Author: Jill Schiefelbein / Source: Entrepreneur The following excerpt is from Jill Schiefelbein’s book Dynamic Communication. Buy it now
The following excerpt is from Jill Schiefelbein’s book Dynamic Communication. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
When we think about surrounding ourselves with the right people, we often think in terms of what those people can do for us. The real question you should be asking is, “What value can I bring to people?”
People do business with people, not businesses. Most people at networking events go right out, shake hands, ask what the other person’s name and business are and hand off a card. Sound familiar? If so, smack your business-card-passing hand on the wrist!
That, my friends, is not how connections are made. Aim for the “second handshake” with your networking conversations.
Picture this scenario: You walk into a networking event, and as usual, people are looking at you like you’re their next meal. Someone immediately approaches you, reaches out to shake your hand and says (in one breath), “Hi, my name is Brady, I’m the owner of Awesome Business, I do X, Y and Z. What’s your name and what do you do?” You spurt your scripted answer back, exchange cards and walk away. There’s no connection; there’s no second handshake.
Now, try this scenario: You walk into a networking event, go up to someone who looks interesting, shake hands and introduce yourselves…
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