By Featured Speaker Wendy L. Kinney
Chris confessed:
“I am not shy. I can talk to ANYBODY, but I would rather be funny and amusing than taken seriously. (It is safer.) I end up ‘performing’ and make no progress. How do I get past this?”
Kim complained:
“He’s asked me five times if he can give me a quote on my insurance. So now, I just avoid him at meetings.”
Here’s what I think: I think Chris fears people will think he is like the person Kim is talking about. How unattractive.
So it’s easier not to talk about business (or to avoid networking events),
than to risk being rejected or, worse, being thought of as a pushy salesperson.
Use these three tips to make networking conversations comfortable and profitable.
NETWORK FOR GATEOPENERS INSTEAD OF PROSPECTS:
GateOpeners may never do business with you personally, but they send you repeated referrals because their clients ask them to. CPAs are GateOpeners for insurance agents and lawyers and bankers. Have conversations about the benefits your GateOpeners receive when they refer clients to you.
NETWORK FOR FOLLOW-THROUGH MATERIAL:
Each person you meet at a networking event can be a reason to stay in touch with a prospective client. More attractive, much safer, and a very profitable marketing system.
UNDERSTAND THE POSITIVE POWER OF STORIES:
Talk about what you have done for clients, instead of focusing on what you could do if the person you’re talking to gave you money. People will choose to do business with you, and refer new business to you-now you’re networking profitably.
Ready… Set…Go Make Money! That’s Wendy Kinney‘s methodology, honed from 16 years of living and breathing referral marketing. For information on how making networking profitable, visit www.ReadySetGoMakeMoney.com or call Wendy at 404-784-0699.
