Distinguishing Networking, Marketing, and Sales*
NETWORKINGMARKETINGSALES
Relation | Preparation | Implementation |
Pipeline building | Positioning yourself | Prospecting |
Genuine interest in others | Market research | Understanding sales process |
Meeting people | Strategy, conceptual approaches | Knowing your hit rates and numbers |
Talking to people and getting to know them better | Planning activities for acquisition, retention, or reacquisition of buyers | Tracking progress |
Getting out there and creating relationships of all kinds | Alone in your office, in front of your computer | Making calls |
Asking to meet other people – asking for introductions | Providing information about who you are and what you do: shameless self-promotion! | Setting up appointments with the express agenda of finding out about the current issues a prospect is facing |
Follow up | Showing people what you do, perhaps including pro bono work | Client meetings to tell people what you do |
Manners, etiquette, social graces | Creating text, writing letters, researching clients and prospects | Proposals |
Introducing people to each other with an eye to expanding others’ networks | Writing and publishing articles, columns, books | Follow-up |
Activities that yield human connection and interaction, not necessarily related to business | Speaking engagements, teaching opportunities | Moving people through your pipeline |
Nine Mindsets of Networking | PR and Media, Advertising | Activities that directly yield clients, contracts, business dollars |
Finding out what people do, where they do it, why they do it and what they want to do | Website or brochure building, fine-tuning, management | Action Selling System |
Connection-Seeking | Image and collateral things: logo, letterhead, business cards, etc. | Asking for the buy |
Informational interviews | Branding (sustainable, consistent, recognizable, uniqueness) | Contracting |
©Innovative Leadership International LLC. All rights reserved.
* Excerpted from Seal the Deal: The Essential Mindsets for Growing Your Professional Services Business (HRD Press, 2006) by Suzi Pomerantz.
You and Freddie are a fabulous duo and I came away with some great ideas. Thank you. See you in June.
Wendy
Thanks, Wendy! I’m delighted you could join us and I’m so glad you walked away with new ideas!