November 22, 2021– We’re giving out daily tips for authors all month long! I hope you’re enjoying all the information we’ve chatted about so far; today, we’re giving you some great advice on Networking.
Networking can happen at any time and a lot of times unexpectedly. Whether waiting in line for coffee, at the grocery store, or while getting your haircut, you should always be ready to chat about what you do and why.
- Always have business cards. If people are interested in what you do, or it comes up in conversation, a good thing to do is give them a business card to check things out for themselves and stay in touch with you. I get their card as well, or at least their email address, so if they don’t contact me (for whatever reason, maybe they lost my card, forgot etc.) I can follow up with them.
- Take notes. When I ask for their card or email, I quickly write down their name and where we met as a reminder. The more info I have, the better I can tailor my message. For example, if they said they had a three-year-old granddaughter, I would write that down so that I could send them an email about books that would be suitable for that age group.
- 30 seconds. That’s how much time you have for your’ elevator pitch’ when someone asks what you do. If you can’t define what you do and what your book is about in 30 seconds or less, you will never get your point across no matter how much time you take explaining yourself. Get to the point and leave them with a hook so that they want to find out more. I remember being in a lunch meeting with an author who was interested in signing with Pandamonium. I remember the server asking if we were celebrating an event, and I said it was a working lunch, one thing led to another, and she asked what the author’s book was about. I recall watching her eyes glaze over as the author went into minute detail about every angle of his manuscript. I felt bad for the server and tipped her extra (true story) for having to sit through his torturous explanation. Needless to say, he never got published (by us anyway).
- Not all about you. Remember to keep the conversation reciprocal; it’s not all about you. Take a genuine interest in the other person and ask questions that will help you get to know them and find out their needs, interests, family situation, etc.
- Similarities. Finding similar interests between yourself and someone you just met is essential for creating trust and ease in the conversation. People think, ‘Wow, they’re just like me!’ If they feel this way, they are more likely to continue to talk and further build a relationship with you enough so that you can employ the 2+2+2 method.
We’ll talk about the 222 Method tomorrow, stay tuned!