Networking: 2 Minute Training #16: Seeing Is Believing

Networking: 2 Minute Training #16: Seeing Is Believing

Let me tell you a story. I work in my studio from 11pm to 4am much more often than I’d like to. Every morning at 5:30am, my neighbor jogs by, and waves if she sees me in the window. I wave back. And then, she’s gone. I see her every now and then, and I feel like I know her (to some degree).

I met her husband for the first time in October of 2009, while the height of the recession was laying heavy. Because I’m a in a networking mode at most events, I asked him how his business was doing. His answer blew me away:

It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I asked him how his business was doing, and he replied: “Much better since I lost 90 pounds.”

Now, I had never seen him before, so I had to take a second and give him the eye. “Oh? What do you do?”

Long story short— He was a personal trainer. His business started declining, and he started gaining weight. As he was brushing 270lbs, his business fell off steeply. “Frankly,” he let me know, “people see a heavyweight personal trainer, and they just don’t believe they can do the job right.”

He could give his potential clients all sorts of satisfied customers and their contact information, but people weren’t buying it. Somebody was kind enough (cruel enough) to tell him the reason why she wouldn’t work with him: He didn’t look like he could do the job… He couldn’t even run his system on himself.

Here we learn a great networking tactic: Seeing is believing.

When my neighbor’s husband trimmed down to 185, his business started going through the roof. People remembered seeing him in the gym, and working so hard. People saw him slimming down and getting into shape. People could see the results, and they knew that the system was working. Seeing really was believing.

Does your business reflect in how you handle yourself, and your image? A health doctor who is smoking won’t go over very well. A graphic designer who doesn’t have a website, or a web designer who might have a website that hasn’t been updated in several years won’t be that believable. Show people the bottom line.

Show people what you are doing, and what you’re accomplishing. Bring your props and tools of the trade with you as a visual aid. Do a small demonstration of your technique, or hand out some written questions that might prime the pump for a potential referral.

CASE IN POINT
The man you’re meeting shows up 20 minutes late for your one to one networking meeting, with messed-up hair, and a large mustard stain on his shirt. “Sorry I’m late,” he says. “I was up until 3am last night drinking, and I slept through my alarm clock. I couldn’t find my car keys, and when I finally did find them (I had left them in an ashtray while stuffing out a cigarette last night— that ever happened to you?) I noticed that I had left one of the windows in the back of my car down, and my battery was dead. Worse than that, I keep my customer’s files in the back seat of my car (its really more like a mobile office), and some of them are pretty wet back there. Guess I’ll be using my hairdryer tonight, huh? Anyhow, I sped on over here just as fast as a could. Bottom line is: I’m the CPA that you need in today’s market.

Would you consider using this individual to keep your business finances and taxes in order? I certainly wouldn’t… no matter how many satisfied customers they could produce (and honestly, would they give you contact information to a less-than-satisfied customer?)

There’s an old saying: The Proof is in the Pudding. Seeing is Believing. Help people to believe in you and your skills. Put any fears or thoughts they might have to rest by showing them the goods. After all, seeing is believing, and you have the ability to help them believe.