The Importance of Routinely Networking in Business | Networking Skills | Sales Skills Training

There is a cliché that says, “It isn’t what you know, but who you know that counts in the development of your sales career or business.” I would like to change it to: “It isn’t who you know, but who knows about you or your organization.”

You can know a lot of people, but if they don’t know a great deal about you, the value of these contacts is limited. One of the keys to effective networking is the ability to both accumulate a variety of contacts in your database and make these people aware of your skills, abilities, interests, and needs.

I have met tens of thousands of people in my sales career, but I would guess that fewer than five hundred can contribute to my success in some way by being able to introduce me to others they know who might be potential clients for me.

Networking is finding people who may be a center of influence for you, then taking the opportunity to get to know them, and giving them the opportunity to get to know you. Most salespeople are really poor networkers. They fail to join organizations where the people who could benefit them congregate, or if they do belong, they fail to get involved or even participate in various meetings and networking opportunities.

How are you as a networker? Do you promote yourself with regularity in areas where influential people mingle? Do you belong to industry associations and attend some of their meetings? Do you keep a database of contacts—where you met them and how they might be of value to you? Do you have some method to keep in touch with them (like a newsletter, periodic notes, telephone calls, or emails)?

Turn It Around

Develop a regular routine for finding and meeting new people who can help you.