Are Your Ideal Customers In This Room?

I belong to a dynamic business organization that has hundreds of paying members. Every Wednesday, many of us attend a one-hour meeting where we share our successes, promote our businesses, and network with each other. The meeting attracts between 35 and 40 members, and always a handful of guests.

At one point during the meeting, each of us gives a 30-second commercial (also known as an elevator speech) about their business.

For me, membership in this organization has been a slam-dunk. I get referrals every week through the members, many of whom are not themselves, my ideal customers.

Every now and then a member drops out. When asked?why,?the most common response is:

“My ideal customers are not in that room.”

I certainly understand. A?busy?entrepreneur can’t waste his or her precious time attending a weekly meeting that doesn’t bring in new business.

However, the better you can get at networking, the more new business you will attract. The?Harvard Business Review studied 165 lawyers at a large North American law firm and found:

“…success depended on their ability to network effectively both internally (to get themselves assigned to choice clients) and externally (to bring business into the firm).”

In terms of networking, I adopt this approach:

• Someone in that room?is?my ideal customer, but I don’t know it yet.
• Someone in that room?knows someone?who is my ideal customer.
• Someone in that room?has a customer?who is my ideal customer, too.
• Someone in that room is?going to meet?my ideal customer.

During?my?elevator speech, I articulate my business story in a way that clearly conveys the value of what my company does, who we do it for, and the outcomes. That’s why I continually receive strong leads through the meetings. (Contrary to popular belief, it’s not because of my good looks ;).)

Here’s what’s interesting. I’ve noticed this about the majority of people who have stopped attending our meetings:

Their elevator speech…well, it sucked!

Are you struggling with your elevator speech? Have you left a networking group because you don’t get leads? Are you thinking about joining a new networking group this year?

I want you to stop right now and get totally clear about your ideal customers before you do anything.

Don’t walk away from opportunity because you?think?your ideal customers are not in the room.

(Shameless self-promotion time!)

I can teach you how to get totally clear about your ideal customers and craft an elevator speech that falls trippingly off your tongue…and gets you leads. My unique process and formula really?works.

Here’s what people are?saying:

“With Betsy’s help, I have made so much progress. I used to have trouble explaining my consulting business, but now clients actually listen and respond.”

“Not a painless process, but when completed, we are very, very confident about what we needed to say and to whom. Highly recommend her process and approach.”

Betsy’s “Ideal Client” model helped me transform my sporadic workflow of random projects into a steady stream of relevant work by targeting new and returning clients who my skills serve best.”

My ideal client, now that I totally get her, moves quickly through the like-know-trust continuum and quickly says, “Yes!”. I now close 80% of my enrollment conversations!

Intrigued?