This is relevant in both on and off-line networking. If you are on any social media sites, you know what I mean. How many people are out there trying to get you to click on their link or buy their product or service without first giving you some reason to care? How many of you have experienced “assault by business card” at a networking event. (That’s where some clueless person shoves his or her card in your hand without any lead-in.)
I’m going to spend the rest of the week helping you make other people are about helping you.
We’ll start with some more of what doesn’t work.
Don’t tell me you offer great products with great service. Think about it. When is the last time you heard someone say that they offered a terrible product with horrible customer service? Right. Claiming great customer service won’t set you apart from the crowd.
And don’t tell me that your product is the best, greatest or has received a lot of awards. Your referral partners actually don’t care. They are referring you as much as your product or service. In addition, such claims are difficult to prove, and people often disregard them.
Let me give an example of a company that did the exact opposite and used it to their advantage. How many of you remember the Avis ad campaign “We Try Harder”? They were going up against Hertz, who at the time was the clear winner in the rental car battle. Avis couldn’t make a compelling case for being the “best.” So they made up a lot of ground by making the case that not being the leader in the industry was good for the consumer. And it worked. They dramatically increased their market share over a relatively short period of time with this campaign.
As I make the rounds of networking events, I hear a lot of people (especially those in direct sales) say that their product is “Number 1″ or “has the best science behind it” or “is the leading…” I’m sure you have too. When is the last time you referred someone based on that? Some of these people I would never refer because I don’t like them. I am referring the person, not just the product. Does the product have to work and do what the person says it does? Of course. But that’s all part of liking and trusting the person you are referring. I hope you would never refer someone who lies about what their product or service can do. And I hope you would never lie about yours.
So how can you make other people care about you and want to refer you? Tune in over the next few days, and I’ll talk about how. And please feel free to make your own contributions in the comments. I want to hear what you think!
It’s the relationship and it’s also in how you can articulate clearly the biggest benefit your product or service offers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked someone what problem they solve, and they can’t answer me!
I met a guy last week who does “software operations.” WTH? When I pressed him, he simply repeated “software operations.”
Somebody once said that if you can’t describe what you do in such a way that your mama understands, maybe you better go off and work on that description a little bit.
Since I seem to have found my niche, I’ve also discovered people are more willing to listen to me because I’m passionately geeky about what I offer. I can almost lose myself talking about it, getting enthusiastic, waving my arms and describing problems in a humorous way!
I think it’s a combination: clearly tell me how your business solves my problem, and build a relationship with me – being passionate about your offering is always a good start.
Gee. Thanks, Nancy. Passion was Friday’s post. Guess I can skip that one now.
Actually, you put it very well, but I do have a bit more to say on the subject. Nice to know I’m on the right track!