Cold Calling, Networking or Relationships?
I got two different yet similar emails this morning. The first dealt with a “Speed Networking” site promoting its’ services. The second email was promoting a “Networking Seminar” that uses a formulaic approach to networking similar to the typical funnel approach to sales.
What struck me about these emails was the focus on numbers. Has networking become the replacement for the old sales mantra of having to make cold calls? When I started selling over 30 years ago, it was drilled into me that sales is a numbers game. If you make 100 calls, 10 will give you an appointment. The 10 appointments leads to 5 proposals which results in 2-3 deals. Figure out your sales goal and the average value of a sale, and then work the numbers backwards to figure out how many sales calls you need to make.
Fast forward to today - mass marketing has flooded the world with messages. The flood of messages means that our cold calls and direct mail letters are heard even less than they were in the past. In this overcrowded environment, what used to be 100 calls could now be 200 calls or more to get the same results.
The new prescription is networking. The idea is that if we connect with people we can elevate ourselves above the mass messages. By networking, we hopefully move the percentages lower, and separate ourselves from the anonymity of mass marketing.
Think about networking. You attend an event with the hope of connecting with someone new. That new connection hopefully leads to either introductions or opportunities. To increase the success rate systemize your networking by being sure you connect with 50 people per month, or around 12 per week, or at least 2-3 per day. My issue with this new numbers game is that it feels like the old numbers game, only under a different name.
Traditional networking misses the most important element in the equation – the person to whom we are connecting. Individuals are not numbers in a sales equation. People know the difference between a genuine connection with someone, and someone who is trying to connect for their own benefit.
Think about the successful people you know. They don’t network. They don’t sell. They have relationships – genuine connections with people.
Can you be successful with the networking numbers approach? Yes. Will this approach differentiate you? Probably not. The differentiation is tied to the relationship.
Try the relationships numbers approach. Instead of networking with 50 people per month, build 50 relationships in a year. Focus on 50 people who can help you succeed. Get to know the person – their interests, dreams, challenges and vulnerabilities. As you get to know those things about someone you build trust. From trust comes opportunity.