If You Want Business - Be Consistent

Why does consistency in the message have an effect on how the business relationship is formed?

Your message to others needs to be consistent. You need to define your expertise and develop your elevator pitch. Do not go to events and change what you do just because the person you are talking to needs something just outside your sandbox. Remember that they are at a networking meeting as well. If you tell one person something and another person something else, they may talk about you and then wonder what you really do. This is not the picture you want painted of yourself. You are the one that needs to focus; define what you do and keep that message consistent. Even as you develop your pitch, you must try to avoid generalizations. If I say "I am a Management Consultant", people will not think me an expert in anything, as my title says I am a generalist with no specific focus.

If on the other had I say that "I am a Business Mechanic and I help organizations Maintain, Repair and Tune-up their Business Processes in relation to Marketing and Sales", then I have shown that I have expertise and they can more readily relate to what it is I do. My message will always be the same. What I do in reality may push the envelope but I will make sure that it fits in with my business description. You need to make sure that you are consistent with the message. By the way, consistency also continues with your company printed materials as well as your website.

Identification of who you are and what you do through a consistent set of messages will draw more people and organizations to you. They will have the understanding of how you fit into their organization and how they can use your services.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com