Excluding personal topics around common interests (which is the case in most real-world conversations).
Business conversations often go beyond surface-level revenue and growth metrics discussions to delve into specific challenges, pain points, and lesser-known opportunities. Understanding these nuanced aspects can provide significant advantages in the competitive landscape.
Such conversations are crucial for diagnostic insights, effective resource allocation, and strategic planning. They often pave the way for innovation and open doors to potentially lucrative avenues, making them cornerstones in business management.
In terms of problems, there are dozens of common business pain points that tend to be evergreen – matters around management, recruitment, marketing, sales, strategy, legal, and accounting. Every industry or company size faces different problems around generating more business, cutting costs, hiring top talent, growing the popularity of their brand—or something else. A little prodding can help other people to open up and share their best strategies to help you benchmark or work with your own strategies.
As for new opportunities or initiatives, businesses expanding into new markets or verticals may be interested in receiving some firsthand experience regarding these endeavors. This is where you could come in and offer valuable insights which can ultimately be productive in your endeavor to build business relationships.
Sharing case studies and success stories is invaluable. These narratives not only illustrate the application of strategies in real-world scenarios but also help illustrate the results that can be achieved. By discussing specific examples of how similar businesses overcame challenges or seized opportunities, you can foster a more collaborative atmosphere.
Consider presenting both successes and failures. Learning from past mistakes can be as enlightening as discussing achievements. This candid approach encourages others to share their experiences and insights, enriching the conversation.
Engaging with case studies can serve as a springboard for deeper discussions on innovation, risk management, and market dynamics. You may uncover insights about adapting strategies to different contexts or glean new ideas for your business initiatives. Moreover, these conversations can lead to valuable connections and partnerships, as participants resonate with shared experiences.
Remember, the goal of these discussions is not just to exchange information but to build a network of trusted peers who can offer guidance and support as you navigate your business challenges and opportunities.
Some of the topics I’ve discussed with my business advisory clients or during industry events are the following:
- Managing remote talent (especially valid during COVID and we started as a distributed company 10 years ago)
- Recruiting in specific locations around the world
- Tooling for solving specific problems – CRM systems, BPMs, project management tools
- Recommendations for outsourcing companies – marketing or branding agencies, creative studios, etc.
- Experience opening offices in other locations – legal caveats while founding a firm, rent costs, local customs
- Onboarding best practices or techniques
- Scaling different teams or departments – what roles to hire for, when to promote, traits to look for
It’s unique to the business too—sometimes you may be looking for a new jurisdiction to found a product company (i.e. Belize or BVI), payment gateways that give you hidden discounts at a certain threshold, affiliate partners to contract or influencers that actually get the job done in the industry—you name it.
What about you? What are your favorite conversational starters? Feel free to share away!
