During a "lunch-and-learn" networking skills presentation that I gave today to a local professional association, one of the participants asked me how to best offer a “value proposition” during a networking conversation.
He was asking about the best way to differentiate his product by highlighting benefits. Unfortunately, he was missing the real purpose of a networking event.
When networking, you absolutely want to set yourself apart from the crowd. But a networking event is NOT the place to focus on product or service differentiation; it’s time to focus on PEOPLE differentiation.
How can you differentiate yourself at a networking event and, as a result, get more referrals? By asking non-selling questions. That’s right; stay away from the typical prospect qualifying questions. Rather, ask “comfort questions” and “the big resource question.”
COMFORT QUESTIONS
Comfort questions are questions that most people LOVE to answer. There are two types of comfort questions:
(1) How did you get started in the (fill in the blank) business? People love to tell their story. So give them a chance to tell it. This will set you apart by showing that you are not simply there to make your product pitch or do the business card shuffle.
(2) What do you enjoy most about your business / product / company / industry? This is another question that makes the other person feel as if you truly care about him or her as a person – rather than just another business contact. You’ll build rapport quickly if you ask just a couple of comfort questions back-to-back.
THE BIG RESOURCE QUESTION
Notice that it is singular – resource question, not questions. This question needs no others to really fast forward rapport. The big resource questions
“Joe, how can I know if a person I am speaking with would be a good prospect for you?”
This question serves three purposes: (1) It sets you apart from the “how-can-you-help-me” crowd that you find at most business networking events; (2) It solidifies your conversation partner’s feelings of trust toward you (3) It enhances your credibility as a sincere person.
Notice that you haven’t even mentioned your product or service. And perhaps you won’t at all in this particular meeting. But that’s OK because when you truly establish that rapport and trust with someone, then that person will tell his or her associates about you. Did you know that the average person knows 250 people? So think of it this way: every time you cement rapport and trust with a prospect, you are potentially building rapport and trust with 250 additional people. If you use this approach consistently, you’ll eventually have an endless stream of referrals – not because you did a great job of pitching your product, but because you did a great job of pitching yourself as a trustworthy, sincere person.
How to Expand Your Referral Base - To learn more about this author, visit Vicki Kunkel's Website.
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Vicki Kunkel
(Visit Vicki's Website)
Vicki Kunkel is an award-winning social
anthropologist who has been recognized as
an expert in persuasive communication by
many media outlets. She’s been
interviewed by MSNBC, CNN, Entprerpeneur
Magazine, and myriad local radio and
television stations across the U.S and
Canada. During the O. J. Simpson trial,
she was a regular guest expert on AP
Network News, commenting on the subliminal
body language messages sent by all the
players in that trial, as well as which
trial strategies would be most persuasive
with jurors. Vicki received the “Women
With Vision” award from the Women’s Bar
Association of Illinois for her
breakthrough research in primal persuasion
factors, and successful application of
those factors in business, law and
politics. She’s been the driving force
behind winning political campaigns and
blockbuster personal branding campaigns
for top CEOs. Her new book: Instant
Appeal: The Eight Primal Factors that
Guarantee Blockbuster Success, (AMACOM,
New York) will be released November, 2008.
Vicki also previously spent 11 years as
a TV news anchor and radio talk show host.
To learn more about business persuasion,
visit Vicki’s website at: www.beapow
erplayer.com.
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