My advice to small business owners making sales calls is to use some type of icebreaker gift and share your story to make you stand out and be more memorable.
Several years ago, a delegation from South Korea visited our company. At the time we were working with a publicly traded company whose product, floppy disks, was being eclipsed by technology. We were experimenting with a type of Software as a Service (SaaS) model way before it even had a name. This drew the attention of the South Korean government, who was rethinking its infrastructure model.
At the start of the meeting, they presented me with a pair of gold plated chopsticks and a carp to rest them on. The carp, they explained, was a symbol of luck, prosperity, and good fortune in their country. It was a remarkable icebreaker and I remembered the specifics of that interaction to this day.
I have suggested to a few of my clients, wanting to stand out from their competition, to go to the bank and get a roll of silver dollars. Then get some of those cheap plastic cases to put them in. Then, at their next sales meeting with an important client, give them one of the coins. Proceed to tell the client a story about how this is the first of many dollars they will earn if and when they buy your product or service.
Will they spend the dollar coin? Possibly, but not likely. It is far more likely that they will display the coin in their office on a bookshelf or credenza. Every time they see it, they will remember the interaction with you. Moreover, it will provide a unique conversation piece for them to share with other prospects who inquire about it.
When you engage with someone walking by your booth at a trade show, perhaps you could give them a lolly pop and tell them a story about not being just another sucker.
Be creative with your icebreaker and be sure to include a unique story that ties back to the icebreaker. I assure you it will pay huge dividends.
Do you use an icebreaker and a story to be more memorable?
