The T-Shirt Test: How Do You Show up in Networking?

If your role involves sales, business development, or client relationships, you constantly invite people to meet up - and you are not the only one.

Here’s the question: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹?

A mentor once told me: "In any sales role, your most powerful trait isn’t your pitch—it’s your energy. How do people feel after spending time with you?"

Think of it like the message on your T-shirt. Are you:
😃 Energising and inspiring?
☺️ Warm and engaging?
😐 Pushy and self-centered?

The best way to connect with people you don’t know isn’t by selling or telling them how amazing you are, but by 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻—be sincere, present, curious, and versatile (SPCV).

Here are a few conversations to make your business partner/client feel special:

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺:
*What do you love most about your work?
*What are your superpowers?
*What’s something you need more (or less) of right now?
*How do you see your role in three years?
*What can I do to support you?

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:
*What’s working really well for you right now?
*How do you see your industry evolving in the next three years?
*What’s the biggest challenge you’re navigating?
*What’s a recent win that you’re proud of, and what did you learn from it?
*Imagine you could fast-track one aspect of your business; what would it be?

So, what’s on your T-shirt this week? How do you want to show up in your networking meetings? I would love to hear your thoughts 🤝