This is an article I wrote for YP Nashville.
Do you have a strong network? If you are in sales, the question probably makes you immediately think of the stack of business cards on your desk or the size of your contacts database. But is this a valuable network or just your list of potential customers?
Sure, it could be both, but when I think of a valuable network, I think of key relationships that have been built and cultivated over time by intentional effort. And it doesn’t have to be all about selling. You may just want to know a great place to go to dinner or where to look for a new job. You go to the people in your network; these are the people that want to help you. A strong network is a vast resource for whatever you are looking for. The stronger the network, the more you are going to trust the opinions and guidance you receive there.
A strong network for a salesperson means less cold calling. When I started my business in sales almost nine years ago, it was in a brand-new industry and I had only been in Nashville for a couple of years. My network was small, but I worked it as best I could and supplemented with cold calls. Many cold calls. Over time, good customers and new relationships led to a cycle of better customers and stronger relationships.
Early in my career, this cycle was described to me as pushing a snowball up a snowy hill.The snowball builds girth and can get more difficult to push as you go up the hill. But when it gets to the top and starts to go over, watch out because the snowball keeps getting bigger on the way down the other side and you may not be able to stop it. I am starting to see what that momentum looks like.
I have spent a lot of time building my network, volunteering in my neighborhood and the community, helping nonprofits and my church. My calendar at times has been so full of “networking” that it has felt like part of my job. But recently after years of building, I have started to scale back. Oddly, I am seeing a rise in sales. It seems counterintuitive, but my network is starting to work for me instead of me working so much on my network. The momentum has shifted in my favor, and I am getting calls from past clients, close friends, friends of friends, people who have heard about what I do. The word-of-mouth clients have been my goal from the beginning and because I have taken the time to build my network, the value of my network is paying dividends.
That is the value of building a strong network. At some point, your network will start working for you. Build slowly and deliberately. Engage with people. Invest your time. Build trust and familiarity with the people in your network, and they will think of you first when the perfect opportunity arises.
