Coffee?
Caleb Stapp, CPFA
Helping business owners and retirees maximize wealth & minimize taxes | 15-min tax savings Zoom call
Do you have a plan when you have coffee?
No, seriously.
When you meet another professional for networking or a new friend for coffee do you have a plan?
I've been making one up. And I'm loving the results so far - but they probably aren't what you expect.
If you read to the end I'll ask you for something and offer something in return.
"Networking" is usually either code for pitching a product/service OR asking for referrals. I've done both in the first meetings.
They were terrible.
Felt terrible, made a terrible impression, just... TERRIBLE.
Today in a Facebook networking group (usually just people doing those two things, right? Including me... ??) I started rambling in response to someone's post about meeting for coffee.
And then I LOVED MY RAMBLE.
So here's a bit more of my thoughts on how I do networking these days.
The Goal
Awesome connection + resourcing my clients = Networking Win.
Yep.
领英推荐
Awesome connection + resourcing my clients = Networking Win.
If I can make a deep personal connection with someone while finding a top-tier professional I can send my client to for whatever their need is then I have won. Full stop. That's enough. I win. I've accomplished my purpose. That sure relieves the pressure on me and makes it more fun.
So here's how I do that.
The Process
1. Make it clear in my invitation that I'm asking to "hear their story".
2. Make the first meeting all about them. Ask deep questions. Get personal. Be safe. Share enough to let them know I get them, but redirect to them because that's being awesome.
3. Ask to make the second meeting about me. If they're not open to that that's ok. But I promise to share some of my story and how I can be a valuable part of their network now that I know them.
If the person has ALREADY said, "Hey, let's meet again so I can hear some of your story" then they're probably the kind of person you'll want to get to know.
Step 4: Meet, share my story, share about WHY and HOW I do my work (not so much the WHAT), and then ask them if it's best to stay in touch quarterly, every six months, or annually.
Oh, and only offer what makes sense for your business. Because now you know whether they'll make a great friend, business connection, or... acquaintance. :)
Other people are great at networking and I've learned a lot from great books, blogs, BNI, etc. so I realize these thoughts maybe aren't new. But thanks for reading.
The End
My offer: Email me at [email protected] and I'll send you my one-page networking agenda.
My ask: Once you get the agenda you have to respond with your favorite question. I want the question that I'm not asking. Or something that should be on my agenda but isn't. Or reword some of the questions for me - whatever would help me get better at being human.
If those things go well... maybe we grab coffee together?
Empowering small and medium-sized businesses to skyrocket their success | Award-Winning Certified Business Coach | Leadership Development Expert | Systems Pro
3 个月I love that you have a coffee framework! My time is a bit limited so having multiple coffee meetings can be challenging, but what you're talking about here is great. Intentionality with who you're having coffee with can be very powerful too. And, I don't know if you've run into this yet, but it's REALLY fun when both people know the art of listening and asking questions. It becomes a bit of a "fight" about who can make the other person talk about themselves first! ????