People Buy People – The Art of Networking by a Marketing Man
by
Phil Hopkins
Marketing is a balancing act a bit like insurance really you probably want it all but can’t afford everything!
In the end you decide what you’re most likely to need, determine what will work best for you and make a calculated investment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t (that’s called ‘market testing’!) and sometimes you wish it had worked better.
So, what’s likely to get you the best results direct mail, graphic design, websites, public relations, newsletters, search engine marketing or one of the many other ‘tactical’ methods offered by a myriad of firms littered between Leeds, London, Lisbon and beyond!
Unfortunately there is no correct answer so, in this instance, I am going to make the case for ‘your own people’ or, put another way, ‘networking’, often known as ‘relationship marketing’ by so-called industry ‘gurus’ eager to give it a more hifalutin name
Dale Carnegie was the first to figure it out with his best selling book ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’, written as far back as 1936 and, if I were to try and sum up his book, it would be ‘be nice to people and don’t make enemies for the sake of three second victories!’. Why? Because people do business with people. Queer your pitch and you’ve lost before you’ve even begun.
It doesn’t matter how good you are at your job, people will not give you the time of day if you are not a nice person only, of course, if you are a specialist surgeon and the only person in the world capable of performing life saving surgery! In reality most of us have lots of competition in the world of business, and potential prospects will only look at our wares if they have first decided ‘oh, he was a nice chap’ or ‘she came over really well.’
So, assuming you have not had a personality bypass, how might you or your staff network to full effect?
Who do you know and how expansive is your network? Well, the ‘who’ may run out pretty quickly. Then it’s down to your ability to ‘work’ a strange environment, a room where you know no-one. You need the right person, preferably someone with a bit of personality.
Do you network at one of the local breakfast clubs or at the highest possible level? Would the thought of attending a government dinner and holding conversation with the president of a foreign country phase you? Only you know the answer. But, in either case, the rule book changes little.
For now let’s stick with the basics, the ‘technique’ rather than the venue or function. Whether it’s a Chamber of Commerce breakfast or a Business Network International meeting the protocols are the same.
Have you ever stopped for a moment and asked yourself why you attend events? To do business of course! Obvious as it may seem some people are professional networkers but rarely do any business, whilst others see it as their sole mission to talk to as many people as possible without ever achieving much or to eat as much food as possible. Be wary of 40 stone networkers, professional buffet eaters and talkers who NEVER listen they are so busy selling!
Firstly, decide WHICH event you want to attend and, once there, get hold of a delegate list so that you know who is in the room. Divide it down, in your head, into ‘sectors’. Don’t go talking to lawyers if your sector target is the owner managers of children’s nurseries.
Note what table they are seated at, if there is a seating plan and choose your moment to introduce yourself.
So many people interrupt a conversation between two individuals. Thanks, you’ve just wrecked your target’s chance of closing a deal / setting up a meeting! Do you think he’s going to thank you for that? Wait for a pause or, even better, look for a group of three people. There’s always one ‘spare’ person which means it’s easier to enter a group of three than a ‘four’ or even a two. Best of all find the person who’s standing alone.
The biggest off putter is someone who introduces themselves and proceeds to go into a major sales pitch. As a minimum try and find a common thread with your target prospect. Find a way to discuss their hobbies, what their interests are or whether or not they have family. It’s like a fisherman casting a net. Wait, patiently, for that all important bite; it’s the chink in their armour! Once you have a common talking point it’s the first step in peeling back the onion, getting deeper and deeper into your prospect, finding out more about them.
If they perceive that you are showing an interest in them, as opposed to the budget they authorise, then, guess what? They’ll want to talk to you more freely. They might even start to like you and, when you ring back a couple of days later, they just might agree to see you.
You have two ears and one mouth. Use them in equal measure. I get sick and tired of walking into a room of 100 people only to find that 99 of them are selling with no regard for buying; many of them aren’t even decision makers. If you run any size of business one man band upwards then you have to buy things, so wear your purchasing hat as much as your sales hat. Now people are listening to you and, again, once you have their attention you can delicately tell them what you do. If you fill a room with salesman who is going to buy?
If you get a ‘bite’ then you have the possibility of landing a fish. Suggest that you’ll get in touch with your prospect to fix up a coffee. How less threatening does that sound than a ‘meeting’. But please, follow up. It’s the cardinal sin not to. Serial networkers often eat buffets, down breakfasts and polish off lunches. They collect business cards and paper the spare bedroom with them but, so often, they do not put in that all important follow up call and, if they do, it’s often far too late. Networking is powerful but you must observe the basics or you will finish up blaming the event ‘we didn’t do any business’ for your failings! Networking is about timing, conversation, listening and observing but, most of all, it’s about engaging in all of them in equal measure in order to produce a result. Good luck!
Phil’s Top 10 Tips
1)Decide which event you want to attend
2)Try and find out who will be there and who you want to target
3)When you arrive get a guest / delegate list
4)Take a few moments to assess it and not where you ‘target’ will be sitting
5)Choose the right moment to introduce yourself
6)Master the art of ‘small talk’ and talk and listen in equal measure!
7)Find a common thread with your prospect
8)Get their business card and check the relative details on their card mobile and ‘personal’ e-mail. Some people just put a switchboard number on their card.
9)Follow up within a couple of days of your initial meeting and fix up a coffee
10)Start the dialog but don’t ‘sell’ until you are further down the line and confident of closure.
Phil Hopkins is the managing director of The H2 Company, a graphic / web design and marketing agency based in Leeds. He has travelled the world advising on all aspects of strategic marketing, PR, design and networking. Phil, who was a journalist for 20 years before becoming a member of the Chartered Institutes of Marketing and Public Relations, has worked internationally in Kazakhstan, Russia and across the UK advising commercial and arts organisations.For more, please visit http://www.theh2.
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