Vent: Tried the "coffee chat" route and it flopped hard until I changed one thing

I was going to like 3 networking events a month in Detroit, buying coffee for random people, just trying to make connections. Felt like I was getting nowhere, nobody actually followed up or wanted to grab lunch. Then I realized I was just asking people about their business, not asking for help with something specific. Last week I messaged a guy on LinkedIn who runs a marketing firm in the D, and instead of "let's connect," I asked him how he handled a specific client problem I saw him post about. He replied in 10 minutes, we grabbed a beer at Keep Going in Hamtramck, and he gave me a lead that turned into a $500 contract. Anyone else find that specific questions work way better than general "let's network" stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordanl827d ago

Not enough people talk about how location matters in this. Coffee chats are kinda impersonal and everyone does them. But you went to a bar in Hamtramck which is way more casual and people are already relaxed there. I think that environment shift is almost as important as the specific question. Did you notice if the setting made him more open or was it really just the question that did the trick?

gavin_reed7d ago

Actually it was a coffee shop in Hamtramck, not a bar.