Networking
Take the time to build your personal network. Many of us do so without thinking about it greatly, but there is a major benefit in applying as much thought to your network as to a complex finance or building application. Here are some tips:
Leave business cards.
You would be surprised how many people still do not carry an adequate supply of cards with them every day. You will never know when you might need them.
It's important to recognise that there is new business to be found amongst your friends and acquaintances. But you can't expect your social contacts to be your only source of business growth. Your network has to reach out into every area of your daily life.
Although you may not think so, as an example, your hairdresser, your accountant, your mechanic and your grocer can all help you make sales. Of course you can't expect them to sell for you, but if you have built friendly relationships with them they'll be pleased to help people find you.
So help them to help you. Give them a stack of your business cards. Then, if anyone asks them where they can find someone involved in whatever it is you do, they just have to offer them one of your cards.
Secondly, leave company gifts with good clients and prospects
This should go without saying. If you have any give-aways, such as pens, notepads, golf balls or umbrellas, use them. There are all sorts of things people will be pleased to receive as gifts, even though you may not think so. We should not pre-judge what is important to them. Desk items are especially useful, particularly when the competition comes to call.
Use letterhead on all your correspondence.
Be sure to do this all the time. Is there ever an occasion to write a personal, informal note to a customer? Sometimes we do, particularly if it’s a special occasion that you are congratulating them on, or something where you just want to add that personal touch. Why not get some good notepaper (not the usual office supply) with your company logo and your name and telephone number on it, when you wish to "personalise" your contacts.
And what about those personal moments? How many of us find out about our customers birthdays, their families birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions that are important to them? Those small details make all the difference, and can often be the difference between retaining an account and losing it to the competition. Always remember that whilst you may be dealing with a large corporate or institution, first and foremost you are dealing with people. It’s the little things that count!
Put yourself in their shoes for a moment… whom would you prefer to deal with… the person who takes time to find out about you and what is important to you, or the person who just comes in to do the deal? Can I suggest that if you wish to learn more about building relationships you read that old favourite "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie; written in 1935 and still going strong!
The critical point here is that you need to keep your name and product in the minds of those who might be in a position to refer business to you, and using letterhead, even for informal notes, is a simple way of doing that.
Remember this! Referrals are the most important source of sales, no matter what you sell. If you show a genuine interest in the people you meet through your personal and business contacts, then they will want to help you make sales. So make it easier for them by leaving cards, giving gifts and using letterhead.
Continued in Part Four
Part Three - Prospecting for More Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Lawrence Atkinson's Website.
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Lawrence Atkinson
(Visit Lawrence's Website)
Lawrence specialises in sales training and
sales coaching, with over 20 years
experience as both a trainer and a coach.
He has lived and worked in the UK, Europe,
the Middle East and more recently the
Pacific Islands. He is a Fellow and
former Director of the Australian
Institute of Training and Development and
holds Fellowships with the Australian
Institute of Company Directors, the
Australian Institute of Management, and
the Financial Services Institute of
Australasia. He is also a Justice of the
Peace.
His many experiences in a variety of sales
situations present an interesting
background for his training and coaching
interventions and provide Lawrence with an
ability to relate to and train people at
all levels, across a variety of cultural
and industry settings. This includes, for
example, training and coaching business
owners and managers, senior relationship
managers, business banking managers,
financial advisers, retail sales people,
electrical sales engineers, accountants in
PNG, new Australian exporters, importers
and exporters in Fiji, and a video
production company in Bahrain!
A Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, he
loves to work with people to see them
succeed.
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