But First, Connect...

We've all been there. You meet a new contact and immediately they're probing you and you can tell their M.O. is to try to "sell" you. Sometimes it happens in person and sometimes through social media. It's one of my biggest pet peeves!

So, let's unpack the fine line between connecting and selling. It's crucial for long-term success for us as entrepreneurs to be able to know the timing of when to approach someone. It may be tempting to dive right into a pitch, but in my experience, that's often a surefire way to turn someone off. Instead, I like to think of these initial interactions like a first date --- you wouldn't expect, nor offer a marriage proposal on the first date, right? If someone did propose (or if you proposed to someone), what would likley be the outcome?

First, let's talk about social media so we don't become "that" person, when someone asks to connect, a good practice is to take a moment to understand what they're asking for and equally as important, who they are. We can check out their profile or background to find common ground or areas of mutual interest. When responding, we can acknowledge their request and share a little about ourselves without jumping into a sales pitch, building the relationship first. AND please do not use "bots" to pitch everyone who connects with you - it's so tacky! Yet it happens regularly on EVERY platform!

In all networking interactions, we should have a goal to build rapport --- and one that has been established, we can gauge and decide how to best develop a professional relationship. There's nothing wrong with gradually introducing what we do in a conversational way. For example, sharing a story or an interesting experience related to business, rather than going straight for the sale

By engaging with others, we can learn more about the individual which makes the interaction easy, genuine and natural. Remember, we've all heard that people are more likely to do business with those they know, like, and trust. So, when we focus on creating a connection to get to know them, then can and will like and trust us. Over time, this approach will ABSOLUTELY open more doors and lead to more genuine business opportunities.

So, what do we do when someone tries to pitch us? When this has happened to me in the past, I address it immediately. Let's say I meet someone new at a networking event and they start talking to me about life insurance and I can tell what they’re getting at --- it's not just a conversation - you can easily distinguish probing versus conversing. I would address it this way... Oh that's nice of you to think of me (or to ask), I'm very happy with my insurance provider and policy (or Realtor, estate attorney, coach, web designer, chiropractor...) but as an entrepreneur, I love connecting people --- I'm sure you'd rather I introduce you to many people you could potentially do business with, than just a one-time transaction with me anyway, right? The answer tells the whole picture and then I get to decide if I want to pursue this relationship.

I also have to say that a lot of times people that do this have been trained this way (certain industries are notorious of being very pushy an bold) or it could be a case of a lack of training. I like to give people a chance to see if their heart is in the right place and go from there. And yes, I have walked away from many a pushy person. Once time, a woman showed up to a coffee meeting and unbeknownst to me, had gone through my contacts on LinkedIn, made a list on a spreadsheet she had created and asked that I connect her with these people - this was our first coffee meeting! Nervy!!! I told her how I felt, in a very professional way and I walked away from that potential relationship. Think about how she would have treated and interacted with my contacts if I HAD connected with her? There's a phrase "How you do anything is how you do everything" --- In this case, she likely would have been as pushy if not more so with my contacts.

Bottom line: when we keep it casual, are authentic, and let the relationship grow organically, when the time is right, the sales part of the conversation will feel like a natural progression, rather than an ill-timed sales pitch.?