Fiona Sutherland, founder of Great Coaching Services Ltd, gave a a really inspiring and useful presentation on how to improve networking skills.
Fiona has kindly provided these tips and a process to help members and visitors to make a bigger impact when they are asked "And what do you do?"
How to respond effectively when asked “…And what do you do?”
Part A - TIPS you need to know
Don’t ASS-U-ME that others know your world
Your business is your world and you know it inside out. This means that it’s very easy to fall into the trap of assuming others know what you mean when you talk about it. Assume can make an ASS of U and ME so avoid jargon. If you accidentally use it, explain it.
Explain the context of what you do. I met a woman at a party in Thailand who when asked “what do you do?” replied “I sell submarines.” My first thought was, are these some kind of cocktail, or does she work in a sandwich bar, but actually, it was real submarines! Luckily I wasn’t shy to ask for clarification, but some people might have just said “Oh”.
A commercial lawyer knows all the contexts that they can work in but unless you spell it out, your network group is likely to have only a vague idea of the kind of situations where you help clients. Educate your audience assuming that they know nothing, unless they give you evidence to the contrary.
Know your client’s pain and motivation
When you know what your typical and ideal clients need and want, you will be in a better position to tell other people what to look for and they are then better able to identify people to refer to you.
Identify and bring out your passion for your role
I recently met someone in freight forwarding. After some on the spot coaching (at his request) I drew out that he is passionate about helping his clients get a great deal and ensuring that they can then keep their clients happy, by him getting the freight to them in good condition and on time. None of this came out in his networking speech but when he talked later, his passion and motivations were infectious. Tap into your passion and you will be a more effective networker.
STEPS to answer “And what do you do?”
Ideally – do this with a partner so you have to answer out loud. The person asking the questions needs to act like a coach, they can ask more questions of you but not put words in your mouth or tell you how it should be.
Part A
a. Who do you deal with? (Describe the kind of clients)
b. What are the challenges they face?
c. What do you do or sell which solves their challenge and really makes a positive difference
d. What do clients like about the way you do what you do? What makes you passionate about what you do?
f. What’s your role or title?
Part C put it all together by combining the answers above into this formula.
• You know how (a) + (B)……..
• Well what I do is (C)..….
• What makes me different is (D)
• I am known as (e)
• Do you anyone who might be interested?
This is a starting point – you can refine and refine or modify and have different versions if you have more than one product or service
Happy networking from Fiona
All Copyright rights apply to the author Fiona Sutherland of Great Coaching Services Ltd www.greatcoachingservices.co.uk This material may not be delivered in workshops or used commercially or in any other manner or adapted without the original authors written consent
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