Is Being Known As A Best Kept Secret Good For Business?
in Ask the FedoraIs being known as a best kept secret good for business?
Hear thoughts from #eSAX founder Jarrod Goldsmith!
Check out more entrepreneur networking tips on the eSAX YouTube channel!
Ask the Fedora: Follow Up With Everyone After a Networking Event!
in Ask the FedoraThis week on Ask the Fedora: Follow Up With Everyone After a Networking Event!
Transcript:
Welcome to another exciting episode of Ask The Fedora. I’m your host, Jarrod Goldsmith.
Let’s say you’re at a networking event, but you met someone a month ago, but you forgot to follow up with them. Go up to them! Say to them, “Hi … We met at the last event and I’m really sorry, but I haven’t had a chance to follow up with you. Can we still go for coffee?” At least acknowledge that you didn’t have the time to meet with them. This is a good exercise – take the time to follow up with everyone you’ve met, even if you’re not sure you’d do business with them. If you forget it make for an embarrassing conversation next time, but suck it up.
Thanks for watching. Happy Networking!
Do you have questions about networking? Tweet us at @Askthefedora.
See you next time!
Do you have a networking question you’d like to ask? Email info (at) esax.ca or tweet your question using #eSAX!
Starring: Jarrod Goldsmith of eSAX and Sax Appeal.
With help from Wasim from Storyline Productions
Ask the Fedora: Networking Skills Can Be Learned, Don’t Worry!
in Ask the FedoraThis week on Ask the Fedora: Networking Skills Can Be Learned, Don’t Worry!
Transcript:
As a new entrepreneur everyone says you have to do networking. But you may be saying to yourself “I hate networking and I don’t like talking to people because everything they say is a sales pitch and I’m going to be sold sold sold”. Well, if you don’t network, you’re not going to have any work. It’s something to learn. They call it a networking skill; The more you go the better you get. A few years ago when I was just starting-out, I would tell everybody my ‘elevator pitch’….”oh you need me, I’m so great blah blah blah”. I soon realized that maybe this wasn’t the best way to approach things. As a new entrepreneur you have to go through this process and see what works best for you and your company. There are always going to be people who look at you funny, but there are others who will buy-into what you’re doing. Whatever happens, keep going to the events as it’s something you need to do in order to be in business in five years from now. Keep the networking up, and if it doesn’t come naturally, it will. Don’t worry. Take a deep breath.
Do you have a networking question you’d like to ask? Email info (at) esax.ca or tweet your question using #eSAX!
Starring: Jarrod Goldsmith of eSAX and Sax Appeal.
With help from Wasim from Storyline Productions and Jessica from Hewett Ripley Communications!
Ask the Fedora: Time Management At Networking Events
in Ask the FedoraThis week on Ask the Fedora: Time Management At Networking Events
Transcript:
If you only have an hour or two at a networking event, how would you make the best use of your time to connect with people? If there is someone you really want to connect with, it’s worth spending the extra ten minutes talking to them because you don’t need to get every single person’s business card in the room. When I first started networking, I wanted all the business cards. In retrospect, it was not necessarily the best way to do networking, but I was intentionally going out trying to get as many as I can and then following-up with people. Over the last few years, I’ve learned to really take the time to develop personal connections with people, even if this means not trying to get additional business cards. The way this is accomplished is by thinking to myself how I may be able to help them. Perhaps the person may even be in a position to help me in some way. Remember to always keep in mind that you should be developing and building long-term relationships with people. This really is the beauty of what entrepreneur networking should be all about.
Do you have a networking question you’d like to ask? Email info (at) esax.ca or tweet your question using #eSAX!
Starring: Jarrod Goldsmith of eSAX and Sax Appeal.
With help from Wasim from Storyline Productions and Jessica from Hewett Ripley Communications!
Ask the Fedora: Perfect Your Elevator Pitch Using Enthusiasm
in Ask the FedoraThis week on Ask the Fedora: Perfect Your Elevator Pitch Using Enthusiasm
Transcript:
All entrepreneurs know about the thirty second elevator pitch. What is it? When you’re starting-out a business, you need to know what you do. If you’re not comfortable talking about it yet, write it out. Start going to events and start practicing it! You’ll be amazed at how much of what you say about your business will change over the next six month or a year. As an example, when Jarrod Goldsmith started Sax Appeal back in 2011, he began by writing-out everything he wanted to say. “Made-up of only saxophone players, Sax Appeal plays live jazz music, classical music and Christmas music around Ottawa for weddings, festivals and other events” It read like a sale’s-pitch and sounded terrible. I’m sure people didn’t want to connect with me because all I was doing was initially reading-off a script. When I started changing the way I presented Sax Appeal, people really started to take notice. I would be much more engaging, mentioning that we play all styles of music, and also started asking people if they’ve ever heard of a saxophone quartet, or even if they’ve played music themselves. Enthusiasm is always very important. Secondly, the more you talk about the business the easier it will become. No one knows your business as much as you do. When you’re enthusiastic and passionate about your startup, throw away the 30 second pitch and just do it. Connect with people in a way that doesn’t come across as a sales pitch. Easier said than done, but the beauty is that you can go out and practice since there must be many entrepreneur networking events in your area. Happy networking everybody. See you at the next event. Because #eSAX makes networking work
Do you have a networking question you’d like to ask? Email info (at) esax.ca or tweet your question using #eSAX!
Starring: Jarrod Goldsmith of eSAX and Sax Appeal.
With help from Wasim from Storyline Productions and Jessica from Hewett Ripley Communications!