Networking and The Elevator Speech

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Networking and The Elevator Speech

Written by Dan Jourdan

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How to Make Your Networking Efforts Pay Off!

By shifting your focus away from what you want to have happen, to how you want to feel (ex. From getting a new client to just having a good time and maybe helping someone) you will change how others perceive you. Instead of being a desperate salesperson you will now be seen as a friendly, helpful person who would be nice to get to know better.

Do you dread having to go to a networking meeting? Does the very thought of it make you anxious? On one hand you know that you need to get out and promote or market your business but the thought has your stomach churning. If your business has been slow or is just not producing the income you need you may be feeling the pressure to perform.

When you go into a meeting with these feelings you may as well hang a sign around your neck that says stay away! The energy you are sending out is sending this message. Have you ever gone to a store to buy something and the salesperson was so desperate to sell you whatever he had to offer that you couldn’t wait to leave. He was focusing only on his need (to sell something) and was oblivious to your needs and desires.

Now think about a business you love to go into or someone you love to do business with. What are they focused on? Chances are the answer is you! They want to know all about you and have a genuine interest in what you have to offer. This business person eagerly looks forward to having a good time at networking events. As my friend Carmen Weisenbaker says, “ They have taken the “work” out of networking and are now left “net”ing a profit.

In order to have fun and profit from your networking efforts follow the next three foolproof steps and begin “netting” a profit.

1) Be prepared.

a) Have all of you marketing materials prepared and ready to go.

b) Practice what you will say when asked to introduce yourself. Practice over and over until you feel very comfortable with it. Let your intuition guide you as to what you should say. You always will have another event to change and tweak your words. Have a trusted friend help you with this if you want but always trust what you feel deep down. Several times I have changed something because someone else thought I should when deep down I knew my way was best. I would eventually end up going back to what I knew in my heart would work.

c) Leave early for your meeting allowing plenty of time for any delay that could prevent you from being on time therefore causing you more stress.

2) Set your intention and reflect.

a) I am very specific with my intention. (I intend to have a relaxed fun time today meeting the people who will be beneficial in helping me achieve my goals. I intent to meet two people today who I would like to schedule to meet one on one at a later time to see how we can help each other. )

b) Now spend a few minutes reflecting on this intention. Simply breathe deeply and repeat the intention over and over in your mind.

3) Help someone else.

When you enter the room look for someone who looks uncomfortable, someone who “looks” like you used to feel. It will be easy to spot them. They will usually be found standing or sitting by themselves. Make it your mission to see if you can help this person feel more comfortable. This will shift your focus immediately from yourself and any stress you may still have.

With your newfound mission to help you won’t have time to worry about yourself. Don’t spend the whole meeting with your new friend however. Play matchmaker. See if you can match them with someone else who may be interested in what they have to offer. Then look for someone else to help. You will be so busy playing matchmaker the time will fly by. You will have met a number of people and because of your helping attitude you will be well respected. When you introduce yourself later, people will genuinely want to listen.

4) Visualize your success every day.

Spend some time every day visualizing and focusing on what you want. It is estimated that humans have some 4000 thoughts each day. What are you thinking about? If you are wasting time thinking about what you should have done or said or imagining the worst scenario of what might happen if… then it’s high time you begin to shift your beliefs. Start believing in your dreams. Start visualizing what you want to happen. When you do your brain will immediately begin to search for ways to make your dreams a reality.

Follow these four steps and you will find yourself relaxed and eager to attend any networking event. Your relaxed, easy to be around attitude you will attract many new clients and friends.

Got Sales? | The Sales Store

The Elevator Speech

“The quietest place on planet Earth is a crowded elevator in the morning.” That is, unless I’m in the elevator with you. Most people put their head down or look up at the numbers, which one are you? There is, of course, the option of being the guy that talks loudly on his cell phone, but nobody would admit to that one. Me, as soon as the bell rings, I am on stage. I figure as long as I have been selling I have been taught to have an elevator speech, a 30 second description of what you do, and how you do it. Why not use it in the most obvious place?

The other day I was on the elevator going to the seventeenth floor of the building for a breakfast meeting. There were five other people with me. The doors shut, and…show time. I gave my standard opening line to the audience, the same one I used for the first sentence of this article. Judging by the smiles I then decide which group to begin a conversation with. If you are not smiling now, I probably would not be talking to you.

In this case I got three smiles, one texting on their phone and one person with
I-Pod on and earplugs in, both in their own world at the moment. The brief conversation went well with people offering pleasantries as they were exiting the elevator. One gentleman who I was talking to stayed for the entire ride to the Seventeenth floor with me. When we decided to exchange business cards, you guessed it; this was the guy I was to meet for the breakfast meeting.

The meeting went well and I made the sale, not because of any sales tactic or system. I made the sale because I was having a good time on an elevator and made a friend and a good first impression with a person just for the fun of it. How many opportunities like this do you have every day that you are not taking advantage of?

Here are some ideas:

1. Smile at strangers and say good morning even if you don’t feel like it. If you act friendly and approachable you will become that way.

2. Always be on the look out to meet more people. Your database of contacts will be your most important asset and will be your road to making your fortune.

3. Be prepared with standard opening lines to start a conversation. Somehow poke fun at yourself and be prepared to laugh if people join in at your expense.

Shakespeare wrote once that “All the world is a stage and we are merely players.” It may have been the rock band “Rush” who said it that way in 1981, but the point is made. We are social creatures and communication is for enjoyment as much as it is necessity. Use your opportunities to meet people even if it means having some strangers on an elevator laugh at you once in a while. Remember, it’s not who you know, but who knows you!

Click here for more information to help your communication skills.

Dan Jourdan
		About the author:
		For the past decade, DAN JOURDAN has served as a trusted advisor and consultant to numerous businesses. In addition to being a professional speaker, Dan is a managing partner of Neighborhood Business Brokers, where he works with business owners from all types of industries to help facilitate sales and acquisitions. Dan has become recognized as an authority on the assessment and valuation of small businesses and successful practices of entrepreneurs. .