Market Yourself In Under One Minute
 
 
Meeting new business contacts, expanding personal networks, promoting a reliable, trustworthy “Brand You” are the basics of business.  By the way, even if our job title doesn’t explicitly mention “sales and marketing” we are all in sales and marketing.  In modern commerce, even professionals in non-traditional sales roles like accountants, lawyers, dentists, engineers, architects, analysts, consultants all need to pitch their expertise to get new clients.  This may not have been the case in the past, but this is the “new black” of the professions.  When we try to influence a decision – buy my widget, use my service, fund this project, open a new market or even where shall we go for lunch - these are all sales and marketing efforts to get others to follow our ideas.  Don’t miss this change and instead master the process, such that you get the business and not your competition.
 
By the way, first impressions are so critical.  When I ask my class participants during sales training, how long does it take to form an impression of someone, the range of answers is usually between 2 and 5 seconds.  Think about that.   We are all so quick to judgment, we are shockers!  An opinion is formed immediately and it takes quite a bit of effort to unwind a negative first impression.  We would have to be crazy to leave that first impressions to random luck or happenstance.
 
Now given our first interactions with strangers are so important, are we getting the best result for ourselves and organisation?  When we are out there representing our company and someone asks us, can we succinctly explain what we do, in a clear, informative, impressive and memorable manner?  Based on my experience and observations from attendance at thousands of networking events, there is a lot of room for improvement.  Those from the so-called professions are usually the worst!
 
An excellent formula is called the Wow & How.   When we meet someone for the first time, after examining their business card, we should get the ball rolling and ask them about their business.  Why don’t we just seize the moment and jump in and start impressing them with information about us and what it is we do?  Well, you could do that but it is a hit and miss approach.  We know that people love to talk about themselves, so don’t deny the potential client that chance.  We also learn more by listening than speaking and so having them lead off is a win-win.
 
Hearing what they do also assists us in considering how best to explain what we do.  We can emphasise certain aspects that we believe would appeal to them, based on what they have just told us, about what they are doing.  If their industry has relevancy for something we have done, then we can mention that point and start building our credibility.  We may have a business contact who can assist them, making ourselves valuable in the process.  They may mention an issue and bingo, we are the solution, so we can zero in on learning more about the concrete problem. 
 
By listening to them speak, we can also gauge their preferred personality type. We can then adjust our communication style to best suit their preference for interaction.  If we notice, for example, that they are a very detail oriented person, we might add in more concrete detail than normal to explain what it is we do.  If you are speaking with an accountant, three decimal places when quoting numbers is always appreciated!  The opposite tack is best applied to big picture people - don’t kill them with the micro detail.  If they are fast paced, then we need to speak faster and with more energy than normal.  If they are very calm and considered, drop your voice and lower your energy to mirror them.  Check you are not standing too close to them and give them some space. 
 
Generally speaking, we all like people more who are like us.  By adjusting our own style to match them, we are more quickly able to enhance our communication and understanding.