Write It Before You Say It!

 If I had to venture a guess, I’d estimate that more than 90% of all networkers have never written down their messages. Have you? That means that the majority of people who consider themselves networkers are coming up with something on-the-fly. Sure, they’ve bombed out a few times and have gotten positive reaction other times, so they’ve learned to stick in some of the words that seem to get the most positive response. But, if this describes you, how do you suppose this hit and miss strategy is impacting your networking success?

 

Literally billions of dollars are spent on advertising each year in the United States alone—much more worldwide. Companies simply can’t afford to commit a major advertising campaign to delivering a message that doesn’t resonate with their target markets. It would be both professional and corporate suicide.

 

Marketing departments spend countless hours imagining every possible scenario to see to it that the company message is delivered in the most effective way. Which colors evoke the best response? What font should we use? Do we print handouts with the text printed sideways or at a 45° angle? Would 50° get a better response? Glossy or satin finish? Thesauruses are worn out trying to come up with just the right word. And these are the folks just trying to sell products or services. As a networker you are trying to sell you. Is selling you less important? I didn’t think so.

 

The marketing departments review every word in their message, then every combination of words. They seek feedback from all segments of society to make sure that no one is offended. They never go to market with a message that hasn’t been written down, torn up, sliced and diced, and put back together again.

 

When you write down your messages, you get a chance to see if they conform to the messaging goals you have set for yourself. Messaging goals? Is this something new? What would your goals be for each of your commercials and messages? If you haven’t thought of this before, take the time to jot down a few thoughts.

 

The goal of a commercial is not to make a sale, it’s to get invited to make a presentation. Remember this point. When you have achieved your goal, STOP! Far too many deals are lost by the overly enthusiastic sales person or networker who, during a commercial, senses that their audience is receptive and might give a couple more minutes, and then tries to slam an otherwise well-thought out presentation into the remaining two minutes. Far too many people have talked themselves out of a deal that could have been made by not knowing when to end the conversation.

 

Another thing that constantly amazes me is that companies with outside sales staffs constantly hire sales people who look like they’ll make “quota”—after all, they did when they were selling something else to somebody else; provide them with cursory training on the company’s products or services; and then pay enormous amounts of money to fly them all over the globe to deliver the “corporate message.” More often than not, the salesperson delivers the message they think the client wants to hear—and they find themselves in a features war. The further from the corporate office the salesperson is located, the more this tends to be true. Some sales people make a living by “bonding” with their prospect in a joint “those folks in corporate don’t have a clue” mentality. I know, I’ve been there. What happened to the much researched messaging?

 

Note to sales managers, directors and vice presidents: Ask every one of your sales people to write down the “corporate message” and compare the answers to the way your people are “rated” against the company quota. Then, take action to fix the problem that you’ve just uncovered.