Archive for the 'How to Talk About What You Do' Category

How to Talk About What You Do — Live and in person!

Can you talk about what you do? (It’s not that hard!)
Do think the “Elevator Speech” is the answer?  (It isn’t!)
When asked what you do, do you answer with your professional category?  (Wrong!)
For my friends and readers who live in the Crystal Lake, Illinois area, I will be teaching a live workshop this Wednesday, June 10, 2009.  Here are the details:

What:  How to Talk About What You Do Without Sounding Bland, Boring, or Like Everyone Else!

When:  Wednesday, June 10, 2009 — 11:30 am to 1:00 pm

Where:  Home State Bank, Lower Level Community Room, 611 S Main St, Crystal Lake, IL

How much:  $10 for Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce members, $15 for non-members, lunch included

Click here to sign up!

I look forward to seeing you there!

Published on Sunday June 7, 2009 in BYS Sales Cycle, How to Talk About What You Do and Speaking & Demonstrating. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Networking Guy – Yuk!

My local Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a multi-Chamber mixer at the local newspaper in our community.  I love these events because I get to connect with business owners from neighboring communities that I don’t see on a regular basis.  That’s a good thing.

The bad thing was who I will call “networking guy”.  He was wearing a cowboy hat (not the norm in my suburban Chicago community!) and attached to that hat was a flashing neon “Let Me Tell You” badge.  I know, you think I am kidding, but I am not. 

I don’t like to judge, but this guy has it all wrong.  I don’t want to be “told” anything, and I sure as hell do not want to be told by a guy wearing a cowboy hat with a flashing neon light on it.  He was engaging in many short, meet and greet type conversations, but what really ticked me off was that while he was talking to one person, he was not making eye contact, but looking around for the next person to talk you.

Have you all met someone like this?  Probably.  Do we avoid people like this when we can?  Probably.  Can we be different than this guy?  For sure!

Here’s what I try to do at these events.  The new members of the Chamber are given a different color name badge to wear when they come to these things.  I seek out those new members, strike up a conversation to learn a little bit more about their business and then I ask them simple question, “What type of business or business person would be a good connection for you?”  Now, because I know almost all 900 members of our local chamber, I can, at that point, probably walk them over to someone that meets the criteria they just told me, and make an introduction, “Joe meet Mary, Mary meet Joe.  Mary said that knowing you might help her in her business, why don’t the two of you get to know each other a little better.”  Did I get anything out of it directly?  No, probably not.  Did I make a great impression on Mary and Joe?  For sure.  The next time Mary or Joe need my services, will they be more likely to think of me?  For sure.  More importantly, does Mary feel better about her decision to join the Chamber?  For sure.  Was Joe reminded about the advantages the Chamber has for him?  For sure.  Most of all, I feel great about connecting two people who did not know each other previously.  That’s part of what networking is for me.

So, the next time you are at a “networking” event, try and connect two people in your network.  The payoff will not be immediate, but it sure will feel good.


Published on Thursday April 9, 2009 in Core Self-Promotion Strategies, How to Talk About What You Do and Networking. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Voting is like buying, right?

My wife got up early today and headed to the polls while I stayed home with the kids.  She texted me shortly thereafter and said, “Oh My God, you should see the line!” (of course she didn’t use punctuation, after all, she was just texting).  She left, got her free cup of coffee from Starbucks (give away to everyone who voted) and I went about two hours later and there was still a line out the door.  I thought that was pretty cool and here’s why:  In our small town in Illinois, a state that is going to vote Democrat, in a county that always votes Republican, there is still massive voter turnout.  Why?  We already pretty much know how it is all going to come out, right?  As I said, the state will go Democrat and the county will go Republican.  It has been that way for years.  But still, there is a line.  Why?

I think people want to be a part of this election.  I think people want to have “ownership” in this election.  I think people are “buying” whatever the candidates are selling, regardless of who the candidate is.  Both sides, on the national level anyway, are selling “change” and we, as a country are “buying” by showing up in droves to vote.  The morning talk shows showed lines everywhere, especially in the so called “battleground” states.  So, the business of this election has succeeded, we will have more buyers than we can handle today at the polls.  Like I said, I think that’s pretty cool.

So, how does this all relate to sales and marketing?  Well, I think that too many of us take our customers and clients for granted sometimes.  When was the last time you reached out to your clients?  Do you have a “keep in touch” strategy that continues to add value to your relationships with your customers?  Are your customers so excited about you and your business that they are out there selling for you?  If not, maybe you can take some cues from the candidates and their campaigns. 

Let me know your thoughts on this by leaving me a comment!

Published on Tuesday November 4, 2008 in Customer Retention, How to Talk About What You Do, Keep-in-Touch, Personal Brand, Who Knows You & Do They Like You? and Why People Buy. 0 Comments