You Bored Me At Hello - Top Three Strategies For Networking Your Brand

[Cole Channing]

"You had me at hello," those famous words from the movie Jerry McGuire
let Tom Cruise know that Rene Zellweger's character was hooked from
that point and the rest of his talking was unnecessary. When in
networking situations, many small business owners leave people with a
slightly different feeling. If questioned for the truth, what would
likely be said is, "you bored me at hello!" That is definitely not a
great way to grow your business into a powerful name brand. Networking
works, but not if you leave your prospects bored.
Networking opportunities are everywhere. You can find them at Chamber
of Commerce and Better Business Bureau events, not to mention when you
are in line at the grocery store. There are even groups of people who
regularly meet solely for the purpose of networking. Unfortunately,
all of the networking opportunities in the world will not help grow
your business unless people remember you and your company after you
are gone.
Here are three strategies to avoid boring people during your next
networking opportunity:
1) Gone in Thirty-Seconds - Attention spans are getting shorter and
shorter. Any longer than thirty seconds for your "elevator speech" and
you will be tuned out. People cannot sit through a thirty-second
commercial without changing the channel on the television. Your
business will be treated the same way. They will start thinking about
what they need to pick up on the way home or other random thoughts.
Many times, they are simply waiting for you to stop talking so they
can try to sell you on their business. Your brand message must be
short, simple and to the point. If you ramble too much, the person
will start feeling like Charlie Brown in school - "wahwah, wah wah
wah," "yes ma'am."
2) Red or Black - Pick a color. Roulette gives you the option of
betting on red or black. If you bet red, you win when it hits on any
red number. Winning is good. If it hits on any black number, you lose.
Losing is not so good. However, when you "hedge" and bet on red and
black together you are guaranteed to not win. In a networking
situation, limit what you talk about. Sure, you are risking leaving
out something the prospect would like to hear. However, unless you get
lucky and mention it first, the odds are that you will lose their
attention by then anyway. Limit the scope of your brand, or say
everything and be remembered for nothing.
3) Listen - That's right, you are remembered more when you listen.
Most of us go through our day fighting to be heard. It feels really
good to be acknowledged and understood. So good that we automatically
think highly of the person listening to us. Listening demonstrates
that you value the person talking. Sincerely listen to what the other
person has to say and they will leave with high regard for you and
your business.
There ya have it, networking success as simple as 1, 2, 3! Follow all
three strategies and you are sure to notice a sharp improvement in
your networking. Before you know it, you will leave your future
clients saying "you sold me at hello!" Now, those types of responses
build a powerful brand!