The one thing you should NEVER say at business networking
Are you making the best of your business networking ‘ask’? Or are you making it harder for people to help you? James West shares the phrase you should avoid using - plus how to hone your networking ‘ask’ to get better results.
You’ve probably heard it spoken at networking meetings. You may have said it yourself:
“If anyone knows anyone who needs <my services>, please introduce me”.
It’s okay - there’s no judgment here! I get it. You want clients. And you don’t want to exclude anyone. Plus - it’s true. Most business service suppliers can help ‘anyone’.
But here’s the problem. Based on many years of networking, I’ve seen that when people ask for ‘anyone’, they get little-to-no response.
And because I spend far too long thinking about the mechanics of business networking, I’ve worked out why this statement makes it harder, not easier, for people to help you.
Why asking for ‘anyone who knows anyone’ at networking fails
It’s because our brains don’t do well with vagueness. If you say, “I work with anyone who needs a website,” the person you're talking to has to mentally sort through EVERY HUMAN they’ve ever met! Which isn’t realistic. So instead, they do... nothing. And you get frustrated. In your efforts to appeal to and attract anyone, you get no one.
But if you say, “I build websites for independent restaurants,” now you’ve lit up a specific corner of their brain. And if you add more detail to that description: “I build websites for independent restaurants that want to improve their number of bookings”, that part of the brain really fires up.
And if you want to ace it, introduce some proof: “I built a website for an independent restaurant and increased their booking numbers by 30%”. Not only have you been crystal clear in identifying who you help, you’ve also given the recipient a compelling reason to make that connection, because they want their friend to get more bookings.
They might not know someone right away. That’s fine. But the next time they’re in a café or chatting to a food business owner, you will come to mind.
But I don’t want to niche my business!?
You’re not niching your business by doing this. You can still work with any client. This is about creating something memorable that helps me make a mental connection between you and a potential client.
For example, I know 30 people who provide social media marketing services. Yet if I know a tree surgeon who wants to do more with their social media, who do I think about? The person I met at networking the other day, who referenced they’ve had success working with tree surgeons!
Being specific doesn’t limit your opportunities at networking. It creates them.
Try it. Think about the client(s) you’ve had most success with lately. And share those details at your next networking meeting. You’ll make it easier for others to help you and get results.
Get more from business networking
Do you want to learn how to get a constant stream of sales through networking? Take a look at our Online Business Networking Course. It’s a self-paced online training, with 12 modules and resources to help you master online business networking: