Let me ask you a question. What happens when someone starts talking to you and it’s clear they are trying to sell you something? With most people they get a little irritated and put their guard up. Bizarrely people who go to Surrey networking events and sell, sell, sell also get irritated when people they meet start selling to them!
Selling at networking events is an easy mistake to make. I made that mistake when I first started to attend networking events in Surrey over 10 years ago. I remember my very first networking event was a Surrey Chambers event at the County Club in Guildford. Everyone was pitching to everyone in the room. I assumed that was the way to do it. It took me a number of years to learn from top networkers that there was a better and more effective way to approach networking.
If people’s first impression of us is trying to sell to them I would suggest the chances of getting recommended by them are very slim. They will probably assume we will annoy anyone they recommend us to.
In networking it works better when we act like farmers rather than hunters. If we can do this plus clearly communicate the value of our services and ask for help then we stand a chance of generating interest in our services and making sales.
The funny thing is that when I stopped selling to people in the room and started focusing on developing relationships I started to get much more interest in my services.
So next time you attend a Surrey networking event why not try getting to know the people you meet? If you get on well with someone then arrange to meet for coffee and see how you can help each other. Networking is much more enjoyable and productive this way. They may not need your services at the moment but things could change over time and you never know who they know!
Richard White - The Networking Survival Guideavailable on Amazon Today.
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