Networking, whether online or in person, requires you to have a great “elevator pitch” or “audio business card” so that people will remember what you do for a living.
No matter where you are, most commonly, new people, after learning your name, will ask you what you do for a living.
“I’m an attorney,” most lawyers will say.
Or “I’m a [insert practice area] lawyer,” others will clarify.
Most of the non-legal population will probably leave it right there. They will accept this as an answer and move on to the next part of the conversation. Or their eyes glaze over because they have met so many lawyers.
Remember, if a person doesn’t personally know a lawyer, they will only have examples of what they have seen on TV and in movies or what they have read about in the news. And it’s not always a glowing representation of what a lawyer is.
And, even if you give them your business card, it still doesn’t explain what you do for a living.
It’s time for you to have an “audio business card.”
An audio business card (ABC) is your answer to “What do you do for a living?” that will make you unforgettable. Additionally, you can use your ABC to ensure the conversation keeps moving and does not stop dead in its tracks.
How do you do this?
Write out the answers to the following questions:
- What do you do specifically for a living?
- Who is your ideal clientele/audience?
- What is their most significant pain point? What keeps them up at night?
- How can you solve this?
These questions can be answered in any order, and the statement you come up with should roll off your tongue when asked.
Some examples I have worked on with clients and myself:
- “I help employers and employees stop fighting so they can get back to work ™” – She is an Employment Lawyer
- “I am a Rainmaking Trainer and Coach; I teach attorneys to build big books of business at the intersection of AI, EQ, and Ethics, and the keyword is ethics” – Obviously, that’s mine.
But by far, my favorite audio business card was my father’s. He used to say, “I render people asunder,” when asked what he did.
Now, if you are like almost every other human being, you would ask him what that means. And he would reply, “You know the part of the marriage ceremony when the officiant says, ‘ What God hath joined, let no one render them asunder. Well, I do. I’m a divorce lawyer.”
I promise you, no one forgot what he did.
When you are doing this, use your personality. It doesn’t have to be as dry-witted as my father’s audio business card; that was how he was. It has to be true to you and your personality.
And it must roll off of your tongue.
I was also asked: what if I have multiple practice areas? The answer is to create a few that dovetail with each other, and use the one that fits your location and the person you are speaking with.
OFFER FOR NEWSLETTER READERS ONLY:
If you would like help creating an Audio Business Card, email me, and we will work together to find out the best way to introduce yourself – whether on social media or at networking events.
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