“ Sorry, I was miles away “.

How many times have you said that?

It happened to me just other day. I was walking down High Street, thinking about things I needed to do ( go to bank, buy some milk… ) and trying to decide whether to treat myself to a sausage roll for lunch ( this is a fascinating glimpse into my daily life, isn’t it? )

Anyway, I was lost in a world of my own.

I was vaguely aware of people around me. I could hear voices but I wasn’t taking in anything they were saying. I assumed they weren’t talking to me so it didn’t matter. I was so involved in my own thoughts that I didn’t realise that someone was trying to get my attention.

I gradually became aware of a voice right next to me saying, “ Alan…ALAN…ALAN!! “

Eventually voice broke through my daydream and I realised it was a friend of mine standing next to me. I don’t know how long he had been calling my name but, from look on his face, it had taken him a while to get me to hear him.

What does this have to do with price of fish, you may ask?

Well, it occurs to me that this situation is marketing in a nutshell.

My friend was having same problem we all have when we try to attract attention of potential clients. Most of time, they’re just like I was other day, lost in their own thoughts, oblivious to most of messages we’re trying to get across to them.

If we’re speaking, they may be vaguely aware of our voices but, for most part, we’re just part of background noise. They assume we’re not speaking to them so they don’t have to listen.

Unfortunately, most business owners don’t seem to realise this. For example, take networking events. So many people seem to think that, just because a person’s eyes are open, they must be listening. They go on and on about themselves and what they do, completely ignoring fact that other person is far away in their own little world. Nothing they say actually gets into consciousness of person they’re talking to.

If you want to get someone’s attention, you need to break into their reverie and make them listen. You need to stop them in their tracks, smack them between eyes, interrupt their train of thought

“ Speed networking “ is a contradiction in terms.

The whole point of networking is to build relationships over time so that people get to know and trust you.

The point of speed networking is to see how many people you can talk to in shortest possible time. The format may vary but basic approach is same, you get 30 or 60 seconds to speak to someone, then you move on and talk to someone else.

You don’t have time to ask questions or have a conversation, you just say your piece. Not very good for building rapport!

So should you just avoid these events? No! But I’ve found there’s a certain way to approach them which will be most productive.

Here are my tips to survive – and thrive – in world of speed Networking.

1.HAVE ONE SPECIFIC GOAL

My own goal at these events is to get people to sign up for free report which gets them onto my mailing list so I can build relationship later through my newsletter. Yours might be to get them to visit your website or ring a Freephone number.

Once you know action you want them to take, follow these steps.

2.TELL THEM WHO YOU WORK WITH AND HOW YOU HELP THEM

Have a short, simple statement that says, “ This is who I work with and this is what I do for them .“ Focus on client, not on yourself. For example, “ I work with business owners who want to get better results from their networking. I help them to prepare and deliver a compelling marketing message so they get more clients with less effort. “

3.ASK THEM TO TAKE THE ACTION YOU WANT

Most people miss this, they end up saying “ Well, that’s me, if you’re interested please give me a ring. “

You have to tell them what you want them to do.