Networking Is Not Selling

You’ve probably heard the old saying that there is no sweeter sound to the human ear than the sound of one’s own name.   It’s true.  You can impress the heck out of new acquaintances if you just remember and use their names, and you’ll be remembered (Name Game bonus!). 

If you want to impress someone you’ve just met, say her name.  You’ll sound like you listen when she talks, like you care what she says, and like she’s important enough to merit your complete focus and attention.

If you want to offend someone, mispronounce her name, or worse, call her by a name not hers.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve introduced myself (or been introduced) to someone who cannot remember my name three minutes later when a friend approaches to join our conversation.  The conversation typically goes something like this:

“Oh, Jane, have you met, er, ah, this nice lady?” stammers my newest pal.

“Hi, I’m Ronnie Noize, the marketing coach,” I say, introducing myself to the newcomer (Ronnie to the rescue!).  “And you are?”

How do you think that makes me feel? Important? Valued?

And what do I think of those people who can’t be bothered to remember my name? Are they not listening? Am I so boring? Or are they simply not too smart?

(Hey, if you say that you’re just one of those people who can’t remember names, you’re teaching yourself that! ANYONE can learn to remember names, even someone with neurological damage like me.)

We all play the Name Game, with varying skill, and that level of skill is (for the most part) a choice.  If you want to be a winner of the game, learn how to remember others’ names. Just follow these simple (although not as easy as they look) rules to win at the Name Game:

1. LISTEN well.  If we’re not really paying attention in the first place, we will instantly forget others’ names.

2. REPEAT the name immediately.  Repeat it aloud if actually meeting someone, such as “Jane Smith? Nice to meet you, Jane.”  If you’re in a meeting at which everyone is introducing themselves, repeat the name to yourself silently.

3. ANCHOR the name by attaching a physical action.  A handshake is perfect if the interaction is personal, but if you are listening to a round of introductions, spell out each person’s name with your right forefinger in the palm of your left hand as you mentally repeat it to yourself.

4. REVIEW all the names of those who have been introduced as each new person introduces herself.  If there are more than about 20 people, keep mentally reviewing the most recent 20 people’s names as the introductions continue.  If you have just met one person, say that person’s name several times–appropriately.  One great technique is to introduce that person to others.  You can say something like, “Jane, have you met Maggie?  Maggie, this is Jane Smith.”

5. ASSOCIATE the name, if that helps you.  Alliteration may be helpful for large groups, such as Barbara in blue, Mary the mortgage broker, or Frank the financial planner can help you remember who is who.

6. ASK for the spelling.  This is especially important if someone has an unusual name, as listening and repeating the letters and overall pronunciation will help anchor the name in your memory.

And if you forget a name?  Don’t worry too much about it!  The Name Game isn’t over until you quit playing.

 © 2009 Veronika Noize. All rights reserved.

POSTED BY: Veronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing coach AT 11:23 am   |

By Ronnie Noize, Google’s #1 Marketing Coach  http://www.veronikanoize.com

American industrialist and inventor Henry Ford is credited with saying, “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”

So how do we prepare for our most successful year yet? How do we “get ready” for the success we long for?

The best way I know to make something happen is to plan for it, prepare for it, and create a structure that supports it. If you want to make the next 12 months your best year yet, perhaps it is time to finally put in place the structures reflect your planning and preparation.

I find that structures free my mind to focus on the fun stuff, instead of keeping a huge amount of information about my business in my short-term memory, which no doubt slows down my thinking, and keeps valuable data away from the people who want and need it (like my prospects and clients), thus getting in the way of my success. So yeah, I’d rather put a structure in place that prepares me for the success I want. How ’bout you?

Here are my top 11 key structures to put in place to make this next year your best yet (yes, in my priority order):

1. Your marketing plan. You’ve probably heard the old saying “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” dozens if not hundreds of times. It’s true. Of course, you’ve probably also heard a few self-made internet millionaires boast that they never bothered with something as mundane as a marketing plan, but they are exceptions, not the rule. Lottery winners are lucky, not necessarily smart. Yes, you can make some great decisions and be in the right place at the right time, but leaving your success up to chance is not only foolish but irresponsible. Get started here or here.
2. Yearly promotional calendar. This is an important document that can help guide you through the times when you don’t know what to do, so do yourself a favor and put your calendar together now. It can be a very simple document, even a one-pager, that lists your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly activities. Check out an example at the bottom of the page here.
3. Support system(s). Having a group of people PLUS a coach who is familiar with and supportive of your goals, and who offer regular support, ideas, and feedback helps keep your energy and momentum up, as well as provides you with the strength you might need when the going gets tough. That group of people can be a board of directors, a mastermind, or even a support group. That one person who is willing to talk to you about your interests, your business, your plans and your challenges will probably either be a business partner or a business coach. Please note that while your spouse or life partner and best friends may offer great support, they might get very tired of you talking about yourself and your business all the time, so make sure you have someone to talk to who is just as interested in your success as you are.
4. Sales processes from lead generation to close to retention. Your marketing plan will ideally include this information, but if for some reason it doesn’t, this is a way to get really clear about how your sales work. Most small business owners think their sales process is simple: Prospect sees our ad (or email, flyer, business card, or website), then contacts (clicks, calls or emails) us to buy, end of process. It ain’t always that simple, because there are distinct phases that buyers go through to make purchase decisions. Yes, there are ways to make it all happen faster, but if you don’t understand those phases of the process, you are destined to make errors that cost you clients.
5. Filing/organizational systems (both electronic and hard copy) are essential for maximum efficiency, and minimal confusion. Searching for “lost” or misplaced data costs you time, credibility, and very often, your confidence, so make getting organized a priority. Work with a professional if you have to, but just imagine how great it would be (for you AND your clients) to be able to instantly access the tools, data, plans or files you want right when you want them.
6. Tracking processes or mechanisms. There are a variety of numbers in your business that you can monitor, and that will give you fantastic insights into your business. Even if you are not a “numbers person,” understanding certain numbers can help you focus your efforts in ways that will bring you more success. Some numbers to track include frequency of purchase; average purchase amount; average number of purchases; sales figures by month, year, category; and so on. Increases or decreases in those numbers give you feedback about what you clients want, and alert you to opportunities as well as impending crises.
7. Standard operating procedures and processes. How do you prepare a new client file, update your website, post your events on LinkedIn, respond to an inquiry, process product returns, confirm appointments, and handle the hundreds of other great and small processes that come up in your business? Leaving it up to chance or the inspiration of the moment wastes time, and presents an inconsistent experience for your clients, and makes it difficult for you to use or train administrative help. My advice: Figure how you want to handle these things, and document the processes, or hire someone to do it for you.
8. Written responses to client FAQs. And not just the standard FAQs about hours, etc., but the questions your prospects and clients really want to know, such as what’s new, why now, and why you.
9. Verbal scripts that answer questions or facilitate conversations, such as your elevator speech, follow up speech, how you answer the phone, how you ask for the sale, and so on. If you’re not prepared, you lose not only opportunities but credibility. Don’t make your prospects work to pull information out of you; have it ready for them.
10. Policies documentation, which is for you as much as for your clients. What are your policies on refunds, no-shows, product returns, dissatisfaction, and free samples? Do you charge for last-minute changes, appointment reschedules, program customization, or mileage? Under what conditions are you willing to make pricing adjustments? How does your guarantee work, and what exactly are the steps your clients need to follow to have that guarantee honored?
11. Client contact mechanism. How will you stay in touch with your clients? An email here and there is great, but consistent contact is far better. What tool you use depends on your style, budget, and needs, but there is no excuse for not having a mechanism in place because you can get them for free.

Veronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing Coach

Looking for a gig as an employee or a contractor these days requires more than just an error-free resume or a killer project list; you need to establish a personal brand to set yourself apart from the crowded marketplace of others who have the same or similar qualifications.

What is personal branding? Personal branding is the way you clarify and communicate what is special about you, so that you don’t have to talk so hard (or hope for the right question) to explain exactly why you’re the best candidate for the gig (be it a job or a freelance assignment). With branding, you are communicating more information on more than simply a verbal level.
Your personal brand is communicated through all visual and verbal communication, including your resume, cover letter, portfolio, personal web site, interview outfit, handshake, contact card, and even your personal interests and behavior. If any of these are inconsistent with the image you wish to project, your brand is compromised or at least weakened.

When developing your personal brand, ask yourself these questions:

What do you want people to understand, think, and know when they see you/your resume/your email?

What is the essence of your value to an organization?

What makes you stand out? Your accomplishments, strengths, personal qualities, or just your hair color?

I once worked with a character actor who was wrestling with his personal brand because his primary value to directors was that he had a forgettable face. He is neither handsome nor ugly, tall nor short, and even his hair was a nondescript color. Although his credits are impressive, new casting directors never remembered him enough to call him back, even when they have been very enthusiastic about his auditions.

After we did some work with the questions listed above, we decided to brand him as the “red sweater guy.” Why red? Because red communicates passion, which is how he feels about acting, and the color stands out and is memorable, even though his face is not.

To every audition, he wore a red sweater. On his resume attached to his black-and-white head shot, he wrote in red ink under his name, “the guy in the red sweater.” He began introducing himself as “Chris, the guy in the red sweater,” as well as identifying himself on his phone messages and voice mail as “the guy in the red sweater.”

The result? The guy with the forgettable face became memorable, and effectively communicated his passion for acting by building a brand around a red sweater.

Correctly branding yourself will make you easier to remember, and will communicate much more than you can ever say in a cover letter or even an interview.

Marketing Brand YOU: How to Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd © 2006 Veronika Noize. All rights reserved.

About the authorVeronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing Coach, is the author of “How to Create a Killer Elevator Speech” and “How to Double Your Business in 30 Minutes a Day.” A dynamic speaker and unconditionally supportive coach, Ronnie helps small businesses attract more clients. Ronnie’s web site is a comprehensive resource with free articles and valuable marketing tools for small office/home office business professionals. Visit her web site at http://www.veronikanoize.com/, or call her at 360-882-1298.