Tour 60: The Power of a Better Answer Part 1

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Albert Einstein

Years ago, I happened to discover, through a networking education platform, the great and powerful Nikki Rausch,. She gave me confidence in presenting offers to my window cleaning clients, and later, to my Networker's Tour Guide email list.

One of her core tenets, that other coaches and gurus miss, is creating curiosity. Many a coach and thought leader tell us to be curious, but few tell us to create curiosity about ourselves, or that it is even possible.

Those who are curious about what you do often buy from you. Networking meetings can be a place where you receive not only referrals, but where others move from curious to customer, if they are curious enough.

Where to Start

How does the networker create curiosity? Nikki gives us a great, easy place to start: have better answers to the questions you know you'll be asked.

Over the next few articles, I’ll share how I answer some of the most common questions I’m asked when I network. My goal is a slight head tilt, raised eyebrows, or a subtle lean in, followed by the cherry on top: “Tell me more.”

"How Long Have You Been in Business?"

This question is asked ad nauseam, and usually within the first few minutes of arriving at a networking meeting. Why not frame the answer in what you've learned, instead of nothing more than a binary accounting term.

Their ordinary question could use an extraordinary, curiosity-driving answer. Give them one.

Confession: I've not actually used this question as an opportunity to drive curiosity yet. It's on my list, though. Here's what I plan to say the next time I'm asked, "How long have you been in business?"

"I started the Networker's Tour Guide in 2023, and I've learned that training people to think of me in a different role takes a lot of time and patience. I'm thrilled that more and more networkers are seeing me as the person to turn to when they need help building business relationships."

My new answer gives the questioner the info they want, and it gives them so much more. Now I've created curiosity about:

• what role she had before

• why is it important to her that networkers see her in a certain way

• how she helps networkers build business relationships

A Challenge For You

The next time you are asked to give a number when it comes to how long you've been in business, give a curiosity driving statement instead. I used "what I've learned" as my framework. Here are a few other frameworks you could use in addition to the one I used.

Again, the question is, "How long have you been in business?" Your answer could:

• reveal what's changed since you've been in business

  Example: I started my company in ________, and the biggest change I've seen since I started is _____________________________.

• describe the timeframe and then lob a strategic question back

  Example: It's been a roller coaster ride for the last ____ years. Have you ever used a __________ [your profession] to improve your ______________ [problem you solve].

See What Happens

When your better answers lead to even more questions, and then even more questions about what it's like to work with you, you could be standing right in the middle of a buying signal. Confident networkers check to see if the person might be open to taking a next step at that point. (Yet another Nikki take away!).

Not sure how to issue the next step invitation? You're invited to join my Buying Signals for Networkers Mastermind, beginning in early February 2026.

You'll practice giving curiosity-driving answers, and issuing next step invitations to work with you in a low-stakes environment, so you'll have the confidence to have more fruitful conversations when you are at your next Chamber mixer or business lunch.

Learn more here.

Stay tuned for the next article, where I share how I answer the question, "How are you?"

Go network, my friend, and remember:

Boring answers deserve sprucing up. Give answers that spark curiosity and earn a head tilt, and “Tell me more.”

Faithann Basore and her husband Dave have owned Window Cleaning Plus (WCP) for 11 years. Growing WCP through networking has given Faithann the desire to guide other small business owners through the networking terrain so they can feel comfortable and build long lasting relationships in their business.

Got networking questions? Email me at [email protected].