The Prime Question

Last week I was invited to speak to a group in Bowling Green, Ohio about Marketing Yourself. Now I laughingly told the group that we needed to change the title because it might make them think that I was going to talk about PR and all that printed stuff that goes along with marketing a business. In those areas I am not an expert!

New title was Marketing Yourself With Networking. I started by asking the audience what one question they thought was most important for them to ask when networking. After a few attempts they got the prime query of, "What can I do to help you be more successful?" We then went on to talk about several different ways that you could help someone besides just sending them more business. This talk was only allotted 10 minutes, so that was about it.

Later that day I received an email from a young photographer, Michelle Roehl, who had just moved her business, Positive Images, into a new studio and is wanting very much to grow her business. She said, "after WEN I went to my son's hockey camp. This is the 3rd day and I sat with a Mom I have met several times before and have been sitting with to watch our sons the last 2 nights. She recently told me she had gone back to work as a hair stylist. So tonight when I got there, I asked her what I could do to help her business. Her response was that "actually now that you bring it up, I want to get my styles into beauty magazines and catalogs. I was recently discussing this with the salon owner and we were missing a photographer to photograph my clients.""

This all happened because Michelle didn't sell her own services, but allowed the person next to her to tell Michelle what she needed.

What's the most interesting request you've ever received when you asked that question?