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Due to the current weather conditions, both the My Pinnacle Network-Needham and My Pinnacle Network-Plymouth meetings have been canceled.

Many professionals regard the e-mail signature as an obligation. You know you should have one and provide all your content information. For many of us, we get hung up on titles and making sure every website and social media link is included. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing that. But did you ever think of upping the ante and adding part of your messaging?

That could be a tagline (e.g. PR Works. When done correctly, PR Works). Or you could take it up a notch and make it more specific (e.g. PR Works—Press releases and content that tell your company’s story).

See the difference?

You could also take it up even further and add a link to your lead magnet or, even better, a picture of your lead magnet that links to a free download (the MPN lead magnet is pictured above). Or maybe, if you don’t have a lead magnet, you could link to your latest blog post with a teaser (e.g. check out our latest blog post on our newest product/service).

Now, you’re probably thinking, “It’s an e-mail signature, will I really get business from it?” Maybe, maybe not. But you have to remember that new business is about touches. Generally, it takes seven or more. If you are regularly e-mailing a prospect or someone in your network, they see your e-mail signature with every exchange. Whether they realize it or not, that puts you front of mind, even for a very short period of time. On some level that will register with the person you’re exchanging e-mail with. Who knows who they will be speaking with who might need that service?

The best part of being more specific with your e-mail signature—it’s very little work. Change it up every couple of weeks. See what happens. Honestly, you have very little to lose—you’re going to have an e-mail signature to share your contact info anyway, right—and much to gain.

Al Gore strikes again. When researching a topic for this week’s newsletters yours truly came across an article listing movies that best explain networking newbies. Movies about networking? Really? Then, when you really put some thought to it, there are many movies with a networking element.

The most obvious networking film is The Godfather. Sure, we hear the cliched “it’s just business, nothing personal”. Of course, that’s not really true in the movie. Even in real life, we do tend to want to do business with people we like versus we don’t.

Ground Hog Day was an interesting mention. Bill Murray’s character can try out any number of “verbal brands” or “elevator pitches” and know that if one doesn’t work out, he will have the same opportunity tomorrow. That’s not always true in business. Yet if you are in a networking group and you come with the same verbal brand every time, folks may start to tune you out. That’s why mixing it up with a client success story to back up your verbal brand is so critical.

Other movies mentioned include: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Social Network, Gone in 60 Seconds. For the complete list, click here.

Are you tired of opening with “What’s your business?” as an opening line at networking events? Or the ever so popular, “who’s your best customer?”. While those are perfectly valid questions, it sets the stage for a canned conversation that probably doesn’t flow naturally. As an alternative, why not ask something like:

How did you land your first client?

This question will catch them off-guard at first. But typically people don’t forget their first client. Usually, there’s a story of some kind with it. If it’s a business that’s been around a while, it may even make that person nostalgic and proud about how far the business has come since it’s humble beginnings.

Or they may not remember at all.

If they don’t remember, ask how they landed their last client. Or last five clients. Usually, there’s a straightforward answer to these questions that don’t require much rehearsing. So people can answer without a lot of thought and it’s a more natural conversation.

If these questions fail to inspire a conversation, you have two options: tell them how you landed your first client or customer; or bail. You can use your judgment on that one. But if you’re having difficulty getting somebody to talk about their business, it’s probably a good sign to choose the latter and move on.

The point of any networking activity is to learn about other people and their business so you can be a connector. Hearing the story of their beginning can jump-start a conversation and provide you enough information so you can think about who in your network might travel the same traffic lanes as your new acquaintance.

Give it a try at your next networking event.

In last week’s ezine, we discussed strategies for introverts at networking events. Making a pact with yourself to talk to the first person you see is a great start. What about the next conversation? For that, you may want to adopt a 5-second rule.

This 5-second rule has nothing to do with dropped food. It has to do with eye contact. During the course of a networking event, you will make eye contact with someone across the room. After mutual eye contact is established, vow to walk over within five seconds and introduce yourself.

Why five seconds?

Well, in the other 5-second rule the thought is if you drop the food on the floor and don’t pick it up within that amount of time it becomes too germ-infested to consume. For this variation of the rule, more than five seconds gives you too much time to think about what could happen, what won’t happen. Essentially, if you wait longer than five seconds you are more likely to talk yourself out of walking over.

So, don’t.

If you are standing in a spot and make eye contact, walk over within five seconds and launch into some of the conversation starters mentioned in the last ezine. Or, simply say, “I saw you there and thought I would come over and introduce myself….”

Also, while this tip is for a networking event, you can also employ it for your regular networking meeting. If you see a guest walk into the room, give yourself five seconds to go over and introduce yourself. The guest will certainly appreciate it. You may also have a head start on getting to know someone you could help or vice versa.