Do Your Homework - Ch 7 of Never Eat Alone
April 6th, 2007 by digerati
This is Chapter 6 of the Never Eat Alone
Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation. Churchill would tell us preparation is - if not the key to genius - the key to sounding like a genius.
Preparation is the key to not being nervous, and as Nixon taught us, nervousness is a killer. Prepare, if not by writing it out beforehand, then at least by knowing everything about what you’re going to say. Read about it, talk about it, and know about it before you have to teach it. Better yet, teach it before you have an audience.
Before I meet with any new people I research who they are an what their business is. Find out what is important to them. All people naturally care, generally above and beyond anything else about what it is THEY do.
Find out minimally the industry and type of job that person does. Thats enough to start a conversation about what they do. You can find out more by checking annual reports, calling the company’s public relations department, etc. Another good source is alumni associations.
Understand what their problems and needs are. Get to that person as an individual.
Transform what could be a forgettable experience into a blossoming friendship.
I had to learn this when doing consulting, especially with web design. It doesn’t matter what the new technology is, or anything else. It only matters what their problem is and which solution they think will solve it. It is also important not to blanket problems with standard solutions. While you can often make a sale this way, it usually isn’t successful in the long run and you won’t get more business from them. Taking even a little time to really understand the customer (as a business and an individual)
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Never Eat Alone is one of the best networking books written, period. Buy it now and follow along as Catch a Gideon goes through each chapter of the book.
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