So you’re at a networking event, and someone comes up to you, introduces themselves, and immediately asks for your business card. What’s your first impression?
Mine: oh, oh, someone is about to try to sell me something. Why? Because they haven’t even bothered to chat me up first.
This happened again recently, and I left compelled to tell the person I didn’t need her services. I then shifted the conversation to something substantive and wholly unrelated to my business.
Flash forward one week, and I finally find out who has called and hung up three times without leaving a message. Because, time #4, I’m in my office. It is her assistant calling to see if she can set up a “one-on-one meeting” for the two of us. Uh… No.
Sales may be a numbers game, but business is about people.
Photo by timparkinson. Flickr Creative Commons License.
Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Proving once more that networking is a learned skill! I wonder if the people who engage in that type of behavior get any business from that at all, because if they don’t, why do they keep doing it?
If you don’t get to know someone a little before whipping it out, you’re not gonna get laid.
Sounds like that admin needs to learn about *67.