Here at BBG, like many other networking groups, we have a 60 second round. This is an opportunity for our members (and visitors) to address the entire group, and promote their own business.
Whilst standing up in front of a large group of people, regardless of how well you know them or not, can be daunting, often the hardest thing is actually knowing what to say in the first place. That’s why we’ve put together a little list of things to consider when preparing your 60 seconds, to try and remove some of the anxiety you might feel.
Start with your name, your business and what you do
It might seem like the most obvious thing in the world, but you’d be surprised how many people forget at least one of these.
Right from the beginning, clearly state your name, especially if you know it’s a name people often struggle to pronounce. Then give the name of your business, and briefly explain what you do.
Many of us have heard people who stand up and simply say, “Hi, I’m John from Acme Limited and I’m looking for an introduction to …”. If you’ve never met John before you have no idea what it is he does, the services he offers or the products he sells, so making an introduction or referral is going to be difficult, if not impossible.
You don’t have to go in to huge detail, but just enough to make it clear what industry you cover, or what you specialise in. Don’t make people guess.
What are you looking for?
Once people know who you are, where you work and what you do, you can explain what it is you’re looking for. Outline your ideal target audience, explain who your customers are. Perhaps you specialise in helping sole traders, or maybe you’re specifically looking for women over 50 to try your new lifestyle product. You might even want an introduction to the HR Manager at a particular company – if you know their name, mention them. You never know who in the room might be able to help.
What’s coming up next?
If you find you still have time, why not outline something that’s coming up? Do you have an event on that you want to promote? Is there a new product you’re launching soon? Have you got a special milestone around the corner? How about an exciting new collaboration with another business?
Keep people up to date with what’s happening in the business so they can feel part of the journey.
Stand out
If you’re in a large group you want to make sure that you’re memorable. The best way to do this is to inject a bit of humour in to your 60 seconds, where appropriate. Many of our members at Bury Business Group have their own tag lines, which they use every week, but often still get a laugh.
For example, we have Phil Ashcroft from the WPA Healthcare Practice who may be small, but can you put you in hospital.
Or Paul Holt, from Garside Garage, who offers a champagne service for lemonade prices.
Practice
Make sure you practice your 60 seconds, out loud, and check that your timings are correct. Don’t worry about getting it word for word perfect (you don’t have to have it memorised, it’s perfectly acceptable to read from a piece of paper), but do make sure it isn’t actually 90 seconds long when read out.
Most importantly, remember that other people can’t see your nerves. So don’t worry about it too much!