Rob's Blog

There are many different audiences you'll come across when you're networking. Many different people will ask you 'What do you do?'

Unless you know something about who has asked you the question, you're in a 'blind situation.' You're at a distinct disadvantage. So here are ten of the most useful questions about your audience to help you craft a more bespoke Elevator Speech (ES):

1. Who are they?
2. What is their role in the company/organisation?
3. What does their company do or make?
4. Who are their customers/clients?
5. What makes them good or unique?
6. What are their needs and issues?
7. Where are they hurting?
8. Are they failing in any areas?
9. What are their plans and goals?
10. Where might there be opportunities?

It pays when you're networking to ask more questions than you answer, and get your questions in first. Then by the time they ask you, you can craft your ES accordingly. And that makes it impactful, memorable and 'pass on-able'.

As a result, you'll soon find your referral income going through the roof. And all because you've started to craft your message!

Personal marketing is all about working on yourself. It's the EVE ratio - the proportion of time you spend on your education vs your entertainment. I discovered this from iLearning Global - it's a really powerful way to assess where you are putting your time.

There are no secrets to success. If there were, pretty much everyone would know about it and everyone would be successful. The truth is, being succesful (whatever success looks like you for you) is the application of various core principles. I've not seen anything better than this three minute video for setting it all out for you.

I've been so busy on my social media marketing that I haven't had time to blog about it! Makes me think that if you're talking about what you're doing more than you're actually doing it, you've either got money and time to burn, or you're stupid!

What I am enjoying is learning and sharing at the same time. That's why I'm continuing my interviews with experts, gurus and top practitioners who are making their mark in the world of social media. When you learn this stuff and apply it, you sell yourself and your messages in the most impactful, irresistible way!

Have a listen to this next interview as we talk with Ian Hendry, MD of WeCanDo.BIZ. This is a phenomenal website aimed at small businesses in the UK. It uses social networking methods to help you collect and use referrals from customers to win new customers.

Ian is a powerful networker, a top entrepreneur and incredibly insightful on what it takes to market yourself and your messages online.

In these two 9 minute interviews, you'll discover how to properly distinguish yourself using social media and leverage the great contacts you make online!

Part 1

Part 2

Alternatively, download direct to your desktop or mp3 player/ipod:

Social Media Interview with Ian Hendry part 1>>

Social Media Interview with Ian Hendry part 2>>