Hi! This is Al Martella – thank you to Andrea for allowing me to share some thoughts about networking this week.
I was at a “big box” store last week for something very simple – two frozen chicken chimichangas. I paid for them at a self-checkout. Because the items were small, I didn’t bag them – just took my receipt and the chimichangas.
At the door was Charlotte. Today her job was to check receipts. I had said hello to her many times but never got a big response. Today was to be different.
“Hi, Charlotte! Not buying a lot today” I said. Charlotte didn’t have much of a response.
She looked down at my purchase and a smile came over her face! “Chimichangas! My sons love chimichangas! I cannot keep enough of them in my house” she exclaimed. “My refrigerator can be full, but my sons go crazy if we don’t have chimichangas!”
“How old are your sons, Charlotte?”
“14 ½ and 25. They both love chimichangas!”
I’ll spare you the rest of the conversation – here’s the point. When we are networking, how do we respond when a person expresses delight or passion about something? Do we take the time to explore the subject and express a genuine interest in the person?
I have a friend who is a multi-million dollar producer in financial services. He was meeting a client and noticed him wearing a very expensive, luxury watch. He complimented him on the watch. The client became animated and starting speaking about his passion – collecting luxury watches! The client invited my friend to a watch collectors meet up where my friend connected with other affluent individuals who fit his client criteria.
In her book, Savvy Networking, Andrea suggests “Hear what is said with the heart, rather than what is said with words.”
Regardless if the topic is chimichangas or luxury watches, you never know where the conversation will take you. It may lead you to a lifelong client.
What do you think? Andrea and I would love to hear from you and your thoughts and suggestions.
*ARN—A big thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Al Martella who is a continual supporter of Networking Nuggets and a huge contributor. Al will be with us again for the next few weeks when I am traveling overseas. A BIG Thanks to the GREAT Al Martella!!