Manual Eighteen: Networking Your Way to Sales

“Other things being equal, people do business with people they like. Other things not being
equal, they still do business with people they like.”
Mark McCormack, What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School

            Networking is a much-abused technique where people have substituted “working a room” for turbo-charging your business while having fun. People like to know who they’re dealing with. They like to “meet the owner,” get a personal referral or otherwise have a connection. When you network, you help others find and refer you on a more personal basis.

            We all know hundreds of people, at least casually. And we have the ability to meet dozens more potential contacts any time we make the effort to go to a new trade-group meeting, Chamber, Rotary or even leisure activity. Most people use or extend their networks very haphazardly, if at all. Instead, you can create word-of-mouth for yourself while you gather business leads and referrals.

            In many cases, who you know controls your success more than what you know (or the quality of your product or service). That’s one reason that networking is an important personal marketing activity. Another is that it can be a natural form of sales and lead generation. The sales lead you obtain from networking are of far higher quality than cold calling.

In this manual, you will discover:

• 17 specific techniques to improve your networking. Most people do no more than three.
• Why there are 5 degrees of separation, not 6. 
• How to make it easy for other people to talk with you. 
• How to introduce yourself three times better. 
• How to “cold call network” and the best time to do it. 
• How to ask for referrals on first meeting. 
• How to keep in touch. 
• Why women network better. 
• Networking roles you can play for others.