In the coming months, many sales calls will shift from virtual to in-person, commuting and the stresses that come with it will be part of our days, public events will begin to occur, and we will begin to network with other human beings, in person, again! Although most salespeople are looking forward to these changes, we might be a bit rusty. So, over the next five days, I thought it would be a good idea to share five ideas that can make you an amazing networker.
Idea #1: Join the right organizations.
There are multiple reasons to join a professional, community, or trade organization: to learn, to give back, and to network. Unfortunately, most sales professionals only join the trade organizations where their competition and other industry professionals are members. These groups are very good for learning and giving back to your industry, but networking is usually limited because the decision-makers aren’t interested in these types of associations.
To get the most success from your networking, join the organizations that your prospects and customers join. For example, Rotary or Toastmasters are two groups where business leaders are members. If you work for a security integrator and join one of these groups, it’s likely that you’ll be the only security professional. After building personal relationships with these business managers and owners, they’ll reach out to you when they have a need. Meanwhile, your competition will be battling with a dozen other security integrator salespeople at a local industry event loaded with lower-level security professionals.
The first thing salespeople must do to master networking is to join the right organizations … then you’ll be able to fully utilize the next four ideas. Tune in next tomorrow for Idea #2!
