{"id":1479,"date":"2023-12-19T18:30:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T18:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/?p=1479"},"modified":"2023-12-20T08:35:56","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T08:35:56","slug":"3-networking-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/news\/3-networking-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Networking Strategies Every Sales Professional Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1479\" class=\"elementor elementor-1479\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"ob-is-breaking-bad elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5cf663b3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5cf663b3\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ob_bbad_use_it&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;_ob_bbad_sssic_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_glider_is_slider&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-22dac2b4\" data-id=\"22dac2b4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ob_bbad_is_stalker&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_teleporter_use&quot;:false,&quot;_ob_column_hoveranimator&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_column_has_pseudo&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"ob-is-breaking-bad elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-8475cc1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"8475cc1\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;_ob_bbad_use_it&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;_ob_bbad_sssic_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_glider_is_slider&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5a11482d\" data-id=\"5a11482d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;_ob_bbad_is_stalker&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_teleporter_use&quot;:false,&quot;_ob_column_hoveranimator&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_column_has_pseudo&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48448282 ob-harakiri-inherit ob-has-background-overlay elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"48448282\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ob_use_harakiri&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;_ob_harakiri_writing_mode&quot;:&quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;_ob_harakiri_text_clip&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;_ob_perspektive_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_poopart_use&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;_ob_shadough_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_allow_hoveranimator&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_widget_stalker_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 25-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">3 Networking Strategies Every Sales Professional Should Know<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40e0d023 ob-has-background-overlay elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"40e0d023\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ob_photomorph_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_perspektive_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_poopart_use&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;_ob_shadough_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_allow_hoveranimator&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_widget_stalker_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 25-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/layers_background01t.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1362\" alt=\"Networking Strategy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/layers_background01t.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/layers_background01t-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/layers_background01t-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/layers_background01t-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53d8d43 ob-harakiri-inherit ob-has-background-overlay elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"53d8d43\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ob_use_harakiri&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;_ob_harakiri_writing_mode&quot;:&quot;inherit&quot;,&quot;_ob_postman_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_perspektive_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_poopart_use&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;_ob_shadough_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_allow_hoveranimator&quot;:&quot;no&quot;,&quot;_ob_widget_stalker_use&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 25-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>I went to a networking meeting last week, where I met an enthusiastic salesman who was promoting a combined fire and security protection system.<\/p><p>He shook my hand enthusiastically and proceeded to hard sell his amazing new solution that would solve all my domestic fire protection and security needs.\u00a0Did I want to buy, at the amazing introductory price of \u00a3199.99?<\/p><p>Er\u2026 no.<\/p><p>As sales people, we\u2019re always told that the best way to generate new business is by networking \u2013 and many of us put untold pressure on ourselves because we go out networking trying to make a sale or two.\u00a0After all \u2013 we\u2019ve all got to put food on the table.<\/p><p>This pressure to make sales drives people to become increasingly desperate in their attempts to sell, but they get no tangible results.\u00a0This leads people to not even go to networking events, as they fear it will be a waste of time: result \u2013 no business being generated.<\/p><p>There is a fundamental problem with going to a networking event trying to sell: because no one goes out networking to buy!\u00a0Think about it \u2013 have YOU ever gone out networking with the intention of buying anything?<\/p><p>So \u2013 what should we do instead?\u00a0Networking is all about building relationships that lead to generating referrals. To do this, you need to get into interesting conversations, get to know people well, and then once you\u2019ve got a relationship, give your network the tools they need to find your referrals.<\/p><p>Let\u2019s have a look at how to do these effectively.<\/p><p><strong>1. Getting into Interesting Conversations<\/strong><\/p><p>Recently, while at a networking event, I met a man called Mark.\u00a0Here is a transcript of our conversation:<\/p><p>Me:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHello there Mark, I\u2019m Charlie \u2013 what do you do?\u201d<\/p><p>Mark:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m an accountant.\u201d<\/p><p>Me:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p><p>At that point, the conversation ended.\u00a0Now, don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I wasn\u2019t trying to offend him (or every other accountant) \u2013 I just literally couldn\u2019t think of anything else to say!<\/p><p>Compare that scenario to this one \u2013 from the same event \u2013 where I got talking to a lady who was about 4\u201911\u201d, (and I\u2019m guessing here) was somewhere in her late 50s\/early 60s.<\/p><p>Me:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHello there Anne, I\u2019m Charlie \u2013 what do you do?\u201d<\/p><p>Anne:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a weight-lifter.\u201d<\/p><p>Me:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat? Really? Tell me more!\u201d<\/p><p>I couldn\u2019t quite believe my ears \u2013 how on earth was this lady a weight lifter?\u00a0It didn\u2019t make any sense, so I had to ask her for more about what she did.\u00a0So Anne told me that her business was stress counselling \u2013 and what she did was help her clients lift weight off their shoulders.\u00a0We had a very interesting conversation about her business, which left me in no doubt as to what sort of clients would help her grow her business.<\/p><p>Comparing Mark and Anne\u2019s responses then, the following points struck me:<\/p><ul><li>Mark\u2019s was very inward focussed \u2013 telling me what HIS role is<\/li><li>Anne\u2019s made me think immediately about the benefits her clients get \u2013 i.e. focussed externally<\/li><li>Mark\u2019s left me with struggling to think of another question to ask<\/li><li>Anne\u2019s got me to say \u2013 \u2018tell me more\u2019 \u2013 which meant we had a proper conversation<br \/><br \/><\/li><\/ul><p>Many potential networking conversations never happen because of scenarios like the one with Mark the accountant.\u00a0If, on the other hand, you can introduce yourself in a way that gets the response \u2018tell me more\u2019, you\u2019ll go a long way to making your networking successful.<\/p><p>How do you introduce yourself when you\u2019re networking?<\/p><p><strong>2. Getting to know People Well<\/strong><\/p><p>Let me tell you a story about Steve. Steve is a great networker who I\u2019ve known for several years. He does sales for a web business, and manufacturing firms are his area of focus.<\/p><p>Now, on my regular route to work, I pass by the premises of a big manufacturing company. Every time I went past, I always thought to myself \u2013 I really must try and help Steve out and get him an in to that company.<\/p><p>But I never did.<\/p><p>Then, one day, I saw Steve at a networking event, and afterwards, as everyone was starting to drift away, he and I got into a conversation about Formula 1 racing.\u00a0Neither of us knew that the each other was into F1 \u2013 but we got into a discussion about our favourite drivers, races we\u2019d been to, and so on.<\/p><p>How we got onto the subject is irrelevant \u2013 I can\u2019t honestly remember \u2013 but the effect of that conversation was profound.\u00a0I immediately felt I knew Steve that much better: as it was, I saw him regularly, I heard him talk about his business regularly, I knew who his dream referral was because I\u2019d heard him talk about it regularly.<\/p><p>But now, I knew \u2018stuff\u2019 about him \u2013 and crucially, that stuff helped me build a rapport with him.\u00a0I didn\u2019t realise it at first, but, the next time I went past the premises of his dream referral, I didn\u2019t just think to myself \u2018Oh, I really must try and help Steve\u2019. So, I went onto LinkedIn, searched for the company \u2013 and I realised I knew someone who had a contact within the firm. It was relatively easy from there to get him a referral.<\/p><p>What\u2019s fascinating to me is, following our conversation, how I felt about Steve changed, such that I was prepared to go out of my way to help him: and all that because we had connected at a deeper level.<\/p><p>How strong are the relationships you build with your networking contacts? Do you know enough \u2018stuff\u2019 about them to be prepared to get them a referral?<\/p><p><strong>3. Giving your Network the Tools they Need<\/strong><\/p><p>One of the questions I get asked more often than any other about networking is how do I know that the people I\u2019m networking and building relationships with are going to introduce me to the right potential clients? Isn\u2019t it a bit of a scattergun approach?<\/p><p>The short answer to this is: yes, it is a bit scattergun, and you don\u2019t know who you are going to get introduced to. That, however, is one of the joys of networking \u2013 you genuinely don\u2019t know who other people know and how they could help you. But surely it is possible to promote yourself more effectively?<\/p><p>The good news is that there is a far better way to promote yourself \u2013 knowing your target market. The more specific you are about who you want to speak to, the more likely you will get referrals to them.<\/p><p>This story illustrates this point rather well:<\/p><p>I was running a training workshop, and at the end I facilitated a business generation exercise where all the attendees (about 60 or so) were asked to share their top referral target.<\/p><p>The key to success in this exercise is that it only works if the targets shared are specific \u2013 so not only naming a target company, but also the person at the company they\u2019d need to speak to, both in terms of their job title, and their name.<\/p><p>We\u2019d just started the exercise when I was confronted by a sales professional who ran an events company.\u00a0I could tell from the look on her face that she thought the whole process was not likely to work \u2013 but, loving a challenge, I asked her who her dream referral request was.<\/p><p>Now, her facial expressions may have told me that she didn\u2019t believe that the process would work, but that was nothing compared to her reaction when she spoke to me.\u00a0\u201cIt is absolutely inconceivable that anyone in this room will know the person I need to speak to\u201d was her answer.<\/p><p>\u201cGo on, just give it a go\u201d, I replied.<\/p><p>\u201cSeriously \u2013 it won\u2019t work, just move on to the next person\u201d, she replied, folding her arms, and by now, sounding a little cross.<\/p><p>\u201cJust give it a try \u2013 you never know\u201d, I ventured.<\/p><p>\u201cLook \u2013 I\u2019ve told you already,\u201d she answered.\u00a0\u201cMost of the people in this room run small businesses.\u00a0It is absolutely inconceivable that anyone will know the Marketing Manager of the Hilton Hotels group, so it\u2019s not even worth wasting my time.\u201d<\/p><p>Before I could respond, the gentleman just two seats away from her said to her: \u201cI don\u2019t know the Marketing Manager of the Hilton Hotels Group, but my next door neighbour is the Group Chairman \u2013 would that be of any use to you?\u201d<\/p><p>Somewhat more sheepishly now came the response.\u00a0\u201cEr, yes \u2013 I guess it would\u2026\u201d<\/p><p>It\u2019s incredible \u2013 when networking, we so often close our minds to the opportunities that are sitting (literally) right next to us.\u00a0Remember, it\u2019s not WHAT you know that is important, nor is WHO you know important.<\/p><p>What will help you achieve success in networking is thinking about WHO YOUR CONTACTS KNOW, how well they know them, and whether you have a good enough relationship with them to access their contacts. Have you built up a list of your target clients to share with your networking contacts?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3 Networking Strategies Every Sales Professional Should Know I went to a networking meeting last week, where I met an enthusiastic salesman who was promoting a combined fire and security protection system. He shook my hand enthusiastically and proceeded to hard sell his amazing new solution that would solve all my domestic fire protection and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[19,37,36,35],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1479"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1488,"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1479\/revisions\/1488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unnaturalsuccess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}