Networking is an important part of any career. Getting your name out there and talked about for all the right reasons and engaging with fellow professionals can make a real difference in many ways.
For a start it will make you look very popular on LinkedIn!
It can also help you gain some top tips and advice from more experienced heads, offer insights into just what it is that your competition is plotting over there in the corner, keep you in the loop in the latest industry developments. Having contacts in all the right places may even prove your trump card when it comes landing your dream job.
Networking is especially important in sales. Sales is a competitive arena and always evolving, so you need to be constantly in touch with what’s happening at a local and sometimes global level.
So the first question is how do you go about networking in the sales environment? Well, let’s assume you know no one. Unlikely in your line of work but, as Miranda’s pal Tilly says: “Bear with!”
You know no one so start talking to those closest to you and work your way out.
The first person of import you should engage with, then, is your boss. Don’t bring them their skinny latte every morning: that’s not networking, it’s toadying. Instead make a point of chatting to them about sales techniques, broaden the conversation into other shared interests, while always keeping your primary focus on the job.
If you engage with those who have experience or clout – and take what they say on board – not only will it enhance your own skills set, it will impress them when they see their words put into action.
Next up, networking events such as trade conferences and industry seminars, are a good way to get known. But remember, you can’t go to them all and some cost money, so be tactful and plan what forums are best for you and your style. And, yes, that personal style is important – while there is no definitive format or blueprint to make networking work, fundamentally you are selling yourself so make that smile and handshake worth buying into.
This means, too, that you should cater your networking plan to your social skills and identity.
Remember what you learned in the Boy Scouts or Girl Guides. No, not the thing about making a splint from two twigs and a rubber band. “Always be prepared!” Plan your strategy – who’s going to be there? And of these who best represents an avenue to realising your goals in your particular specialism? Assess how profitable any relationship can be. If it’s not worth it, you don’t need it, so do your research before spending a evening chatting to the janitor who wandered in from next door when he saw the free sausage rolls.
Remember, too, that networking can be a timely process. Relationships develop over time, and impatience can have a negative impact. If it’s right for you, be careful with how you go about it. You need to cater to the personal needs of people and businesses. Adopt an approach that best suits them. Share jokes, laugh and let your personality shine through, but keep the professional tone. You want them to want you for your skills not your one liners. Combine being socially adept with good sales knowledge and they will remember you.
Whenever good money, smart people and clever ideas are gathered together in one room, investments will be made. Make sure you’re the most valuable contact anyone has met in a long time.
Top Five Rewards of Networking
- The Name Of The Game
Networking provides you with an ever expanding resource of brand new connections. It can also open the door to the sales industry’s movers and shakers, who can further expand your links.
- Money, Money, Money
Networking can lead to lucrative partnerships, client leads and major business opportunities.
- Take a Chance On Me
The most tangible benefit of networking is gaining new sales for yourself through direct conversations or via subsequent referrals.
- Knowing Me, Knowing You
Connecting with similar businesses can mean sharing experiences and motivation. All of this free advice and expertise can be invaluable.
- The Winner Takes It All
If your personal brand is visible at major forums and conferences, inevitably this will help boost your chances of winning new sales.
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