The other day I hosted a lunch for a few people in my networking group. These events are fun and provide good opportunities to learn more about each other. The agenda is usually quite predictable. Each biz owner gives their two-minute commercial. After that, it's food and causal conversation.
Typically, when the time for introductions comes, the host will ask people to answer one of these questions:
Who's your ideal client?
What do you need right now?
What makes you, your product or your service unique?
You get the picture. (Yawn.)
But because I enjoy mixing things up, sometimes I like to ask different kinds of questions, ones that give everyone a peek at the real person. When this happens, the "elevator speech" goes right out the window. (You know, that comfortable sentence or two that you could say in your sleep?)
What often comes out is the part of someone that truly makes them unique—memorable. And because the new way of doing business, especially for the solopreneur, is being transparent and letting your colleagues and customers see the real you, these new questions are great tools.
At lunch that day, I asked: "You are looking for a new business partner. I take you into a room where three people sit: Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and B.B. King. Which would you choose as your new partner and why?"
I could sense a little uneasiness as my friends realized they had to let go of their canned commercials. But their answers were unique, funny, and good clues to their personalities. One picked Bruce because he understands the concerns of common folk and comes across as honest and open. Another chose B.B. King because he identified problems and showed that he understood peoples' challenges when he sang the blues.
Interestingly enough, no one chose Mick, although someone did say, "Now that guy knows how to market himself!"
How much better we would get to know each other if we took the time to ask the right questions. So, I'm already thinking, what will I ask next time?
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