365QOD- Day1027

Power Networking

"INTRODUCE YOURSELF & I'LL GIVE YOU A $1"- Scott Gerber t-shirt slogan

Imagine walking around a networking event with a t-shirt that has this slogan on it.  What would you predict would be the outcome? Scott Gerber did it and turned a $62 dollar investment into five clients and thousands of dollars in revenue.  

This idea is similar to that of Scott Ginberg I wrote about in Post997.  Scott walks around with a name tag with his name on it.  He has done it for four years and it has resulted in multiple books.  Again, a very successful result.

What these two stories have in common is the ability to pull people in.  One does it with money and the other one by letting people know his name.  Maybe the rest of us are too guarded and shy?

I believe that these two guys are onto something.  Maybe combining them into a single t-shirt with your name on it with the slogan that if people introduce themselves to you you would pay them $1 is the best.  I believe that people are scared of the paying one dollar per introduction.  

Suppose you went to a function and tested the idea by getting 100 singles and actually doing it.  That is the extreme of your loss.  Noting that Scott only gave away $62 dollars he most likely spoke to most people 2-5 minutes per person.  So 100 singles would give you anywhere from 3 hours and 20 minutes to 8 hours and 20 minutes talk marathon.  Consider that his return at minimum was more than 200+ times the investment. 

The magic would be to make the 2-5 minutes meaningful for both you and the person that is introducing themselves.  You want their info and contact information but you also want to hook them into what you are doing that would resonate with them.  If they are willing to continue talking and take action by purchasing your product then the $1 is peanuts if you could get 200+ times the return.

Today's question is:

"Would you pay $1 for an introduction?"