Confession: I didn’t start networking because I’d heard it was the newest fad in self-promotion, or because I was looking to increase my business. Nope. I started networking because I’d just had a baby, and those once-a-week networking lunches gave me an excuse to get out of the house, and get some much-needed adult conversation.

So…once a week, I’d get dressed up nice in my post-maternity outfit (which, by the way, looked an awful lot like my actual maternity outfits!), and go spend 90 minutes eating good food and talking about grown-up stuff…with a little business talk thrown in for good measure.

See, because my main priority was something other than business, I didn’t have to wear my salesperson hat. Instead, I focused on learning about the members of the group, and building relationships with them. And wouldn’t ya know it? Over time, as the people in the group got to know me, I began getting business. It was then that I realized the remarkable power behind building a professional network, and that to make networking WORK, I had to build relationships!

Since that first networking experience way back when, I’ve gone from a reluctant networker to an avid networker, and now I even run my own monthly networking group. For me, networking is not – and has never been – about selling…otherwise it would be called “net-selling” or “sell-working” (both of which evoke images of over-aggressive used-car salesmen types.) Maybe a more apt term would be “relationship working,” or better yet, “relationship building,” because ultimately that’s what successful networkers are doing: building a network of professionals with whom they have a relationship or connection with.

So the next time someone mentions networking, or invites you to an event, leave your salesperson hat at home. Go meet some people, be yourself and have fun! Eventually, what you do for a living will come up…but by that time, they’ll already love you, and will be more than happy to start sending business your way!

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics

Over the past few posts, I’ve written about getting to know your prospect and their marketing environment. The more knowledge you have about them and their industry, competition and customers, the better your position will be to truly demonstrate your value and communicate why your solution is the bee’s knees.

This will be a three part series about how to go about gathering this insightful info. We’ll start with the prospect. Next comes industry research. Finally, we’ll wrap up with the end customer and put all the pieces together.

One Mouth. Two Ears.
In a brilliant flash of intuition, it’s becomes apparent that this quest for knowledge begins with the prospect. Without one of those, there’s no need for the rest. Well … okay … that’s not entirely true. You could start backwards and focus on learning about an industry and its customers. Then you can share some of your investigative results with prospects in that industry. For instance, you might write a white paper about why customers buy more widget in blue packaging than red. Then, get the report out to prospect by mail, email, etc. Even better, have them contact you to get the report.

Alas, I digress. When having an information gathering session with a prospect, it’s important to listen more that you talk. Which, of course, is why humans typically have one mouth and two ears. It’s easy to lose sight of this and start yapping a mile a minute, barely letting your prospect get a word in edgewise.

Play 20 Questions
Before your meeting, whether by phone or face-to-face, prepare your agenda. A questionnaire is a handy tool and will keep you on track so you don’t forget to ask critical questions. Referring to a paper questionnaire also makes you look a wee bit more professional and subtly shows that you have a standard process in place. As luck would have it, BoDo’s sister site, Creative Latitude, has a few handy dandy questionnaires ready-made for you. Or, use them as a jumping off point to develop your own questionnaire.

There are primarily two types of questions – open-ended and closed-ended. Open-ended questions require that the person do some thinking and answer with their own words. Often several of them. Closed-ended questions are succinct. Answers are predetermined responses such as “yes,” or “no.”

For the purpose of your Sherlock Holmes efforts, you’ll want to focus open-ended questions. They require some thought which [hopefully] yields more insight and depth. But, you’ll also want to add a touch of the closed variety here and there.

For example, you might ask, “Do you interact with your customers directly?” That’s pretty much a closed-ended, “yes,” or “no.” Not much info there. So, follow up with an open-ended question like, “How do you do that?” Now we’re getting somewhere.

Just the fact, M’am
Now that we have our questioning style down, what do we ask? To really get to know a company, you’ll, obviously, want to learn about its products and/or services. You’ll also need to find out who their key customers are; if they have any relevant market research in place; who their ideal customer is and what’s important to them; what trade publications are important … and if you can borrow some copies. You’ll also want to dig into the company’s management and culture. Are they stuffy and conservative? Hip and jazzy? Wild and crazy or, perhaps, somewhere in between. This will help you target your presentation style and also the form your solutions take on down the road.

Beyond these, you want to learn about their where they’ve been, where they want to go and why. What have been their biggest challenges? How are they perceived in the marketplace and is that how they want to be perceived?

These ideas should help get you going and are hopefully a springboard for other types of information you can gather. The more you learn, the better off you’ll be, the better your solutions will be and the more valuable you’ll become to your prospect.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Building a business relationship is like building a personal one, so don’t sweat it. Unless you’re a total hermit, you already have the experience you need. Just like with a significant other, you need to show up. What I mean is to be available. Listen. Learn and remember what’s important to them and help out where you can. Listen more. Timing is the trick. You don’t want to come off like a stalker or pain in the hind quarter. Plan your points of contact on a reasonable schedule. Oh, and did I mention listening?

Here are some tactics to help build you budding relationships:

Take notes during your conversations.
Find out their spouse’s and kids’ names. Who’s their boss? What are the challenges they face in their job and industry? Who are their key competitors? What kind of hobbies do the enjoy? Look around their office if you’ve gotten that far. What’s on the walls? Any nick knacks and perhaps a paddy whack?

Pop all this info into your handy contact manager (you’ve have one, right?) and set it up to alert you on important dates such as birthdays, anniversaries. Even better, have it alert you when it’s one of your prospect’s kid’s birthdays.

Be sure to ask how their family members are doing.

Send out cards for birthdays, special achievements, etc.

Send a handwritten card or thank-you note when appropriate

Take them to lunch, dinner or a special event.

Forward articles of interest, special deals you may hear about, special events (Like that club meeting where you’ll be speaking. What a coincidence!).

If they’ve mentioned a problem or challenge they’re having, and you know the answer, for goodness sake, tell them.

Always follow through on what you say you’ll do.
This is your springboard to credibility and earning your prospect’s respect. This also includes having integrity and being honest.

The point is to become a invaluable resource and someone who is looking out for them. It’s very important that this be true. That’s one reason why it’s good to find prospects you like as people, not simply a potential revenue source. Hopefully, you’ll be spending a lot of time with them working on that big project. But first, you’ve got to close the sale. We’ll tackle that in my next post.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt