Face to Face networking is, or should be, a salesperson’s second priority after real prospecting efforts. But there’s a lot that salespeople don’t know…
After last week’s article, hopefully you recognize where I stand in terms of business building activities. When building your business and/or territory by adding new customers, your first priority should be active data-driven prospecting activities (i.e. telephone cold calling). Your second priority should be live, in-person networking efforts. Your third should be Online Social Networking, or OSN. Today, we’ll talk about live, in person networking efforts.
First of all, let’s define “Networking.” Networking is the process of meeting people and forming relationships with a defined result in mind. What separates “networking” from “socializing” is the goal; i.e. the defined result. In our case, the defined result is that we want to find potential customers. But what kind? For that, we need to understand that there are a few levels of contacts we can make (through any of our efforts), and that those levels of contact have different levels of desirability. We’ll rate that desirability by Buying Power (i.e. the cash availability to make purchases) and Buying Authority (i.e. the level of ability to make a purchasing decision independently). Not all contacts rank the same, and it’s important to understand which is better. So, here are the basic levels:
Level One: Implementers: These are the foot soldiers of the business world. Look in the mirror, Champ – if you’re a salesperson, this is probably you. It’s also office clerks, maintenance technicians, etc. Implementers are the “doers” of the business world. They are also, not coincidentally, the most commonly available contacts in a networking environment. The problem is, at least in a B2B environment, Implementers typically have low Buying Power and even lower Buying Authority. So if your main contacts are Implementers, your hope of making a sale is wrapped up in your Implementers’ ability and willingness to introduce you up a level.
Level Two: Influencers: Influencers are mainly middle managers, department heads, and other people who may have high Buying Power (departmental budgets) but low Buying Authority (they need to get the approval of others before making a purchase). If you’re hearing “I have to ask my boss”or “It’s not in the budget” a lot, you’re selling primarily to Level Two contacts. Single-employee entrepreneurs can also fall in as a Level Two contact, since they have high Buying Authority (nobody else to ask), but lower Buying Power (low cash reserves).
Level Three: Decision Makers: Decision Makers are Presidents, CEO’s, VP’s, Owners, and other C-level people. They are the people in the building who have high Buying Power (i.e. money to spend) as well as high Buying Authority (they don’t need to ask anyone before cutting the check). These are the most beneficial contacts for you to be dealing with. They are also the least common contacts for you to deal with. Why? Lots of reasons, but fear of approaching people at this level is right up there near the top. There are also levels above Level Three, but they are characterized by size of checkbook rather than authority.
Ideally, you’d all rather be dealing with Level Three and above, right? So why don’t you? Simple answers – your own fear and the fact that the deck is stacked against you.
Fear comes into play in your own cold calling approaches. Many salespeople (you?) get scared to call the person in the corner office, thinking they will be “too busy” or are “too important” to talk to you. Most of the time, they’re not; most of the time, other salespeople are just as scared as you, and the field is clear.
The other reason is that, in networking, the deck tends to be stacked against you. Remember the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together?” Well, it’s true – more importantly, they network together. Go to any Chamber event. What percentage are Level Ones? Probably 70% or more. Level Two is another 20%, and if you’re LUCKY, maybe 10% will be Level Threes. That’s because middle managers and owners have their own networking venues, and many of those venues don’t allow salespeople to join. So how do you get to network with Level Threes? Here are a few ways:
- Cultivate a strong relationship with a Level One who has the ability and the willingness to introduce you to his/her own Level Three contacts.
- Analyze your own contacts and customers. Do you have any Level Threes? If so, start by cultivating relationships with them, and work for introductions.
- If you don’t have any Level Threes, get some! Start by cold calling on Level Threes, sell them, impress them, and then network through them.
Well, that’s about all the space we have for this article. Next week, we’ll be back to talking about OSN, and this week’s column will probably get more meaningful to you.
