by Tom Woodcock, Seal the Deal

For decades people have tried to find business through the painstaking process of cold calling. I battle old school sales managers all the time who swear cold calling is the way to go. Think about it. Do you like someone coming in and interrupting you in the middle of working on a project and trying to sell you tools? No! Then why would you think someone else would? Don’t get me wrong. I grew up as a sales person cold calling my guts out. Back in the day we had no choice. Our lead source was the Yellow Pages. We hoped we would be greeted by a cordial receptionist and often only had the building sign as advanced information. This made cold calling not only necessary but mandatory.

Currently, the ability to get advanced information on a potential customer is at its highest level in history. Via the Web you can secure company information, market presence and even contact information. This eliminates much of the need for a cold call. The issue here is you lose the physical presence with the customer. Therefore, we need to find a way to accomplish this in order to gain the initial meeting. The best way to do this is by going backwards to move forward—using associations, organizations and chambers of commerce. Yup, that’s right—pools of people. Add your own, designed network of contacts and you have a lead machine. Getting to events, happy hours, business breakfasts and business groups is paramount to finding opportunities. There are some qualifiers to keep in mind, so as to not waste time and effort. They are:

1. Customer-Rich: Does the event appear to be attracting customers or potential customers? Though often you’ll never really know until you attend, promotional media will give you an indication on the target market. Customer-rich environments are always your best shot at direct business opportunities.
2. Network Development: Are there going to be current or potential network contacts in attendance? These are individuals that also sell to your customer base. They can be great sources for introductions and inside information. Your personal network should have a high concentration of these types of individuals.
3. Association Affiliation: Events that are hosted by associations are often well attended. They tend to cater to specific groups, so it’s a bit easy to qualify attendees. Many times the events are limited to members and their guests, but every so often they’re open to visitors. Grab those chances or simply join!
4. Known Host: These are events hosted by individuals or companies well known in the industry. People will attend because they know historically that host has strong networking meetings. Some have a knack in setting up these programs. Why reinvent the wheel. Take advantage of their expertise!

Simply using these four criteria will produce results. Then it comes down to your personal approach to networking. You have to develop a methodology that you’re comfortable with and matches your personality. Some people can simply own a room. Others, well, they need a good, structured plan of attack. Either way, it’s best to attend with a little information and strategy. Here are some tricks to get more bang for your buck:

1. Get There Early: Check out those nametags and select a couple of targets you want to approach.
2. Permission to Call: Politely asking if you can contact a potential client goes a long way. Do not be challenging or confrontational. You’re hoping to get permission to contact them.
3. Use Your Existing Network: Connect with those already in a network relationship with you to meet new contacts. This is the easiest way to gain new personal contacts.
4. Stay Late: A lot happens after the scheduled meeting is over. Those that hang around tend to be more open and freer in their discussions. This can provide an inside track on potential projects or opportunities.

I’m a firm believer in the power of networking. I feel that if you combine a good physical network with a functioning electronic network you’ll have the basis for a lead-generating machine. Finding business opportunity is a primary goal of all companies. Without leads there aren’t sales; without sales there aren’t projects; without projects there aren’t contractors. Continually priming your network will result in a steady stream of leads and prospects. Under-valuing the power of networking can not only be short-sighted but may result in business decline. Forcing a cold call first mentality displays a dated sales approach. It also reveals a weakness in network development. With the increase in communication and social connection, it is far easier to find, as well as secure, sales leads.

The final piece of the networking puzzle is to be sure to follow up on the information secured at the networking event. This, of course, is assuming you gained some information. What good is information that is never acted on? It happens all of the time. Taking the time to make the phone calls and get the appointments is where the real rubber meets the road. Not turning networking information into business is inexcusable. The discipline to attend networking events has to be followed by the discipline of acting on the results. A healthy sales effort includes between four and eight networking events a month. That’s roughly 50 a year! I find it hard to believe that kind of networking commitment will not produce results. As a matter of fact, I know it will because I do it myself. The results have been impressive and it will always be a part of my sales regimen.

I would be remised if I didn’t at least mention the vehicle of social media. Though I do agree social media can have an impact on network development, it should never supplant physical networking. Social media can be very consuming and before you know it your wasting good sales time surfing on Facebook. Your social media regimen should be quick and easy to manage. I find the best scenario is to pick one platform that is successful and work it diligently. That diligence is in regards to daily connecting with business people and linking posts that relate to your business or trade. Avoid social conversations that tend to replace personal interaction. Electronic communication cannot replicate personal contact with clients and customers. In all truthfulness, social media is a nice compliment to true networking. It does lack the advantage of reading faces and body language, shared experience and normal person-to-person interaction. These elements are critical to get competitive differentiation—which in itself is crucial to customer buying decisions and profitability.

By combining a strong physical network with a good digital presence, the need for cold calling absolutely disappears. In this current climate, who on Earth wants their busy day interrupted by someone coming in without an appointment and trying to secure their business? I’ll answer that. No one! So, if you don’t want to be cold called, why would you think your customers would enjoy it? In actuality, cold calling is somewhat rude. That’s why 99.9 percent of sales people hate it. Plus, the success rate is brutal. Even if you were to get one spontaneous appointment, what about the other nine that were so put out by your unannounced visit that they will never do business with you? Opportunity gone! Cold calling played a role up to the early 1980s, as it was a great information gathering tool. We had the Yellow Pages and our feet as lead sources. Cold calling was investigative work as well as a sales requirement. The internet and Web sites removed the investigative component. Therefore, it is no longer a sales requirement. Networking is. If you do not get out and network, you may as well cold call, because you’re not going to be successful either way. There are STILL companies that don’t want to engage with associations, hate their business development people being on social media and skip big industry events. Now there’s a recipe for growth! It boggles my mind that some owners continue with this dated approach. I imagine they feel if it worked 30 years ago, it will work now. Yeah, and 30 years ago we were using payphones!

Get out and network, have a social media regimen and get to key industry events. Simply do these three sales methods and you’ll reap the benefits. How do I know? Because I do it consistently myself! Trust me, it works!

Tom Woodcock, president, Seal the Deal, Manchester, Mo., is a speaker, trainer, and author of the book You’re Not Sellin’, They’re Buyin’! He can be reached at (314) 775-9217 or www.tomwoodcocksealthedeal.com.

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