Change This One Thing to Turn More Strangers into Prospects On the Spot

Monday, July 6th, 2020 : Read 3,086 Times : 1104 words (Aprox 5 min read)

How to Make Yourself Irresistible to Potential Clients and Keep Them Riveted to You and Wanting More...

Picture this...

You're at a business function, strolling around, holding some sort of finger food in one hand, and a free drink in the other, sheepishly looking around the room waiting for someone with a warm smile to catch your eye so you can start up the same old awkward conversation.

You are engaged in the "necessary evil" in business: Networking.

Someone approaches you and asks you the inevitable question, "So... what do you do?"

This is a "make it or break it" moment.

If you say something predictable like, "real estate agent," "direct marketer," "accountant," "coach," or "I'm in sales," you are doomed. You'll go home with the cards of a few dozen people who won't remember you, and just want to put you on their mailing list so you'll buy their product.

So how do you turn it all around and make networking actually work?

Get Out of that Hole... You Are Not a Pigeon!

To be effective at networking (meaning, you leave with warm or hot leads in your hand), you must break out of the mold.

Being mundane or normal is excruciating to everyone around you and it's costing you money in lost sales.

The moment you say something familiar, like, "I'm a lawyer," people mentally put you in a pigeon hole. They think they know what all lawyers are about.

This activates a part of the brain called "Broca's area," which identifies and recognizes familiar patterns in speech. If Broca even thinks it knows what you do, it disengages their brain from your conversation, you'll lose their attention, and the energy of the conversation dies.

You've got to do something different to set yourself apart and to keep people from pigeonholing you.

Five Tips to Stay Out of the Pigeonhole and Keep People Interested

1. Never Use Your Plain Old Your Job Title

Your job title should never be the answer to the typical question, "What do you do?" 

When people tell me their job title, my typical thought is, "So what?" It's simply not interesting or engaging to anyone who doesn't know they need your product or service right now.

Your job title belongs one place: In the file cabinet on your job description form. It does not belong in conversations meant to entice people.

 

2. Come Up with a Catchy, Non-Standard Description of Your Work

To break the monotony of networking event introductions, come up with something different. The idea here is to do a, "pattern interrupt" — something unusual that jolts Broca and keeps people engaged. Say something that catches people off guard.

I often say I'm a "Dream Technician," because, as a coach, I help people realize their dreams. Some of my clients have used names like, "Financial Healer," "The Poop Doctor," "The Hypnonaut," and, "Professional Ass Kicker."

It may sound silly, but responses like these get people to pep up when talking to you. You will often become the most interesting person in the room and they will tell others in the room about you.

"Hey, have you talked to that Dream Technician yet? That one over there..."

I suggest brainstorming with other people to develop your catchy title. Sometimes, you're just too close to your profession to invent one yourself. For instance, in our Irresistible Elevator Pitch Formula home study course, we have exercises to help you come up with the most engaging response.

3. Answer with a Question

It is often very engaging to answer with a question rather than a statement.

For example, when people ask me, "What do you do?" I often say, "Well... let me ask you a question..."

Which question you ask will be different depending on what career you're in and how you help people. Again, we have exercises to determine what question to ask in our Irresistible Elevator Pitch home study course.

Not only will asking them a question keep them engaged, but it also gives you information on what they're looking for and how you can serve them.

 

4. Keep The Loop Open as Long as Possible

Go as long as possible without giving them your specific job title. If they say, "Oh, you're a coach," just say, "Sort of, but not exactly." Keep them on their toes.

This is an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming, the science of communication and ethical influence and persuasion) technique called keeping an "open loop."

The subconscious mind craves closure. As soon as it gets it, your pitch is done... whether you want it to be or not. An open loop keeps people riveted to you.

 

5. Develop an Effective "Elevator Pitch"

Opening the conversation is just the beginning. The purpose of networking is not to leave with cards, but to leave with warm and hot prospects who are eager to hear from you.

The worst kinds of elevator pitches are the old, tired, rehearsed formulas from the 80s like, "I enable ____ people get _____ so they can ______."

Make your elevator pitch engaging, so people feel like you're speaking with them, rather than talking at them.

In our Irresistible Elevator Pitch Formula home study video course, we teach business owners, sales pros, real estate agents, and direct marketers how to get more clients from every chance encounter with a simple, eight-step irresistible elevator pitch formula that will knock people's socks off and have them thinking about you for days.

If you're ever interested in learning the whole step-by-step formula, visit the web page to get the details.

Posted by Michael Stevenson in elevator pitch, influence, networking, persuasion, sales on Change This One Thing to Turn More Strangers into Prospects On the Spot

Tags: Make It or Break It Moments