Do I know you? And what you do? Really?

I just posted a comment on Andy Lopata's LinkedIn pages that I thought I'd share here too. It's about getting the message out there about what you do without trying to shove it down people's throats :0)  You first need to get the person (Client, networking contact, potential employer) into a receptive mindset and ready to learn more about your skills, products and services.

When I first meet you, I am probably far from receptive to a pitch, for example. If it's at a networking meeting, I kind of expect you to try and sell me something, or recruit me into your network marketing downline or whatever, so I'm on the alert for the pitch and in defensive mode. My shields are up!

And it always amazes me that most networking contacts assume you will 'sell' their services to your own network when you know little (or nothing) about them and their offer.

Even your Clients may only know you for the service they actually buy, and be unaware of other offerings they could use or refer you for.

It may be a good idea to ask the Client to complete a 3-question multiple choice Satisfaction Survey for you (when they have paid the invoice!) along these lines:

We have received your payment - thank you for your business. We'd appreciate your feedback if you can spare a moment to tell us (by ticking the relevant boxes):

Question 1: How satisfied were you with our service performance overall? Delighted / Very pleased / Satisfied / Unimpressed
Question 2 : Which of our following products or services were you aware of before you became a Customer? ' Product 1 / Product 2 etc...
(please contact me if you would like more details of any of them)
Question 3 : Would you be confident in recommending us to your contacts who express a need for one of our services as a trusted and reliable supplier? Yes / No / Need more information

Those who complete the survey are your fans (with the odd disgruntled customer who you need to placate).and at least everybody will have seen your product/service range!..There's nothing worse than when a customer says "Oh, I didn't know you did that - I just bought it from another supplier..!"

It's only partly about who you know - the rest is what they know about you (and whether they trust you enough to refer you within their network).  So networking isn't about selling, IMHO!

Do you agree?

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If you want to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of business networking, find out what works and what doesn't, and discover how you can become a more effective networker, please come along to my Networking Skills MasterClass - details here on NiS. Earlybird discount tickets for Tuesday 5 August 2.30pm are still available as I write this...