What’s your networking strategy?

How many hours do you spend preparing , driving , and attending networking events that feel like a waste of time?  If your feeling is  “There is no one there I want to meet,” or “These never result in business,” then it is time to rethink your networking strategy.  Yes, you need a networking strategy.

If your purpose in networking is to generate leads, referrals, and sales, you need to start by making sure you are in the right place.   If you do all the right things in the wrong place, you will leave without the results you are looking for.  There are so many  places to network,  it can be difficult to know where to start.

• Which events are worth your time?
•  Which ones are most likely to result in business?

With any marketing campaign, you need to know your target market .  Don’t take that the wrong way.   I know you know your target market; your ideal customer – right?  We better take a second here and double check that . . .

• First write down the characteristics that describe the customers that buy from you, or you think would buy from you if they knew about you.
•  How would you describe them demographically?
• What size, what revenue, how many employees, location, privately held.
• Who buys from you?

Until you do that, your networking efforts are going to be pretty much wasted. So I will wait for you.  When you get that figured out, I will be right here…….

OK, so now you know who your target audience is for your product or service.  Then ask yourself -  is that your target market for your networking effort?  The answer is yes, and no.

• Yes, you absolutely want to network in places where your potential  customers will be.  You also want to network in places where there are credible people who can refer business to you.  Your mission is to figure out where those two groups of people are, and be there.

Where are you currently networking?  Who goes to them?  Can they either buy from you, or refer you to people who can buy from you?  If not, then you aren’t networking to develop new business.

So, where are the people you want to network with?  Would you be better off doing one networking meeting a year with people who can actually help you build your business, than 5 networking meetings a month with people who can’t?  Probably.  You wouldn’t send out marketing letters to people in your neighborhood, if who you really needed to reach were CEO’s of fortune 500 companies (well, not my neighborhood anyway).  So, you aren’t going to attend your local Chamber of Commerce Meeting if your target market is doctors.

Take the time to create a Networking Strategy that will help you reach people who will help you build your business, and then follow it.  Choose organizations, trade shows, conferences and social groups where the people you need to meet gather.  Look for places both online and off where you can build relationships with the people you need to meet.

I’d be happy to brainstorm with you and help you set your strategy.  Mention this blog post and get a special networking strategy session for $97.

For more on networking read my most recent articles in Connect , and Rejuvenate.  Also read my related articles and  go to my website to request my free e-book Connecting Your Way To New Business.

Related articles

• Pre-event Preparations for Networking Success (smartsalestips.com)

We have all been asked a million times, “What do you do?”  How do you answer the question?  Do you launch into a long winded explanation, or do you say something boring like, “I’m in sales at ABC Company.”  Your answer can make or break the conversation. It can help you engage or repel the person you are talking to,  and yet, so many people spend little or no time determining what to say and actually practicing it.

My initial response used to be: “I’m a sales consultant and what I do is work with  senior management to do a gap analysis and figure out what they need to do to get them from where they are  to where they want to be. ”  I have watched eyes glaze over and hear the word, “Oh” come out of their mouth.  I was stuck there.  When they said “Oh” I would immediately ask, “What do you do?” and switch the attention to them.

It took time, but I worked on a (short) interesting answer that prompted, “How do you do that?”  I finally ended up with, “I help companies increase sales.”  When they ask how I do that, I have a few short stories prepared that I can tell, or if it’s the appropriate situation I’ll offer examples for their own company. If the situation allows, feel empowered to tailor to the person you are speaking to.

• Your goal: to engage the people you are conversing with and prompt more interest. Once you reach that point, you can give your “elevator pitch.”

The idea of an “elevator pitch” is that if you had a one minute elevator ride and someone asked you, “What do you do?” you could tell them in that time a way that catches their interest. I suggest having a couple different lengths, as sometimes 30 seconds is all you have. Here are some examples:

• Instead of, “I’m a Realtor and I am looking for anyone who wants to buy a home.”   This doesn’t help you stand out and it’s not engaging,  you are one of thousands. But if you said, “I help first time home buyers find their dream home.  I specialize in homes under $200,000 in the Reno area, and I would love to meet people you know that are looking for their first home.” Not only would people be more engaged, they would know exactly what kind of lead to send your way and might even know someone who fits your description.
• Instead of , “I’m a tax accountant.”  Say something like, “I like to help business owners keep their money in their pockets.  I specialize in preparing taxes for companies with revenues under $10 million and I am looking for business owners who believe they should be paying less to the IRS.”

Those sentences convey clearly what you do and who you do it for.  It tells the listener an idea of who to refer to you, all in 15 seconds.  If needed you could probably add 2 or 3 more sentences.  I recommend brainstorming some things you can say, write them down, rework them and then practice saying them until it becomes second nature. Then practice, practice, practice.

Need help crafting your answer to “What do you do”?  Call me for a special session for only $97,  if you mention this blog post.

For more on networking, read my most recent article in Connect and my related articles or go to my website and request my free e-book Connecting Your Way To New Business.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Working the Room: Network for Success (smartsalestips.com)
• Networking is not Selling (smartsalestips.com)

Networking is one of the easiest and most effective ways to generate leads and increase sales.  This being said,  I often hear people say they attend a lot of networking events but don‘t get any business from them.   I then ask them a series of questions:

• How do you choose which events to attend?
• What do you do at these events?
• What do you do after the event?

Through my training, I teach my clients how to approach people by asking questions instead of walking up and trying to sell.   I  teach them what to say in 30 seconds that tells people what they do.  I also teach them to ask directly for the type of business they want, and most importantly, what to do after an event.

The biggest problem seems to be follow up.  They rarely do what it would take to turn those contacts into business.  In last week’s article,  “Working the Room – Network for Success”,  I showed you four simple steps to turn a networking event from social hour into a successful evening of  new sales and business partners.  Now let’s talk about what to do after the event:

• What do I do after the event

Immediately enter the business cards you collected into your database.

Be sure to add any notes you made on the cards during the event. I always add the name of the event and the date so I can remember where we met.  If you don’t enter them in your database throw them out!  Yes, it is okay to throw out a business card.  If you’re not sure, band the cards from a specific event together, and if you don’t touch them in a month or two, toss them.  If I send an email or a card,  I make a note of that also.

•  If you say, “Let’s get together for coffee or lunch,” then make that happen.

It shouldn’t be something you just say to make conversation. You need to call, email or connect on social media after the event to set it up. A handwritten note is also a nice touch.  You should send it within 48 hours after the event.

•  Decide how you plan to keep in contact on a regular basis.

Once you have made the connection, interact with them. Read their posts and comment. Watch the media for the people you are interested in. If you see an article about them, clip it and send it to them with a note about doing business together. If you read an article that would interest them, send it.  If they are not a potential customer build a relationship that could lead to referrals or a potential collaboration by referring people to them. If they are a potential customer, learn as much as you can about their business and the ways you might help them.

Everyone can learn to network. Salespeople and entrepreneurs need to become expert at it.   Develop your networking strategy. Choose carefully the events you attend and follow your strategy to turn all the time, money and effort spent  networking  into business.

For more on networking read my most recent article in Connect and my related articles or go to my website and request my free e-book Connecting Your Way To New Business.

Related articles

• Working the Room: Network for Success (smartsalestips.com)
• Networking is not Selling (smartsalestips.com)

I am always telling business owners and salespeople to get out and network but so many of them don’t follow my advice.  There are many reasons but one of the biggest hurdles is approaching someone you don’t know; it’s a lot like cold-calling which most people hate.  Even me, as outgoing as I am, sometimes find it difficult to walk up to a group of people I don’t know and try to get into the conversation.  But what’s the point of networking if I go to a networking event and only talk to the people I already know?  Granted, it might remind them to use my services if needed but  to continue to expand my business  I need to meet people new people as well.

So how do you walk up to a perfect stranger and strike up a conversation that could lead to sales?  The first thing is don’t think about sales.  Don’t think about yourself.  Think about getting to know the other person.  When I am at a large networking event, I always look for people standing alone; I figure they are an easy target because they aren’t integrated and may be feeling left out. They are usually grateful that someone approached them.  I use my smile – one of my best assets – and catch their eye and walk over.  Of course I extend my hand and say hi.  I usually ask if they are a member of the organization or if they have been to the event before and then follow the line of conversation based on their answer.  I keep the person engaged by asking questions about the organization, the event, the speaker and when appropriate I will ask them questions about themselves and their work. As long as I am asking and they are answering, I have their attention.  As I wind the conversation down, so that I can have the chance to meet a few more people, I ask for their card and offer mine and if I will be following up I let them know by saying something like, “I’ll give you a call so we can arrange a time to grab a cup of coffee.”  It’s not so hard but for me but for someone more introverted this can be a challenge.

What I find harder is approaching a group that is talking. But at some events everyone is standing around talking to the people they already know.  If I am going to meet someone, I have to approach a group.  I usually look for a smaller group of 3 or 4 and again, use my smile to catch someone’s eye and start walking toward them.  If I can’t catch an eye, I try another group.  When I get close, the group will usually expand to let me in and if they don’t immediately greet me, I just listen and get involved in their conversation, never talking about myself, always joining in on the topic and when the appropriate time comes, I thank them for letting me squeeze in on the conversation and introduce myself.  Trust me, I know this isn’t easy for many people and that is why I prefer  attending structured networking events like the BizTalk Blender, so that I am in a comfortable setting that guarantees I will meet new people that I can do business with, collaborate with or develop into a referral source.  If you are not in Reno, you can bring the BizTalk Blender to your business community or look for other structured networking events to attend.

Here’s a short video from www.candogo. com on approaching someone at a networking event.

Why does everyone stop work this time of year?

My good friend Caryn Kopp wrote a great article on why it is so important for salespeople to keep working during November and December.   I have started with several new clients this month and I am doing lots of follow up to move sales through my funnel. Caryn outlines 5 reasons to keep prospecting in December.

Fill Your Pipeline In December

Why spend the last two weeks of December cleaning out files when you could be filling next year’s pipeline with new business?  Most business owners and salespeople believe that trying to reach prospects at year-end is pointless and instead spend time getting organized for the coming year.   In doing this, they miss out on one of the best times of the year to reach decision makers live.  Here’s what we’ve learned about prospecting in December…

1. Companies have fewer internal meetings during the last two weeks of the year due to employee vacations and mid-day holiday parties.  This means decision makers are more likely to be working at their desks and available when you call.
2. Many assistants take year-end time off (especially if they have school-age children), leaving decision makers to answer their own phones…without gatekeepers.
3. Decision makers who are in their offices at this time of year are more relaxed and chatty.
4. Your competitors don’t think this way.  They usually stop calling prospects the 2nd week of  December.  Your “share of voice” when leaving voicemails and reaching prospects live will be higher and you will get more accomplished with each call.
5. Decision makers will typically not accept a meeting from mid to end of December. However, if you request a date to meet NEXT year (which is just days away), their  calendars are usually wide open.  Ask for a meeting in early January and watch your calendar fill up.

This works especially well with hard-to-reach and senior level decision makers.  Connecting with prospect decision makers is just the first step in getting the door open.  Once you have a prospect on the phone you will need to deliver a content-rich message that is so relevant and compelling your prospect will invite you in for a meeting.  Does the message you are using now accomplish this for you?  Of course you must also be prepared to answer the objections that will inevitably come your way.  How much time have you spent pre-thinking answers that will get you past the objections you face?  Don’t forget to couple your objection response with a request for a next step.  How often do you do this?  What are you planning to do to develop new business this December?

About the author…Caryn Kopp, is the Managing Director and Chief Door Opener® of Kopp Consulting, LLC., a nationwide company which helps its clients secure initial meetings with high level, hard to reach, decision makers.  This program is called the Door Opener® Service.  Caryn is the author of The Path To The Cash! ®  The Words You NEED To Bypass Those Darned Prospect Objections!  This is the go-to book for getting in the door with prospects.  For more information go to www.koppconsultingusa.com.  

Here I sit, the queen of follow up, writing a post about follow up because the past few weeks I have failed miserably at it.  Everyone blocks time on their calendar to attend an event, whether it be a trade show, conference or a professional organization’s networking event. But rarely do they schedule time to do the follow up.  I always recommend putting time on the calendar the next day after the event to sort through the business cards and a take appropriate actions.  But the past few weeks I have been so busy, I now have 3 stacks of business cards from recent events that are collecting dust.  Well this weekend I plan to do something about that and I thought I would share my plans with you and give you the list of follow up activities so that you can use them the next time you have follow up to do from networking.

1. Schedule time to do the follow up!  The very most important tip and the one I failed to do recently.  Block at least two opportunities for follow up in the 2 to 3 days following the event.  That way if something comes up and usurps the first scheduled time you have another planned.
2. Pre-plan you follow up.  Think about why you are going to the event, what you hope to accomplish, the types of people you will meet and use that information to decide what you will do to follow up.  You may end up drafting an email that you can tailor after the event or prepare a postcard with a specific message.  Or you may craft a message that you will cut and paste into a LinkedIn or Facebook email.  You might write an article that pertains to the event and prepare to post it on your blog and then email that link out after the event or post it on the corresponding LinkedIn group.
3. Use your smartphone.  This works really well when I am at a conference.  As I collect cards throughout the day I use the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn apps on my phone to connect with people.  I also use Card Munch, which allows you to take a photo of the card with your smartphone and add it to your database.
4. Hire Someone.  If you don’t have an assistant, hire someone to enter the contacts into your database so that you can easily contact them.  I do have an assistant, so I write on the business cards and then bundle them together with a note of where I collected them.  Then my assistant enters the data and a note for each that reminds me where I met them and any notes I may have written on the card.

When people ask me if they should be on LinkedIn I always ask, “Is anyone you do business with or want to do business with on LinkedIn?”  If the answer is yes, then you need to be on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a very powerful tool when used correctly.  But just “being” on LinkedIn is not enough. Having a profile on LinkedIn will get you about the same thing as going to a party and standing in the corner. Someone might come up to you but you can’t expect any results. If you want to get results you have to learn to utilize the tool and interact.

Having a complete profile is the bare minimum. Review your profile. Be sure it is complete and represents you well. I find so many people without a photo. To be effective you need a current headshot. A photo that looks like you so that someone who has met you in person would recognize you.

Next you need connections. A big mistake many people make is connecting with people they don’t know. What good is a long list of people you don’t know? What can you do with it? The idea is to build a strong useful network. One that you can reach out to for help. That means you need to know them and they need to know you, like you and trust you. Only then will the network be useful to you.

Here are my recommendations for building a strong network.

1. Connect with people you know. Start with friends, family and co-workers, then add clients and past clients. Add people you meet networking and people in your professional organizations. Don’t try to connect with people you don’t know. That comes later and it will be much easier and more effective once you have connected with everyone you do know.

2. Make it personal. Always send a personalized note, even if you know the person well. The idea is to connect and build the relationship. Example:

Hi John,
It was great to see you at the business networking event last night.  I’d like to talk to you further about the technology group you mentioned.  Let’s get connected on LinkedIn so we can share our networks. I look forward to talking again soon.
Best Regards,
Alice

3.Interact just like you would in real life. Login to LinkedIn daily. Answer emails, post your activity, and check out what people in your network are sharing and click “Like” or make a comment. Find more people you know and get connected.

4. Get involved with some groups. Notice I didn’t say join. Joining is not enough. You won’t get results. You have to get involved in the discussions and share valuable information. When people you don’t know from that group interact with you it gives you a reason to ask them to connect which widens your network. Find professional organizations that you belong to and join their groups on LinkedIn. Join your alumni association. Then search for other groups that would be interesting for you to belong to. This is one of the best ways to connect with people you don’t know.

5. Ask for introductions. If there is someone you don’t know that you want to be connected with find someone who knows you, likes you and trusts you to introduce you. This is much more effective than sending a connection request to someone who doesn’t know you. To increase the likelihood of being connected to people you don’t know by someone you do, you have to spend time getting connected and strengthening relationships with people you know. So go back to point 1 and 2 above.

Once you have done these things, LinkedIn will be a powerful way to stay connected with people you know, develop stronger relationships and get connected with people you want to know.

Read more to learn how to get people to follow your company on LinkedIn.

If your company needs sales training on how to use LinkedIn to get connected and build relationships we offer training webinars  or onsite training tailored to your industry.  Please call 775-852-5020 for more information.

This article is published in this month’s Start Up, a special edition of Entrepreneur Magazine from my interview with Katie Rossomano. It’s available at your  local bookstore or online.

Most entrepreneurs know networking is important, but they may not realize just how crucial it is to the success of their new venture.

“Building a network helps entrepreneurs get their product to market and get the right people in place,” says Alice Heiman, networking and sales expert and author of e-book Connecting Your Way to New Business. Heiman suggests five basic rules for building a trusted network that will help your startup succeed.  Read more . . .

I just finished reading Gerhard Gschwandtner’s 9/21 blog post,  Social Media Is Getting Tired…Social Business Is the New Frontier . I can really relate to the term Social Business.  I agree with Gerhard that social media is looked at as a waste of time and in many instances it can be.  However, for salespeople being present and interacting on social media is a must but the way they do it is critical.  As I’ve said many times, if you put up a profile on any of the social media channels and just sit there, it’s like going to a room full of all the people you need to know and standing in a corner.  Although someone might come up to you, your odds are not good so it’s basically a waste of time.  Utilizing social media channels to build relationships is a good use of time.  Using it to follow thought leaders in your industry and interact with them, and using it to follow trends in your industry and your customer’s industries is critical.  Social media makes it easier than ever to do these things.  Salespeople need to be connecting, interacting, building relationships and sharing knowledge which will all lead to sales.  But as Gerhard points out, “The big question is, why aren’t more salespeople getting with the program?” He shares some things he learned from his conversations with successful sales executives. Click here to read Gerhard’s blog.

And if you are not already subscribed to Selling Power Magazine, I highly recommend it. Their website has a wealth of information for salespeople and those who manage sales.

If you would like to learn how to do Social Business to get more sales, call me for a complimentary 30 minute phone consultation 775-852-5020.

It never hurts to go back to basics and  regroup.  When it comes to social media, things are changing so fast it is tough to keep up.  Here are 8 tips to help you look at your social media plan in a basic way that will help you excel.

1. Take a look at your current marketing plan and review the ways you are reaching your target market.  Ask yourself, what’s getting you results and what’s not?

2. Think about your ideal customer, what social media platforms are they using?  Look at the demographics of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and any others and see if they match those you are trying to reach.  Ask your current customers what social media platforms they frequent.

3. Take a look at your competitors, how are they using social media?

4. Think about your brand and the messaging you want to use to communicate, which social media will help you do that best?  How does that integrate with any traditional marketing you may be doing, your newsletter or your blog?

5. Make an editorial calendar for your content. Good content is the key. It is what engages your audience and gets them to interact with you. Push out good content on a regular basis to develop your status as an expert and increase your following and then you can pepper in your events, programs or sales specials.

6. Determine who is going to be responsible for your strategy and for executing your strategy.  It needs to be done professionally and consistently.  This may be a good one to outsource to and expert.

7. Review and evaluate the results of what you have executed. Make changes to your strategy based on this information.

8. Measure your results, did you generate any leads with your social media plan?

If you need help with your sales strategy, please feel free to email me at answers@aliceheiman.com or schedule a free 30 minute strategy session.