Althea Garner
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"I've since tried a lot of face-to-face marketing (trade shows, speaking, networking events), with little success. I found the educational gap to be the primary problem - unless someone has a proximate need, few are all that interested in spending more than 2 or 3 minutes understanding what I do."
Eric, if this is your impression of face-to-face networking, then I apologize for this industry.
At B2B Networking, all members are taught (and yes, we do run Boot Camps for Business Networkers), not to go in with blazing guns - selling every person in sight with a 30 second rule! Those that do are NOT networkers and are given little time from me.
Business networking is (should be) designed in such a way that selling becomes obsolete. The whole intention is to make contacts and my modus operandi, is to tell people that I would like to contact them AFTER the meeting. It is at this time, that I hear what their business is all about and visa versa. It is, at that point a synergistic alliance that is being formed. Remember the 6 degrees of separation..... it is not YOU selling to them that counts, but how many people they can put you in touch with.
It is my experience that at most networking meetings, people introduce themselves to you and without even hearing your response, sprout forth with their own verbal diarrea! If they only stopped to listen, they might hear your intention to buy from them.
Business Networking is an art - a science and for those that are not familiar with how it works, it doesn't work. For those who have studied Business Networking and actually implement what has been taught, Business Networking is a gold mine. How else could I have generated 10,500 contacts in one year, if it was not a successful method of business generating revenue? (And I do not insinuate that you said this.... I threw this question in).
:)
A
> Eric Sohn wrote:
> Steve -
>Actually, I was talking about true cold-calls - i.e. Selling to VITO calls, where you don't know they have specific needs, other than knowing that all companies can benefit from the service.
>That was when I thought I'd market to large companies. I had initial success in that market when, by chance, I met a SVP from Pitney Bowes, who agreed to refer me in to the Executive Development area. But, local networking makes it hard to meet those folks - few large company reps (other than sales) show up to Chamber of Commerce events.
>I tried an ExecuNet meeting once, on the premise that by helping the out-of-work execs with what I'm expert at (presentation skills), I'd be able to contact them after they landed. Don't remind me - it actually was a stupid strategy, as it diluted my perceived focus.
>FInally, I realized I'd rather "go small". I've since tried a lot of face-to-face marketing (trade shows, speaking, networking events), with little success. I found the educational gap to be the primary problem - unless someone has a proximate need, few are all that interested in spending more than 2 or 3 minutes understanding what I do.
>Believe it or not, Ryze has reinvigorated my marketing. The ability to demonstrate, through posting, what coaching is and that I do it competently, is unique to the message board mechanisms. And, to be fair, I think I'm more relaxed in this medium - I respond to people with expressed needs, which (other than "wanna buy from me") is not that common in face-to-face networking.
>And the results show it - One client found me through my posts, someone gave me a card at one of the mixers, and yet another person posted initial interest on my GB. That's more bites in less than 3 weeks here than over a year of doing it the "old-fashioned" way.
>Go ahead, Steve - let's have some questions.
>Coach Eric
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