The Science of Marketing

Almost every comedian starts off by asking something like, "I’m from Chicago. How many here are from Chicago?"

The comedian is making a connection with members of the audience before launching into his act. By making this connection, the audience will be more receptive to what follows (and more likely to laugh).

This technique also works in the world of B2B communications. I first heard of this idea in a seminar by Kare Anderson. She said to start a conversation with "something about you, something about me, something about us". Like the comedian, you can instantly form a bond with a common interest and increase the chances that the person on the other end of the conversation will engage. I have used what Kare told me quite successfully over the years with media, analysts, customer and partners.

Do some homework, make some guesses or just probe areas to connect with people, such as…

• Geography
• Sports
• Hobbies
• Educational background
• (Stay away from politics and religion)

And start conversations with common interests.

It is a fact of life that people are more receptive to those who they have something in common with. So, don’t worry about getting right down to business, connect on some other, non-business, level and your conversations will be much more meaningful.

Now, how ’bout those Tampa Bay Rays?

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