Walking into a cocktail party in New York City recently, I saw a Media executive who was wearing the exact same outfit that I had on. For some reason, many women view this as a possible disaster and I thought it was a great opportunity.
I walked over to her and said, “Excuse me, I want to compliment you on your incredible taste in clothes!” She responded by saying how much she appreciated my sense of humor! I realized quickly that she had one too!
We got into a conversation and exchanged contact information. I did also find out that her preferred method of communication was text…(although of course, she uses all of the forms).
After the event, I sent her a handwritten note first and contact information of my favorite sales associate at the store where we had discussed she bought this particular designer. I mentioned that if she was ever interested he gives incredible client service and always goes the extra mile.
Then a week later, I sent her a brief text, saying that I look forward to seeing her again at one of the next media events we had attended and perhaps set a time for coffee on a future visit.
The “Net(working)” result – the boutique I referred her to received some new business. . I now get invited to even more of their store events and I made a new connection.
So – ladies, if you are ever wearing the same outfit or even same designer as another person at an event, don’t despair, turn it into an opportunity to connect.
I also learned a great lesson about this from my dear friend, the late and great Jon Lambert— he would always say if he saw someone wearing the exact same outfit ( as many men do)– he would walk up and say “Twins” and turn it into a great conversation starter.
It is always possible to turn lemons into lemonade when we are networking.