Business Networking Tip: How to make your 30 second self introduction the best ever heard!
A Referral In Every Elevator Speech?
Self introductions will get you referrals at every business networking event you attend, after you read this article. EVERY TIME, WITHOUT EXCEPTION! Really? You bet. Here’s how it’s done.
For this to work, you’ll need three things:
1. Paper
2. A willingness to help others
3. A follow-up database
What you need to do is: Listen to every self introduction delivered with an intention to help that person with a referral.
About referrals… Not every referral will be a direct customer. You can refer:
- Other networking groups
- Resources for their business
- Great Books
- Referral partners
- Clients
- Your expertise and advice
- Go wild and use your imagination
At a business networking event, 95% of the people are worrying about what to say during their own 30 second self introduction. A lot of people are afraid to speak in public and are having a minor panic attack waiting their turn to introduce them self. Regardless of how “good or bad” the elevator pitch, you’ll get an idea of what they do in their business and will get an intuitive sense of how to help them grow their business.
Take a note for everyone that attends the event. Write down their name and what comes to mind during their self introduction to help them grow their business. Then contact the person and share the referral! Don’t forget to connect and get to know the person. Add them to your database and newsletter list, if appropiate.
You will find every business networking event produces 1 to 3 direct referrals for every 20 people you directly contact using this method. These leads will typically show up within 45 to 60 days. Try it and see what happens. By helping others, you’ll feel better about yourself.
Business & Business Networking Events Only. Why’s that?
Only Business and Business Networking Events are Published by NetworkingEventFinders.
Here is Why:
- Our passions are Networking and Business
- Our talents are Networking and Business
- We don’t want to go through all the single’s events, concerts and festivals to get to the business networking events
- We’re ‘mature’ and only party on the weekends
- We got tired of attending MLM recruiting events, Business Seminars and Opportunity Meetings promoted as “business networking” events
- While searching for business networking events we found way too many really cool website that sucked up all our time
- We got tired of having to “sign up” and fork over our email addresses to get business networking event information
- We got tired of “self interest” sites where publishers mainly promoted their own events, programs and seminars
Mindy Selinger and Terry Hall, 18 months ago, set out to build a global business networking websites where it’s free to find and to list local networking events. Networking Event Finders was born. Our beta site launched in October 2008 and our full launch happened in March 2009.
Like any business, we’ve learned a heck of a lot about what works and doesn’t work for an on-line business. Most important, we’ve learned that Networking Event Finders is needed, now more than ever. There is a need for an independent publisher of Business and Business Networking Events and we’re filling that need. We’ve proven the concept. We’ve proven that we can design, maintain and promote a network of 60+ business networking calendars. We have over 800 people a day looking for what we publish. And we’ve only been around for just over a year. As we go into the holiday season of 2009, our popularity is positioned to explode. We could use your help.
We’re offering a Win/Win opportunity, that’s the best part. Here are the 3 ways you can help:
1. Let your networks know that we’re here and invite them to add their networking events to our calendars.
2. Consider being a Local Editor for your networking guide.
3. Help us find advertisers.
By helping us we’ll be able to improve our publication by offering more events and a wider variety of business networking events. When we have all of these we’ll see an enhanced exposure with more opportunities to increase and develop our businesses.
Maryland, Moms Inc. & Business Networking
Necessity being the “mother” of invention, Nancy Daniel started Moms Inc.org three years ago in Howard County, Maryland, for moms who have a home-based business or want to start one.
This past summer NEF received a couple of inquires from work at home moms looking for a kid friendly business networking groups in the Denver area. I put out a national query to see what was out there. I didn’t get much of a response. I’m so happy to hear about this one. By putting this local group in our national newsletter and on the website I’m hoping to shine light on more small groups like this. We want people to learn about what’s available in a networking group and of course list their events on the calendar.
Stay-at-home moms running home-based businesses face unique obstacles. They need a place where they can get support and guidance in their unrelated and frequently conflicting endeavors, business and motherhood. Answering a need that more and more women are experiencing, are groups like Moms Inc. Moms, Inc is bringing together mothers with at-home businesses and connecting them into the rich resources and knowledge base of other women who are making the same lifestyle choice. Moms, Inc. chapters have one informal meeting a month. Meetings are always free and annual dues are kept at a minimum. Kids are always welcome at the meetings. Membership has blossomed from a mere handful three years ago to 3 chapters in Baltimore, Bethesda & Silver Spring, Maryland. Moms, Inc. is the place for business networking, support and friendship. Members families are their first priority, but they take their businesses seriously too. If you know of any grass roots groups that our readership deserves to know about please leave us a comment and tell us about them.