Separating the vital from the trivial is an important skill in business. Especially today given the limited resource of cash has been further reduced.

The article encouraged planning ahead to some degree:

“…inquire ahead of time if the host issues a list of attendees and if they do be sure to request one. Read through and study it so that you have an idea of who you want to connect with while you are there.”

If you can’t get this list, a call to the registrar or membership director will yield some good results too.Having “an idea” of who you want to connect with is not enough turn this meeting into money. You must know precisely who you want to speak to and prepare a business bit, some relevant information or resource, prior to your arrival. This way, you are truly intentional and prepared, leaving little if anything to chance in making your connections.

“If you have not created your own opener yet, now is the time to do so. Always make your opener is short and sweet and practice your delivery so that it is causal and natural. Remember, the skill you want to develop here is to focus only on connecting with people and making new business relationships and not to try and sell anything.”

The opener mentioned here could be your 30 Second Promo in front of the group or your conversation starter. Ideally, these should be consistent, memorized, and focused on finding Links, not direct customers. Additionally, “short and sweet” is polite but it doesn’t move you any closer to finding a Link. The 4 Questions should always be used here and every conversation should end with a compliment. Start with a question, end with a compliment and don’t worry about being “sweet.”

One of the tips encourages the biggest mistake we make in business networking, taking it slow and socializing.

“You can stress yourself out at business networking events if you try to do too much. You really can only comfortably meet about five people in the time you have at most events; sometimes a few less and sometimes a few more. So, decide in advance how many people you would like to meet and try not to exceed that goal. If you rush from person to person then you will have lost the idea that you are there to develop new relationships and this is done at a slower pace because relationships are built on trust; trust takes the time to get to know someone.”

Although you shouldn’t “rush” around frenetically, spending too much time with people – especially the wrong people – is a guaranteed way to waste your time and work for less than minimum wage. I am a very social person and love learning about people. If I didn’t have a definite plan that I could work in The Link System, complete with conversation starters and graceful exits, I would fall into this common pitfall as well.

So, the moral of the story is don’t confuse socializing with networking or you might confuse money spent with money earned.

– jc

Read the original article.

Outside of the meet and greet time earlier, this is the best opportunity to recruit links. However, 99% of the time this opportunity is squandered with the unprepared business-as-usual sales pitch.

I often see the eyes of those around me roll back as the facilitator finishes the directions and passes the mic to the first speaker. They then move on to checking their Blackberrys, going for seconds, or reading the handouts on the table.

This is the norm in almost all networking groups, and often by design. Chambers, associations, chapters, alumni groups – they all tend to get directions from their facilitators that sound something like this:

“For your 30 second promos, please tell us your name, the company you work for, what you do,  and one thing people don’t know about you.”

For clarity, here is the information requested in sequence:

1. your name
2. the company you work for
3. what you do
4. one thing people don’t know about you

Here is a common example following the above directions:

“Hello, my name is Jack Smith and I work for Superior Heating & Air. I am the business development manager and one thing you don’t know about me is that I like to kite surf. It is so fun…I just got back from Hawaii where I kite surfed off the coast of Oahu for 3 days. It was beautiful and you all should try it. If you need A/C or heating repairs or maintenance, give me a call. We have great customer service and are offering a free filter with all tune ups.”

We did learn facts about Jack’s work and a personal note but

Since the focus of this post is on getting the group’s attention, we will focus on why following these directions will not bring you success in getting others to focus on what you have to say.

And if they aren’t listening, why waste your breath?

Let’s look at how these directions could be improved to get the first thing you need in your 30 second promo: attention.

1. Unless your name is Michael Jackson or Britney Spears, you wont get attention by telling people your name so that is a bad place to start since you have about 5 seconds to capture the group’s interest.
2. Your company is great but probably mostly unknown. If you missed the opportunity to grab attention with the first thing out of your mouth, following up with this is sure to increase others’ focus on the steam rising from their coffee.

I could go on but no more is needed. You will never, never get the attention and interest you want by using this type of 30 second promo or presentation.

Attention Grabbers

Like it or not, every member in the group is self centered and asking “what’s in it for me?” To make it memorable, they are all listening to WII FM. Knowing this gives you an opportunity to play their favorite song. It is a gift to know what station they’re on so use it wisely as changing the station to “I’m tuning out” is very easy.

What’s their favorite song?

Their favorite song is a Business-Bite, some relevant information, a resource, or an idea that is compelling and causes them to look up from their iPhone at you.

The first thing you say is the most important thing you say! Every news article you read uses this principle. The most important thing you need to know is first followed by order or priority. If you get nothing else, you get the first thing. If you don’t get their attention, you will never get anything else from them.

Using the above example of Jack at Superior, he should respectfully ignore the directions and instead go with something proven and effective like adding some research and a direct benefit first:

“The cost of electricity has gone up 47% over the last 2 years and another 21% increase was just approved for next year. Did you know that 2 annual tune ups on your heating and A/C system can reduce power consumption by up to 25%? For someone paying $200 a month, that’s an extra $50 a month or $600 a year….

What Jack says next is of great importance as he has just gathered the attention of his audience. Many are thinking of what they could do with the extra money while others are considering this benefit as their bills are $500 and higher.

To maximize this opportunity, The Personal Branding Workshop is an ideal next step to take this and other strategies and put them in to practice.

Grab attention and reward those who gave it – for their benefit and yours.

p.s.
The best way to transform your group with strategies like this is to request that your Executive Director or Membership Manager visit this blog. Booking a workshop at your next luncheon is also a great way.

The cards weren’t mine.

I was so excited to have met so many prospects and potential customers in one place in just a couple hours. I was diligent to transfer the data from the cards into my contact manager so I could follow up and drum up some business.

I followed up.

Then again.

And again.

I was doing what the gurus told me, “the fortune is in the follow up.”

Yet, I didn’t get any business from this event.

Was I at the wrong event? Was I just wearing the wrong suit or said the wrong things? Maybe it was just a fluke – next week would be different.

What happened?

You are certainly familiar with the myriad options for business networking. Events with LeTip, BNI, Associations, Trade Shows, and the local Chamber of Commerce are just a few examples.

What made my lunch unsuccessful was not the venue, the presentation, or the topic.

What made my lunch unsuccessful was me.

I took another session to sell my services to people who already know of them, are tired of hearing about them, don’t need them, or already have solutions.

This gets old very fast.

Just think of a time when ‘that guy’ stood up like I did with why you need to use his special shoe shine kit. He even included an incentive to ‘buy today and save!’ How did you feel about this?

Is this guy doing a service to anyone? His company, his peers, his product, or his pocketbook?

No!

Are you doing a service to anyone with your 75th pitch?

Driving 100mph in a parking lot

We are creatures of habit. Very busy creatures of habit.

When we want more sales, we make sales calls. We attend networking events to ultimately get more sales so we use the same habits.

People say “Hello, how are you?”

We say “I’m fine but do you have Life Insurance?”

Maybe your not this obvious but some are and the rest of us can’t resist pitching everyone we meet at business events.

Doh!

This is like Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving 100mph all the time. Whether on the oval racetrack, the freeway, in front of schools, and in parking lots.

In his case, not changing his habits in context would take lives. In our case, we pay for it with fewer relationships, lower incomes, and rampant disappointment.

That’s a life I do not want to live.

Just like Mr. Earnhardt, we must adjust not just the style of our driving, but the goal. The NASCAR racetrack enables victory for a single driver. The parade route enables a single driver to serve hundreds – tens of millions in the case of the Rose Parade – using the same vehicle with a different goal.

Get out of the rut

OK. Your results suck and you’re fed up with networking altogether.

Maybe you don’t even know how to measure success.

I understand. I’ve been there.

Word-of-mouth marketing is your best way to consistent and predictable sales – in any economy – so there must be some way to use it without getting stuck in the same ol’ rut.

Good news, here it is.

Using The Link System, I have found great success in getting new customers and sales.

However, this is only part of the equation. I now realize that sales are not the only thing that brings in the money.

Ideas, information, and resources given by seasoned professionals and experts are vital part of my — and others’ — success.

Trust an experienced expert

I experienced this change first hand and now I want to help you do the same. To make this possible, I have been accepted as a Licensed Trainer of The Link System.

I am looking for those who want to transform their lead generation through an actionable and tested plan. Stop throwing darts without knowing where the dartboard is. You will never hit the bulls-eye by accident. Focus on giving to others for success and staying out of the rut.

To your success,

Jon Cline

p.s.
This is the best system for low cost marketing in a challenging economy.

For the next 3 months, I am looking to refine and update my materials in front of qualified audiences – for free. Send your event date via our booking page to apply.