9 Keys to Turning Networking Contacts into Business

Date: October 22, 2007
Word count: 1659
Reading time: 5-6 minutes
Benefits of Taking Action: You already know a lot of people: now it's time to make that count!  

Not long ago I remember sitting down with a sales manager who said, "Matt, referrals are really important, I know, but my reps need prospects."

I pointed out that his reps' happy clients would provide referrals which are higher quality prospects. I also told him two other things: that if his reps were like the average person, they already knew 200-250 people (most sales people know a lot more than that) and that his reps probably just needed some training on how to turn those relationships into business. Secondly, if they truly didn't know many people, I could train his reps how to network more effectively since few sales people get out enough and learn those skills.

What do you do with those people you already know or you've met at networking events and are not sure how to follow up with?

1. Follow up with a 'nice meeting you' within 24-48 hours.
I used to send cards and thank you cards are great and wildly under-utilized. After meeting someone fairly informally, I think an email is fine. The immediacy of your follow up can make others feel important. Hardly anyone does it, so it will set you apart. Ideally you already planted the seeds for wanting to follow up when you met them with a "we should have coffee some time."

2. Get the ball rolling. Call some of the top 20% and meet them for coffee, lunch or beer.
People will make time to meet you when they believe you add value to them. Many people will meet you once provided you make it clear you want to learn about THEM. It can't be about you! As Brian Tracy says;

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?""

Do not call people and tell them you want to sit down so that you can tell them what you do. They don't care. If you show enough sincere interest in them, they will ask. It's human nature (unless the person has the social skills of a rattlesnake).

I promise people that meeting me will be a good use of their time. I learned from Kevin, a financial advisor friend of mine, always to show up to meetings with ideas and information that is of value to the other person. It's a great way to start a meeting: you've already made it worth their while and instantly set yourself apart.

Clichéd though it sounds, be yourself, do your best to find common ground/interests and make it worth their while by focusing on them and what they want. Gentle reminder: sales is a relationship business; people like to do business with those they know, like and trust.

It's a balancing act: yes, you want to aim to be friends first if possible BUT you must add business value. People are too busy today and will go into what Brian Tracy humorously calls a "three-year meeting" - every time you call them, they are in a meeting.

3. Find ways to add value and build the relationship.
Dale Carnegie wrote; "Bait the hook to suit the fish."
What would they appreciate?
The key question is always: how can I best add value to this person? When it comes to business people, Thomas J Stanley points out time and again in Networking with Millionaires that the answer is "revenue enhancement".

a) Drip them with something THEY value - not something you're selling. Read what they read (especially your target market or if you prospect the same type of people). Kevin, the financial advisor, is an information broker: he brings along e-zine and magazine articles that add value to the person he's meeting. So is Nina, an executive coach I know, who always has books and training programs to recommend. Liz, a health insurance specialist, is on the board of her local trade association and is responsible for bringing in guest speakers. On several occasions she has sent me information about organizations that need professional speakers.

b) When you do meet up with others, find out what kind of business they are looking for. This is a great question to ask people at networking events. It's the question everybody wants to be asked but isn't! Don't be afraid if you can't help that person; they will appreciate that you asked.

c) Introduce them to possible business connections.

d) Refer them business, preferably including yours. You will advocate for them so much better.

e) Nicole is a financial advisor who is so well networked in her community that she adds significant value to other business professionals because she knows where they should be networking to grow their business. She even knows where job seekers from different industries should be networking. Some of her best business has come from regularly inviting prospects to events that they never showed up to but appreciated her thinking of them!
Who could you invite to other groups/service clubs/trade associations that you belong to or just know about? Think about it: you might well be putting that person in a room full of prospects. That's VALUE!

f) Start your own synergistic professionals/ mastermind/book group and include them.

g) Get them some local media coverage.

h) Add value on something that is a personal interest of theirs, or relating to their family (think kids!) or a non-profit cause. What is it that lights up that person's eyes? John, a financial planner, landed a great client who was his assistant coach for the high school freshman girls' basketball team. Mary, my Realtor, buys extra theater tickets and calls to offer them to past clients. Ben and Chris, two mortgage brokers, started volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity project to network with and support the cause of a local contractor's association. Jamie, a sales manager in the hospitality industry, strongly encourages the hotels he works with to have charitable events. One hosts a blood drive, another in Rochester, MN, holds a Haunted House event that raises money for special needs children.
How creative can you get?

i) Send an unexpected gift. Both Gallup and Harvard research has found that people love getting them. 6 months ago at a conference in Tennessee I met a trainer from a financial services company. I did not follow up by sending him a stack of referral articles I'd had published. Instead I sent him a great historical fiction novel that I'd read because he told me how much he enjoyed them. We did set up a conference call. Then about three months later he emailed to say that he had read the book and it was "wonderful". I finally got to meet him on Monday in St. Paul, MN. It turns out that he had recommended it to his father who had enjoyed it so much that he went out and bought a copy for the best man at his wedding. I am sure it helped get the ball rolling to the work we will start together in March.

It has to be seen as a sincere gesture. I sent another trainer that I met in TN a book and never heard from her.
Who do you know who would be thrilled to get a surprise?

4. Keep in regular contact (with value, not selling something)
Depending on the situation and the likelihood of when this person might do business with you, this could be twice/month or four times/year. You have to keep your name out there without being annoying.

5. Ask others to put in a good word - find internal champions.
Sometimes the process of getting the business means nurturing a relationship with someone who is closer to the decision maker than you are. When you've added value a few times, it's easier to ask. Just like a referral, you are benefitting from a 3rd-party endorsement of someone with more credibility than you!

6. Call and ask to sit down with them from time to time (after a few deposits).
You've been adding value and that makes the asking easier. First you call to follow up to inquire about a 'value piece', and then you pivot to "by the way" or "it just occurred to me that" and ask for what you want.

One of the important pieces to this is phrasing it or leaving a voice message that focuses on the benefits to your prospect: "I was wondering if we could have coffee some time" is not exactly compelling!

7. Ask effectively for their business.
There is one critical factor:
Believe you deserve their business.

Act as if what you offer comes after food, clothing, and shelter on the list of basic human needs. You will then ask effectively! Really, the more you believe in your product or service, the easier it is to ask confidently. Jack Canfield argues that:
"People who ask confidently get more than those who are hesitant and uncertain. When you've figured out what you want to ask for, do it with certainty, boldness and confidence."

Remember the difference between pushy and assertive. It is healthy to be assertive and ask for what you want. And you're going to do it badly first. "While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior." (Henry C. Link )

Besides, you've been adding value and that makes the asking easier.

8. Make all of these habits
Action Plan! Schedule them if they are not. Schedule time to identify your top 20% and monitor it weekly, schedule time to call people, to add value to them, to keep in touch, to build internal champions, to have the meetings, and to ask, ask, ask! If it were easy, everyone would do it!

9. Never give up.
Brian Tracy describes success as the buffet line of life. You've got to get in line and stay in line and you're going to progress in the direction you want - provided it is still the business (or what) you want.

Be a resource. Who else do you think might get value from reading this? Please forward this on.