Networking for Sales - Part Three

As you probably know by now, I believe that networking is the entry point

for your sales process and prospecting is an important part of sales. Often,

we attend networking events with a social approach and there's nothing

wrong with that if that’s your goal. However, if you want to use networking

as part of your sales process then you need a plan in place to connect

beyond the networking event.

There is something that we have all heard our mom or someone close to us say on our first day of school or when you were starting your first job; Just Be Yourself!

When we get into prospecting, networking and meeting people for the first

time as it relates to business, for some reason, we find ourselves jumping

into this robotic, sleazy inauthentic behavior, it's a put-off, right? It's not

something that people are attracted to. Instead, just be yourself! People

will connect with you and they'll want to know more about you

because of who you are, not necessarily what you do.

You have to get comfortable with the fact that you are enough.

Once you're able to genuinely connect with someone you'll find that people will like (even love) who you are; so when it comes to business, let it

develop naturally.

Now that you understand the importance of being yourself, let's talk about what to do after you've met someone for the first time at a networking event. You must get really good at articulating your solution and how you

can help them to be just like your successful customers.

(Follow-Up Tip 1) Schedule warm calls the day after the event. This is an

introductory call, not necessarily a sales call. Although they could purchase

on the spot, the likelihood is much higher that this warm call will give you

the ability to get your foot in the door for a future meeting.

Additionally, warm calls might also be fitting when someone has shown

interest in your product or service. Such as… when someone has

reached, filled out your contact information, downloaded your free gift, been referred to you, a social media connection has been consistently liking your posts… In other words, they've shown a little bit of interest. They raised their hand. This is a great opportunity for a warm call because you know for certain that you have something that they need and you're able to help them in their endeavor. Next week we will talk more about follow-up, warm calls AND about warming up cold calls!

Stay Tuned!