Posted By Amanda Collins on March 11, 2010

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m on the dating scene – online. I’ve never had much luck with the venue, but I figure it’s just one more way to meet people, so no harm, no foul. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a wannabe suitor who asked if I found him attractive. “You can be honest,” he said.

So I was.

I told him I am looking for someone fit since I’m at the gym pretty regularly and want someone who enjoys similar things (and can keep up). His knee-jerk reaction was to ask why women always judge on looks first. “Whatever happened to starting as friends?” Aha – but that wasn’t his question, was it? He wanted to know if I found him attractive, not if I thought we could be friends.

In your business, are you asking the right questions? Are you ready to accept the answers? Too many business owners are living in a bubble, assuming that the way in which they perceive things to be is the way they are – without asking for feedback.

When I met with a new strategic partner recently, he said he’d heard a lot about me in town. This person owns the #1 executive placement firm according to Ranking Arizona, and he’d heard of me. (Phoenix is a very small big city.) I was, of course, impressed, but the next thing I asked was, “Was it good?” If he’s heard bad things, I need to know because that feedback will help me to improve and take action. Thankfully, he’d heard great things about me (which is why he was sitting in my office), so my reputation is strong – for now.

I encourage you to start asking people in your circle – clients, prospects, and colleagues – what their perception is of your business. You may be surprised at the answers, and they can give you an opportunity to grow.

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Tags: business development, reputation management

Posted By Amanda Collins on March 4, 2010

Whether you call it a commercial, elevator speech, or presentation, if you’re a business owner, you know how important this little nugget of information is in creating excitement about your company, product, or service. Many folks stumble over what to say and how best to gain listeners’ rapt attention.

Here, a few simple pointers:

Remember the WIIFM Factor. What’s in it for me? is what listeners want to know. If you can’t catch their attention in a hurry, they’ll tune out. How many of us have heard someone say, “Hi, I’m Todd and I am a plumber. I fix stopped drains. I can help anyone with indoor plumbing. Call me if you have questions.” ZZZZZ! There are plenty of plumbers (bankers, Realtors, etc.); why should I give you a second glance?

You only have 30 seconds (or 60, 15, or whatever). Practice a few speeches to be sure you can include your key selling points – quickly. Sometimes you’re told to only say your name, company name, and tagline. If you don’t have a captivating tagline, you’ve just sold yourself short.

Remember your audience. I have two distinct business channels: entrepreneurs and job seekers. If I go to a networking event with fellow business owners, it would be foolhardy to just talk about résumés. Sure, people in the room may know someone who’s looking for a job, but my better approach is to lead with strategic communications and then drop the résumé thing at the end. Be sure that your presentation is targeted to the people who are listening.

Stay focused. Too many people hear that they’re given two minutes and start telling stories and things that are completely irrelevant. If you have something of value to contribute, go for it! However, in my experience, most people “um” and “ah” their way through 30 seconds talking about nothing, so hone that first before moving on to a bigger sharing time.

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Tags: business development, elevator speech, networking commercial

Posted By Amanda Collins on August 14, 2009

Whether you’re a business owner, sales rep, or job seeker, you’ve likely attended a networking event where you’ve had to give your 15- or 30-second commercial. As a business owner, I go to these often. I even sub at many BNI meetings, where some offer 60 seconds to say pretty much nothing.

The BNI adage is, “You have to be specific to be terrific.” The crazy thing is that, at one of the BNI groups where I sub, two members used absolute no-nos in their commercials. An Arbonne representative said, “I can help anyone with skin,” and the chiropractor said, “I can help anyone with a spine.” Seriously, it was all I could do not to laugh. These are the examples that are used to NEVER say. When you say “anyone,” people typically hear “no one.”

How do you improve your value statement in 30 seconds? The golden rule is to always consider what you can do to help listeners. If you’re asking for a specific referral, make it specific. The photographer at another BNI group almost always mentions a name. Granted, no one in the room may know that person, but it’s worth a shot. And you can’t be more specific than saying a name. If you’re not looking for one particular person, personalize your approach. Try something like, “When you’re talking to your friends and they say, ‘I’m concerned that my company will be laying off soon,’ – that’s the perfect referral for me.”

Don’t talk about what you do; talk about how you help. For instance (not that this is perfect), I say:

“I’m Amanda Collins, Chief of Staff with The Grammar Doctors. I help you stay in front of your targeted audience through strategic marketing in the form of blogs, newsletters, advertorials, and résumés. If you’d prefer to write these items yourself, I can also edit them to make sure they’re perfect! No matter what your objective is, The Grammar Doctors has the prescription for your word ailments.”

I don’t typically say who my target audience is because, in my experience, I’m usually the only person around who does what I do. Also, once I added “products” to my commercial (as opposed to just services: writing and editing), I noticed that my positive feedback and referrals skyrocketed.

So start thinking about your value proposition. How can you help people? Who’s your best client? Would you be interested in listening to what you’re saying? It’ll likely take some practice and testing to get a few great commercials, but if you’re focused on your listener, you’ll see a difference in the feedback you receive.

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Tags: business development, business owner, networking

Posted By Amanda Collins on April 15, 2009

I sometimes wonder if business owners are afraid to follow up with people they meet at networking events. It seems like so many are completely gung-ho at the event, passing out cards and saying hello to as many folks as possible, yet I only hear from about 1% of the people I meet while I’m out and about. Since I started my business three years ago, it has perplexed me how few people have the follow-through to send a short e-mail just saying, “Hi. It was a pleasure to meet you at the event. I look forward to seeing you at other events in the near future.” Do they not realize this is just another touch point? Think about how many people you meet when you’re at an event. Do you remember all of them the next day? Following up is a fantastic way to put your name in front of the people you met, as well as go into detail about what you offer and how you can help them.

So what constitutes a follow-up? Well, you can call, e-mail, or send a card. Do what feels comfortable to you, and judge by if you want to meet that person again. If you think you can do business together, a phone call can be a great way to schedule a meeting. An e-mail is pretty status quo, as well as giving you the opportunity to add links to your Web site, blog, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts. If you have Send Out Cards or another, similar system, a card can be a “step above” and really help you stand out.

No matter how you take the next step, remember to mention a few key points:
•    Where you met. Some business owners network a lot, and if you don’t specify and provide a frame of reference, they may have no clue.
•    If you remember something special about them, say it. “I enjoyed learning more about your son and his upcoming birthday plans.” Anything that says you listened goes a long way to building a relationship.
•    Recap what you do. DO NOT SELL! The point of the follow-up is to connect and explain how you might be able to help the person, but definitely steer clear of blatantly selling anything. In my follow-up, I give a brief “about us” on my company.
•    Add contact information. If you’re mailing, include a couple of business cards, via e-mail include links and phone numbers in your signature, and by phone make sure to restate your number.

Without follow-up, you’re missing a captive audience. They’ve already met you, so you know they’re open to hearing something more. And just think of how much you’ll stand out from the other 99% who didn’t follow up.

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Tags: business development, follow-up, marketing, networking