The Best Networking Question Ever

Be a more effective networker this holiday season with this tip from Anne Miller:

Oh, no -- yet another networking event. -- and more coming with the holidays!

Are you ready?

Elevator speech? Check.
Smile and business cards? Check
Shoes shined? Suit pressed? Look like a million bucks? Check
Objectives set? Check
Up on latest news for smart conversation? Check.
Discussion questions memorized? Check.

With everyone pretty much a networking clone by now, how do you get real interest in you?

Surprise people.

Ask this high pay-off question and watch them light up: "Tell me, what would someone have to say for me to recommend you?"

People LOVE this question. A. They feel I am really interested in helping them (I am). B. It gets them off their canned elevator speech and provides a much richer description of what they do that would really help me help them. C. Best of all, that interest in them sparks a deeper interest in what I do. A win-win all around.

Try it at your next event. Let me know how it works for you.

Anne Miller is a popular sales and presentations expert and author of the book, Metaphorically Selling: How to Use the Magic of Metaphors to Sell, Persuade, & Explain Anything to Anyone. She works with people in high stakes situations and clients like Yahoo!, Citigroup, and Time, Inc. to sell millions of dollars of business every year. Visit her site at www.AnneMiller.com and her blog at http://www.annemiller.com/blog/