Introduce yourself with impact so that your target clients have clarity – how you can help them. A few weeks ago I attended a business networking breakfast where entrepreneurs come together to share what they do to serve their customers and build collaborative business relationships.
These kind of events are really valuable to connect with people from your industry or a related industry, or to discover how you can help them or their customers and how they can help you grow your business.
In that particular event there were about 25 entrepreneurs and consultants from various industries – some that have been in business a long time, and some just starting up.
Usually these kind of events start with giving everyone around 40 seconds to introduce themselves – to tell what they do, who are their clients, what services they provide and what they want to get out of this networking event.
What I learned from these 40 second introductions is:
- Some people have really polished their introductions and are clear of their unique value proposition
- And among those who are – those that are getting the best out of these events in terms of connections and the expected outcome
- Those are the ones who are clear about their personal brand
- There are quite a few people who do not know how to present themselves impactfully – so after their presentation the meeting participants are not clear – on what they do and how they deliver value
- That means that those who listen to their poor introductions are not clear – on what they can help them with or how they can help them
- And the meeting becomes just a nice breakfast chat without gaining any valuable connections or any potential for business development from these who have not developed their Unique Value Proposition or elevator pitch
- And if they do not follow up with contacts, then its not really networking – it’s a breakfast chat with strangers
My top 3 tips of developing your UVP:
- Have crystal clear awareness of your personal brand and how you deliver value
- Have a deep understanding of your customer avatar – whom do your serve and how do you help them – what transformation do you help them achieve
- Condense it into 3-4 sentences to make a punchy impact and ensure that people who listen will remember
I hope this is a helpful tip for the week, enjoy making your impact!