some thoughts on sales and networking in 2011

One of my followers on twitter posted this link http://bit.ly/gKmgve to an article about the demise of the transactional sales agent. As someone on the front lines of the telecom since 1999 I can attest to this transition. When I first started it was "sign here & press hard," & "porched or paperwork." You would bludgeon people over the head to do business with you, yes, even in the civilized world of telecom. What I find more frightening is how many sales manager still espouse this method of prospecting. Let me be clear, prospecting will always be an essential part of the professional sales persons daily activities. How you decide to go about prospecting is what truly will make the difference.

First: using social media: those that know me know how much I am an advocate for LinkedIn and what it can do for your professional career. In addition to making you highly visible to recruiters to find your next great gig it is an excellent database for finding customers. I can use today's activities to illustrate. A couple weeks ago I was researching contacts on LinkedIn and found a man who is not only a C level executive for a Technology support company but he also sits on the board of directors one of the premier hospitals in Maryland. This man could be a customer for me, he could introduce me to the right people at the hospital and he could become a valuable business partner. This is what I call the win, win win opportunity. So we met at a neutral space (Starbucks) because I didn't want it to feel like a sales call. We both graduated from the same college, so we chatted about that and it turns out that he happens to know one of my fraternity brothers. I asked him about his business and before he could ask I gave him 3 connections that could be of great value to his firm.
So here's what I did
Step 1: found the contact
Step 2: set up a meeting
Step 3: found common ground
Step 4: offered to help without selling anything.

Second: you gotta have face time. In person networking is as important as face to face networking. Even though I created this relationship via social media I took the next step to meet with him. I attend 3 one hour networking meetings a week and I am a member of a local chamber of commerce that has 2-3 events per month. I also participate regularly with the local tech council. People ask me all the time "where do you find the time? I am so busy trying to find new customers I don't have time to network." Huh?

Here is a little secret for the un-initiated: NETWORKING IS LOOKING FOR NEW CUSTOMERS! Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people that go to networking events and don't know how to network effectively (that is another blog for another day) but once you learn to effectively network you should have MORE time to yourself, not less.

So here is the summary: network on line & in person, doing one and not the other will hurt your success. Always offer first to help and you will be amazed at how open people will be to help you.

Thanks for reading today

Mike S.

btw you can follow me on twitter @mistertelecom & @selflessnetwork