Networking, does it really work? If you go fishing, will you catch fish? (Same kind of rhetorical question.) The answer to both of these questions is the same - "It depends how you fish".
Say you go down to “ye olde fishin' hole” and you only brought your cane pole and some fishing line. You throw the line in the water (sans hook), and you wait for a fish to bite. Are you fishing? If you're waiting for a fish to bite into your bare line so you can pull him in, then I guess you could say you were fishing (technically speaking of course). Would you catch many fish? No, not unless you are as lucky as my fishing buddy John (he can catch fish when there aren't fish to be caught, but that's another story).Now put a hook on that line and some bait and the chances of catching a fish go up dramatically. However, you still need to be fishing in the right place. You want to be fishing in a place where the kinds of fish you want not only hang out, but actually dine on sweet morsels hanging in the water with a line attached. In sales we call that prospecting target accounts.
Not All Fishing Is the Same
If you are not looking for a specific kind of fish, you might try using a net. You would "work with a net" when you don't care what you pull out of the water. When I was a kid (a long, long time ago), my Grandfather would take me fishing. Sometimes we would use a dip net and other times use a long rectangular net called a seine and "sweep" the creek with it. You pull up whatever is in the net and then you sort through your catch, deciding which fish you are going to keep and which ones should be thrown back. In sales we call that procedure "networking".
Since networking is the subject of this column, let's focus on that. In sales, networking is like fishing with a net. Typically we think of networking as being tied to an event with a lot of people in attendance that could be potential prospects. These kinds of opportunities frequently are supported by your local chambers of commerce or are commercial membership networking organizations that you pay to belong to. Do they work? If you know what you're doing they do. If you stand up on the shore and wait for fish to jump in your bucket, you won't be too successful. If you go to the networking events that I just mentioned and stand there talking to friends waiting for someone to walk up to you and say "here's a lead for you", you're going to be disappointed.
Effective Networking
When you attend networking events you need to have a plan ahead of time. There are three things you must be prepared for:
- You must have a 30-second commercial that you can deliver with confidence. This self-introduction must contain; who you are, how you help your typical clients resolve their common dilemmas and a closing thought that will set you apart from all the rest in your industry. It is also needs to close with an open-ended thought that will whet their appetite for more information.
- You must have a plan on how you are going to work the room. Are the attendee’s potential prospects or are they individuals that can provide leads for you. If the latter is what you think you will be dealing with, then make sure that you can tell these contacts what a good lead for you would be like.
- Set an event goal. Personally, if I was attending a 2 hour event I set a goal to not leave or socialize to any great extent until I had the business cards of at least 5 people that were willing to have an appointment with me. I usually achieved that within the first 45 - 60 minutes. The rest was gravy. I now gave myself permission to leave, socialize or continue networking.
Next week I will continue this article with points on effective networking on a day to day basis.