Networking and growing your clienttell is the most important aspect every entrepreneur has sleepless nights over. Imagine almost any situation where two or more people are gathered\u2014 such as a networking event, a job interview or at a corporate event.<\/p>\n
What do these situations have in common? Almost all of them involve people trying to talk with each other. But in these very moments where a conversation would enhance an encounter, we often fall short. We can\u2019t think of a thing to say.<\/p>\n
Or worse, we do a passable job at talking. We stagger through our romantic, professional and social worlds with the goal merely of not crashing, never considering that we might soar. We go home sweaty, puffy and eat birthday cake in the shower !<\/p>\n
We at Outsourced ACC specialise in small and start-up businesses giving a range of professional guidance. \u00a0We believe as Accountants and business Consultants we should not limit ourselves to number crunching and bookkeeping. Instead we act as Finance Directors to all companies providing a range of advice and guidance.<\/p>\n
Here are some simple steps to help you master and avoid those awkward moments and increase your client base.<\/p>\n
Ask for stories, not answers<\/strong><\/p>\n One way to get beyond small talk is to ask open-ended questions. Aim for questions that invite people to tell stories, rather than give bland, one-word answers.<\/p>\n Instead of . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow was your day?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat line of work are you in?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow was your weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWould you like some wine?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow long have you been living here?\u201d<\/p>\n Try . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your story?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did you do today?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the strangest thing about where you grew up?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the most interesting thing that happened at work today?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d you end up in your line of work?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does your name mean? What would you like it to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was the best part of your weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you looking forward to this week?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho do you think is the luckiest person in this room?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does this house remind you of?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you could teleport by blinking your eyes, where would you go right now?\u201d<\/p>\n Break the mirror<\/strong><\/p>\n When small talk stalls out, it\u2019s often due to a phenomenon we call \u201cmirroring.\u201d In our attempts to be polite, we often answer people\u2019s questions directly, repeat their observations, or just blandly agree with whatever they say.<\/p>\n Mirrored example:<\/p>\n Adam: It\u2019s a beautiful day!<\/p>\n Jasmine: Yes, it is a beautiful day!<\/p>\n See? By mirroring Adam\u2019s opinion and language, Jasmine has followed the social norm, but she\u2019s also paralyzed the discussion and missed a moment of fun. Instead, Jasmine needs to practice the art of disruption and move the dialogue forward:<\/p>\n Non-mirrored example:<\/p>\n Adam: It\u2019s a beautiful day!<\/p>\n Jasmine: They say that the weather was just like this when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. If that actually happened.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n See? Now Jasmine and Adam are talking! Be provocative. Absurdity is underrated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Leapfrog over the expected response<\/strong><\/p>\n An even better way to break the boring-conversation mirror is to skip over the expected response, and go somewhere next-level:<\/p>\n Instead of:<\/strong><\/p>\n Irina: How was your flight?<\/p>\n Jackie: My flight was good!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Irina: It\u2019s hot today.<\/p>\n Jackie: Yeah, it sure is hot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Irina: What\u2019s up?<\/p>\n Jackie: Hey, what\u2019s up?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Try:<\/strong><\/p>\n Irina: How was your flight?<\/p>\n Jackie: I\u2019d be more intrigued by an airline where your ticket price was based on your body weight and IQ.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Irina: It\u2019s hot today.<\/p>\n Jackie: In this dimension, yes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Irina: What\u2019s up?<\/p>\n Jackie: Washing your chicken just splatters the bacteria everywhere.<\/p>\n Go ahead, be bold. Upend the dinner table conversation! Turn small talk into big ideas at the next networking event you\u2019re forced to attend! You never know which ideas will be worth winning your next biggest client.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Networking and growing your clienttell is the most important aspect every entrepreneur has sleepless nights over. Imagine almost any situation where two or more people are gathered\u2014 such as a networking event, a job interview or at a corporate event. What do these situations have in common? 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