Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

The Bad Speaker Issue

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imagesI was at a luncheon recently and during the structured networking portion I ended up with the speaker in my group. As each person gave their elevator pitch the speaker kept looking away as if she was looking for someone and was clearly not interested in what we all had to say.

Having done some speaking in my life I know the most helpful thing before you speak is to learn about your audience, directly from your audience. Knowing your audience in advance means you can tweak your speech in the moment and make sure your audience gets what they need from you. Listening to your audience when you have the chance means they’re more likely to engage with you during your presentation, and buy your up-sell package at the end of the event.

Not paying attention while you have that chance means I’m writing this blog post while you’re speaking.

Why I’m Not Meeting with You

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imagesA couple of weeks ago I met someone at a networking event. This person asked for my business card and mentioned getting together. This person work for one of “the nations fastest growing health and wellness companies” AKA, she works for some MLM. Not only do I not want to waste my time with this person, I want my card back.

Now, I actually know a lot of people and have some great friends with successful direct sales based businesses. And they’re successful because they run it like a business. They also are upfront and proud of the company they work for, not trying to hide it. Man that annoys me.

Flash forward to the following Monday night (we met on a Friday). It’s about 8:30, I’m sitting on the couch after dinner with my husband, watching TV and drinking a glass of wine. My phone rings. I don’t know the number so it goes to voicemail. I listen to the voicemail and it’s this person leaving an almost 2 minute voicemail. Strike ONE. Tuesday is a busy day of meetings, so even if I hadn’t deleted (oops!) the voicemail, I didn’t have time to call back. Tuesday night, 7:15 PM, Phone rings again. Goes to voicemail. This person again (and another 2 minute message!). Seriously? You have to give me more than 24 hours to respond.

Here’s the deal: My business is a BUSINESS. I don’t run my business on evenings and weekends (unless I choose to). And I certainly don’t want to talk to some stranger about setting up a meeting at 8:30 at night. If you’d like to conduct business with me, do it during normal business hours like everyone else.

And, there’s a major red flag going off in my head that you are calling two days in a row (and then a follow up email). You look DESPERATE. Chill out, people are busy leading their lives and running businesses. Give us a couple days to respond. And that you can’t find time during business hours to make those calls.

So, how do you deal with overly desperate people at networking events?

Debate the argument, not the rules.

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imagesIn last weeks newsletter I talked about 3 things I learned at the International Public Debate Association National Tournament. I was talking with a friend after the newsletter went out, she mentioned that within 48 hours she’d already quoted one of my points to someone. So I thought I’d make sure you caught it…

Debate the argument, not the rules. In one round a debater said, “the IPDA bylaws 6.1 state he can’t do that.” Buck up camper, not everyone plays by the rules. Not everyone will play by the rules, and you can choose to debate the rules and fairness, OR the resolution at hand. Have a solid argument, back it up with facts, and let the judge decide.

How often do you debate the rule instead of the argument?