|
Networking can be a vital part of
running a small business. Many people avoid the process of networking,
because it conjures op thoughts of pressure selling. When we think of
networking, we often think in terms of going out and locating new
customers. We often confuse networking with prospecting when we think this
way. Networking is mixing with other business people, getting to know
them, and letting them get to know you. The process of finding more
customers is more correctly known as prospecting.
In prospecting, we seek to meet
prospective customers for the purpose of making a sale. The sales
prospecting process is to make a lot of contacts at a social functions,
obtaining as many business cards or contact names as possible, qualify
those contacts as potential customers, and following up to attempt to make
a sale to those who are qualified as customers. The prospector usually
tries to avoid wasting time with people who cannot use their services.
Networking is much different. In
networking, the objective is to meet other members of the business
community and then to develop a business relationship with many of them so
they are aware of the product or services you offer. The purpose is to
make a lot of friends so they will know who you each are and potentially
refer business opportunities toward each other.
While prospecting is a part of the
sales process, networking is much more a part of marketing. There are many
places where a businessperson can take advantage of networking
opportunities. Attending business grand openings, chamber of commerce
mixers, various community lunch and dinner events, and various business
and community clubs or associations.
Before we look at how networking can be
made very effective in helping to grow your business, it is helpful to
examine a situation as an excellent example of how not to net-work. I
witnessed this at a chamber of commerce event and it illustrates a common
mistake in attempting to network in the business community. It also is an
indication as to why people have bad feelings about networking.
A local company was holding its grand
opening and had contracted with the local chamber of commerce to help
organize the event. The chamber of commerce did a good job and many people
attended the event. Photographs were taken, plaques were handed out from
both the chamber of commerce and the local politicians, and the event
ended after about an hour. As a student of business in action, I watched
several of the attendees at the grand opening as they attempted to sell
their products to the owner of the new business. By the end of the event,
the poor businessperson had received a sales pitch from just about every
person in the room except me.
At the end of the event, I approached
the owner of the business and introduced myself as the only person who
attended his grand opening who will not try to sell something to him. He
laughed and told me he appreciated not having to listen to another sales
pitch. In a later meeting he expressed his anger over all of the people
who ruined his grand opening by constantly pitching their services to him.
This is not the impression that you want to make to the rest of the
business community!
How to Network
While doing marketing research for a chamber of commerce, I had the
pleasure of speaking with several local businesspeople to learn why they
do not attend the local chamber mixers. Their response was to explain that
they were uncomfortable with taking their time to attend a function only
to have to listen to a bunch of sales pitches. They said that sales people
bothered them enough at work, and they don’t want to take their time to
at-tend a mixer where more sales people will attack them. From my own
experiences, here are my rules of networking.
1. Avoid aggressive salespeople who are prospecting for a sale.
They will probably just try to sell something to you and probably have no
interest in helping refer business to you. The person who is trying to
network wants to meet other business people who are also interested in
mixing. These people are often a little on the shy side so it can be
beneficial to locate someone who is a little passive and hoping someone
will come up to them to break the ice.
2. Listen patiently to the other person and
avoid pitching your product or services. We cannot pitch our products or
services when we are listening to the other person, but we can form better
relationships when we tell the other person they are important enough for
us to listen to what they have to say. I find this to be the best way to
make friends at a mixer. Be casual about your own business offerings and
listen. I some-times let the person know that I am not there to sell them
anything, but to get to know my fellow businesspeople.
3. Make a note of those you meet. After a
networking opportunity, take the business cards home and write a short
paragraph about each of person so you will remember who they were when you
meet them at a later date. Sort the list of people and consider how each
new contact might be able to help your own business. Weed out those who
you feel are not in alignment with your own business values.
4. Do a little research. Use your other
contacts in the business world and the Internet to do some research on the
new people you have met. This need not be done in a great hurry, but
casually strive to learn a little more about those you have met that you
feel might be helpful to your business. Add your research information to
the notes you have made so you will know as much as needed about a new
acquaintance, but do not make that information public. The purpose of this
research work is to qualify them as someone you may or may not choose to
be associated. |
5. Make a follow-up visit with those who you
feel would be beneficial to know better. Consider setting aside one day
each week to have lunch with a person you have met in order to get to know
them better. Businesspeople often have lunch together and this is an
opportunity to get some one-on-one time with the person. Keep the
conversation generic and listen as you did at the first meeting. If the
other person does not ask about your own business, try to find an
opportunity to casually speak about what you do and that you would like
him/her to know about your business and to keep you in mind if they learn
of any potential business opportunities.
Where to Network
Networking can be done almost anywhere. Sometimes it is a good idea
to start with people you know in the church, hobby organizations, former
employers, former coworkers, various friends, or when you are standing in
line at the store. Many people are reluctant to network with their
friends, because of fears they might become alienated. This is a concern
for people who are trying to sell to their friends, but not for those who
are seeking to network and build a network of people who may refer
business to you.
Chamber of commerce events are a good place to start, but it may be
a “salesperson rich” environment. This is not good if you are trying to
sell your services, but this is networking and not prospecting. You are
looking to spread the word about your business and not trying to find a
direct buying contact in a networking environment. I often make a point of
letting people know I am out to get to know the various chamber members
and keep in touch with the business community. Even a sales person you
meet could conceivably refer business to you, but it is not very likely
unless he or she is selling something that you might help in the support.
Grand openings and ribbon cuttings can be an excellent place to
meet new business owners, but be careful of the approach. Network with the
other attendees and listen to what the business owner has to say about
their business. This is an opportunity to learn about the new business and
listening may help in the future. I often wait until after everyone has
introduced himself or herself to the new business owner and have headed
off to seek other opportunities. I then introduce myself by telling the
person that I am probably the only person who came to the event and will
not try to sell them something. This kind of approach avoids triggering
defense mechanisms with the new business owner and helps show you to be a
friend and not a predator.
Community lunches and dinners are a good way to meet people who are
influential in the community. You are usually seated with someone you
don’t know and it becomes an opportunity to meet a new contact and to make
a new friend in the business community. Again, listening is the most
valuable exercise as it allows you to gather a lot of information about
the other person so you can determine if they are someone who you want to
bring into your referral network. If you like the person, then wait a
couple of weeks and try to get on his or her calendar for lunch. Be sure
to pay for that lunch, because it helps you to make a good impression.
Joining business-oriented organizations like Toastmasters, Rotary,
The Chamber of Commerce committees, etc, can be a good place to make
business contacts. There is a risk in joining these kinds of organizations
that should be considered before taking this approach. I recommend that
people not join these organizations unless there is a strong desire to
become involved in these kinds of organizations and to stay actively
involved. People often join these organizations in order to make a lot of
contacts, but then schedules can become very busy and activities must be
trimmed down, which creates problems
When a self-employed person becomes involved in quite a few
organizations, the natural tendency is to remain active as long as there
is time. Unfortunately, when work does start to roll in for the
professional, it is often necessary to pull back from the involvement in
these groups and the first to go is usually the one we have enjoyed the
least, or the one that has made the greatest demands on their time. It is
not uncommon to find someone in the organization who sees this as an
opportunity to take a few shots or criticize your lowered level of
involvement. Make the commitment only to those organizations that you will
want to stay with when your time becomes scarce.
You can try to obtain introductory
meetings with prominent people who can influence your business, but this
is most effective as a long-term strategy. For professional people trying
to make business contacts, these kinds of networking meetings are the most
effective when you have built a reputation and the person is interested in
meeting you. For smaller companies like retail operations who seek to meet
people who can refer business, such as a pharmacy trying to introduce
themselves to a few doctors, these kinds of cold-calling opportunities can
be effective.
Receptive business owners can be networked during slow times in
their businesses. I have often made some friends and connections by
chatting with a storeowner and not trying to sell them on buying my
consulting services. They are usually grateful to have an opportunity to
meet another person in the business community as long as they do not feel
as if they are suddenly the targets of a sales pitch.
|
Giving a sincere compliment is a good way
to start the conversation and then avoid anything that sounds like a sale.
In fact, I often get right to the point and tell them I have no intention
of selling my services to them, but that it is helpful to let people know
what I do so they might think of me if they, or someone they know, should
need my services.
Drop-in cold calls with a pamphlet can
work for you if done correctly. Some people will carry a small pamphlet
with them when they are shopping or heading to an appointment. Many people
arrive quite early at their appointments and will wander around to a few
businesses while they wait for the appointment time. This can allow a
casual meeting with a business owner and you can say you are just looking
around and killing time as you arrived early for an appointment, or are
waiting for some service to be completed. This should be done carefully,
but it is sometimes possible to slip your business into a conversation and
then give them a pamphlet in case they encounter someone who can use your
services.
When meeting people at social events, it is common to see someone
accept the other per-son’s card and then casually slip it into a pocket
during the conversation. It is also common to see people looking around
for their own card and having to sift through several cards as they look
for their own card to hand to the person they have met. This is not an
effective way to make a good impression with the other person.
Another issue that can get people into trouble is the simple idea
of a handshake. When meeting someone new, the handshake often makes an
impression for you and you can use the handshake to obtain an impression
about the other person. A proper handshake is one that is firm, but not
overly strong. It is not a test of strength or an attempt to wrestle the
other person as some people might have you believe.
During my business career I have had one finger broken and a wrist
injury aggravated by salespeople who practiced an aggressive handshake. I
can assure you that these events cost the other party a lot more than they
cost me. Consider whom you are shaking hands with and grip the other
person no more than you might use to lift a carton of milk. Make the
handshake smooth and steady, but do not make any surprising movements.
Catching the other person off-guard is what can cause injuries to the
person and the relationship.
Professional sales people often keep their own cards in a specific
pocket where they can get to one very quickly, or keep them in a special
business card holder. I recommend that people keep their cards readily
available so they can hand it to the other person without any fanfare or
delay. When giving out your card, it is sometimes a good idea to clearly
tell them who you are and what you do. I often say something to the effect
of, “Hello, my name is Keith Chiles and I help companies grow.” This
little catchphrase often causes the other person to ask about how I help
companies to grow. This is my introduction to tell them about me in a
minute or less. At the end of my time telling the person what I do, I
immediately ask about their business and encourage them to speak for a
while.
Receiving a business card has its own fine points that I try to
maintain. Graciously accept the other person’s card, but don’t make the
mistake of quickly putting it in a pocket or letting the other person see
that you have a lot of other cards. Hold the card while you speak with the
person and encourage him or her to speak about their work or business. The
critical time is when the conversation starts to wind down. If you have
determined the person is someone you would like to know better, you might
suggest getting together for lunch. I often read the name off the card as
I recommend a lunch meeting. This assures I get the name right after
meeting several people and hearing a lot of names. If it is a difficult
name to pronounce, I often ask the person to help me pronounce it
correctly. That makes a good impression as it shows that you desire to
know the proper pronunciation of the other person’s name. When we have
separated from each other, I will slip the card into my pocket and chat
with someone else.
Summary
The purpose of networking is to get to know a lot of people in the
business community so they will know someone to refer in the event that
they see a business opportunity. It is not to try and make a sale to the
people you meet. I can speak from my own years as an executive manager
that the business environment has become very competitive and sales people
must find new and innovative ways of getting to the potential buyers or
decision makers. I used to receive more than ten calls each day from
people trying to sell some-thing to my company. This kind of aggressive
selling may cause a lot of people to keep you at an arms length.
The objective of networking should be to make a lot of contacts and
friends in the business community while avoiding being labeled as a person
trying to sell to those we meet. It’s a difficult task, but one that can
be done successfully with a little skill. The fear that many people have
of meeting new people is one of rejection, but rejection is a sales denial
issue and not a networking issue. As a businessperson, you are not in a
position to be rejected when meeting new people, because you are not
asking anyone to buy from you.
I find it is far better to sell without selling. Make friends in
your business contacts and send business their way whenever the
opportunity arises. A lunch with someone who is in a position to
potentially refer business to you may very well be the least expensive
form of advertising for your goods or services.
|
