“Connecting is never about you—it’s always about the other person. The focus is always on others and the great thing is that anyone can do it.”
JOHN C. MAXWELL, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect

“The most effective way to network is to find out what really matters to that person and then find a way to contribute or share with another person in a meaningful way. Once you do so, you’ve set up a foundation for a symbiotic relationship.”
JENNIFER HILL, Author/Radio Host/Career Expert

A 30-second elevator pitch on your firm’s expertise is the traditional way to start a conversation, but to truly connect—remember, networking is not who you know, but who knows you—you’ve got to ask the other person genuinely curious, non-threatening, and open-ended questions that gets them talking about themselves. Once they do this, your priority is to discover ways to provide value to them.

If you’ve targeted people you’d like to meet at a conference, LinkedIn is the best source for identifying any mutual connections or common background to start your conversations.

But if you’re communicating from scratch, here are some ice-breakers you may want to consider:

• Has this been a good event for you?
• What other events would you recommend attending?
• Who specifically are you here to meet?
• Who do you know here?
• Are you originally from here or did law school or your firm bring you here?
• I’m always curious… how do you market your differentiation as a firm?
• With your experience, where do you see law firms of the future?
• What new technology are you rolling out within your firm?

Listen intently for any opportunities to deliver value. Can you introduce or refer someone? Can you share insights they may have not considered? Can you identify any mutual friends? Any commonality with an area of country, school or vacation spot? Can you refer them to a professional peer group?

When you do this, you’re successful in adding value in a genuinely, human way that’s never high pressure nor manipulative, and in a way that doesn’t comes off as a “sales pitch”. It’s called authentic conversation and genuine interest, and before anyone can be open to you or the service you hope to offer someday, you must first be open to them.

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
DALE CARNEGIE, How to Win Friends and Influence People

 
We know this—people do business with people they like—and ultimately, the three questions you must answer before this happens are: (1) Can I trust you? (2) Will you do what you said you will do? (3) Do I really matter to you? This connection strategy should help. Now let’s go connect!

Let’s get started.

We’re excited to move forward and show you what Akeepo can do for you. Contact us by filling out the form below.