Here’s a situation we found ourselves in a few weeks ago at a networking breakfast. We were listening to Bob answer the question What do you do?, a question we had asked him ten minutes earlier. We know what his "title" is—those were the first words out of his mouth—but we’re not sure if what he does is of interest to us. At this point, we’re thinking about how we could politely end this conversation—a monologue, really—and seek more interesting conversation.
Unfortunately, our chances of that are bleak. That’s because very few people know the Rules of Engagement when they network—how to effectively answer the question What do you do? We know that because for the last few months we’ve been attending dozens of networking events where we took notes on 418 people we heard introducing themselves to us or to a group, doing what’s called a one-minute infomercial. The results? Less than 10% got a passing grade.
When you go to the marketplace—be it attending a networking event, picking up the telephone, writing copy for a brochure, ad, or sales letter—you are faced with a number of challenges, problems, and obstacles. According to Mark LeBlanc, a sought after business consultant, "One obstacle rises above the rest. It is: Your inability to communicate effectively what you do and who you do it with best." Every time you come in contact with a prospect or any person in the marketplace, an invisible shield exists between you and the other person. How you communicate will determine if that shield comes down or if it gets thicker. It is your responsibility to introduce yourself and your organization in such a way that the shield comes down—unless you are NOT interested in having a meaningful conversation with the people you meet!
Let’s look at ways NOT to introduce yourself, thus reducing the chances that you’ll break the Rules of Engagement and make the shield thicker.
The first mistake is to introduce yourself by your title or label. Titles and labels are great for your business cards, but not to open a conversation. That’s because people are seldom attracted to your titles. They may be an accurate way to describe what you do, but it’s sure not going to get you a lot of attention. Another problem with titles is that people develop their own pictures of what those titles mean. What stereotypes can you think of when you hear these titles: insurance brokers, chiropractors, accountants, lawyers? Are these pictures always accurate? Of course not. So forget titles and labels. They’ll make people pigeonhole you and it will work against you just about every time—unless you’re a performer for Cirque du Soleil!
The second mistake is to introduce yourself by stating what products or services you offer (what Robert Middleton calls "positioning by process"). Examples are I sell real estate, I’m in insurance, I provide telecommunications solutions. Using this strategy can immediately put you right smack in the middle of your competition. There’s nothing there to distinguish you from the pack, and, once again, you fail to get attention.
The third and biggest mistake is failing to provide a clear SOB—Statement Of Benefit—for the listener. People get right into the particulars of what they do—the HOW they do it—without ever making it clear to the listener beforehand what the benefits are. Benefits are the WHY—why should I listen to you, why should I keep your business card, why should I visit your web site or your store? Until you explain the WHY, the HOW is if little interest to anyone.
So the next time you meet someone new, use the Rules of Engagement and avoid answering the question What do you do? with your title (I’m a computer consultant) or your product or service (I sell and repair computers). Instead, provide a benefit (I take care of your computer so that you can take of your business). You might get a response like How do you do that? or Interesting… tell me more. Now you have a conversation… one that may bring great results!
