Dear Dave,
Last week I got the chance to go to a seminar and heard a CEO talk about her company and opportunities in the industry. I wanted to talk to her afterwards but she was surrounded by too many people. They were all trying to speak with her, to offer her their business card or resume or literature from their company. I couldn't even get close!
How do you stand out from crowd and get people to notice you? I get frustrated because of all the competition.
Signed,
"B"
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7 comments:
I'll go first with one suggestion right away.
Why do you think you would be treated any differently when you are acting like everyone else in the crowd When you "rush the stage" all you know about the speaker is what you have just heard. Intuitively the speaker knows this.
If you are attending a seminar or conference, you likly know who the speakers will be beforehand. Research them and their company, then contact them to ask for permission to talk with them before or afterwards. You may even consider bring a camera and taking a photo http://davehowlett.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html of the speaker.
When I speak at conferences, I get a lot of people afterwards trying to connect with me afterwards. 95% I never hear from again after the event. Of the 5% who contact me, 95% of those get discouraged when they don't hear back from me right away. And in 15 years of speaking, I can count on one hand the number of people who have contacted me BEFORE the seminar (having done their homework on me and my company)and tried to schedule a time to meet before or after my presentation.
So do your homework ahead of time...otherwise...how do you even know they are someone you may want to deal with?
For an excellent example on doing due diligence, please read this article (especially the last 3 paragraphs) from yesterday's New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/jobs/03boss.html
Here’s a woman who translated her homework into 10-12 job offers.
Hey B,
My name is Kamal, ok here is what I did when I wanted to talk to Dave Howlett and I knew everyone was surrounding trying to get a job or a contact out of him.The first thing is dont introduce yourself to the CEO (or anybody) directly after they finish a speech,give the crowd sometime, and then after everyone has left just go up and say "wow big crowd surrounded you, man that must have been tiring!" and then THEY WILL START TALKING (bingo!!!) , dont take a long time talking to them (long enough that they recognise your face when they see it again) , since the CEO talked about his/her self in the presentation , you already have their e-mail or some contact. After the conference e-mail them or call and ask for a 5 minute talk on whatever you want (make it worth their time too).This would perfectly work if you are going to see them again in another conference.They remember you because you contacted them before the conference and they have someone that they know before hand.People will always talk to people they know first.
Good Luck , and if you think I can help you more , just ask.
KAMAL
www.kabudiab.blogspot.com
Thanks Kamal - you're right. It worked on me!
The premise is not to push a CV into someone’s hands, but rather put themselves into that “someone’s” shoes. Would “someone” enjoy the networking experience, or even consider attending such a networking event in the future, if they were hounded? Some context - the business executives who attended thse meetings come to learn about the professional graduate programs, the synergies and differences between the programs, and to experience the quality of the students. I suggest that students are to consider themselves ambassadors of their programs. Remember that the CEO of a larger company typically does not make hiring decisions; the students should use this opportunity to learn about companies and networking, and not treat the CEOs as if they were Human Resources staff.
Hi B,
The other suggestions are great ideas - I am going to try to utilize them in the future! Maybe because this seminar is already over, you could change your approach. Did she mention anything during the seminar about her interests? Perhaps you could send her an article or a link on something you know she is interested in, and during this email just introduce yourself. Once you receive a response from her, then you could ask her any of the questions you had. This way she can respond at her leisure, plus you've given her something of value.
Good luck!
Lyndsey Morningstar
If I know the individual, I often try just to make eye contact before or after the presentation so they know you were there. A great way to have the speaker want to spend some time with you is to ask a question or provide some quality feedback during the question period.
Hi B - personally, I like to know the speaker before presenting. Do some high level background research to make for interesting conversation and say a few words when they are typically not as crowded before their presentation.
Exchange business cards. If you don't have any or aren't affiliated with a company or school, make something creative(professional) that you can hand out that explains you and exchange with the speaker.
Follow-up is key. I like to try to have an email in the inbox as soon as I have my next access to email(be brief, many ppl will be doing this). Send some news or information that might be valuable to help your prospect based on the conversation you had. Finally, if convenient, think about what it is you want and ask if you could take them to coffee or a short break to pick their brain. It's important to know what you want in advance. Seems so simple but I'm confident that will help you be different from the line-up that are complimenting the speaker with no real objective.
Regards
RM
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