Posts Tagged ‘Elevator Speech’

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Networking in Multiple Businesses

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

On Tuesday I did a post on the Top 10 Networking Mistakes and #10 was being inconsistent in your image and having people ask “Who are you today?” But some business owners have multiple businesses. How can they effectively network for them all?

Synergy

Obviously, the more similar your businesses are to each other, the easier it is to network for both. When they don’t seem to have any natural connection, you’re going to have to get more creative. Let me give you some examples.

Let’s say you sell health and nutrition products and also own a day spa. These are easy to network for. A client for one is very likely to be a client for the other. So when you are training your network to look for referrals, it’s easy. They are looking for exactly the same thing for both.

How about owning a networking coaching business and a sign store (like I used to)? They both have something to do with marketing, but it’s not quite as obvious what message to send out. This is where you have to look at your ideal clients and find connections. In this example, non-profits need signs and they need to network for members and donors. So the marketing director of a non-profit could be a good referral for either business, and you can send that message out to your network.

But what if they really don’t seem to have a connection? I have a friend who sells nutrition products and offers voice-over services. Two completely different industries. On the surface, it seems like his clients have nothing in common with each other. It’s up to the business owner to find (or create) some connection. For example, consumers are increasingly doing their research on-line. Doctors have web sites, and potential patients often check them out before calling to schedule an appointment. My friend has a very soothing, confidence-inspiring voice. He could market his voice to doctors to provide a reassuring on-line “voice” for the practice. And, oh by the way, medical professionals just happen to be ideal referrals for his nutrition products. But every nutritional supplement seller wants to get face time with doctors. And they often turn them away. Voice-over could be a way to build confidence and a relationship that could lead to a solid client for the other business.

Creativity is the name of the game.

Time

We all have a limited time to network. (No, even I can’t network 24/7.) So how do you allocate time to network for each business? Even if you have drawn good parallels between them, there are still some events that are better for one or the other. I have a couple of suggestions for time allocation and how to avoid some common mistakes.

Look at your networking budget, both time and money. Decide how much to allocate to each business and stick to it. It’s very easy to concentrate on one to the expense of the other. Don’t do it. Spend at least some time a month networking for each. It’s okay if one gets 1/4 time and the other gets 3/4. You don’t have to spend equal time on each. But watch yourself. If one seems to be taking over, consciously schedule some time for the other.

What about the message you send? Should you talk about one or both at any particular event? I suggest you represent one at each event. Look at the events you frequent. Probably some venues are better for one and others are better for the other. Choose which to represent accordingly. If an event allows you to give your elevator pitch, definitely stick to one at a time. I’ve seen people try to squeeze multiple businesses into the same 30 second pitch. It isn’t effective. Trust me.

What about one on one meetings? Use common sense. If the person you are meeting with is obviously better for one than the other, present yourself accordingly. Use the connections you have built between your businesses to try to ask for referrals that will help both. But until you build a solid relationship with a new contact, don’t ask them to keep their ears open for too many things. The result will be that you look difficult to refer, and you won’t be referred at all.

Networking for multiple businesses is certainly possible. It takes more creativity and focus than just doing it for one. But the benefits of having multiple income streams can certainly offset the increased work.

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Sizzling Elevator Speeches

Monday, March 8th, 2010

In my last post, I talked about your networking toolkit and said that a good elevator speech was an essential part of that kit.

What is an elevator speech? Simply, it’s a short statement about who you are, what you do and who you are looking to meet. Think of it as the verbal equivalent of your business card.

The following format works very well for someone looking for business referrals.

1. Name and Business
2. Brief description of your product or service
3. Profile of a client you have helped and how you helped them
4. Specific type of referral you are looking for
5. Name and Business again
6. Your “tag” or “hook” line if you have one.

Let me break this down, one element at a time.

Your name and the name of your business should be and is pretty obvious. Enough said.

The brief description of your product or service is the first point that trips people up. This is where it is very easy to go into the laundry list of everything you do. Resist that temptation! We can only keep a few things in our mind at one time. If you overload us with a long list, we will tune you out.

The other reason you can be brief in your description is that your story is another way to describe what you do. A story that moves us is more likely to be remembered than a list of services offered. A story can illustrate a number of things about you. It can describe a client in terms that might trigger other people to say to themselves, “Hey, I know someone like that!” It can show the specific benefit of working with you. It can show how wonderful you are with your clients. And it does all these things in a way people will relate to, believe and remember.

So when you are working on your elevator speech, think about your clients. What are your two or three best stories? Write them down and then work on trimming them to about 15 seconds.

So after your story, we know what you do and a little bit about how you do it. We also should have some clues about who you do it with. But it’s not enough to just passively put the word out there. You need to give us a call to action. And that’s what the specific request for a referral does.

How do you ask for a referral? There are a couple of methods. One is to ask for a specific person. You refer back to your story and say something like, “Another company that I’d like to do the same thing for is XYZ Corp. I’d appreciate an introduction to Jane Smith in their HR department.”

Supposing you don’t need to meet a specific person? That’s okay. You can still ask for a referral. A good phrase to use is “Who do you know who…” and then fill in the rest with something that ties back to your story. That is a very powerful way to ask for a referral. It is an open-ended question (one that can’t be answered by “yes” or “no.”). Many people use “Do you know someone who?” This structure is not as effective because it is closed-ended (can be answered by “yes” or “no.”).

Repeat your name and the name of your business. Why? Because the odds are good that we weren’t paying attention the first time. If you are at an event where lots of people are giving an elevator speech, we’ve probably heard several bad ones already and are bored. We’re going to assume that you are going to be just like the others we’ve heard, and we’re tuning you out. Then you surprise us with something that is actually good! Now we want to meet you. But we missed your name.

Few people are comfortable with walking up to a total stranger and admitting we can’t remember a name. So give us a second chance to catch yours. We’ll be more likely to talk to you and ask you to “Tell me more.”

Finally, do not overlook that tagline. What is a tagline? It’s an eight to ten word sentence or phrse that ties everything together and leaves something memorable in the audience’s mind. Big companies almost always have them. Some examples are:

Avis-We try harder
GE-We bring good things to life
Nike-Just do it.

See what I mean? A tagline should be catchy and memorable. It’s the last thing your audience will hear, so it is worth spending some time working on a memorable one. It will set you apart from others at a networking function and will make people want to talk to you.

The most important thing is to remember always to be clear and concise. No one likes to listen to someone drone on for several minutes and say nothing. One of the best compliments you can get is one that I received after an event. “Lots of people talk a lot and say very little. You talk a very little and say a lot.”

That’s the goal of an excellent elevator speech!

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Biggest Networking Mistakes: Not Describing Yourself Well

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Yesterday I wrote about what I think is one of the biggest mistakes made in networking: not listening enough. Today I want to talk about the flip side: not describing yourself (or your business) well.

Have you ever been to an event where you asked someone, “So what do you do?” and been more confused after they finished than when they started.

Or have you ever asked someone “Who is a good client for you?” and they say, “Well, actually anyone is a good client for me.”

Neither of those messages accomplished anything positive. If they made the person more memorable, it wasn’t in a good way.

To network effectively, you need to have a clear message. You need to be able to describe what you do without jargon and in a way that people will understand. You need to know who you want to meet and be able to describe them in ways that will trigger a response.

This is one of the reasons I recommend people develop an elevator speech. Even if you never have a chance to stand up and deliver one, the process of writing about it forces you to think through who you are, what you do, and who you want to meet.

So how can you communicate those things more effectively?

1. Don’t use jargon! I can’t emphasize that enough. Jargon only communicates with people who know the jargon, and the majority of people you interact with won’t understand and won’t care.

2. Involve the senses. If you can describe what you do in a vivid way involving many senses, do so. When I was selling windows, I used to talk about standing in front of a large picture window and feeling either the heat or the cold through the glass. I got a referral from someone who felt the cold in front of the window in a friend’s living room. Saying, “if you know someone who needs my services” wouldn’t have given it to me. Making her feel it in my description did.

3. Be specific. If you want to meet plastic surgeons, don’t say you want to meet people “in the medical profession.” If you want to work with a particular company, mention it by name. If you can describe exactly what to look for of listen for, describe it. Our mind needs triggers to make connections. Give them to us.

4. Don’t wing it. Think through these things in advance. Sit down right now and write down what you do in vivid terms, using common language. Run your description past a friend or a client. See if it resonates. If you do it now, you’ll be ready when you need it.

Anyone want to share a particularly vivid description of what you do or who you need to meet? If I get some good ones, I’ll include them in an upcoming blog post. Don’t forget to leave a link to your site. I’ll include it in the post.

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Holiday Networking: Craft the Message

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

You should already have a good message for holiday business networking events. If not, we should talk. But what about holiday social events? How can you bring up business while still honoring the event?

It’s simple. Find a compelling success story to talk about. People at end-of-year events will often ask some variation on “So how are things with you?” Answer with something good that happened this year.

Are you in business? Then talk about a fun, significant business success. Maybe a client did well because of you. Or you landed that dream contract. Go ahead. Brag a little!

Are you a job seeker? Well then talk about a promising job lead. Or a great interview (informational or otherwise). Maybe you could mention how you’ve narrowed (or widened) your search.

Like with any good story, it should be compelling enough to encourage the other person to say “Tell me more.” Voila! You just got permission to talk a bit more business at the social event.

But remember to honor the event, like I discussed yesterday. Don’t go on and on. Keep it short and fun. If your audience is really interested in learning more, arrange a follow up meeting over lunch or coffee.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about some ways to legitimately exchange cards or contact info at a social event. It can be done and done right.

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Holiday Networking: Honor the Event

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

This is number one in a series of posts about holiday networking. I know it’s a bit early to be talking about this topic, but I have two reasons. The first being that I want to give you time to plan your strategy for the holidays. Too many people network reactively. I want you networking proactively. The second is purely selfish. I am holding a workshop on this topic in a few weeks, and this forces me to think through my material. For obvious reasons, this topic hasn’t been top of my mind for almost a year.

The holiday season is a good time for networking. Many people give up on it after Thanksgiving, and that’s a shame. It wastes more than a month out of the year. People do spend money (obviously) during the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they might as well be spending it on you. If your product or service really isn’t needed through the season, then you can be building relationships that will give you a jump start on the new year.

The first thing to remember in holiday networking is to honor the event. What that means will vary from event to event. There will a number of holiday-themed business networking events throughout the season. It’s fine to bring cards, a good elevator speech and ears opened wide for needs.

But what about holiday parties, intimate get-togethers, office holiday exchanges, customer appreciation parties and the like? Definitely bring business cards. (Remember my post from last week about business cards?) But keep them in your pocket until the conversation goes in that direction. You will want to have a message for these events, but it will probably be different from the message you bring to business networking events.

More on crafting that specific message tomorrow. Stay tuned.

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Who Do You Know Who?

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

This is a very powerful phrase to use when asking for a referral.

Why, you ask? The main reason is because it is an open-ended question. In other words, it can’t be answered with “yes” or “no.” Many people use “Do you know someone who?” This structure is not as effective because it is closed-ended (can be answered by “yes” or “no.”).

From the time we are small, we are trained to answer “no” to almost any question put to us. Usually we don’t even think consciously about it. So if someone asks “Do you know someone who?” your first answer is likely to be “no.” Understand that tendency in people and work with it, not against it. “Who do you know who?” almost forces us to think. “Hmm…who do I know who?” That automatic response is far more beneficial than “no.” The more vivid you are in your question, the more likely you are to get a response.

It does one more thing. Many people when asking for a referral say they want people “like you.” None of us like to be sold, but we don’t mind being invited. “Who do you know who” allows us to self-select. If you ask, for example, “Who do you know who needs promotional items at a great price?” and I just happen to need them, the question allows me to approach you with my need.

So, who do you know who needs to be reading this blog? Send them a link!

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Stories Sell

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

My English teachers always told me “show, don’t tell.” I only sort of got it when I was in school. But as I work with people on their elevator speeches, I have seen over and over what my teachers were trying to get at.

Too many people talk about what they do and how wonderful they are. But they don’t show us. And good stories can get the message across far more effectively. We remember stories. They touch our hearts. They set us apart from our competition.

So why don’t more people tell stories? Because it’s harder. It’s easy to list all the things we do. It’s hard to take that same list and turn it into a story. Here’s an example. Which get the message across better?

I work with clients to increase their client base through networking and effective word of mouth marketing. I do that by looking at goals and helping them create a plan to bring in more business. I am really good at what I do, and what sets me apart is how I work really hard to make my clients successful. Please refer me to anyone who is looking to attract more clients.

or

One of my clients is a therapist. When I started working with her, she was seeing 5-7 clients a week. After six months, she was seeing 15-17, and she had raised her rates two times in that period, so she was getting paid what she was worth. Who do you know who isn’t satisfied with the number of clients they are seeing? Refer them to me.

Which one shows instead of telling? Which one demonstrates that I am good at what I do? Which one makes you more likely to refer me?

Remember stories. They are the most effective way to sell yourself and your business.

And tomorrow, I’m going to talk about the magic phrase “Who do you know who” and why it is an excellent way to ask for referrals.

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