You had a great conversation with your prospect. Maybe even a few conversations. Emails flew back and forth. You had done your research, figured out their challenges, and developed solid solutions. You had shown the ROI that would come when they bought from you. It was going great. Or so you thought. Because one day they just weren't there anymore. Emails didn't get returned, phone calls always went to voicemail, and your letters were sent back marked "return to sender." (OK, maybe not that last one.) But you had to accept the fact: You had been ghosted. The Pain of Getting Ghosted The term ghosting comes from the … [Read more...]
4 Simple Questions Most People Forget Before Networking
There's a cart. And there's a horse. One of the most important things you can do in any professional endeavor is to put those two in the proper order. That's certainly true when you build a network of professional relationships. Too often, professionals start "networking" without asking a few important questions. Before you dive into building and maintaining your network, you want to put a plan in place. Think of this as a marketing plan for “You, Inc.” A good networking plan acts as a map, so you know the best direction to focus your efforts. Instead of making it up as you go along (and getting haphazard results), you’ll outline a … [Read more...]
How to Combine Technology and Process for More Effective Sales Networking
updated May 2021 In Networking in the 21st Century, I spend a lot of time looking at the importance of follow up. The key to powerful networking is relationship-building. And relationships aren’t transactional, so your networking has to be more than just one-time encounters. To ensure that this happens, it’s important to create processes and systems that allow you to touch base with your networking contacts on a regular basis. This is where technology can really help. Social media and digital tools can give you an easy way to maintain you connections over time. Technology Tips to Become a Relational Networker 1. Capture contact … [Read more...]
Why I Think it’s Dumb to Not Use Business Cards
I was at a conference sponsored by a large high-tech firm, and because they were a high-tech firm, they were going to be fancy and high-tech and put QR codes on everyone's namebadge with their contact info. In theory, you would scan the QR code with your smartphone and download their info directly and this would make networking more efficient. In practice it was a pain in the ass. I got tired of aiming my phone at someone's badge and trying to keep everyone physically still enough for it to work. And it was a huge interruption in the flow of the conversations I was having. And then there was the afternoon my phone battery … [Read more...]