December is a great month for enjoying holiday parties, festivities and networking events. It’s also a great month for finding new prospects, business opportunities and referral partners.
With that in mind, here are six proven strategies that will set you on the road to building a powerful network that drives sales your way!
Tip # 1 Target your networking.
Offline: Go to events where the people you are most likely to meet are your ideal prospects or can introduce you to your ideal prospects. Start by creating a profile of your ideal prospects. Who are they, what industries do they work in, what are their job titles and how are they most likely to use promotional products? What organizations or networking groups do they belong to? Go to the events where the people who match your ideal profile are most likely to congregate.
Online: Target your social media marketing to those sites where your ideal clients are most likely to be. You don’t have the time and resources to be everywhere, so choose carefully. Create a stellar online profile that highlights your company’s strengths and the benefits you provide to your clients.
Tip #2 Focus on quality not quantity.
Offline: Go with the goal of making a few quality connections by having meaningful conversations with fewer people. You'll enjoy the event more and have better knowledge of your prospects when you follow up.
Online: Hundreds or even thousands of followers won’t do you any good unless you consistently engage with your prospects and clients by providing value such as: marketing tips, new trends, special online only offers and new product ideas.
Tip # 3 Encourage Engagement with great questions.
Offline: Engage others with great questions. Instead of talking about yourself, get the other person talking by asking great questions. Below are some examples. I’m sure you can think of more questions. Anything that will keep the conversation flowing works well.
- What do you like best about your job?
- How did you get into your line of work?
- Have you seen any of the new holiday movies?
- What’s your all-time favorite holiday movie?
Online: Engage your community with interesting questions, contests, fun photos and new or holiday promotional merchandise trends.
Tip #4 Have a results oriented self-introduction.
Offline: Nobody cares that you sell promotional products, what they do care about is the results those products can achieve for them. When asked to introduce yourself at a networking event tell people that you can help them “get their most wanted prospects to their trade show booth, create awareness of their company, get more people into their place of business and encourage customer loyalty… and that’s just a small sampling of how you can help.”
Online: Instead of pushing products, share case histories that got great results. Show your ideal clients how effective, targeted promotional merchandise can help increase their sales.
Tip # 5 Create Your Own Networking Group
Offline: Look for people in your area who serve the same target market but are not direct competitors such as: meeting planners, graphic designers and trade show display companies. See how you can refer business to each other.
Online: Reach out to people that you meet through online groups that may make great strategic partners. See how you can work together and become a valuable marketing resource for all your clients.
Tip # 6 Block Time for Follow Up
Offline: After every networking event, block at least one hour a week for follow up. A stack of business cards sitting on top of your desk won't do you any good if you don't have time to follow up. In every follow up seek to provide something of value to the client.
Online: Regularly look for ways to stay on your prospect’s radar screen and engage with them with ideas such as: online contests, fun or thought provoking questions or a bi-monthly e- newsletter with strategic ideas.
Enjoy the holiday parties and events. Follow these six tips and watch your sales soar!
Rosalie Marcus, The Promo Biz Coach, is a promotional products business expert, coach, and speaker. Combining her skills and years of experience in promotional sales, she helps her clients sell more at higher margins to better clients. Get a free special report: 10 Proven Ways to Thrive in Promotional Products Sales… in Any Economy at www.promobizcoach.com. Contact her at Rosalie@promobizcoach.com.