Skip to main content

Set A Networking Goal

How is your networking going so far in 2020? Have you been to a few events, mingled, swapped cards or gotten referrals? Have you gotten the contact information on any new prospects? If not, why not? And if so, did you do it intentionally?

Sometimes we confuse networking events with socializing and seeing old friends. There's nothing wrong with catching up with people, but we need to remember that networking is part of the job of sales, and has to be treated as such. Simple things like dressing professionally or being on time indicate you take it seriously.

As I mention in my book, I like to set a goal before walking into a networking event. Preferably, I want to get 5-10 business cards from people I've spoken to while there. That means I've had a conversation with someone that includes job descriptions ("Tell me about your work.") or business conditions ("Our taxes are too high."). In other words, I didn't just walk to the table with brochures and grab 10 cards.

The short conversation usually includes me casually mentioning that I'd like to give them a call in the next week to meet over a cup of coffee, my treat of course! A large majority of the time people will say something like, "That sounds great!"  I make sure to get a card from them. When I call they already know me and have agreed to meet, so I'm not calling cold.  It adds an extra step but really helps.

Once you've gotten your own patter down, use it at often as you can. My conversation usually goes like this. "Can I get your card? I'd like to call you next week to talk more when it's more appropriate. Would that be okay?"

The "when it's more appropriate" part doesn't imply that you're doing something inappropriate, but that you think you can have a better conversation when there aren't a bunch of people milling about and listening in.

Practice this language and make it your own. After a while you'll be comfortable enough to meet strangers and talk to them anywhere. For me, I take networking events seriously, but I still find them quite enjoyable, which makes networking feel like I'm not working.


Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing the "You're Going To Be Great At This!" Podcast

I was pretty surprised when I saw that my last blog post was several months ago. Time really does fly when you're having fun, or in my case, just having a busy workload. In the last few months I've been on the road for an approximate total of 9 weeks. Needless to say I get less than motivated to work in a hotel room after selling insurance for 8 hours, so blogging isn't on my "to do" list. While driving in my car during these trips I try to make my time productive my listening to podcasts on business and marketing. I'm not sure if someone was trying to tell me something but over the course of a week or so, I heard 4 episodes on how starting a podcast can help boost your business. After mulling this over and considering my options, I decided to take the plunge and start one myself. I've had a YouTube channel for a while which is fine, but I wanted to do something a little different. So I decided to start the "You're Going To Be Great At This!"...

Another Fun Podcast Experience

Over the last few years I have realized that I really enjoy being a guest on podcasts. I've been featured as a guest on about a dozen and they have always been fun. The hosts are as diverse as their podcasts. One host was apparently in the Middle East while others were comedians or local entrepreneurs.  Recently I was asked to share my experiences on the Sales Hindsight with Patrick Kagan of the PK Solutions Group. I met Patrick through a group on LinkedIn and he has been a great supporter of my work, even contributing a blurb for my newest book, "Nearly Motivated".  He's an internationally renowned author and speaker as well.  We had a great talk and I wanted to share it with you. We discuss branding yourself and using humor, among other topics. Patrick is a skilled host and makes the podcast informative AND interesting.  Take a listen here and let me know what you think. Ch ris Castane s is a humorous speaker and former comedian who helps sales people succeed thro...

A Conversation On Marketing To Real Estate Agents (And other stuff)

I recently had a great conversation with Bill Whitaker, realtor and owner of RawtapeRPM.com. Bill talks about his time in the real estate business, and his journey that led to running a business as a consultant and coach for real estate agents all over the country.  Below is the footage of the conversation. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Ch ris Castane s is a humorous speaker and former comedian who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His newest book, "Nearly Motivated", is yet another humorous look at sales. For booking information,  click here.  As president of  Surf Financial Brokers  ,  he sells life and disability insurance in several states.