One of the things I haven't been particularly diligent at is face-to-face networking. The truth is, I'm not really good at meeting people and carrying on with small talk. My problem is that I have a difficult time striking up a conversation with people. My initial concern is, "what do I talk about?"
I have a colleague who is excellent at making "small talk." We went to lunch at the mall because he needed some some sunglasses. We went into one of the high-end sunglasses shops, and my colleague immediately struck up a conversation with the sales clerk about a medical procedure she had performed. This was a random and innocuous discussion, but not likely to happen without my friend's initiation.
The discussion gave him an opportunity to pass his business card with a reference for a medical specialist she might consider consulting.
The point he emphasized to me that moment was that the content of your discussions aren't as important as the benefits or memories they produce. My colleague will hopefully have a client for life, or at least one positive contact, which otherwise wouldn't have existed.
A lot of "marketing experts" will try and push blogging or your website as the keys to growing and developing your business. While these are effective tools in developing your expert persona, they're only part of the solution.
People seek assistance from you because they know you're an expert (blogging and other marketing), and because they like and trust you to take care of their problems. Human interaction is the only way to develop lasting trust, and a long-term relationship, with clients and potential clients.
My challenge for you is to find one opportunity each day this week where you can give (physically hand) someone your business card. I'm going to work on with you on this "guerrilla marketing" task.
I have a colleague who is excellent at making "small talk." We went to lunch at the mall because he needed some some sunglasses. We went into one of the high-end sunglasses shops, and my colleague immediately struck up a conversation with the sales clerk about a medical procedure she had performed. This was a random and innocuous discussion, but not likely to happen without my friend's initiation.
The discussion gave him an opportunity to pass his business card with a reference for a medical specialist she might consider consulting.
The point he emphasized to me that moment was that the content of your discussions aren't as important as the benefits or memories they produce. My colleague will hopefully have a client for life, or at least one positive contact, which otherwise wouldn't have existed.
A lot of "marketing experts" will try and push blogging or your website as the keys to growing and developing your business. While these are effective tools in developing your expert persona, they're only part of the solution.
People seek assistance from you because they know you're an expert (blogging and other marketing), and because they like and trust you to take care of their problems. Human interaction is the only way to develop lasting trust, and a long-term relationship, with clients and potential clients.
My challenge for you is to find one opportunity each day this week where you can give (physically hand) someone your business card. I'm going to work on with you on this "guerrilla marketing" task.
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