So what?
When asking for referrals and introductions most people make the same fundamental mistake. We talk about what we want to achieve and why we want to speak to our prospect.
What we forget when we do this is that our prospect doesn't have any interest in helping us achieve our objectives. They simply don't care what we want to achieve. They are simply focused on their own business, their own career, their own life, their own challenges.
After all, at this stage, they've never met us. All they know when we're first introduced is that we want to sell to them, we want something from them, we want to take their hard earned money.
Unless, of course, we approach the request for an introduction in a different way. Rather than say why we'd want to meet them, our message should be focused on why they would want to meet us. What are their challenges at the moment and how can we ease them?
Explain to someone close to you who you'd like to meet and why they would benefit from meeting you. And then ask your colleague to challenge you by asking "so what?" Get them to keep challenging you until the fundamental reason why your prospect should accept your connection is crystal clear.
"So what?" is such an important question when you're trying to get into the mind of your prospects. And if you can keep on answering it, you'll end up with the perfect way to ask for referrals and introductions.
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Nice idea. Its easy to forget
Nice idea. Its easy to forget that other people networking have their own agendas and are looking to meet get referrals and introductions themselves. A good way to think of it is to think of yourself as an un-selfish networker!
I agree with this piece SO
I agree with this piece SO much. Such a fundamental mistake so many people make. My other favourite question is 'What else?' which I like to repeat to people three times, in succession, (epizeuxis is the rhetorical device) when with internal colleagues and challenging them. With customers then perhaps best to keep as a soundtrack of the mind. What else are they looking for? What else can I help them with? What else should I be providing. 'So what?' is just superb when applying to written presentations, academic essays, proposals. Brilliant question. nice one Andy.
P.S. I have never met this man or attended any of the networking sessions that the article was linked to. Just Twitter doing its thing, got to me with a lovely 'So what?' in the title, I clicked, read and had to comment.
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