I get it, introducing yourself on a networking zoom can feel weird.
All those faces in little squares staring ahead (if you’re lucky cuz sometimes folks are staring at their phone, something unknown that is in front of them, their cat, or you don’t even know what because you can see nothing but their forehead…..but that’s another post).
It’s the squares that can throw me of. Put me in front of a room of 10 or 10,000 and I’m a happy camper. But those squares, ya know, they feel weird even after all these years of zooming.
But there are a few things all of us should be able to agree on. Please hear me out and don’t get mad:
We should be able to introduce ourselves without reading. I mean, you are introducing YOURSELF, and you certainly know what you do, why you do it, your best prospects, what makes you different, and all of the other things that are usually included in a networking intro.
If you want to get sexy about it, you could start off by saying, “my clients tell me that” and then provide some value statements…my clients tell me that I’ve been able to help them improve their client acquisition as well as increase their retention of existing clients resulting in increased revenue and net profits. What makes us different is……..well, you get the idea.
But you don’t have to get sexy, you must be authentic.
Storytelling is also great and if you can weave a story that tells what you do and how you do it, well, even better.
Practice makes perfect. Just like you would practice a presentation to a new prospect, practice your networking intro so you can nail it every time.
It seems like everyone’s Mama said the same thing, “you never have a second chance to make a good first impression.”
Our Mamas were correct.