Networking works best when you know exactly who you need to meet. You can figure this out in a couple of ways.
1. You can profile your target
I’ve written more completely about this in a previous post, but I’ll quickly recap here. Basically, you develop a list of the characteristics of your target, and then convert those characteristics into triggers that you seed through all your communications.
Note that your targets can be either people or organizations. Job seekers will often start by profiling their ideal organization and then refine their search to target key people in their target companies. B2B sales people will use a similar process, while B2C people will usually use this method of targeting for clients but will use the next process for strategic partners.
2. Target specific people
Using this method, you know exactly who are the individuals you want to meet. You can ask for them in your elevator speech, research them through LinkedIn and ask for introductions or use your existing contacts to gradually step your way closer.
See how job seekers will often start with the first method and then move to the second? It’s a very good way to find your ideal job. I’m coaching a client through this process now. She’s in Virginia, searching for a job in Taiwan. She has finished with targeting her ideal companies, and now she’s moved to finding people and reaching out to them to set up informational interviews using Google+ Hangouts. Good use of social media in her job search.
So that’s how targeting works. Anyone have a good targeting story to share? Or maybe we can help you network your way to your target?
Tags: communication, Elevator Speech, Referrals, Triggers
It’s almost as if you need to do your own persona interviews, or have someone do them for you. I’ve gotten much better and far more refined at ID’ing who I want to work with.
It used to be that they had to have the resources to hire me. The last couple clients I’ve had made me realize though that there’s more – they have to be willing to do some work themselves on their website weekly, or let me have more control to do the work, or they need to designate someone to do robust content updates.
Their successes are quite limited if they aren’t willing to change something every week. And now, I know to ask them and really dig deep to make sure they’re on board with creating new content constantly.
Good realization. You’re right. It’s not always “can they afford me.” In your business, it’s important to be able to demonstrate your value, and you can’t do that if your clients aren’t willing to do their part.