Many salespeople have a mistaken impression that networking is similar to cold calling. When they attend networking events, they pass out business cards like candy and dive into sales pitches at every opportunity. When they make phone calls to the stacks of business cards they collect, they find they have no more success booking appointments than they do when making cold calls. What are they doing wrong?
These salespeople simply don’t know how to network effectively. Effective networking requires getting to know people as individuals and learning what constitutes opportunities for them. Armed with this information, effective networkers become “matchmakers”, matching contacts who have specific needs with other contacts who supply solutions to those needs. They do this with no expectation of personal benefit; however, the grateful people they help usually return the favor.
Networking can take a lot of forms. There are formal “leads clubs” that restrict their memberships to ensure that every member is in a different type of business. Each member is expected to bring leads for other members to every meeting (though in practice only a handful of leads club members seem to take this responsibility seriously). There are also networking events that are sponsored by any number of organizations such as chambers of commerce, convention and visitor’s bureaus, trade and professional associations, special interest groups, etc.
If you are considering including networking as an element of your prospecting plan (and you should!), here are three tips that will help you maximize your return on time invested:
- Get Some Training: Learn how to network properly. Dave Sherman, “The Networking Guy”, has published an excellent book entitled, The Networking Guy’s Top 50 Tips: A Simple Guide to Networking Success. He sells this book and instructional tapes and CDs on his website.
- Bring Unusual “Handouts”: What unusual items can you bring to networking events that will attract the attention of other attendees? My personal choice is fifteen copies of a glossy, laminated, full-color piece that looks like the front and back covers of this book. Definitions for the twelve attributes required for sales success are printed on the inside, along with my contact information. People often sneak covert glances at these pieces, which provides a natural entrée for conversations.
- Look for Unusual Ways to Network: Consider becoming an “ambassador” with your local chamber of commerce. Ambassadors help staff events, conduct “initiation” meetings with new members, and conduct “fact-finding” meetings (to solicit suggestions for improving chamber programs and services) with experienced members. These types of activities can provide opportunities to build relationships with numerous potential prospects. Also consider doing volunteer work with charitable organizations. Keep an eye out for opportunities that provide exposure to the organization’s board of directors. Board members are often well-connected in the community, which makes them excellent potential referral sources.