Sorry folks, I have not been a very good moderator in the group. But that is going to change.

Each month I will post a question or topic for discussion so please feel free to add you two cents to the group. I was thinking of adding an occasional exercise as well. Have you posted a to the Bash elevator thread? It is closing soon but what a great way to get your speech honed and practiced.

Please let me know what else you would like to see...a quarterly conference call to plan your networking strategies, a live chat here on the forum, more video exercises. This is your group so let me know what you want to see and we can make it happen.

My name is Nancy Lynch and I have just joined the Virtual Assistant Forum. I like the idea of this group as I have just joined our local Chamber of Commerce (we are a village of just over 800) and they attend trade shows. I would also like to be comfortable in talking to people I meet and offering my info and asking for theirs (to create data base). I am attending the Red Deer College in the Virtual Assistant Programme and one of my courses is marketing and we just did our 30 second elevator speech. I did a video version for the contest. It was great to be able to practice it live and to get some feedback.

I am not sure of the procedure here,but I like the idea of a month question or topic, and any type of exercise would be great. I like the idea of recording our 5 - 10 minute spiel (as I am just getting used to my 30 second spiel) and hone that. I have never been to a Chamber meeting before so it would be great to learn how to conduct yourself at these types of meetings, as well as trades shows.

Looking forward to meeting with everyone.

Nancy Lynch

Nancy,

Your first meet is always the hardest. Just try to remember that everyone there was in the same boat as you at one time or another. Just remember that it is important to get to know as much about individuals you are talking with as they are about you.

First rule of thumb - do not sell them but inform on what you do. One thing you may want to try is to offer a tip or time saving tidbit and then work from there. Example: How many of you are taking advantage of email marketing to reach your prospects and clients? Mailchimp.com offers a free account with 500 contacts and 3,000 emails per month for you to test the waters. Email marketing is one of the services I can help you with.

Hope this helps.