

Greetings - sinzone
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/20/greetings/

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kyro
I can't emphasize the body language part enough. A lot of the time, and I have
been guilty of this, people go on and on about a project they're working on,
even when they sort of notice the other party not interested, hoping that the
person's mind will change once they hit some critical part of their monologue,
or that once done, the person listening will evaluate the idea as a whole and
finally get it.

Learning how to pick up on the nuances of body language is really important.
The angle at which the person you're talking to is standing, their eye
movement, how engaged they are, are all cues to their level of interest. If a
person isn't standing parallel to you, that could mean that they're preparing
to walk off, or are opening the ground for others to enter, and if you pick up
on that, quickly move to what you want and end it. If you keep going, it's
more than likely that the person really isn't listening to a word you're
saying and cannot wait until you're done. Shifty eyes, or occasionally smiling
at passer-byers, etc, are also signs that the conversation isn't really going
anywhere.

Being able to read body language in general is good skill to have (interviews,
friendly interactions, etc).

~~~
jacquesm
This all comes down to good preparation. If you know you're going to be
running in to someone simply set up a meeting before you go.

And inquire if they'll have some time. If they say no you know where you
stand.

Approaching people 'cold' is a hard to master art anyway, most people are busy
and most of them are too busy right now for you. But if you give them a chance
to work you in to the schedule most of them will give you a bit of their time.

I personally avoid tradeshows and such like the plague, hardly any business of
any significance gets conducted there. Everybody in the know already has a
fair idea of what will happen, and otherwise you'll get it in the press or on
the web the next day.

For internet companies to host 'events' is a little weird, the real action is
on the web, and your press contacts should be well prepared long before any
physical meeting, and even then it is probably better to have them one-by-one
than all in one go.

The panel discussions are slightly different, it is a format that translates
badly to the web, and it sometimes can give some insight in the personalities
of the people behind the names.

But you're clearly not open to approaching them on a personal level in that
setting, it's 'many-to-many'. Better to save that for another time.

------
physcab
Two other pieces of advice:

1) For the love of God, introductions are not about you--its about _them_.
You'll get your chance to tell your story if you first make their needs a
priority.

2) Always introduce yourself to the person sitting next to you on a plane. You
might be surprised by what you learn from them over the course of a 3 hour
flight.

~~~
nirmal
Number 2 got me moved from a center seat into a bulkhead position with twice
the leg room on a 9hr flight from Germany. Do it.

~~~
jbellis
He complained about you?

~~~
nirmal
No, it wasn't negative. He brought me along as he moved because I was a
"family friend"

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mixmax
_"If you get someone’s business card, never call them. That mobile phone
number isn’t for you, the person who just met them. A random call to their
cell phone is never welcome. Send an email."_

I disagree with this. For someone being approached a lot, like Arrington, it's
obviously easier to give an e-mail a quick glance and then discard it instead
of all the time and bother that comes with an almost cold call. But if you
want to get through you should call, it's much harder to say no on the phone
than it is to discard an e-mail from someone you don't know. You'll also have
a much better chance of making an actionable next step. " _so you like it?
Well why don't I send you a mail with login information so you can give it a
try? I'll call you next wednesday to hear how it went_ "

That's also why response rates on direct mail is much much lower than
coldcalling potential customers.

~~~
calambrac
Why would anyone answer the phone from a random number? You go to voicemail,
then the person either ignores it or listens just long enough to get the name
of the person they need to put on the shit list. Don't call, especially
someone who has written a blog post specifically saying "don't call".

~~~
jacquesm
Bollocks. If someone gives you a businesscard with their phone number on it it
is an open invitation to call at a later date. That's what it's for, it's not
a collectible.

Otherwise keep two sets of cards, one with your phone number on it and one set
that has just email or IM information on it.

It is really bordering on the arrogant to assume that someone is reading your
blogposts in order to figure out what they can or can not do with the contact
information that you gave them.

If you think you are too important to be bothered by 'mere mortals' you might
as well stop handing out business cards.

And god forbid someone actually wants to talk to you. Just imagine, where do
these people get the guts to do that.

~~~
calambrac
I completely agree that you shouldn't be handing out business cards with your
phone number if you don't want calls, but regardless, I stand by the belief
that phone calls should be reserved for people you actually know want to be
called, and I don't think a business card with a phone number gives you that
knowledge.

I don't think this is arrogance, it's just a social norm that I personally
think is pretty well established at this point. An actual phone call has a
level of formality/familiarity to it at this point, and I think it's just rude
to presume you can unilaterally breach that. Everyone's time is valuable, and
it's kind of a dick move to try to take that time from someone (regardless of
who they are) just because you want to give your pitch to a stranger.

------
edw519
I once went to a seminar for programmers who wanted to learn how to sell. The
teacher walked into the room and saw all 22 of us sitting at our desks
reviewing the handouts. He couldn't believe that none of us was already
talking to each other. The first thing he said was, "You guys really need this
class!"

------
vaksel
for arrington he needs to add #9 - "Don't spit on me"

------
spencerfry
Some advice:

Don't begin with "Hey, what do you do?"

Get to know the person first before asking about what they're working on.

~~~
PebblesRox
Why?

~~~
jf
In my experience, that question is an awkward one for a surprising number of
people. For some this question is awkward because they are looking for work or
don't need to work. For others, this question implies that all you care about
them is what they "do".

At the moment, I'm asking people "So, how do you stay busy?". This question
has been the start of far more interesting conversations than "So, what do you
do?".

~~~
stanleydrew
"What do you do?" is better than "Where do you work?" or worse, "Where did you
go to school?", which are common among many people in professions like law.

~~~
aziari
My general rule of thumb with meeting new people is just to be genuinely
interested in learning about them.

Even if you're asking the "what do you do" question, the authenticity you
deliver the question with will make all the difference.

~~~
jf
Good point on the authenticity aziari. I agree, it makes all the difference.
Anything I can say beyond that is just repeating part of "How To Win Friends
And Influence People" (An excellent and timeless book, despite the title,
which didn't stand the test of time)

