Tweet

Business Networking Talk Little Ask Lots

Written by: Jay Hamilton-Roth

Article Overview: As a business person you want to engage in a dialogue to understand the potential client's needs and build trust. After you've introduced yourself, ...

Business Networking Talk Little Ask Lots

I recently attended a conference where Alfie Kohn ("Punished By Rewards", "Unconditional Parenting", etc.) spoke about parenting a child. As he described healthy ways of parenting, I was struck by the commonalities of a parent/child and a business/client relationship.

One of his speeches was summarized by "Talk Little, Ask Lots" - stop talking and be curious about the other person's needs and feelings. As a business person you want to engage in a dialogue to understand the potential client's needs and build trust. After you've introduced yourself, shift the conversation back to the client. What's their problem? When does it need to be solved? What have they tried? What's their budget?

Only after you've asked these questions can you begin to figure out if you can help them. Are they are trying to solve a symptom or a problem? Is this problem a match for your business (sometimes the best service you can provide is a referral to an expert)?

Remember, the goal of the conversation/meeting is to develop a long-term relationship. If you can communicate with passion, honesty, and wisdom you're well on your way to bridging the divide between prospect and client.

It's important to actively listen to others. We often spend most of our time in conversation waiting for our chance to jump in and impress the other person by our knowledge (or to simply talk about yourself). Pretend you're a radio interviewer: really try to get to know the person in front of you.

Related Articles
  Should you join a networking group?
  The Do’s and Don’ts of Networking
  Ten Networking Tips For The Job Seeker
  Business Finance & Networking in the UK
  Networking Mistake Myopia

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: Make Friends...Literally BUILD them! - I agree! Networking is definitely the key word here. What does everyone feel about the different Networking platforms out there? Twitter Facebook LinkedIn what are some others?
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Ideas on Using Twitter for Business - 1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor's names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.) 2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you. 3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn't sell more widgets, but it shows us you are human. 4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you. 5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( wholefoods does this well). 6. Don't get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( jetblue gives travel tips.) 7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out. 8. Promote your employees outside-of-work stories. ( TheHomeDepot does it well.) 9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc. 10. Talk about non-business,
Re: How can a social networking site make serious money? - Hi There, It is quite interesting, that some Social Networking do produce an income. I think testimonials are always a benefit to share. See one below: This Social Network has changed my life! Every night is a Friday night and everyday is a Saturday!! Because of it, I have been able to leave the workforce 10 years early.It has given me back my life. Many of us would like to retire early. I am sure there are many more. The point is of focusing with great determination. The ongoing challenge is to stay focussed and not be sidetracked into a newer scheme or so. Also I have read, during this financial turmoil, more people turn to Social Networking for various reasons.
Re: Anyone advertising on Facebook? - Facebook can be a great promotional tool and a great way to reach potential clients. I've made quite a few great connections. It can be reached to "spy", but it can be used to research people who could be good contacts or clients. I did a radio show with a promotional partner a few weeks ago and we talked about Facebook, Linked In and Twitter. Lots of potential on these sites. I'm also giving a talk about Web 2.0 promotional options at a writers conference Saturday. Networking is a fantastic way to grow a business and online networking has world wide possibilities. Back to the initial question - I signed up for a service on Facebook that gave me $100 in advertising credit, but I forgot about it. By the time I remembered, I only had a few days to use it before the credit expired. I did get over 5000 exposures in 3 days -- their advertising options let you chose the specifics of who you want to reach for better targeting. At some point, I need to try it again. My brother also has some credit on his account and we need to use that soon. Shri


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How Many Buckets Do You Need for Retirement?

The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg

Listen to Your Inner Melody

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.