Banned Speech
Here are some phrases that aren't serving us well, and why that is the case. Remove these from your repertoire of responses and you'll save time and sound more impressive.
During Testimonials
“The referral ended up not working out.”
Reason for ban: The point of a testimonial is to make the referrer look good. There are many reasons a referral doesn’t work out. For example, the potential client’s no longer requires the service; the fee was outside the potential client’s budget; or there was a conflict of interest. The referrer has no control over those factors. What matters is that they thought of you for the referral, and that’s what earns them a testimonial. There’s no need to dilute unnecessarily dilute the testimonial with this piece of over-disclosure.
“This testimonial is long overdue”
Reason for ban: When you give a testimonial you have a few precious seconds of airtime. Don’t waste any of it. Whether or not you had an understandable reason for delaying giving the testimonial, the meeting’s attendees aren’t interested in knowing about it. If you feel bad about delaying a testimonial, privately apologize to the referrer. Dedicate as much time as possible to making them look good, not alleviating your sense of guilt.
In an Introduction
“I’m industry agnostic.”
This makes you forgettable. Articulate a niche area of practice so that you stand out.
“I’m a problem solver.”
So is everyone in Provisors. Help us understand what kind of problem you solve.
In Meetings
“The breakout room wasn’t long enough.”
If your goal is to build know-like-trust in a single breakout room, of course a breakout room will never feel long enough. Networking is a long game that you cannot possibly build in a single breakout room. You build know-like-trust via troikas, socials, and repeated interactions in meetings.
When asked how you chose your career,
“I fell into it.”
This question is an opportunity to make yourself memorable. The way you chose your career isn’t as boring as you think even if you didn’t dream of it since you were a kid. Instead of this overused expression, talk about the first case that made you decide on your area of practice, for example.
Responding to a referral inquiry with another inquiry.
For example:
Referrer: Would you like me to refer you someone who wants to extend their visitor immigration status?
Referee: When does their current status expire?
First, this wastes time. The referrer most likely already shared all the information they had.
Second, it’s disrespectful to ask the referrer to act as the referee’s intake specialist. They’re doing you a favor and offering you the opportunity to make money. Don’t tell them to serve as the go-between with the potential client.