Listen to the audio version of this post here.
A Different Client Avatar
You know how it goes. You meet people at every conference, association meeting, or even your block party who have a lot to say about themselves and their business and their background.
Yes, when we meet someone new, we’re interested in learning about them and about their work and their life.
But then they start spewing chapter and verse of what they do and how they do it, and we can hardly wait to nod politely, say “Nice to meet you,” and move on to talk with someone else.
This is why I talk with my clients about feeding a chipmunk. I thought about them this past weekend, spending time with good friends in Michigan.
When I was a kid, we vacationed (with one of those same good friends!) way up north in the U.P. And a favorite vacation activity was feeding the adorable little chipmunks that scampered around the resort. It ranked right up there with picking raspberries and collecting clam shells. (Okay, so Uno Lodge wasn’t exactly Disney World…)
Anyway, how do you feed a chipmunk?
You certainly don’t grab the little guy and immediately stuff a big chunk of something or other down his throat. Animal cruelty aside, that would never work.
Instead, you put a tasty little morsel … say, maybe a peanut … on the ground between the chipmunk and you. And you quietly, calmly watch and wait for him to creep up and nibble it.
So cute, right?
Then when he’s made quick work of that, you put another tasty little morsel on the ground, just a little bit closer to you. And you quietly, calmly watch and wait for him to creep up and nibble that.
And then? You guessed it. Another tasty little morsel. And you get a kick out of watching him come in closer to you and gobble it down. But you try to stay quiet and calm because you don’t want to scare him off.
And you might have to do that several more times, a little closer each time … before finally you hold out a tasty little morsel in your fingertips.
Now the chipmunk has enjoyed every tasty little morsel you’ve given him. He believes you have something else that he’ll like just as much. And he’s lost his fear of being grabbed, because you’ve been so quiet and calm, watching and waiting.
So now he comes right up to you and takes the tasty little morsel you offer. He might eat it out of your hand, or maybe he takes it in his tiny paws and nibbles away, sitting right there beside you as if you’re old friends.
What if you hadn’t been so patient? If you’d reached out and grabbed him and stuffed a tasty morsel in his mouth, would he be there with you now? No. He would have nipped your fingers. Or run away. Or both.
Think of your prospects as giant chipmunks.
You meet someone new. Maybe they seem like a potential client or somebody you could partner with to grow your business and theirs.
If you grab them and stuff a big chunk of blahblahblah down their throat, they probably won’t bite you. But they are likely to flee.
And once they’re gone, your chances of getting them to come back so they can hear more of what you have to say are pretty slim.
If you use your quick introduction to spew every detail of your business, what you offer, and how very great it is, you will lose your listeners in the first few words. They’re not ready yet to take all that in!
But if you put out one tasty little morsel at a time and wait patiently for them to come closer and gobble each morsel up … you can entice them into wanting more. Asking for more. And ultimately, perhaps, buying more.
So, as you’re networking, striking up conversations, opening relationships … keep those adorable chipmunks in mind.
