Don’t Talk to Strangers
When many of us are looking for new business, we can find ourselves in the mysterious world of business networking; for most, attending open networking events is a less than enjoyable experience.
We all know that to find new customers we must speak with more people, so why do so many of us find this such a daunting task?
The reason we find this difficult is that we were all conditioned as children by a simple sequence of words – “Don’t talk to strangers”. The first challenge is to defy that conditioning, and I’ve found that the easiest way to resolve this is to understand that pretty much everybody else is feeling the same as you. Getting over the initial “fear” is one thing; however, to succeed in a network, here are some simple rules that have worked for me, and I am sure if you choose to employ them they could have significant benefit to you too.
Have a plan
Regardless of the size of the event, it is unlikely that you can develop lasting business relationships with all in the room, and I am certain that there will be some people who will be of considerable more value than others. Set a goal and stick to it. It may be to make a number of new connections or to set a meeting with a specific person. Just turning up and seeing what happens is leaving your success to chance.
Know what you are going to talk about
Starting a conversation is the hardest thing to do when entering a room full of strangers. To open conversation, the easiest place to start is to talk about a subject that you all have in common. The one subject that you all have in common is the event you are at. As such, plan a series of questions related to the event.
Talk of how you help people
“So what do you do then?” This is a question that you are almost guaranteed to be asked, yet each time I witness it, the receiver of the question looks startled and bemused , hesitantly giving their job title or profession as the answer. Your goal from this question is to open a conversation by being interesting to them. So when asked this question please rephrase it in your head to “How do you help people?” And answering that question instead.
Sell to the room
This goes against what you are often told when networking, yet is based on the simple reality that your best referrals come from existing customers. Therefore to gain a quantity of referrals, you need a good number of customers within your network. Now this does not mean forcing your products or services on people, but simply having a simple entry-level offering that makes it easy for people to try your offerings.
By utilizing some, if not all, of the above tips I am sure you will reap significant returns. Good luck in your networking!
Best-selling author, multiple award winner and one of the most sought after speakers on the circuit, Phil M Jones is highly regarded as the world’s leading sales trainer.
From training more than two million people worldwide to coaching some of the biggest brands in the world, Phil’s mission to teach the world to sell has resulted in his expertise being globally recognized.
By understanding behavior, he’s able to use his infectious thought-provoking style of delivery to make long-lasting change by re-wiring beliefs and instilling what he refers to as his Magic Words.
By teaching audiences how to use particular word patterns and showing them exactly what to say in order to work around difficult situations, Phil is able to help non-sales people to increase their activity and have more of the right conversations to generate more of the right outcomes.
Having won multiple awards, including the prestigious Sales Trainer of the Year in 2013, Phil has written a series of best-selling books and has a number of online training programs that have enrolled tens of thousands of members.
From working with small business owners that are looking to increase sales to leverage their livelihood to globally recognized companies that want to drive more activity from their staff, Phil’s unique skill set allows him to serve a vast mix of people with entirely different goals.
Phil now travels the world, speaking to audiences in all corners of the globe. To date, he’s spoken in 56 different countries across five continents, and with his growing popularity, he’s expected to add many more to his roster.|Best-selling author, multiple award winner and one of the most sought after speakers on the circuit, Phil M Jones is highly regarded as the world’s leading sales trainer.
From training more than two million people worldwide to coaching some of the biggest brands in the world, Phil’s mission to teach the world to sell has resulted in his expertise being globally recognized.
By understanding behavior, he’s able to use his infectious thought-provoking style of delivery to make long-lasting change by re-wiring beliefs and instilling what he refers to as his Magic Words.
By teaching audiences how to use particular word patterns and showing them exactly what to say in order to work around difficult situations, Phil is able to help non-sales people to increase their activity and have more of the right conversations to generate more of the right outcomes.
Having won multiple awards, including the prestigious Sales Trainer of the Year in 2013, Phil has written a series of best-selling books and has a number of online training programs that have enrolled tens of thousands of members.
From working with small business owners that are looking to increase sales to leverage their livelihood to globally recognized companies that want to drive more activity from their staff, Phil’s unique skill set allows him to serve a vast mix of people with entirely different goals.
Phil now travels the world, speaking to audiences in all corners of the globe. To date, he’s spoken in 56 different countries across five continents, and with his growing popularity, he’s expected to add many more to his roster.|Best-selling author, multiple award winner and one of the most sought after speakers on the circuit, Phil M Jones is highly regarded as the world’s leading sales trainer.
From training more than two million people worldwide to coaching some of the biggest brands in the world, Phil’s mission to teach the world to sell has resulted in his expertise being globally recognized.
By understanding behavior, he’s able to use his infectious thought-provoking style of delivery to make long-lasting change by re-wiring beliefs and instilling what he refers to as his Magic Words.
By teaching audiences how to use particular word patterns and showing them exactly what to say in order to work around difficult situations, Phil is able to help non-sales people to increase their activity and have more of the right conversations to generate more of the right outcomes.
Having won multiple awards, including the prestigious Sales Trainer of the Year in 2013, Phil has written a series of best-selling books and has a number of online training programs that have enrolled tens of thousands of members.
From working with small business owners that are looking to increase sales to leverage their livelihood to globally recognized companies that want to drive more activity from their staff, Phil’s unique skill set allows him to serve a vast mix of people with entirely different goals.
Phil now travels the world, speaking to audiences in all corners of the globe. To date, he’s spoken in 56 different countries across five continents, and with his growing popularity, he’s expected to add many more to his roster.
From training more than two million people worldwide to coaching some of the biggest brands in the world, Phil’s mission to teach the world to sell has resulted in his expertise being globally recognized.
By understanding behavior, he’s able to use his infectious thought-provoking style of delivery to make long-lasting change by re-wiring beliefs and instilling what he refers to as his Magic Words.
By teaching audiences how to use particular word patterns and showing them exactly what to say in order to work around difficult situations, Phil is able to help non-sales people to increase their activity and have more of the right conversations to generate more of the right outcomes.
Having won multiple awards, including the prestigious Sales Trainer of the Year in 2013, Phil has written a series of best-selling books and has a number of online training programs that have enrolled tens of thousands of members.
From working with small business owners that are looking to increase sales to leverage their livelihood to globally recognized companies that want to drive more activity from their staff, Phil’s unique skill set allows him to serve a vast mix of people with entirely different goals.
Phil now travels the world, speaking to audiences in all corners of the globe. To date, he’s spoken in 56 different countries across five continents, and with his growing popularity, he’s expected to add many more to his roster.|Best-selling author, multiple award winner and one of the most sought after speakers on the circuit, Phil M Jones is highly regarded as the world’s leading sales trainer.
From training more than two million people worldwide to coaching some of the biggest brands in the world, Phil’s mission to teach the world to sell has resulted in his expertise being globally recognized.
By understanding behavior, he’s able to use his infectious thought-provoking style of delivery to make long-lasting change by re-wiring beliefs and instilling what he refers to as his Magic Words.
By teaching audiences how to use particular word patterns and showing them exactly what to say in order to work around difficult situations, Phil is able to help non-sales people to increase their activity and have more of the right conversations to generate more of the right outcomes.
Having won multiple awards, including the prestigious Sales Trainer of the Year in 2013, Phil has written a series of best-selling books and has a number of online training programs that have enrolled tens of thousands of members.
From working with small business owners that are looking to increase sales to leverage their livelihood to globally recognized companies that want to drive more activity from their staff, Phil’s unique skill set allows him to serve a vast mix of people with entirely different goals.
Phil now travels the world, speaking to audiences in all corners of the globe. To date, he’s spoken in 56 different countries across five continents, and with his growing popularity, he’s expected to add many more to his roster.|Best-selling author, multiple award winner and one of the most sought after speakers on the circuit, Phil M Jones is highly regarded as the world’s leading sales trainer.
From training more than two million people worldwide to coaching some of the biggest brands in the world, Phil’s mission to teach the world to sell has resulted in his expertise being globally recognized.
By understanding behavior, he’s able to use his infectious thought-provoking style of delivery to make long-lasting change by re-wiring beliefs and instilling what he refers to as his Magic Words.
By teaching audiences how to use particular word patterns and showing them exactly what to say in order to work around difficult situations, Phil is able to help non-sales people to increase their activity and have more of the right conversations to generate more of the right outcomes.
Having won multiple awards, including the prestigious Sales Trainer of the Year in 2013, Phil has written a series of best-selling books and has a number of online training programs that have enrolled tens of thousands of members.
From working with small business owners that are looking to increase sales to leverage their livelihood to globally recognized companies that want to drive more activity from their staff, Phil’s unique skill set allows him to serve a vast mix of people with entirely different goals.
Phil now travels the world, speaking to audiences in all corners of the globe. To date, he’s spoken in 56 different countries across five continents, and with his growing popularity, he’s expected to add many more to his roster.
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