you need to talk to Juli.”
Which makes me very happy!
Right now people aren’t saying (as often), I need to network more effectively. Networking isn’t a word that comes up in casual conversation. Twitter is. Facebook is. And my network knows those words mean me.
I had the “know, like and trust” covered. What I was lacking was the “easy to refer” part. Now that I have all four elements in place, referrals are coming in.
So look at your network. If they don’t know, like and trust you, that’s a big problem. If those pieces are in place, and you still aren’t getting referrals, then look at the easy piece. Is there something missing? Some easy trigger that you need to give them so they think of you?
If you’re not sure what’s missing, don’t hesitate to ask. Buy coffee for the people who know you best and ask them why you aren’t easy to refer. Let them help you find the answer. There may be several different answers, which is all to the good. Two or three triggers out there are better than one.
Which leads me to ask you. Social media is obviously a good trigger for me. You read my blog and know what I do. What other triggers should I be seeding to my network? Thanks!
Bloggers tend to be insecure people. We worry about who is reading our posts or if anyone is reading them. We obsess on how many comments a post gets. Does a post get retweeted?
Guy Kawasaki in his book, Reality Check, says that a blog is valuable even if only your dog reads it. He’s right, and I’ve had some recent experiences to prove it.
One of the most obvious uses for a blog is material for books. I’m working on compiling some of my themed posts into a series of e-books. That’s in addition to the fiction ebooks I wrote about last week. I’m soon going to have a ton of ebooks for sale.
Back to my post on writing and selling short fiction. I considered that almost a throw-way post. I was tired and needed something to write quickly. Well, recently I was meeting with someone who has a friend who wants to get a book published. She asked if I could coach her friend through the process. I said I thought I could and suggested she send her friend a link to my post. Not bad for a throw-away, desperation post!
I used a post as a way to get a referral for a contact. Remember my post on the guy who was such an awesome networker? I used a link to that post in an email to a contact he wants an introduction to. If I liked someone enough to write a post about him, that should be a compelling reason to agree to an introduction.
Finally, last week, I was at a networking event, and a financial planner was talking to me about bringing me in for a lunch and learn in her office. I sent her a link to my post on Social Media and Regulated Industries. That post establishes my credibility as someone who can speak on the topic and gives a nice teaser.
So your blog posts have value beyond who read them (or didn’t) or who commented on them (or didn’t). Be creative and find other ways to make them work for you.
Anyone other bloggers have a good story to share in the comments?
