A Networking Approach That Always Works
June 23, 2007 – 4:50 pmI have tried many different approaches when networking based on advice from others and ideas that I have read. Finally I have found the best way to approach the following business networking scenarios: You are at some networking event and you are making contact for the first time with some other person who is networking, either as the conversation initiator or receiver.
Scenario 1: They ask you, “What do you do?” or something similar.
I reply: I help businesses increase productivity and revenue. What do you do?
They will likely then launch into what they do and proceed to talk in depth. This is your key time to listen. You can determine a) whether the relationship is worth pursing (if not, politely end the conversation and move on; if so, get their contact information and move on not after finding out their key pain points) and b) what their pain points are (use this information to guide your pitch)
You must know your business well enough that you can easily adapt your pitch according to your prospects pain points. You should know in detail all ways your product or service helps your prospect increase revenue or productivity which both equal to increased profit margins.
Scenario 2: You start off the conversation.
Introduce your self by name and then ask them what do they do? then use the same technique above.
Remember that people generally care only about their own self interests and business. You can use this fact to your advantage while you probe in depth to find out their key pain points.