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Meeting People for the First Time
When we meet someone for the very first time, we do not know much about them. Unless they were introduced to us, we may not even know their name. Walking across the room and up to someone and introducing yourself can be almost as hard as giving a public speech!
So what are the ground rules?
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Have confidence - the other person will not bite you, and they probable feel as nervous as you do!
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Just walk up, offer your hand and say something like “Hi, my name is Jim, pleased to meet you!” followed by a leading question such as “What is it you do?”
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Following the initial question, here are some more:-
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What do you like most about what you do?
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If you could start over, knowing what you do now, what would your day look like?
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Ask about family, children, pets etc if appropriate.
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A bonus statement you can always use is “Tell me more?”
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If the other person has a name tag, use their name as often as you can.
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When the other persons answers, keep asking questions for as long as you can to extract detail from them.
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Do not proffer advice at this stage.
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Hopefully the other person will ask you what you do. You can answer but be prepared to turn the questions back onto them.
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Let them do the talking if possible - they’ll love you forever.
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Ask if you can help the person in any way.
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Ask what they are looking for specifically.
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Ask for their business card and give them yours.
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If you know other people who are present, then introduce your new friend to one of them and then after a minute or so excuse yourself.
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If possible annotate the business card with any relevant details.
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As soon as possible (at least within 24 hours) follow up with an email thanking them for their time!
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Add them to your database, and try and send them a message, call on the phone, give them a gift - every month onwards. If you can get their birthday, anniversary, wife & children names, all the better!
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Think about who you could introduce to them or what you can do for them - that makes you a star in their eyes and they will see you as a trusted connection.
This is a fairly standard approach. You will soon create your own that flow smoothly and helps the other person tell you what you need to know.
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