“Daddy, don’t you know the way home?”
I glance quizzically at my nine-year-old daughter in the rear view mirror.
She tries rephrasing the question.
“Daddy, don’t you drive me home from here every Wednesday afternoon?”
Why yes, of course I do. But I don’t see what that has to do with…
She points to my GPS.
“So why do you still need driving directions?”
That’s a great question.
Of course I don’t need my GPS to get home from here.
I use it to gauge the traffic – or so I tell myself.
But on a whim, or maybe more directly in response to her question, I turn it off…
…and I start saving 15 minutes on our ride home.
My usual path home takes around 35 minutes.
I figured I could optimize it using my GPS.
My GPS scares me off my usual route in favor of a route that takes about 50 minutes.
The crazy thing is… I was too scared to go back to my original route – after all, the GPS said that traffic was terrible.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because in a world of Twitter and LinkedIn and Facebook and Instagram and MeetUp and EventBrite it’s easy to look for new ways to connect.
But the single best way to attract referrals through any networking activity has stayed the same for many many years:
Coffee meetings
You don’t get to know people by twice-a-month listening to their 30-Second Elevator Pitch.
You get to know people by sitting down across from them and, well, getting to know them.
So whether you’re part of a networking group or attending a networking event, set up coffee meetings with three people you enjoy talking to.
What can you talk about at the coffee meeting?
Here are three great questions start the conversation:
“How did you get started doing _________?”
“Do you have any upcoming trips planned?”
“Would you mind sharing an example of a recent client success?”
What’s your favorite question to ask at a coffee meeting?