As you’re building your 2018 Sales Plan, I’m sure the topic of “new business” has crossed your mind a few times. I thought it would be a perfect time to discuss a practice that is key to developing new business - networking. Unfortunately, the art of networking is usually lost in our everyday work, and completely left out of our planning. In today’s world of buying and selling – especially complex systems and services – networking is more prevalent than it’s ever been. As we’ve mentioned a gazillion times, the perceived expert wins new business today. There’s no better way to be perceived as an expert than to have other people talk about how great you are. And there’s no better way to influence people to talk about you than networking.
So, before you start planning, I want to pose four questions to you about your networking activity. Your answers to these questions, and more significantly, your thoughts that lead to your answers, will guide you to a productive networking plan for 2018.
