The Networking Challenge

My friend Andrea Nierenberg has a saying. She says that the opposite of networking is "not working." Another way to put it is that if you're not networking, you're not marketing.

For Independent Professionals, networking IS marketing. And that brings us to the fourth biggest marketing mistake: failing to master networking.

I've been on vacation for a week (Yeah, we bought the condo!), and I've been thinking how not to make today's eZine a boring recitation of all the reasons you ought to do more networking.

Instead, you could listen to the recorded TeleClass with me and Andrea. It's not boring, and it will get you thinking about networking in a completely new way. So if you just want to get on with it and take networking to the next level, get it now: Networking TeleClass

For those of you who are left, let me tell you how Robert E. sold us the condo.

There are really two parts to this story. 1. My wife made me do it. She wanted it and convinced me we should get it. She should really get part of the commission! 2. Robert showed us the right unit. It was amazing, had a great view, and cost about half of what we were first looking at.

Again, I've got to give credit to Robert for doing two very smart things: Having something great to sell (he sold six units the week we were there), and really being passionate about what he was selling.

But how did Robert get that way, you ask? Good question. And, of course, it ties directly into networking. (You knew I'd come around to it, didn't you?)

You might look at networking as simply the opportunity to tell your story to as many people as possible until you finally get it right. Like Robert, he told the story of Costa Bonita so many times to so many people, that before too long he could communicate it effortlessly.

He told me that he was originally a prospect. He was interested in buying a condo himself and the salesperson was so inept that he actually tried to talk Robert out of buying it!

How many times have you done the same thing?

Sounds ridiculous, but in working with clients over the years I've often asked them to tell me exactly what they said when explaining their service to someone. And a good part of the time they talked me out of it as well.

Why? Because they simply hadn't had enough practice. They hadn't been out there networking like mad, testing their Audio Logo and Ultimate Outcome on every warm body they could find until it came naturally, effortlessly.

Instead, they were sitting at home worrying about marketing their services. Sound familiar?

So here's the ultimate, but very simple, "Action Plan Marketing Networking Challenge" I gave to many of them and will also give to you:

Get out there and talk to 50 people about your service this week. Not 10, not 20 or 30, but 50. Make a plan and just do it. Or at least give it an honest try. And I'll tell you what will happen:

1. Before long (after the 5th or 6th person), you'll start to get it about the Audio Logo and Ultimate Outcome. You'll actually start saying something that gets people's attention.

2. By the 10th or 15th person you'll start to develop some serious inquiries and you'll realize that you need to give them more information and actually follow up.

3. By the 20th or 30th person you'll have set up a few appointments, either with prospects or associates who could lead you to prospects.

4. By the 40th or 50th person you'll either be very close to getting a client or two or will have closed some business. You'll be well on your way.

Now, you can be like most people: talk to two or three people a week and stretch this process over twenty weeks or more. But why not accelerate the process and connect with 50? (OK, OK, I'll give you two weeks. That's just five conversations a day.)

I know you think I'm nuts, but I promise you that people like Andrea Nierenberg and Robert E. don't. They get it. They are out there talking to people. And because they've done it so much, they are masters of saying the right thing at the right time.

And not only does the passion come through naturally, both have more business than they can handle.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: You have a great service. It makes a difference. You have a basic plan. Now stop thinking and get out there and get your message to as many people as humanly possible as quickly as you can. (P.S. You don't need to do this forever, but it sure gets the ball rolling!)

Please share your thoughts on this topic and your experiences of networking with passion.

Comments

[Tom C]

I work with Andrea Nierenberg. Thanks for this posting of her quote.

Tom C.

[Sharon Mulgrew]

Wow, a blog, I love it... you keep moving and you move us along with you... fabulous!

[Malcolm Munro]

Robert, great stuff! I'm going to get busy starting today giving my audio logo. Thanks for the encouragement.

Malcolm Munro
www.professormal.com

[Edgar Valdmanis]

All of the above is correct. In addition I want to mention that I'm a member of Business Network International(BNI). We meet every Tuesday morning, and all the regular members do a 60-second "elevator-speech", guests get 30 seconds. This is a weekly reminder to keep improving our message to the outside world. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.
Edgar Valdmanis

[Charlie Lang]

Robert is absolutely right. The key problem of independent professionals is that they actually don't have a sufficient sales conversation DENSITY.

Funny enough, after our 2-days sales training we give our participants almost the same task: instead of networking with 50 people, we ask them to make 50 cold calls within one, maximum two weeks.

Actually it is pretty much the same, a cold call is just slightly more challenging than talking to someone new at a networking event. The same principles apply: if you want to get the other person engaged, STOP talking about your company or what you are DOING. Honestly, almost nobody really cares about that.

What people care about in the first place is THEMSELVES. So keep that always in mind when you talk to new people who don't know you. For example, instead of saying "I am a chartered safety engineer" you may say something like "I work with companies who want to improve the safety of their staff." Now, of course, there is no guarantee that the person you are talking to is concerned about safety and that's fine. Not everyone you talk to is a prospect. However, using this kind of language will catch the attention of those who might become your clients.

One more thing: I found it much more effective to talk to only 3-4 people in depth during a 2-3 hours networking event rather than collecting 20 name cards.

Hope that helps.