Mastering the Membership Maze with Glen Gould
If you're like most people, you struggle to tell others in a succinct and effective way what it is that you do without coming across as a salesperson or marketing brochure. Now I know what you're thinking; "I'm great at this". Well think again.
How can I be so bold without ever having met you? Over that past four years Ben Turpin (my business partner) and I have worked with hundreds of chambers and tens of thousands of chamber members and in the process we've heard over 10, 000 self introductions, elevator pitches, and marketing minutes. Chances are we've heard something similar to yours in the process.
And the truth is most people struggle telling others what they do in a way that makes sense to the listener. You see, we suffer from the curse of knowledge; we know what we do so well we naturally assume others have a working knowledge of what we do as well. This results in our using industry terms and acronyms that make no sense to the listener.
When we do, the listener realizes you think they know more than they know and she doesn't want to appear ignorant. So she politely nods her head and smiles, then she walks away still having no idea what you do or how to help you.
The purpose of your self-introduction is to convey to the listener the value you bring to their sphere of influence in such a way that she is compelled to act on your behalf. Simply put, your self-introduction should compel your listener to act. You want her to begin to think of ways she can help you and thereby help her sphere of influence. So stop talking in your language and start talking in hers.
A simple way to begin to talk the listener's language, no matter how inexperienced she is in your industry is to use the "Have you ever" technique. This technique puts your listener into a story in which she is the star.
After being asked what you do, you could say you work for PDQ Widgets. That may be the fact, but facts are boring. Instead ask, "Have you ever seen someone using a widget? I help people get the right widget for their company." So simple and so easily understood. This engages the listener into an active role. She immediately sees someone she knows using your widget. She begins to think of others she might know who could use your widget and that makes her more likely to think of leads and referrals for you.
Use the "Have you ever" technique at the next networking event you attend and you'll see dramatic results.
Glen Gould
770-435-0781
www.InspirationAgents.com
Inspiring Positive Change
www.IsYourNetworkingWorking.com
Powerful Networking Tools
www.AtlantaCommunityBreakfast.com
Bringing business people together to discuss faith and values in the workplace
For more information, please visit Glen's TNNW Bio.
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1 comment:
Glen, thanks for this post. You're right. People introduce themselves by their job title or where they work ~ not very engaging. Or they do the long explanation + sales pitch thing. Neither approaches are engaging. "Have you ever...?" is a disarming way to start a meaningful conversation. And isn't that what we really want.
The Energizer Bonnie
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