Off-Line Networking

Exposure.

That’s what your business needs.  Your trouble is that no one wants to expose your business.

You have to create your own buzz when you are a tiny business owner.  And the Internet makes it all possible.

To create buzz around your tiny business you need two things:

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Everyone talks about the “elevator speech” — you know the speech that you give that highlights the details of your business in 30 seconds or less.  Perfecting your “elevator speech” is an important exercise to go through for your business.  Insert cliche about first impressions here.

Recently I have gone through a similar exercise for something I am calling the “cup of coffee” speech.

I have found myself meeting other business owners for a cup of coffee, a beer, a phone call, etc where we are discussing our businesses at greater length than we could in an elevator ride.

These are typically one hour meetings or less and usually contain the same components each time we have one.

Who Are You?

This is similar to the question that many interviewers lead off with —-

Tell me about yourself.  Who is Russ Henneberry?

It’s important to show your human side here.  Tell people a bit about yourself.  How many kids do you have?  Are you married?  Do you run marathons?  Do you dig cheesy horror flicks?

But don’t dwell on your personal life.  This is a business meeting.

Finish this part of your cup of coffee speech with your education, early jobs and work experiences.

Now, it’s time to reciprocate.  Bounce the ball back in their court —-give them a chance to tell their story.

What do you know?

It’s time to talk shop.

If you are speaking with someone that is in your industry, it is OK to use some jargon and throw the acronyms around.  However, if this person is foreign to your subject matter, they will appreciate you keeping it simple — use plain language.

Don’t dominate the conversation here — you are not a know-it-all.  You are confident in your knowledge about your subject matter and don’t need to blabber on and on about it.

What are you doing now?

The conversation will commonly move into discussion of current projects.

Refrain from complaining about current projects or clients except with the closest of contacts.  It doesn’t look good to be talking down about your work or your customers.  Bad form.

I like to talk about some current projects I have won and what is going well with them.  I don’t mind getting into the challenges I am facing either, especially if it is a possibility that the person you are meeting with could offer some advice or assistance.

Don’t forget to ask them — how are your current projects going?

What are you planning to do in the future?

Time to talk about what is on the horizon.  Do you have plans for a new product or service?  Process changes?  Passion projects?  Changing target markets?  Trying some new tools?  Joining a new organization or attending a new networking event?  Are you planning to try a new marketing tactic?

What can I do for you?

Don’t leave this meeting without asking one of these two questions:

What kind of business are you looking for right now?

-OR-

How can I help you and your business?

Everything that has been talked about up until this point is leading to this question.   Make sure this is a discussion.  You should be on the lookout for referrals for this contact but you may be able to partner with them or do business directly with them.

What do you think?  What kind of topics get discussed at your “cup of coffee” meetings?  What is your favorite “cheesy” horror film?

Image courtesy of Martin Gommell

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• I went to a networking event.
• I met Fred Miller
• He invited me to another networking event
• He introduced me to Tom Ruwitch
• They invited me to a seminar that they were giving
• I volunteered to come and video tape it for their websites
• I attended the seminar with my video camera
• I met Adam Kreitman, who was presenting with Fred Miller and Tom Ruwitch
• I also met Tom Croghan, who was in attendance at the seminar
• Tom Croghan asked me to do a presentation for BOI.
• I did the presentation for BOI and met Bill Chionio who runs BOI.
• Fred Miller bought me some BreadCo and I helped him with his website
• I attended a seminar that Tom Ruwitch was putting on for his business
• I wrote about Tom Ruwitch’s awesome seminar on my blog
• I had coffee with Adam Kreitman
• Tom Ruwitch sent me a referral
• I wrote about Adam Kreitman’s business on my blog
• I saw Fred Miller again at a networking event
• Fred Miller sent me a referral
• Fred Miller sent me another referral
• I talked about Fred Miller on my blog
• Tom Ruwitch called me to do a presentation at UMSL
• Adam Kreitman sent me a referral
• I sent Fred Miller a referral
• Bill Chionio asked me to do another presentation to a group he was involved with
• I presented to Bill Chionio’s group
• I sent Tom Ruwitch a referral
• Adam Kreitman sent me another referral
• Fred started helping me with my presentation skills
• Bill Chionio sent me a referral
• I sent Adam Kreitman a referral
• I referred my meet up group to Tom Ruwitch’s company
• Adam Kreitman asked me to become part of a presentation group he was starting
• Bill Chionio sent me another referral

This could go on and on and I could have branched out further —and involved dozens of other people.  These guys are great business people in Saint Louis and are wonderful networkers.

The point is that you can use a online and off-line networking techniques to grow your business.  A blog can be a great networking tool.

The moral of the story — get off your butt.

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On a Monday, Mark told me he sold pre-paid legal services.

He had brochures and everything.

One week later I saw Mark again, but I was confused.  He stood up at a networking event that I was at and told everyone that he sold real estate.

A month later I saw Mark again.  When someone asked Mark what line of work he was in, he replied

Well… I … umm… I… help small businesses get where they want to be.  I … umm… help them get things done.

Now, I am really confused.  What does this guy do?  Who is this masked man? [Lone Ranger reference for those too young to realize]

Mark Doesn’t Know Who He Is, So We Can’t Know Who He Is

I am a human.

As a human, I am trying to put each person I meet into a category — accountant, author, musician, graphics designer, etc

I am trying to take the first steps in the process of getting to know Mark, what he is about, whether he is a potential business partner, a person I can refer to others, an expert in his field.

I had Mark in a category, then I had to move him.   Then I had to move him again.

Not good.

Not good for Mark that is —- he is doing a terrible job of building a strong personal brand.

Why I Advised Linda To Stay Home

About a year ago, Linda hired me to advise her on her online strategy for a new business she was starting.  It turned out that we worked on much more than her online marketing.

She was a bit lost.  She needed to talk to someone.

She couldn’t decide exactly what she wanted to do with her business.

She told me that she was going to a big networking event that evening —

I told her to stay home.

If You Can’t Answer The Following Question, Don’t Go to a Networking Event

So… what do you do?

This is the first question out of everyone’s mouth at a networking event.  If you aren’t prepared to answer that question — don’t go.

It’s the whole first impression thing at work … you want to put yourself in exactly the right category when someone asks you what you do.

That being said, sometimes it is helpful to go to networking events to meet others that could help you find your brand.  But beware, when you don’t have a good answer to that most basic question, you are losing the opportunity to begin the branding process and you may find people asking themselves….

Who is that masked man?

What do you think?  What are your thoughts about personal branding?  What advice would you give the other tiny business owners that read this blog?

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