Entrepreneur Secrets: Master the No. 1 networking secret
March 20, 2017
By Jerry Bellune
Do you take advantage of networking.
Do you attend events, meet people, build relations?
We attend a lot of them to meet new people.
We know that all of them are not our prospects.
But we know 90% of them know a prospect for us.
Do we tell them what we do and ask for a referral?
Are you kidding? If course not.
Why would they give a stranger a referral?
At many events, you’ll meet me-me-me people.
It’s all about them. They have it bass akwards.
It needs to be all about those we meet.
The script goes something like this:
- That’s an interesting name? How do you spell it?
- Why did you come this evening? Know the host?
- What do you do for a living? I’m all ears.
And say it with sincerity. All of us can spot a faker.
If you aren’t really interested, we will know.
Building trust can only be done if you’re sincere.
Here’s a story that illustrates this concept.
Dorie Clark had been laid off from her reporting job.
She had been accurate and fair. That won her friends.
A political consultant called her about a job.
He had been impressed and needed a press secretary.
Through it she made friends with another staffer.
Ten years later the friend was working in academia.
She offered to introduce Dorie to other academics.
That led to her teaching at Duke University.
Now she writes for Forbes and published four books.
It all started with being fair, accurate and helpful.
She tells about this in her new book.
“Stand Out Networking” is worth reading.
Ask ourself these two questions:
- When I meet a stranger, how do I act?
Do I ask them about themselves or talk about me?
- Do I really want to get to know them or not?
If I don’t, why bother? Find someone else to meet.
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Next: How to retain customers for life.
Want to share this with a friend? Be my guest.
We only ask that you tell them where it came from.
Invite them to send me their email address.
They can reach me at [email protected]
I’ll email this strategy letter to them each week.
©2017 The Bellune Company, Inc
Neither MidlandsBiz.com nor The Bellune Company, Inc. makes any warranty as to the results that may be achieved from using this information. ©2015 The Bellune Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Requests for permission to reprint or circulate may be obtained by emailing [email protected]
