Hi, folks, Steve “The Hurricane” here and on today’s episode of “A Drink With The Hurricane,” we’re gonna talk about walking out of a networking event with power partners in hand. So raise your glass and let’s toast to your success. Cheers!
This is “A Drink with the Hurricane,” the talk show discussing all things growing your home care business. This video is sponsored by home Care Evolution, where we help home care agencies adapt to changing circumstances, transform their business, so that they can thrive for years to come.
So this topic, power partners, is my most requested topic of them all when I speak at conferences and conventions, and I’m gonna allow Alex Winningham, who’s one of our newest coaches here at Hurricane Marketing Enterprises, explain how to do this successfully. Alex used to be a client. Now she’s working with multiple clients of ours and they’re all just reigning when it comes to getting power partners. So take it away, Alex.
Hey there, this is Coach Alex with Home Care Evolution. And in this video, I’m going to be talking about how you can walk out of a networking event with potential power partners. This is so, so, so important, and so near and dear to my heart because networking can be such a daunting experience for so many people. A lot of the reasons that people don’t like going to a networking event is because they think, “I’m not gonna get business from it,” or their boss maybe has gone to a networking event and they didn’t get any business from it. They think it’s a waste of time or they’ve tried it before, and it was just not enjoyable, right? And felt like it was a waste of time. So then we have this negative mindset about going to networking events. So if that’s you, this video will provide so much value because all of those things, as valid as they are, are not reasons to not network. If you want your business to die, don’t network. That’s what will happen over time.
So how can you walk out of a meeting or out of a networking event with potential power partners? First things first, you gotta have a positive attitude, right? If you go into a networking event, and you think, “I am going to take charge. I am going to meet people. I’m gonna make some great new relationships, and this is just gonna be a really good time,” I guarantee you, you are going to have a much better time, and you’re gonna have a lot more success than if you went in there with a negative mindset.
So tip number one, think positive, right? Have a positive attitude about going to a networking event. Kinda be pumped up, right? So if you’re not someone who loves going to a networking event, then maybe schedule meetings that typically would drain your energy, like one-to-one meetings, payroll, administrative stuff, schedule those for after the networking meeting. A lotta networking groups in senior care meet in the morning. So if you can do that, if you can find a networking group that meets in the morning, your energy can be high. You can get some coffee. The day hasn’t started to wear on you yet. So having that positive can-do attitude, that will help you make powerful connections. People love hanging out with people who are positive and who have good energy to them. So that would be my first tip for you is have a positive mental attitude. P.M.A., positive mental attitude.
All right, so another really, really good tip that I have for going into a networking event is to be prepared, okay? Rehearse. Rehearse your elevator pitch to capture the audience. So this can be really tough to get down, but don’t worry, with practice and tweaking, you can have an amazing and a magical elevator pitch. So for example, when I would go to a networking event, and I would stand up and I would say who I am and where I’m from, I would not say, “My name is Alex, and I’m with ABC Home Care, and we provide companionship, transportation, transfer assistance, meal preparation, medication reminders,” and go on and on and on and on. Instead I would say, “My name is Alex. I’m with ABC Home Care. We are the best home care agency for dementia care. I’m really passionate about helping the elderly and making a difference in the lives of others. And I’m looking to connect you to as many people as I know. I love connecting people. So if we’ve not met before, meet with me after the meeting and let’s schedule a one-to-one.” Okay, that was huge because I said, “Hey, we specialize in dementia care.” So in Hurricane University, we talk about having a specialty program. So maybe you’re a stroke specialist. Maybe you are a cardiac specialist, a diabetes specialist, whatever that is, you can say that that’s the company or that’s what you specialize in.
Maybe you can even add in a little humor. Steve talks about, he used to say, “I also enjoy Bruce Springsteen and long walks on the beach.” So add a little bit of humor in there. Everybody loves to laugh. Okay, so that’s tip number two, be prepared and rehearse your elevator pitch, so you’re not going on and on and on and on, okay? So number one, positive mental attitude. Number two, rehearse.
Another really good way to be able to leave with a potential power partner is to have your calendar with you. So having this bad boy with you at all times is good only for booking a meeting from that meeting. And now, the thing this is not good for is if this phone goes off and you’re just taking calls the whole time you’re in that networking event. Do not expect to have A, a good time, or B, to have potential power partners coming out of that. Okay, your phone is there as a way for you to communicate, yes, and book appointments with people. So oftentimes, I would qualify the person that I’m speaking with and if we’re getting along, and they seem like we have similar interests, similar accounts, similar clients that we’re approaching or going after, and I haven’t met with them yet, let’s do it. And I would say something like, “Hey, I’d love to grab coffee, get to know more about you. I have a couple other people I wanna meet. So that we can have longer to talk, would next week work for us to grab a cup of coffee?” And they’re gonna say, “Yes,” more than likely, like, “Hey, would next week work to grab a cup of coffee?” They’ll say, “Oh yeah, sure.” I’m like, “Okay, great. Do you have your calendar on you?” And I’m already on my phone pulling up my calendar as if I’m assuming the appointment. Okay, so I pull up my calendar, and I say, “Great. All right, so next week. All right, so would Wednesday or Friday be better?” So I’m giving these kind of, Steve calls it like, Yes or Yes Questions. Would Wednesday or Friday be better? So I’m giving them the option to say yes to something. So they’re like, “So do you wanna meet for coffee?” Then they might say, “Yeah, lemme get back to you,” right? No, let’s just schedule it now. So do Monday or Wednesday or Friday. And then we go through, “Okay, great, Wednesday, I got morning at 9 a.m., or I got the afternoon at 3, which one’s better?” And then you book it and you get a place. B.A.M, you’re done. B.A.M.F.A.M., book a meeting from a meeting. Even when I got out of the healthcare industry, doing outside of home care, I would use B.A.M.F.A.M. all the time. And anybody who I knew who was in sales or who was trying to grow their business I would always be telling him, “You gotta B.A.M.F.A.M. “You gotta B.A.M.F.A.M., you gotta B.A.M.F.A.M. “It’s the best thing you can do.” So have that with you and be able to book that appointment right away.
So walking out of a networking group with potential power partners really comes down to having a positive mental attitude. Don’t let the day get you down before you go to a networking event. You wanna have high energy. It takes a lotta energy to be around that many people. And then rehearse what you’re going to say during the elevator pitch time. Again, most networking events are going to have that time to do your elevator pitch where you stand up, you get 30 seconds, say your spiel. So you wanna make sure that you’re prepared and that you know what you’re saying. And then the last one is to B.A.M.F.A.M. Have your phone on you. Make sure you can book those appointments and then you’ll be set to go. Maybe you walk out with five new appointments in the next week. It’s already all scheduled out for you.
So I hope this has been helpful. It’s been a pleasure spending these last 5 to 10 minutes with you. And I will see you soon at either one of our events, one of our webinars, or maybe you’ll be one of our clients that we end up working with here soon. Have a good day. See you later.
Alex, thank you so much for that. That was fantastic information. So folks, if you wanna create more power partners, if you wanna be able to get more referrals, get more caregivers, work less hours, and make more money, then do yourself a favor. Click the link below and register right now for the Home Care Evolution Conference where I promise to give you everything you need to blow away the competition.
I’m Steve “The Hurricane.” And remember, don’t just beat your competition, but…
“Blow away the competition!”