Converting Contacts
to Customers: Part 1
By Gail Stolzenburg
Like most entrepreneurs, I went to my
first networking event with the idea that I would collect a lot of business
cards of prospects for my business. I approached the attendees with
information on my products, my company, and myself, thinking that they would be
excited about an opportunity to purchase my products or services. What a
rude awakening when I found that most people were just turned off.
It was a paradigm shift learning to
begin by giving referrals or other gifts rather than asking for them. I
heard Zig Ziglar say, “You can get anything you want in this life if you just
help enough other people get what they want”, but I was unaware that it applied
to me. One of the top sales trainers in the world, Brian Tracy, used to
focus on the best closing techniques. Now, he focuses on building trust
and rapport.
There is a story about two radio
stations. The first is KIAAM and it stands for “Keep it all about me”,
one of the biggest mistakes made in networking. The other station is
WIIFM which stands for “What’s in it for me”, what the person you’re talking
with is thinking. A good practice is to write out your anticipated
conversation before networking then count the number of times you write “I” and
“We” and change them to “You”.
One of my mentors, Dr. Ivan Misner,
founder of BNI, says we should be listening 70% of the time and only talking
30% of the time. And, the 30% of the time should be spent asking
questions. Some of the questions I ask are: “What got you started
in that line of work? What do you enjoy best about it? What is your
greatest challenge? Where else do you network? Is there someone
here who you would like to meet? What would be a good referral for you?
How do you market your business? Would you like to attend other networking
events? I publish a list of networking events; would you like for me to
send you that list? I subscribe to an e-newsletter with valuable business
building tips at no cost; would you like for me to send you the link?”
After learning something about each
other, we can decide if we want to continue the conversation by setting up a
meeting. The cardinal rule of networking is to never try to sell someone,
just share information and see if there’s a reason to continue the conversation
later.
After saying hello, the most asked
question is, “What do you do?” Most people say they are a banker,
realtor®, insurance agent, salesman, etc. and the
conversation stops. That is what they are rather than what they do.
To keep the conversation going, I use these magic words from best-selling
author and networking trainer Tom “Big Al” Schreiter: “Do you know
how…most busy entrepreneurs have little
time for optimum health? Well what I do
is…show them three ways to get and
stay healthy in 15 minutes a day.”
You can develop your own answer by just filling in the blanks.
Would you join me in committing to
never “upchuck” on someone while networking? In our next article, we will
cover what you can do and say at your first one-to-one meeting to begin
converting your contact to a customer.
________________________________________________________________
Gail Stolzenburg,
Chief People Connector, can be contacted by email at Gail@GailStolzenburg.com,
by phone at 281-493-1955, or visit his website at www.GailStolzenburg.com.
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