What exactly does networking mean anyway?
- Is it going to Chamber mixers every week?
- Is it meeting as many people as possible?
- Is networking handing out business cards?
Effective networking is not contacting as many people as possible, cold calling or shooting out emails.
Effective networking (and very few people are really that good at it) is really connecting with the network of people who are connected to you and you do not know them.
Start with the “warm” network that you have. These are the people who you have the strongest relationships with. Everyone has thousands of contacts that they have never met.
The goal of networking is to connect a series of relationships together so that you become connected to your “cold” market and they become warmer through your networking relationship.
Direct Sales Consultant List
When a new consultant starts in direct sales they are often told to make a list. It is always good to make a list as you will always think of more people when you write things down rather than keep them in your head.
Make a list of everyone you have ever known since kindergarten! Usually the new consultant is not taught what to do with that list. After asking everyone on the list to do business with them, the new representative frequently is discouraged and may even quit because the result was not good.
Train Direct Sales Team
Direct sales leaders who take the time to train their new team members effective networking will improve their team retention. Most people do not realize the power of their network. When a team member understands the value of the services that they offer and is armed with the right questions, networking can be a powerful tool.
Effective Networking Questions
Create a script of “good” questions that helps your warm relationships think about their connections.
- Who do you know who…
- Are the kids involved in any …
- What types of events does your husband do…
- And so on!
Make sure that your team member learns effective networking skills so that they do not get discouraged and quit. Deb Bixler provides team training systems and direct sales business tools that improve team retention and increases sales.
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