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)

Why is it so hard to find top sales talent in today’s marketplace ? 

Top salespeople are usually employed, so in today’s marketplace it may be difficult to get people to switch companies.  You want to have a good pool of candidates so you don’t have to settle for hiring the ‘best of the worst’.

I think working with a recruiter is worth it’s weight in gold, but realizing some companies aren’t going to do that, then you need to get the word out by writing a great job ad and posting it in the right places. A book I always recommend is You’re Not the Person I Hired, by Janet Boydell, Barry Deutsch, & Brad Remillard. It’s a must read if you’re doing any hiring.

Listen to my recent interview with Erik Luhrs from the Guru Selling System to learn more tips on how to hire a great salesperson!

Discover why some companies continue to increase sales & profitablity even in a down economy.

This is the recording of my 60 minute Strategy Huddle with Erica Olsen of M3Planning.

It’s not what we do or how we do it but why that differentiates us. Today I was on the radio show Bosma on Business. Mike asked us what’s the number one thing that will increase sales? I agreed with all the answers they gave as things that will help you increase sales but in my opinion the number one thing that has to come before all the others is that you have to believe you can increase sales. And in order to believe that, you have to believe that what you are selling has value and that people need it because it will make a difference and have a significant impact on what they are trying to accomplish. This is why in a small business or a start up the owner or founders frequently tell me that they out sell their sales team. Of course they do,  they have incredible passion and refuse to fail. If they are still outselling their sales team maybe they have failed to engage them fully in their mission or to help them understand why they started the business and why it matters. Their salespeople are out selling what the company does and how they do it, instead of why. This requires passion. The business owner needs to be an inspiring leader to instill this in the salespeople. If the salespeople love what they do and believe fully in the company and its products the sales will follow. Of course they need training and coaching but all the training and coaching in the world won’t help salespeople exceed quota if they don’t believe. I am reading a great book that explains this very well, Start With Why by Simon Sinek. I highly recommend every business owner and everyone who has to sell read this book.

Think of it this way, the selling doesn’t start until you suspect a need.  How would you come to suspect a need? By getting to know the person. By asking questions and listening.  Once they say they are interested you can start learning more and educating them but instead of telling them the features and benefits of your product and trying to differentiate your product from others what if you helped them understand why your company does what it does, why you love your job and why you believe in your offerings.  You would be getting them excited and engaged.  Why you do what you do can differentiate you and help people understand why they should buy from you.

Here’s an example.

How: I sell sales training, coaching and consulting.

What: I help companies increase sales.

Why: I believe that every company can have all the sales they need.

The last one is more engaging.  It’s emotional.  Every business owner and salesperson I know wants to have all the sales they need.  Think about how you can help your customers and prospects understand your “why”.  If you are having trouble with that give me a shout at answers@aliceheiman.com or call me at 775-852-5020.

I was listening to this Sales Management Minute from my colleague,  Lee Salz and it will really hit home with small business owners and managers. I posted this response to him on LinkedIn and thought I would share it with you because so many companies have struggled with hiring and onboarding salespeople.

Onboarding salespeople is one of the toughest things my small businesses face. They flat out don’t do it because they don’t understand what needs to be done.  A few months later they are complaining that their salesperson isn’t performing.  Large companies often have the luxury of hiring several salespeople at one time and sending them through two weeks of product and company training. That is a start and their manager gets them.  In companies large and small it would behoove them to have a formal onboarding process with a check list of things the salesperson needs to become proficient at in order to sell successfully for their company.  Notice I said, “for their company” and that is because that salesperson may have been great for the last company but now they are at your company and it is different and they need to learn their new selling job and all the nuances. Onboarding is only going to work if the right person was hired in the first place so I recommend taking a step back and looking at your hiring process.  If you hire right, onboarding will be more successful. 

In my opinion the onboarding process needs to start with learning the people and the culture of the organization and that can happen simultaneously with product training.  Then shadowing a successful salesperson and in a small company that can sometimes be the business owner.  Once the salesperson is ready to start selling someone needs to shadow him for a week or so to be sure things are going well, tell him what he is doing right and make corrections.  I’ll like to call the customers and prospects that he called on to see what their experience has been and get their feedback.  I also like to talk to all of the people at the company that the new salesperson interacts with and get their impressions.  My goal is to make this salesperson successful and avoid problems down the road.  It’s easier to give feedback and make corrections in the first few months before bad habits set in.  I’m sure people reading this are thinking this is too much and takes too much time. I’ve heard many sales managers and business owners say, “I hired him because he knew how to sell, why do I need to teach him to sell.”  They think product training is enough.  If you have a process for onboarding it actually takes very little extra time, it saves you thousands of dollars and gets your salesperson generating revenue more quickly. 

Read more on this topic in my article, Why Your New Salesperson Isn’t Selling Anything

Closing the deal doesn’t have to be hard.  It starts with building a solid relationship with the people who will make the decision, clearly understanding their needs, matching your offering to their needs to show them the fit, providing your offering for a fair price and asking for the business. (Not to over simplify, I know there are demos, trials, proposals and other things that need to happen in some cases.) 

You have t0 do the hard work but I promise you, if you do it closing will be easier and I also promise that closing will be hard to do if you don’t have the answer to the following 8 questions. 

1. What is your budget?
2. Who else besides yourself will be involved in making the decision?
3. What is the best way to include everyone involved in the decision making process?
4. What is your timeline for implementation?
5. What is your timeline for making a decision?
6. How will our solution meet your needs?
7. What other solutions have you considered?
8. On what factors will you make your decision?

Many times salespeople tell me they are having trouble closing a deal.  I ask them to tell me the situation and the answers to those questions.  Typically, they can’t answer all of them but they were ready to close.  Once they go back and ask those questions they are usually able to move the sale forward or at least understand why the sale is stalled. 

Make it part of your sales call planning to ask these questions at the appropriate times and confirm the answers.  If you do, closing will be much easier.

I am looking for business owners who do most of the selling for their company and want to increase sales now. We are offering a special course on selling specific to the needs of business owners. For more information, click the link www.powerfulsalesstrategies.com or call 852-5020.

I always enjoy reading Gerhard’s blog.  This link is to The 10 Best Books to Read in 2010.

http://sellingpower.typepad.com/gg/2009/12/the-10-best-books-to-read-in-2010-part-i-.html

In today’s challenging economy, employee morale can easily be slipping to a very low point. Maybe it’s time to recharge your team!

Jennifer Bushman

Team building is more critical than ever. Your team may need some recharging and to start approaching business with new energy and enthusiasm.  A positive and enthusiastic team can make the difference between your business surviving and thriving.  We have the perfect way to get you moving toward success. A cooking class is an excellent exercise in team building for small businesses and executive teams.  Image the fun you can stir up in the relaxed environment of a kitchen…cooking, laughing, eating, and chatting. More importantly, imagine how much more united and successful you’ll be together after this incredible team building experience! 

Together, you and your team will:
- Learn to communicate more clearly and effectively

- Create stronger bonds that reach well into your workplace

- Collaborate on an important goal

- Substantially improve morale

- Have a wonderful time and a fantastic meal! 

James Beard nominated cookbook author and culinary educator, Jennifer Bushman along with Sales Guru, Alice Heiman are teaming up to offer a unique and fun team building experience for groups of 4-8 people. 

Find out how to cook up a recipe for a strong, motivated and successful team! 

Call Today for more information (775) 852-5020