Last time I said I would give you some examples of how being specific gets results in Networking. It might help if we recap briefly. So don't confuse your audience by being vague.
To be successful in Networking you need to be specific in what you want.
If you are not specific in what you ask for, chances are you will get nothing. This is due to most people do not retains general information. Most people remember specific items. Remember the phrase ‘ full of mindless information’.
Well that is how our minds work, we remember specifics.
How many times have you heard at networking events people ask for an introduction to people who want to get more out of life? Or they would like an invitation to people with money to invest?
Both of these describe the person you want to speak to, but do not give any clues as to how fellow members will help you connect with them.
To illustrate here are two examples of being specific.
A colleague of mine was dealing with the private school sector. He had tried for a couple of years to speak to the Bursar of Charterhouse School, in Godalming. He had never got past the Bursars’ receptionist.
After some time of being told he should be more specific. He attended a joint meeting of a networking group. Taking courage in both hands he decided to ask for a direct connection and ask if anyone can help him get to the bursar.
To his amazement a man said “I don’t know the bursar personally, but his brother is my next door neighbour.”
The result of this specific request was that the next time he called Charterhouse, he got through to because the bursar was expecting his call.
Another example is that of a Florist who decided she needed to be providing flowers on a contract basis to companies in the area.
She asked to speak to the MD of a large local company. Now she was asking people in the room who all bar one ran small businesses. The amazing thing was that as soon as she had asked for a specific lead three people said they knew the MD in question and by the end of the day she had an appointment to present her services to him.
Not bad for a minutes work!
It works like this. When you ask for someone by name it will strike a chord with someone there and then and people remember what you are looking for. If you ask for something like a company that needs a marketing specialist. “So how do I know that?” If you can’t answer that question you will probably not remember what you are being asked.
Paul
Helping Real People do Real Business through Real Networking
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