I”™m getting ready for next year”™s sales but don”™t have enough in my pipeline to be comfortable. I feel like things are turning up and people are more open to buying and making connections, but I need to meet more people ”“ fast.
Things are turning up, but slowly. It may take twice as much energy as it did in the past to build the right connections with new prospects and referral sources. In most situations, people do business with people they know and like. How you go about making connections will go a long way toward making 2012 a banner year. Having a process for making connections will help, too.
Be prepared to be out there, more than ever. Realistically assess your situation. What time of day works best ”“ morning, afternoon, evening? How many times per week can you go to functions. Who else could take over some of your other duties, to free you up to do more events?
Arrive early to give yourself time to get ready and look over the roster of attendees. Be curious and enthusiastic. Offer to help other people make connections and then ask them to do the same for you.
Set goals. Figure out how many new connections you want to make each month and set a goal for new appointments to talk about business. Then measure your progress.
Look at every networking event as an opportunity and then critically assess it. If you haven”™t been to a group”™s events, before you go ask some questions of the organizer:
- Who typically attends? Is your target market being described?
- What kind of time and energy is devoted to making new connections?
- Who would be available to introduce you around?
- Is there a follow-up system to connect attendees afterward?
- How do people who attend rate the events?
If people are attending from the companies you want to connect with, ask another question: Are attendees in the positions you want to meet or can they get you to those positions? For example, you may attend an IT networking function, but if you”™re looking to connect with human resources personnel or finance or CEOs, you might be out of luck. Unless, of course, you can connect with the IT folks and turn that into an introduction to the people you ultimately want to meet.
Give a good impression of your firm. What has your company been doing lately that might be interesting to others? How can you use the resources of your company to help other people accomplish their goals? What can you do to create goodwill that you can trade on later?
When you go to networking events, be clear about what you”™re looking to accomplish. Start out with a list specific to that event.
Use networking events to find out what makes people tick. What”™s important to them? How can you connect to that so you become more memorable in their world?
Be sure to follow up. Send emails, make phone calls, join up on LinkedIn. If you offered to make a connection, or send information, get it done.
Think long term. If you go to one networking event per week throughout the year and get two to three good connections, on average, per event, you”™ll have 150 people added to your network. If you ask each of those people to introduce you to two to three people, you”™re up to more than 500 introductions in no time.
Looking for a good book? Try “Great Connections: Small Talk and Networking for Businesspeople” by Anne Baber.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., www.StrategyLeaders.com, a business consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. Questions may be e-mailed to her at AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com or mailed to Andi Gray, Strategy Leaders Inc., 5 Crossways, Chappaqua, NY 10514. Phone: 877-238-3535. Visit www.AskAndi.com for archived articles.
