Have you ever walked into an office and been greeted with a cold stare? The receptionist glares at you, sending the message loud and clear that you are interrupting and unwanted. Or maybe you've walked into a ghost town. No one greets you and you have to awkwardly move around the room, peeking into doors to get someone's attention. At one time or another, we've probably all encountered this.
If your front desk is uninviting, so is your business. A warm and comfortable atmosphere will most likely lead to more business. The great thing about being a writer is that I get to talk to people. Looming deadlines or not, when someone walks through the door, I stop and talk to them. They will pull up a seat and through friendly conversation, their business will usually result in other business. Doing this essentially turns your own office into a networking event.
Even if you're the boss and do great work, you will be known by your front desk and the image portrayed when walking through the door; Ensure it is an inviting one.
A recent article on Congressman Mike Pence told of his office and how he strives to create a relaxing, comfortable and approachable atmosphere. During a recent trip to Washington D.C. with the Indiana Leadership Forum, I was a firsthand witness. Meeting in a room down from his office, the Congressman's assistants brought over a tray of ice cold drinks. Before starting the meeting, he went around the room, shaking hands with each person in the room. He also offers a bag of freshly popped popcorn to any of his vistors stopping by.
As a ranking member of congress, he could easily have had the attitude of superiority, dropped in for a word or two and then bolted from the room. Instead, he made us all feel welcomed and as if he had nothing better to do than hang out with us for a little while.
Take a lesson from this congressman. Create that kind of atmosphere and you're sure to get more business. If you go for the icy stared receptionist . . . well, don't expect your n to go up.
I attended a dinner last week and was asked to give the introduction for a rather important person to a group of rather important people. I accepted, despite only having five minutes to prepare. Although this is most likely a rare situation, I thought I'd list a few points on what you should do when you find yourself in these situations.
1. Find your bullet points. Since I was only doing an introduction, I was in a relatively easy position. If you are asked to give a quick speech on anything other than an introduction, you are most likely already knowledgable in that area. You should be able to come up with two or three points that you want to make. Once you have those, think of two or three subpoints and you're done. That is your speech.
2. Think of your intro and conclusion. Extemporaneous doesn't mean random and rambling. Think of your high school writing classes when they taught you to write a five paragraph essay; Introduction, three points, and a conclusion. Your introduction and conclusion may only need to be one or two sentences, but have something planned. Memorize your first sentence and your last sentence. This allows you to get comfortable and ease into the speech without the pressure of trying to find something to start with. Then you can close without rambling or trailing off in search of a good way to end it. Too often, when we can't think of anything to say, we never stop talking.
3. Breath. Some people are quite comfortable being the center of attention at all times. Others are not. If you are one of the people who is not comfortable with that, the sudden speech can be nerve-racking. Take a deep breath, relax, repeat your bullet points and go over your first and last sentence. Typically, you are your own biggest critic. So while you're focusing on your own nervousness the crowd is focusing on your words. So why not align yourself with the crowd and focus on your own words as well?
When someone is taking a picture of you shaking hands, the ideal position for you is on the right side of the person you're shaking hands with. This makes your hand visible in the photograph and is where the term, "getting the upper hand," comes from. Interesting, but who cares?
The people that care about this sort of thing are the same people watching how you enter a door. The last person in a group to go through the door has the position of power. They are the people who watch whether you speak from behind a podium or use the entire floor, whether you nervously play with your hair, slouch in your chair, and what color of tie or other accessory you are wearing.
In your day to day activities, it is doubtful that you are conscious of any of these things. I would submit however, that it is important to be mindful of these perceptions at all times. How many promotions, new business opportunities, new contacts, etc. have passed by without you ever knowing? Was there ever someone in the room paying attention to you without your knowledge? Were you ultimately dismissed because you weren't the type of person they were looking for?
Isn't this shallow and superficial thinking? Yes, but not really. In a perfect, merit-based world, we'd all be judged according to our work and abilities and not on how we are perceived. But the plain truth of the matter is, that's not possible. It ties directly in to our relationships with other people on a personal level.
Before I get to know someone, I have to have a reason to want to get to know them. Before I ever learned about my wife and decided she was a good person, I was attracted to her. Before I ever hung out with my current friends, I decided they were funny and personable. Before I ever do anything, there is a perception that makes me want to do it.
If you are portraying a position of weakness, whether you know it or not and whether it's true or not, you will be judged as a weak person. I encourage everyone to conduct a self-evaluation and decide what it is people perceive about the. And if you just don't know, figure it out and figure it out quick. Like it or not, your success is based on how you are perceived. Make the best impression you can at all times.
I want to pass along a bit of valuable advice for networking I recently received. I attended a networking event and I made a mistake. As I was moving through the room, introducing myself and my service, trading business cards and making new contacts, I was introduced to a man who asked what I do. As I went into my quick run-down of what I offer, he smiled, pulled me aside, and said, "Let me offer you some advice." He then pointed out my glaring mistake.
As I was introducing my services, I explained that I was a freelance writer specializing in business copywriting and that essentially, "I do everything." Now while it's true, I offer my writing services to every industry in every format, and do not limit myself to one specific area, that's not the message I should present when networking. I had let myself become a bit over zealous, trying to pull in as much business as possible from as many directions as I could and had forgotten the importance of specificity. I was throwing myself out there, only to be forgotten.
The wise old networking guru explained that by telling people I do everything, three days later, no one would remember exactly what it is I do. I was simply too broad. By including a niche in my presentation, I make myself more memorable.
The next day, I attended another event, keeping this advice in the forefront of my mind. This time, after including my niche, the contacts looked around the room for people to introduce me to. Lo and behold, there was no one. Not a single soul related to my niche. Disheartening at first, my contacts then started asking, "well do you write for medical?" Yes I do. "Let me introduce you to this person." "Can you write radio ads?" Yes I can. "Let me introduce you to this person." And on it went. "Website content?" Yes. "Direct mail ads?" Of course. "My campaign manager is struggling with our fundraising letter. Can you take a look at it?" Of course.
In the event where I messed up, I traded many business cards, but was generally forgettable. Never a good thing. In the second event, my client potential in the room skyrocketed when I included my niche, even though there was no one in the room attached to that field. Providing a focal point for what I do created a more memorable impression. Rather than people forgetting what I do three days later, they will remember what I do, and wonder if I could also do other things.
When you're networking, remember that being good at everything means being great at nothing. By focusing on specificity, you present yourself as great in one area, and more people will want to know if you're great in other areas as well.
Good luck and good networking.
I wrote a resume for a recent college graduate last week and gave him a few helpful hints for his job search. Just wanted to share those with you.
1. Follow-up - this includes following up when you haven't heard anything back from a possible employer, as well as following up with a thank you card after your interview. Don't think that after you sent your resume, you're done. Work hard to get the interview, then work hard after you've already had it. Keep your name in front of that person and ensure they know you are passionate about that job and you are more than capable of doing it.
2. Network, network, network - In our current economy, it is believed that 90% of all jobs come from within the company or through a referral by an employee already working there. Only 10% of the jobs will ever be realized by answering job search engines and the classifieds. Therefore, spend 90% of your time making connections and networking, and 10% of the time answering those ads.
3. Prepare your elevator speech - This is a 30 second pitch that tells who you are, what you want, and what you can provide. It should not be a formal, memorized speech, but should always be in the back of your head, ready for recollection. You never know when you'll meet the employer of your dreams and you don't want to blow it by stuttering and stumbling over yourself because you weren't prepared.
4. Market yourself - Going hand in hand with netorking, you need to meet people and then be ready to tell them what you can offer. If you can't tell someone why you are needed, then you won't be needed.
5. Prepare for the interview - Don't just put your nice clothes on and practice answering a few questions. Research the company, know their strengths and weaknesses, know if they've recently been in the news, and if possible, know about the people who will be interviewing you.
For anyone out there in the midst of a job search, I hope these few tips help.
I recently attended a meet and greet with several candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. As I sat sipping my coffee, I watched each of them working the room and made several observations before I had shaken a single hand.
1. Two were dressed in suits and ties and looked confident and secure in their attire, reaking of professionalism. Before I knew anything about them, they told me that they were both used to this environment and fit for the job. Two others were also wearing suits and ties, but appeared fidgety. They pulled at their cuffs and their ties weren't tied properly. They were obviously doing their best at looking professional and playing the part, but I could tell they were blue collar men, not used to dress up occassions. One wore Carharts with keys dangling from the beltloop, one wore khaki's and a cheap knit shirt, and one wore a pair of blue jeans. I didn't even know this last one was running because he lurked in the shadows and tried to avoid contact until time to speak.
2. Several of them handed out some sort of media explaining who they were and what they stood for - a card, a brochure, or a flier. The two men who were wearing suits and looking professional, had large, glossy fliers with several colors, a great layout, and a very concisly and effectively worded message. Very professional. Others had tri-fold brochures they printed off of the inkjet at their house. One of these showed a picture of he and his wife. Neither were smiling. Both looked miserable. Very un-professional. The professionals handed their fliers to the individual people, the un-professionals set them on the table and moved on, never speaking to the voter in the seat.
3. The two men in professional suits and quality media worked the room quickly and effectively. They spoke with everyone there, taking enough time to tell their listener who they were and what they were doing, and in turn listening to what this potential supporter had to say. Then they moved on, effectively giving every person in the room a moment of quality time. Other candidates either ignored some altogether or spent all their time on only one or two different people.
As I sat drinking my coffee, having not spoken to anyone, but watching everyone, I knew the race would come down to two candidates. The rest of them were wasting their time. Watching the voters sitting around the room, I could tell they were thinking the same as I. Once the floor was opened to questions, more questions were directed at those two and more people wanted to be heard by those two.
Think about the message you are presenting when you're not saying anything. How are you dressed? How do you carry yourself? Do you exude professionalism? Do people see you as a serious person doing serious business before they speak with you? Or do they glance over you and move on, concluding in a snap second assessment that you're not a person to get things done?
I encourage everyone to think about your silent communication this week and focus on what you're saying when you're not saying anything.
Michael Summers Writing Service is up and running! I've been working non-stop to turn this passion of writing into a business that will truly help the companies of Indiana grow and flourish. I'm still building my client list, have been writing furiously and networking like mad, and the results are starting to roll in.
Along with my products and samples, I'll be including a lot of tips and tricks for many different subjects, right here. The plan is to add at least one new post weekly, so I encourage everyone to start passing the word along about my services and check back often to see my updates and advice.
|
RSS Feed