When you attend a networking event, are you nervous beforehand? You’re not alone.
Do you get anxious thinking of what people might ask you? Do you get freaked out because you think you will not say the right thing? Happens to the best of us!
But … do you rehearse what you will say to them in return? Probably not!
The most important part of the networking action is what you say. You can meet 100 people or 5, but if you don’t say the right thing to all of them, your actions are useless, and your time (and theirs!) is wasted.
The words that come out of your mouth will make or break any networking connection that you make.
I don’t say that to freak you out (!)
I say it because I want you to concentrate on it.
I want you to think about it, and I want you to practice it!
Think about it. When you meet someone, the first thing they will ask you is what you do.
If you stumble over the words you are not making a very good first impression.
But I’m not talking about an elevator pitch here. I don’t actually believe in having an elevator pitch that comes out when someone introduces themselves to me.
Now that’s not to say that I don’t know what I’m going to say to them, because I know exactly what I’m going to say!
But what I mean is I believe more in a conversation starter question than in a pitch of any kind.
The networking conversation should be about the buyer. And in most cases, if you are at a networking event looking for a client, YOU are not the buyer.
And so … if you talk about your business and what you do, and how you help your clients … none of that is about THEM.
Here’s an example: ‘What do you do, Tracey?’ (or, ‘So you’re a Virtual Assistant!’, which I got a lot at the event I sponsored last week!).
If you tell them you are a Virtual Assistant and then stop there, you will confuse them. Or bore them. Or probably both. Why?
Because they are not a VA. They have no interest in being a VA. So the conversation can’t continue about your business. You will lose their interest and they will find someone else to talk to. Make sense?
Unless you are someplace where YOU are going to hire THEM, the conversation must not be about you. It must be about them.
They are the customer. They have the money. They make the decision to work with you, or not.
So make it about them. ALL about them.
Here is some advice I gave to two different VAs this week:
When someone asks you what you do, say “I am a Virtual Assistant, what do you do?”
That puts the topic back to them.
If they ask you what a VA is, say, “I help business owners like you (insert your specialty).”
Again, the conversation stays on topic, about them.
Then you can ask them a question that is relevant to your services. And build the conversation from there.
Here are some really easy conversation-starter questions you can use:
‘How do you get your clients?’, or
‘Are you using a bookkeeper now?’, or
‘How do you currently manage your scheduling?’, or
‘Do you have a website/blog?’, or
‘How many retreats do you run each year?’
‘Where do you find your clients?’
See what I mean? These questions are all about their business, but they still showcase your ability to help them.
They are conversation-starters that help you get to the root of what they need help with in their business.
When they answer the question, you continue a simple conversation from there.
No reason to be nervous. No need to pitch them anything!
And … they are super-clear on what you can do for them. Why? Because you are telling them what you can do for them. The conversation is all about them and their business. And that’s the thing they know better than anyone.
Got it?
Great. Now go and do it!
To get in front of clients, you need to figure out where they are. Check out my free training video: Where Should I Network? for some great tips!
Click on the image above or click this link to view the training video.
Let me know if you have any questions!