I saw a tweet that brought me over to an Entrepreneur article that listed networking ‘expert’ Bob Burg’s top ten networking questions.
What I found interesting and amusing from his list was that while the questions are no doubt useful, will no doubt get a conversation going and kick the networking ‘game’ into gear, it was clear that a man wrote them. So I whipped up a list of my own ten, which you’ll find below his from a female networking expert. Try them both out and take notes.
Here are his 10 questions:
1. How did you get started in the (______) business?
2. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
3. What separates you and your company from the competition?
4. What advice would you give someone just starting out in the (______) business?
5. What one thing would you do with your business if you knew you could not fail?
6. What significant changes have you seen take place in your profession through the years?
7. What do you see as the coming trends in the (______) business?
8. Describe the strangest or funniest incident you’ve experienced in your business?
9. What ways have you found to be the most effective for promoting your business?
10. What one sentence would you like people to use in describing the way you do business?
Here are my 10 questions: (note that often, I expand on the same question to get more ‘sauce’ or ‘data’).
1. Why specifically did you get started in the (______) business? Was it an “event” or a person?
2. What are you most passionate about in your work?
3. If you could give me three lines that convey the magic you have over your competition, what would they be?
4. If someone were starting out in your industry today, what was the one moment you had when you knew you made the right decision for staying in this biz and what was the one moment that gave you doubts?
5. How do you personally measure failure? And when you were told that you failed, how did you handle it?
6. The landscape and industry has changed a lot over the years for you — what is the one positive change for the next generation that will change your business dramatically and what is the most negative change that impacts either quality or ethics?
7. What’s the game changer that’s either already here or around the bend that will overhaul the way you do business?
8. Tell me about the most bizarre person you’ve met over the years, why you thought they were bizarre and how he/she had an impact on you?
9. What works for bring in new revenue for you and what doesn’t? When you mention your brand’s name, what are the 3 consistent things that people say over and over again? Are YOU in alignment with that brand? What about your CEO?
10. So, it’s retirement day from this biz and you’re off to do something entirely different. What are the two things that you helped change to make the world a better place because of you being in this industry?
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
