Tips from the SWFL Small Business Expo in Naples, Fl.

Attending the SWFL Small Business Expo last week on Saturday was an amazing experience.

We connected with several companies. We met wonderful people. We learned how much value they bring to the marketplace in the Naples area.

 

     

 

As a business owner and entrepreneur myself, I see incredible value in attending selected events.

Most people attend events with the idea of getting new clients and making a new sale. Even though there is truth into it, I have a different approach when going to events.

 

Let me share 5 tips that will help you be more effective in your business when it comes to attending events:

 

1.- Keep the introductions short.

 

Have you ever met someone at a place and they will try to share so much information that you become overwhelmed? Are you one of those people?

Well, when you meet someone at an event, please be brief. Ask their name. Ask why are they attending to the event. Ask for a business card. And move the conversation to a more generic topic. Your objective is create RAPPORT in the least amount of time and move to a new connection.

Spending too much time with the same person will slow you down. It will give you a lower return in your invested time.

Your objective is to gain as many new connections as possible while you are at the event.

 

2.- Do not make a sales presentation of your business, services or products to people you just met.

 

Sharing too much information when you just meet someone at an event is counter productive. If they are patient enough to hear all your speech, you will turn them off and they will not want to probably talk to you again because you talk too much too fast too early.

It doesn’t mean that you can’t talk about what you do. Just do it gracefully. Make it short. Share a little and make them want to know more about what you do and what you can offer them.

 

3.- Be more interested in learning about them than talking about you.

 

People love to talk about themselves and there is nothing wrong with that, but when you go to an event looking for new connections, you have to be strategic. You need to figure out quickly if the person in front of you is a possible potential prospect for you or not.

How do you know that in just a few minutes?

You must have very clear who is your IDEAL CLIENT. You need to know how to ask the right questions without sounding like you are interrogating them.

Reality is, you are pre-qualifying them to see if they fit your criteria of your IDEAL CLIENT. This will save you time, energy and money.

 

4.- Have FUN!

 

One thing I always notice when I attend events is people’s facial expressions. Are they smiling? Are they serious? Are they frowning? Are they detached? Are they annoyed?

When you pay attention to this subtle detail, it will pay you handsomely in the future. If you are looking to do business with people, would it be nice if they are in a good mood and have a pleasant personality?

In the same token, are you smiling? are you pleasant? are you courteous? are you polite?

Events are social gatherings to mingle, to make new friends. Take advantage of that! Those attending the events, might have similar goals like yourself, and that is a great plus, because they are open to find common grounds just like you.

 

5.- Follow up!

 

By far, this is the most important piece of advice I am sharing in this blog.

OK. You go to the events. You get bunch of new cards. You make new connections. And then, you suck when it comes to following up with them. Now your event turns into a total waste of your time and energy.

 

“THE MONEY IS IN THE FOLLOW UP”

Make sure you call them, email them… and now it’s a good time to ask for a meeting or a brief phone call to further explore how you can be of service to them… how you can help them… how you can provide your value and they will be super happy to pay for it.

 

I want to THAK YOU for reading this blog and for sharing it further on your site, Twitter and Facebook walls.

 

With much love,

 

~Ms. Pino.