Gary Weinman, a member of My Pinnacle Network-Westborough and a partner at Katz, Nannis & Solomon CPA, is the winner of this year’s Brightest Beacon award. The award annually goes to the person who brings that added bit of energy to a meeting. In this Two-Minute Drill, Gary discusses some of his networking strategies and how he keeps his verbal brand/elevator pitch fresh for each and every meeting.
Stop fighting it
| Those words of advice came from My Pinnacle Network-Westborough Member Paul Cronin. This was in response to several members at our last meeting bemoaning the fact we could not meet in person. His contention was that by fighting it we were actually making it worse. Then he offered this other sage piece of advice: “I now think of myself as a farmer.” He went on to explain the analogy. He works at home (the field), his kids are educated at home (much like they did centuries ago), and every so often he ventures into town for necessary supplies. Now, our ancestors didn’t have the creature comforts of home and Al Gore had yet to invent the Internet, but you can see the point. In terms of work, a farmer does not plant a crop and then harvest it in a month or two. It takes several months. Wanting that crop to be ready for sale today does not make it so. It takes time, just as it will take time and compliance for this pandemic to pass. So, what can today’s farmer do in addition to tending to this year’s crops? How about cultivating other skills and interests. My Pinnacle Network and other organizations are offering a number of complimentary webinars to provide information and help you learn other ways to grow your current crop or perhaps supplement your harvest. For example: Our Sales Coach is offering one entitled “How to Get More Virtual Meetings with Decision Makers”. You can download the flyer here and register by clicking here. My Pinnacle Network, along with Rockland Trust and South Shore Networking Professionals Group, is offering another put on PR Works entitled Leverage Podcast Guest Appearances to Boost your Business. To register, click here. Yes, we would all like to be back in our offices and meeting face-to-face with clients, prospects and those in our networking circle. Taking advantage of current opportunities is one way to make productive use of the current time and get to a bountiful harvest. Happy farming! |
Returning to the New Workplace
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Alex Bungener of Digital Plus and My Pinnacle Network-Pembroke
Has Zoom ruined you for conference calls?
I plead guilty.
Last week, two “old school” conference calls with more than one person dealt a left hook to my ego as a communicator. The mark it left was this:
I need a yellow bar to tell me who is speaking so I don’t interrupt.
Perhaps that’s being a little too hard on myself. Yet it does encapsulate how much the “new normal” has changed our behaviors.
Now, it’s not all about needing the yellow bar to see who is speaking. An unquantifiable part of it could be the current environment of pandemic, protests, PPPs, no sports, not enough in-person contact and more. It makes us anxious and want our voices to be heard. We fear we won’t be heard if we don’t jump right in.
Fortunately, it’s a correctable behavior for me and others who have misplaced the skill of actually waiting until somebody stops speaking to talk. It’s as simple as admitting you have the problem and then actually waiting for someone to finish speaking.
Here’s the real trick. If you’re not sure, ask.
That’s right. If on a conference call you are unsure of when somebody has finished their train of thought, when they stop talking, you can ask, “Can I jump in here or would you like to say more on that topic?”
Okay, that’s the strategy. The key will be doing it. If you’re on an old school conference call with me in the very near future, please hold me accountable.