Article contributed by Dr. Ivan Misner.
Many people make the fatal mistake of assuming that others know a lot about their business. I heard a florist tell a networking group, “I’m not sure what else to say. You all know what a florist does, right?” Wrong! We didn’t know the variety of products this florist provided. He knew his business and assumed that everyone else knew it as well. Later, I asked him whether his shop was an FTD (Interflora) florist and . . .
- Did he accept credit cards?
- Did he offer seasonal specials for holidays? If so, which ones?
- Did he handle emergency orders?
- Could he do a good job for weddings?
- Did he give a discount to members of his networking group?
- Could I set up a billing arrangement with his company?
- Could I order online?
- Do certain colours of roses signify certain things?
- What type of floral arrangement would be appropriate for a graduation?
- Could he give me any tips on keeping flowers alive longer?
- What was his most challenging order?
I told him there were hundreds of things I didn’t know about his business, and others surely felt the same way. Not using his time with the networking group to tell everyone something about his service was an opportunity lost.
Everyone has something he can say that will educate people about the services he has to offer. Don’t pass up a chance to teach people more about what you do!
Try making a list of questions, such as the ones above, that people might ask you about your business and then try focusing on answering one question each time you attend a networking meeting — you’d be surprised at the things people really have no idea that you do!
