To this day, if I hit my head, or generally get hurt, my dad will laugh his head off. He can’t help himself. And sometimes I can’t blame him, but where’s the line between slapstick and really sick? Finding the line is important, especially when you’re meeting a prospect for the first time.
It’s clearly necessary to do your homework ahead of meeting someone in a professional setting, but when Google, social media and rampant oversharing lay all of someone’s personal information at your feet, you often have to create your own networking boundaries. In this case, it’s best to lean towards the conservative and limit yourself to learn less than possible.
It Isn’t Rocket Science
This might sound odd, but in a high-pressure situation, when you may not be getting the traction you had hoped, smart people can say silly things. Why leave the door open to put your foot in your mouth? Also, you have no clue what someone is sensitive about. Just because something is discoverable online doesn’t mean that the person knows that the information is out there.
At Mediafly, we actively push each other to “practice empathy” in every aspect of our business. I’d encourage you to do the same during your lead generation and meeting preparation. If you’re researching a prospect and begin to discover, or act on, information that you wouldn’t want someone to have about you, just walk away. Respecting someone’s privacy, even more than they do, will pay dividends.
Again, this isn’t rocket science, but something worth reminding yourself of. I’ll leave you with two antidotes:
Good Idea
Googling a prospect, finding and reading their latest blog post, checking their LinkedIn profile to see where they’ve worked and which groups they belong to is a solid approach.
In an introductory call, mention that you enjoyed their recent post. Ask how their experience at (X former company) influenced their perspective on the topic. Now, with discrete use of your homework, you’ve changed the awkward buyer/seller dynamic of the conversation and engaged the prospect as a human, speaking intelligently about a topic they care about. Wherever you take the conversation from there, you’ll be on better footing than before and have the start of a rapport to build on.
Bad Idea
A former coworker of mine has a health condition, which has since gone into remission, but at one time was serious enough that he had participated in an experimental research program. The results were successful and drew attention in an industry publication. Years later, he was interviewing applicants for an open position within the company. One of the applicants came into the room well dressed, qualified, but a bit nervous. She then proceeded to ask, “so are you the John Smith with X condition, the one they wrote that article about, in Y publication? How’s that going: are you better now?” You can imagine the expression on my friend’s face. That applicant did not get the job.
In short, stalkers don’t sell. They’re flat out creepy. Researching someone can be a slippery slope. For both of your sakes, be mindful of that and don’t cross the line. Above all, enact common sense and gauge before engaging.
Luke Martin is the Manager of Services at Mediafly and is also a published author and cartoonist. He is the creator of our SalesFails comic. For more of his work, visit www.lukemart.in
Comments are closed.