How to Become a Successful 30 Second Business Networking SuperStar potx

The Power of 3 4 Terrifying Words 3 Questions You Want to Hear Why Most Elevator Speeches Are Boring Creating Your Attention Grabbing Elevator Speech One Announcement That Makes You Want

How to Become a Successful

30 Second

Business Networking SuperStar

Michael R Dougherty

-Smashwords EditionCopyright 2011 Michael R Dougherty

www.instant-persuasive-speaking.com

License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

Table of Contents

Dedication

Special Acknowledgment

About the Author

Introduction by Michael R Dougherty

How Boring Can They Be?

The Power of 3

4 Terrifying Words

3 Questions You Want to Hear

Why Most Elevator Speeches Are Boring

Creating Your Attention Grabbing Elevator Speech One Announcement That Makes You Want to Hide Creating Your Powerful Magnetic Introduction One Thing You Must Include

A Final Word

Book Michael R Dougherty As A Speaker Or Coach

To my wife Mary, who besides being the best woman on planet Earth, is my best friend,

my partner and the love of my life Her daily delight in the beauty of the world around her and her encouragement is my compass and my inspiration

To my daughter Nikki “Pooh Bear” White, granddaughter Amanda and son-in-law Steve, your love and belief in me is more of a blessing than you will ever know

To my son Christopher “spud” Dougherty and granddaughter Scarlett, your love for me and your love for all things family, is an inspiration and a guiding light

Special Acknowledgment

From day one in life I was blessed with parents who taught me that doing your best is a noble benchmark to live by And that while doing your best requires hard work and dedication, the character it builds is a goal worth achieving

With that in mind, I thank my mother and my father, Mary Louise Dougherty & Ray Dougherty who's hard work has now seen them to their final reward Without them, none

of this would have been possible

About The Author

Flash forward 6 years

There I was at the ripe old age of 18, standing in front of a television camera, ready to host my first live television broadcast

The program was called "The Varsity Show" and it was a long-running, local teen dance program that offered high school students the opportunity to work behind the scenes and

in front of the camera

The regular host was a popular local radio DJ who was out of town that week But instead

of having another DJ host that week's show, they decided to have 4 of the high school staff each host 15 minutes of the program

Everyone that was chosen to host a segment was an on-camera staff member - except me

- I was behind the scenes, on the camera crew But that was about to change

Even though I had never been in front of the camera before, I was chosen to host the final

15 minutes of the show

Imagine being just 18 years old and having someone tell you that you were going to host

a very popular TV show - and it was live

My first reaction was surprise at being one of the 4 hosts I was a behind-the-scenes guy, part of the camera crew

When my 15 minutes arrived, and the stage manager gave me my cue - I looked right into the camera lens and started speaking to it like that lens was my friend.

That evening I went to a local high school football game - and as I walked in front of the grandstands, people started hollering "hey Mike - great job" "hey Mike" "loved you on The Varsity Show today."

I had connected with the audience, and they felt like they knew me

Now with years of experience delivering presentations to a wide variety of audiences including college students, senior citizens and professionals, I've developed a simple system for creating powerful elevator speeches and introductions that work amazingly well Public speaking is one of the most powerful forms of communication because you can connect with your audience in person

30 Second SuperStar gives you the tools you need to connect with your potential clients and customers quickly and in person When you master the simple and easy-to-use

techniques I cover in this book, you'll become a very powerful communicator who

attracts more clients and customers because you'll be a 30 Second SuperStar

functions of any kind, you're ability to quickly let people know what you do and how you

do it - in an interesting and dynamic way - is critical to your success

How to Become a Successful 30 Second Networking SuperStar reveals simple, use strategies that will supercharge your “elevator speech” and your introductions, so that prospects will be asking for your business card, and wanting to know more about your products or services

easy-to-How to Become a Successful 30 Second Networking SuperStar is your handbook and guide to creating an attention grabbing elevator speech and powerful magnetic

introductions that will make you stand out as someone that others want to do business with

Now get ready, because you're about to become a 30 Second SuperStar

Michael R Dougherty

How Boring Can They Be?

Like you, I've been to a lot of gatherings where they go around the room and everyone has the opportunity to introduce themselves and their business

But after only about 3 so called introductions, I'm usually wishing that someone would inject the anesthetic novacaine into my brain to numb me from the pain of having to listen to the other 20 people in the room as they drone on and on and on

It's not that my expectations are too high - it's that the introductions tend to be incredibly boring

Person after person just sits there, or maybe they stand while they say their name in an uninteresting monotone and then go on and on about their company, products or services They conclude by saying they want to give you their brochure and/or business card after the meeting That is - if they remembered to bring their business cards

Yes, once in a while someone does manage to stand tall, speak up and maybe even make you laugh, but let's face it - that person is rare indeed

And when was the last time you actually wanted to follow up with someone at one of these gatherings because of their introduction?

Not very often

How boring can it get? I'm not a betting man, but I'd be willing to bet that as hard as you might try to pay attention to everyone as they introduce themselves and their businesses, you'd probably have a hard time remembering 3 people that you didn't know before.Why?

Because of their boring introductions you're probably thinking about 2 things

How hard the seats are, whether or not the speaker is going to be boring and if you're going to have to suffer through the speakers 300 Power Point slides filled with tiny unreadable print - ugh

.

Besides the seemingly never ending introductions, if you're brave enough to ask someone

“what they do” or “what company their with” odds are you'll end up either getting an answer you don't understand, don't care about, or one that goes on for ever

Some time ago, after a long drive, I arrived early at a hotel where I was attending a seminar Since the room was still being set up I decided to sit in the hotel lobby next to the seminar room and rest for a few minutes following my long road trip

But before I could sit down, a man came out of the seminar room and asked if I was there for the seminar After I said yes, he introduced himself and said he was also there to attend the seminar He then asked me why I was attending the presentation

I was about half a sentence into my answer when he suddenly interrupted and launched into telling me about his business

After what seemed like an eternity, I realized that he was going to continue telling me everything I didn't want to know about his business until I was able to figure out a quick escape route.

So I held up my hand and said “excuse me but I need to visit the men's room.” I then hoped he wouldn't decide that he needed to visit the men's room too

Fortunately he didn't

As soon as I had made my escape, I decided that I would find another place in the hotel to wait for the seminar

The story I just told is a perfect example of someone who doesn't have an elevator

speech, and thinks that using a verbal hammer is the way to win clients and customers.For the record I still have no idea what his company did or what his product or service was But then, I don't think he did either

The Power of 3

Do you know 3 ways to communicate your message verbally?

As someone who's looking for new clients and customers, you have 3 golden

opportunities to verbally showcase your products and services - and all 3 must be

powerful enough to make people want to know more

The first is the often misunderstood “elevator speech”

When you step into an elevator at a business gathering and someone asks you “what do you do?” you have about 30 seconds to answer them before the elevator reaches it's destination and you both go your separate ways

You elevator speech can be used in a wide variety of settings - it's not really just for elevator pitches

By creating an attention grabbing elevator speech you'll start seeing an increase in the number of people who'll want to know more about your products and services and

actually ask for your business card So make sure you have your business cards with you

- and handy at all times

.

The second is your 30 second introduction

At networking gatherings, Chamber of Commerce meetings and business lunches, they often go around the room so that everyone can introduce themselves and say a few words about their business

This is an excellent opportunity for you to stand out from the crowd with your powerful, magnetic introduction - one that people will actually remember

The third is to actually do presentations to groups about your products and services

While this is by far the best way to get more clients and customers, doing presentations requires much more than 30 seconds, so it's also a topic that I'll cover in another book and CD

Now let's look at creating your attention grabbing elevator speech and your magnetic introduction so you can become a 30 Second SuperStar

The speaker looked at the man and asked the 4 terrifying words - “What do you do?”Her question prompted the man to fidget and stammer as he tried to find the answer He finally came up with something like “I find the cohesive formula and forecast quarterly trends for target accounting that relates to projection data for small businesses.”

Of course that's not what he actually said, but my creative re-telling is every bit as

confusing as what he really said - and no one in the room, including him, will ever be able to recall his exact words

The speaker was kind and then began asking a series of questions to help the man create a workable elevator speech After several tries, and to the speaker's credit, she was able to help him come up with a much improved answer

When you go anywhere, you need to be ready, willing and able - at all times - to answer those 4 terrifying words with easy, poise and confidence Because every time you do, you'll have an excellent opportunity to attract new clients and customers

And You'll Stand Out From The Crowd

Since most people don't have an attention grabbing elevator speech, your's will turn heads and attract more clients and customers which will lead to more sales

3 Questions You Want To Hear

How would you like your answer to the question “what do you do?” to lead to the second question “how do you do that?” and the third question “may I have your business card”?

At a network gathering I watched a lady work the room She would approach someone, introduce herself and then ask the other person “what do you do?”

But after they answered her question, instead of asking them anything else, she would then move right into the only reason she was talking with them in the first place - which was to hand out her card “Here, let me give you my card.”

And while she fumbled to find her business card, the other person would quickly say “oh, let me give you my card too.”

She handed her card to the other person who then pretended to look at it, shoved it in their pocket as then handed her their card - which of course she pretended to look at briefly before stuffing it in her purse

What did this lady accomplish?

She accomplished exactly 3 things She can now tell her boss that she showed up at a network gathering, met 10 people and handed out her business cards

But did she attract more potential clients and customers? Absolutely not

You goal should always be to ask, and to be asked 3 questions

“What do you do?”

When your give an attention grabbing answer to that question, your prospect will want to know more and will ask the second question you want to hear

“How do you do that?”

Answering the second question in a dynamic way will prompt a third question

“May I have your business card?”

Why Most Elevator Speeches Are Boring

For the few who have actually come up with an elevator speech, most are fairly basic and uninspired - ok, their boring

The typical elevator speech is around 30 seconds long Here's how it works

Let's say that John is at a network gathering and he spots Mary standing across the room John walks over, introduces himself to Mary and then asks “what do you do?” Being a smart marketer, Mary has her elevator speech all worked out and answers John's question like this

“John I'm glad you asked me I work for Ron's Custom Bedroom Furnishings and we have a wonderful selection of bed frames, headboards and accessories, but we're also very proud to offer the complete line of “Sleep on a Cloud mattresses” And as you may know, Sleep on a Cloud mattresses are guaranteed to give you the best nights sleep you've ever had.”

Mary continues her elevator speech

“Now John, if you'll give me your business card I'll be happy to send you a brochure and then call you to set up an appointment so that you can visit our show room.”

Notice how Mary's elevator speech gave John a quick overview of the business she's representing, and that she worked in a request for John's business card and an invitation for her to call him and to set up an appointment

But there are several problems with Mary's elevator speech

First, her description of the business she represents is factual but boring Her description didn't give John a reason to get interested in hearing more Her elevator speech is just like everyone elses It simply doesn't stand out She's selling the features and not the results.Secondly, Mary asked John for his card and his permission for her to call him and to set

up an appointment You might think that's a good thing, but it's not and here's why

Wouldn't it be 100% better if John was interested enough to ask Mary for her business card so he could follow up?

Creating Your Attention Grabbing Elevator Speech

When you're at a network gathering or anywhere else and someone asks you the magic question “what do you do?” you can literally grab their attention when you use this powerful 30 Second SuperStar method

First, in today's hurry up world, the attention span of an average adult is just :20 seconds That's right - 20 seconds

With that in mind, your attention grabbing elevator speech should be no more than 10 seconds long

Imagine this

-John is at a network gathering, spots Mary standing across the room, so -John walks over, introduces himself to Mary and then asks “what do you do?”

Mary answers John's question like this

“I give you the best sleep you've ever had.”

Now put yourself in John's place John is first of all surprised by Mary's answer, and John's brain is now telling him that he absolutely has to find out HOW Mary can give him the best sleep he's ever had

Because Mary's answer has literally grabbed John's attention, his brain HAS to know the answer, so his next question will be -

“How do you do that?”

Mary answers by asking “John, have you ever heard of “Sleep on a Cloud mattresses?” Once you try a Sleep on a Cloud Mattress, you'll never want to sleep on anything else again.”

.

Now John will ask for Mary's card, then Mary can ask for John's card and tell him that she'll be giving him a call And when she does call, John will remember her

See the difference?

Mary grabbed John's attention with a powerful statement that made John want to know how she did that Then Mary told him the results of using her product, and not the

features

Suppose you work for a pharmaceutical company and you represent a line of drugs that can save someone's life When someone asks you what you do, you can answer by saying

- “I save lives.”

When you make a short and attention grabbing statement like that, you KNOW the person you're talking with is going to ask “how do you do that?”

And they are going to WANT to listen to your answer

When asked what they do, a financial planner might use this