This week I've been asked to give a talk on effective networking at a Southern Entrepreneurs event in Havant on Wednesday evening. I'd love to see you there if you're in the area! I started holding workshops to help small business owners network more effectively back in 2004. With so much emphasis now on online networking (via Facebook, Twitter, Ecademy, LinkedIn, etc), I thought that this week I'd take a look at some of the offline techniques I teach and see if they apply online as well.
At one my workshops, we discussed how to come up with an attention-grabbing opening statement, in answer to the question “What do you do”?. Speaking to a delegate after the workshop, she asked me why I recommended to focus first on the problem and not on the solution.
It’s all a matter of thinking about what motivates people. Some people are motivated towards pleasure or reward but even more are motivated away from pain or discomfort so that’s where you need to start.
The response you want is for someone to say “That sounds interesting, tell me more.” Or “How do you do that?”. Then you move on to talk about the solution you can provide (not the process).
You can use these motivators in your one-minute pitches too. First highlight the problem your typical clients have and then tell them how wonderful things will be with your solution. This is a really strong combination of motivators that will resonate with people who are in the market for what you offer.
I think this one passes the 'offline and online' test - what do you think?
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