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Helping busy business executives maintain their competitive edge.
Networking as a Sales Tool
5 Sure-Fire Steps to Increase Sales
Success
By Ira J. Koretsky
April 2009
I
n 2002, I started my business and started networking like never before, attending some 20 events per
week, which quickly became exhausting.
After analyzing the events versus success, the clear trend was that I went to too many of the wrong
events. Together with the preparation, follow up, and meetings, I was misdirecting my own energy from
the prospects and events that mattered. Obvious, right? It took a lot of frustration to make me realize that
my lack of success was due to my random and unstructured approach to networking.
Because of my analysis, I retooled my approach and developed a deliberate process. That meant being
patient and, most importantly, being deliberate. Networking is all about the deliberate development of
professional relationships. Just as with personal dating, business dating takes time. You wouldn’t expect
to get married on the first date. The same holds true with networking. Expect to get a signed contract only
after the appropriate time has been spent building trust, sharing experiences, and demonstrating
capability.
Benjamin Franklin said it best, “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.” Here are five sure-fire
steps to make your networking more focused and effective to capitalize on opportunities, eliminate
distractions, and increase your sales success.
1. Develop an Ideal Client Profile
Successful networkers know their target audiences. During my travels, I ask workshop participants and
clients, “Do you have an ideal client profile?” It no longer surprises me when most people respond with
“No.” An Ideal Client Profile (ICP) spells out the specific characteristics of a prospect that would most
likely buy from you. A short list of examples include: professional services, $15 to $50MM revenue,
>250 employees, in business at least five years, located in north east, and in the financial sector.
Marketing should have a standard ICP that spells out each of the characteristics important to your
organization. This way, the sales team pursues only qualified leads.
2. Develop Your Networking Event Plan
Now ask yourself, where do the key decision makers at these ICP organizations network? What
associations and social clubs are they members of? Search the Internet or ask colleagues to locate events
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Helping busy business executives maintain their competitive edge.
that will help you to meet them. Look for opportunities throughout the week, from 7 am to 7 pm. Overall,
breakfast and dinner events yield the best results.
3. Use a Compelling Business Story
You have arrived at your event ready to meet your ICPs. Since you only have a few minutes to make a
first and lasting impression, you need to make the most of your time. Be prepared to answer “What do
you do?” with a compelling answer that screams, “Wow! Tell me more.” Your answer is a high-level,
executive summary of your core business story. Commonly referred to as your elevator speech, it should
take you 30 seconds or less to say. An elevator speech is in a way a litmus test. Told well, it engages
people prompting a good conversation. If it is not engaging or interesting, people tend to transition away
from you fairly quickly.
4. Circulate and Locate
Generally, a networking event is one big blind date. You never know who you will meet next. He/she
could be your next best friend, next best client, next best partner, or not.
Stop listening to your mother. Talk to strangers! Heed Stephen Covey’s habit number five: “Seek first to
understand then to be understood.” Circulate through the room starting conversations that your ICPs will
be interested in. Read the magazines, websites, blogs, newsletters, and books that they read. Within the
first few minutes of meeting someone, qualify that person as an ICP, ideal business partner, business
friend, or other. Based on your assessment, deliberately choose how you will direct the conversation, how
to follow up, and how to politely exit.
Transition to a new person every 5 to 10 minutes. You are looking to locate people that you can help and
those that can help you. The object here is to be deliberate with your conversations and patient with the
results.
5. Evaluate Your Return on Networking
Many people comment that networking is neither rewarding nor fun. It can be both if you consistently
evaluate, measure your results, and respond appropriately.
Experience shows that you should spend four to six months attending events and meeting people before
you will realize any substantial results. As you network, evaluate your success. Didn’t meet the people
you wanted to? Think of different or complementary venues to attend. Perhaps you did not make any
meaningful connections? Ask yourself if your story resonates with people? Is the event filled with
prospective ICPs? Over the course of time, decide what, how, and if you need to change your approach to
networking.
Conclusion
“Work smarter, not harder” always resonated with me because it helped me focus on priority activities. It
simply was not a matter of putting in long hours to show results. The true test lay in the results.
This is what being a deliberate networker is all about: making the most of your time. It is deciding who
you need to meet and cultivate to increase your business success…and sticking to your plan. It is hard
work cultivating a promising contact over time, as is allocating your time at events. It will pay off in the
end. If you stick with the networking event plan, your evaluations will show more success and you will
find yourself having more fun.
Ira Koretsky is the president of The Chief Storyteller®, a firm that turns your business stories and
messages into results, with keynotes, workshops, and consulting. He can be reached at:
tbmag@thechiefstoryteller.com
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About The Chief Storyteller®
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