Networking Information

By Rob Brown

Prospecting is one of the key success factors in sales. If you’re great at closing and presenting, but lousy at finding the right people to sell to, it will hold you back.

Question: If you were going to open a new restaurant in town, what is the one thing you would want most? If you are thinking a great chef, some wonderful recipes, a fantastic location or a great name, I cannot guarantee your success. Marketing guru, Gary Halbert, says a starving crowd. In other words, it’s no good selling good stuff if you can’t find good people to sell it to!

Two of the most overlooked ways to find your starving crown are networking and generating referrals. In this first of two articles, we will unlock the power of networking to find new business. Next time, I’ll show you the two reasons you don’t get referrals and how to ensure you generate streams of high quality leads from the people who already know and trust you – your clients, customers and contacts.

So let’s demystify this whole networking thing. This is networking in six easy steps:

1) Go out.

2) Meet people you don’t know.

3) Talk a little and listen a lot.

4) Learn what they do, who they know and what they need.

5) Keep in touch.

6) Sell to them or their contacts at the appropriate time.

The problem is that most professionals are very good at what they do, but struggle to market themselves in very competitive arenas. While many have a rough idea how to network effectively, few are comfortable with it, and even fewer have been properly trained to put together a strategic plan of action to make the most of what is still premium, ‘non-fee-earning’ time. Networking is simply talking and listening in a way that builds relationships as a bridge to future business. Good networkers come in all shapes, sizes and personality types. They do the simple things well and the natural things better than most. And it’s all coachable.

Your prospects are out there, but to them you’re still the best kept secret in the world. They won’t do business with you, or introduce you to their contacts unless they know you. To do that, you need to get out there to the right events, meet the right people, say the right things and follow up in the right way. If you’re still inhibited, simply think of it this way. All the money you will ever earn is right now sat in someone else’s pocket! So let’s get it out of theirs and into yours with the seven keys to perfect networking;

The Right Attitude

Networking is not selling, although they both go in your financial engine. We just put them in separate containers. It’s simply talking and listening, and building relationships. As my mentor, Will Kintish, taught me, it’s about Knowing, Liking and Trusting. In that respect, it’s a numbers game. The more people you get out there and meet, the greater number of people will like you and therefore trust you. It’s important, also, to be confident, expectant and professional.

You do that by preparing!

The Right Preparation

Going to business events is one thing. Sourcing the best events for the right reasons is something few networkers do. Many people flounder in networking because they go to the wrong events. You must be choosy where and when to spend your valuable time. There’s nothing worse than wasting time ‘net-eating’ and ‘net-drinking’ with nothing to show for it. Events take many forms, from regular clubs to one off annual events and dinners, from seminars and conferences to exhibitions and expos, from informal social and leisure gatherings to impromptu connections in planes, trains and queues. I have identified four types of networking events depending on what you want;

Business Development (many of your prospects, a large proportion of your target market, a collection of people that could use what you do).

Contact Development (lots of your fellow professionals, peers, coaches, trainers, consultants, key suppliers and advisers that won’t buy from you but can help you save money, cut costs and be better at what you do).

Referral Development (connectors, introducers, key professionals, people in other fields that won’t buy from you but are connected to people that might and could introduce you or refer you).

Professional Development (featuring great speakers, gurus, experts, presentations, seminars or key educational input to take you to the next level)

Many events have a mixture of all four. It’s your precious time. If you’re in prospecting mode, go where the people are that you want to meet!

The Right Impressions

First impressions are like a jelly – they set very fast! When you meet people, they decide two things pretty quickly; whether they like you and whether they rate you. There are three steps to making those happen favourably;

Be confident and expectant when you approach people. They don’t go there for solitude – they want to talk to people just like you!

Spotlight or floodlight network. Spotlighting is looking at a delegate list, deciding which people you would like to talk to and asking the host to introduce you. This is my preferred method of networking. I look for companies or individuals I’d like to build a relationship with and simply broker an introduction! Floodlighting is simply looking for people stood alone or in open twos and threes. These are always the most welcoming.

Be polite and warm. A smile, good eye contact, a simple ‘do you mind if I join you?’ and a good handshake makes it almost impossible to make a bad impression!

The Right Conversations

Small talk is big business. It builds rapport and gives you permission to take things to the next level. You can then move onto what I call BPQ’s (Business Personal Questions) such as what they do, their role in the company, their personal goals and challenges. Finally you can ask BBQ’s (Business Business Questions) such as their challenges, their customers, their needs and their projects. That way you can find out where they’re hurting and how you might be able to help.

The Right Execution

If you want to fully utilise your time there, you must move around the room and disengage appropriately. Many people struggle with this, which stops them from networking. Simply use food, drink or a third party to either excuse yourself or take them with you. Keeping things fluid means you’ll bump into others and ensure things don’t go stale with the conversation.

The Right Close

When you spot an opportunity, it’s both reasonable and expected to ask for two things; their business card and permission to call them. It’s important not to ‘hard sell’ here. Remember they have chatted with you for a few minutes, they like you and are probably going to be happy you phoning them.

The Right Follow Up

Remember you’re still not selling. You want a meeting from that call, some quality one to one time. At the very least you want a good ten mins on the phone to find out more. That’s when you can think about presenting and closing. Bear in mind that you could be the right idea at the wrong time – they might want you but not yet. They could have existing providers/advisers in place. They might not be the decision maker. As expert networker Will Kintish told me, be persistent and not a pest. Whatever happens, if you feel you could help them, if you feel they’re better off having your product or service than not and if you feel your product or service is fairly-priced, then you have a moral obligation to get it into their hands! So keep in touch throughout the next few weeks and months turning that business card into a sale. Things change in business, and Gary Outrageous once told me, when the wheel falls off their wagon, you want to be the spare wheel that fits just right. You want to be in prime position to help. You want to be front of mind. If you’ve built up a ‘giving relationship’ outside the transaction, naturally they’re going to think of you first!