eWomen Network Event with Robyn Spizman: Is Your Business Gifted?

Last night I attended the eWomen Atlanta Network meeting at the Ravinia Club. I attended for two reasons: because I have always been curious about this organization and to hear Robyn Spizman give a presentation on “Is Your Business Gifted?” The overall event exceeded my expectations. I have spent the last seven years in sales (which means I’ve been to hundreds of networking events) and can maybe count on one hand the number of events in which members walk up to you proactively to greet you and walk you around to meet other people. It was a very friendly, engaging group.

My notes from Robyn’s speech are below, but first I wanted to highlight the non-verbal features of her presentation which were equally impressive as her message. And I’m not saying this just because I work for her at The Spizman Agency.

Here are a few things worth mentioning:
-Robyn’s words were so effective in part because of her presence. She used NO notes or teleprompters and walked around the entire time.
-she was present; meaning, in her presentation she wove in names, situations, and stories from people she interacted with that very night. This resulted in a very engaged audience.
-we left the event with actionable takeaways. That’s the difference between a good speech and a great speech.
-Robyn elicited a lot of emotion in the audience through her storytelling. It was excellent.

And now, to share a few highlights from the presentation:
-before launching into her content, Robyn promised to increase our business platform and help us find out what our gifts are. This is using the inverted pyramid approach that I use in copywriting – “tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em.” People’s attention spans have evolved and you have to capture their attention and know what they’re getting out of something from the beginning.
-she began with such a simple, yet powerful (and underutilized) practice: learn people’s names and use them which she broke down into simple steps:
1) Learn someone’s name
2) then practice
3) then rhyme it
-know that tomorrow is a gift
-examples of personal gifts can be as simple as the ability to say hello and make friends to the ability to make the best chocolate chip cookies
-people need to concentrate on “budget conscious gifts that reflect our ability to sustain them”
-how does your business serve someone? That’s your benefit.
-leave a message of goodwill; do something out of the box that says “I love you.”
-business building words: How May I Help You?
-people have to communicate and show up
-show up by giving
-Robyn’s gift is her enthusiasm
-in your life, where do you involve what you love? Start there
-you don’t always know what to give, but study the person, study the business
-tell a story, don’t sell a service
-you only succeed if you find out what someone values; ex. Give their PET a gift if they are a petlover
-play with words – ex. “you’re the smartest cookie I know” and give cookies or Starbucks gift card saying “I love you a latte”
-wake up your words, your business
-you’re not selling a product but building a relationship
-when we give, people see us as a leader
-you have to love your service; otherwise you’re doing the wrong thing
-give before you get
-finally, don’t be shy; know how people can help you and communicate that