sales tips & articles

Networking has been good to me over the years. Apart from referrals, it has been the single most successful way of generating new business and building my professional network. It must be the salesperson in me, but there is nothing more rewarding than meeting and connecting with new people who end up as friends, associates or clients.

I just love the randomness of networking and the fact that you never know what fantastic people you will meet.

However, networking can be a very time consuming and very costly exercise if your not maximizing the opportunity you have in front of you. I often tell the staff of clients that networking is not about putting a beer or wine in your hand and talking to people. It’s about talking with a purpose and seeing what common interests or common ground you have.

As my good friend Maurice Gilet from BNI says ‘it’s called net-working for a reason – it’s not ’not-working’!

Here are some tips and information that you might find useful - so get out there networking !

Tip 1
When choosing an event think about what type of companies are likely to attend (large or small) and the position of the person that will attend. It is well known that Senior Managers of most medium to large companies won't engage in business networking (because they think they don’t have to) unless it is for a specific industry event or because the guest speaker and topic are of interest to them. Typically, they send their junior staff or sales staff but, don’t be put off by this because you can still get a lot of the information you need you just need to get them talking and ask some questions. For example:

1. What do you do?
2. How’s business?
3. Is it a large company? How many people do you employ?
4. Do you have more than one office?
5. What kind of clients do you deal with?
6. How do you find new clients (i.e. marketing, advertising or direct sales)
7. If I was to contact your company, who would be the best person to speak to regarding……

Tip 2
If you want to get the most out of any networking group, you will need to attend more than once so that people get used to seeing you and talking to you. When you have been about three times you should notice that people will start to recall your name and business name. Using the service of a new contact or sharing business referrals is based on trust and credibility and trust takes time to establish and build.

Tip 3
Have a goal for each event, i.e. two new contacts, one meeting, or two potential candidates. This way you can judge whether the event was worthwhile and whether it’s worth doing again.

Tip 4
If the thought of networking and walking into a room full of strangers is intimidating for you, ask a friend or colleague to join you. This way the event will be more enjoyable and you will always have a ‘safe haven’ for those times when you are on your own or looking for people to talk to. Just make sure that you don't just talk to each other!

Tip 5
Arrive early so you can look at the name tags on the registration desk and see what type of people will be attending. There may be someone attending from a prospective client; by standing near the desk you can save time searching for them by watching who picks up the nametag.

Tip 6
Stand near the registration desk when people are arriving; people may think you are part of the event and will feel more comfortable talking to you.

Tip 7
Most importantly, always remember to follow up the contacts you have met within 24 hours. A simple email to those who just briefly chatted with or a phone call suggesting a meeting to those who expressed an interest. If you don’t follow up the people that you have met, you are wasting the time and effort you put into going in the first place.

Don't forget that I also run a Networking Skills Workshop (in your office or mine) so if you or your team would like some personal attention, click here or call me on 0294376500


This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

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If you are targetting a particular industry or business type, getting involved with the relevant Industry Association is a great way to make new contacts and gain credibility and exposure.

I have used these for years and it has been a great way for me to target an industry sector, get new appointments and generate sales. Quite a lot of the Association websites will list their members by location or profession. Additionally, I find this a better way of accessing corporate decision makers who will not normally attend general business networking events.

Many Industry Associations have seminars and events that are very well attended (particularly if there is a guest speaker or topic they want to learn about) and that will allow you to attend as a Visitor prior to paying any membership fees.

This is not just limited to Industry Associations, there are a number of International Business Councils (India-Australia, China-Australia) that hold events and provide access to key decision makers
 
This is a great website that lists just about every Association, Chamber of Commerce and Business Council in the country.

Government and Business Directory


This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
* How to generate sales easier and quicker!

Enter your details at the top of the page or click here

I’m sure most of you would agree that selling to someone who has been referred to you is much easier and more enjoyable than those generated through traditional sales efforts such as direct mail and cold calling. The success rate is higher because they are in the market for your services and are also much less price sensitive because the referring party has told them the value and benefits that you can deliver.

Anyone who works in the Financial Services such as Accountants, Financial Planners and Trades and Services realizes the potential of well managed relationships. Many have built very successful businesses simply by managing a handful of alliances and have little need or desire to do any other form of marketing. Yet there are also a lot of people out there who try the same thing but it just never seems to work.

So why do they work for some people but not for others?

Successful alliances grow from good relationships with people who have a similar mindset, similar values and similar ethics. They are based on mutual trust which is built up and managed over time; having one meeting and following up with a phone call a month later just won’t work. Would you refer your clients to someone you hardly know?

It is also about your expectations of the alliance and how you position the relationship. It should never be about how many referrals you can get but rather how you can add value each others business and clients.

Here are some tips to help you maximize your alliance relationships:

1. Don’t attempt to set up an alliance with someone just because they are in a complimentary business. Do they have similar values, ethics and mindset as you?
2. Discuss your client base, do you have the type of clients they are looking for and vice versa?
3. Discuss the expectations of the alliance, how you would like to see the relationship work and why you think there is potential for both parties.
4. Give you alliances time to mature and develop and be willing to put the effort in, it can take 6-12 months before you really understand each others business.
5. Develop a system on how you will maintain contact and communicate. In the first 6 months aim to meet face to face at least every 2 months and have phone or email contact in between.
6. Don’t expect any referrals in the short-term, expect only to be informed and educated on their business, their clients, what is a good referral, how to find them and what to say when you do.
7. Develop ‘cheat sheets’ for their staff that outlines what to ‘look out’ for or ‘listen to’. Take it one step further and write a script on what they can say to introduce you. For example, “Mary why don’t I get John from XYZ to call you, he has helped a lot of our clients who have had similar problems...” It might seem obvious but it’s about making the process as easy as possible. There are many people who feel that introducing a third party is being pushy or rude.
8. Ensure everyone has a pile of your business cards to hand out. It helps the client to remember who you are when you call.
9. If you have been given a referral, communicate the progress to your alliance so they are aware of whether it was a good referral. Explain why it was such a good referral or why it wasn’t. Remember it’s about ongoing education until you get it right.
10. Once the relationship is established meet regularly to inform them of changes to your business such as new products or services and for you to learn of changes to their business, particularly staff changes.

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
* How to generate sales easier and quicker!

Enter your details at the top of the page or click here