Hey there
Great to hear from you and I’d love to get together and
catch up. My schedule is pretty crazy these days, so in the interim, here are
some thoughts & resources that you will probably find helpful (or at least
I have, anyway, lol):
1.
In the beginning, go to every networking event. In
time, you’ll find the best events for what your selling and who your specific
buyer is. (but expect to be out 2-4 nights a week). Yes, it’s exhausting, but
it really is the best way to meet people, learn about their companies and
practice sounding authoritative and helpful. I regularly look at the following
sites to plan out my networking:
a.
Eventbrite.com
b.
Adclub.com
c.
Mitx.org
d.
Amaboston.org
e.
Meetup.com
f.
Google (of course)
2.
Call everyone you know who’ll respond and
schedule coffee, dinner, lunch, or a call. Again, this is great practice and it
leverages the fact that we all know people who know people and some of those
people are prospects. Speaking of which, be clear about WHO you like to connect
with. Title, industry, size of company.
3.
At networking events, talk to everyone. I like
to look at the person that intimidates me the most and go up to them first.
Maybe it’s the 20something that looks like they’re 10x more successful than me
already. Maybe it’s the seasoned executive with the get-the-fuck-away-from me
expression on his/her face. So what. Go up to them. It’s a fucking networking
event for Chrissakes. I like to open with the ever successful, “hello.”
Disarming and human. Works every time.
4.
When networking, I like to learn the following
three things about the company. Learning these three things will immediately
help you understand how to fit into their heads and how to continue the
conversation. I’ll ask these three questions in lots of indirect and conversational
ways, so there’s no real clear checklist or standard way to find the answers. I
like to approach it like Columbo. Just come across as casual and interested to
learn the following:
a.
Where are they going? What are the key
initiatives, plans, issues, etc. What do they want to accomplish for the year?
What is important to that person’s boss?
b.
What resources do they have to reach those
goals? What tools, talent, technologies, timing, budget? What existing vendors
do they rely on? What do they think about those resources? (which leads me to
the following…)
c.
What’s the gap? What are the missing components
and/or what are the obstacles in the way?
(since most people are only aware of the answers to the first two
questions, this third one will most often be a shared set of inputs from you
and the person you’re talking to.
5.
Watch Vanessa Van Edwards videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj9QBB4bNTv29f4oFIreNmw She breaks down the science and technique for
how to quickly connect with others and be memorable. 90% of prospecting is
creating a positive emotion. You want them to say to themselves, “Hey, that’s a
good guy. He’s worth talking to again.” Even though I can be mr charisma at
times, I still need to be aware of my behavior and I rely on her to polish my
technique. (“Technique” btw, is my latest nickname for my penis) Just kidding. Watch her stuff. Very
informative and inspiring.
6.
Hit the gym every day. Take vitamins. B12 is
your best friend. Not only helps with energy levels, it helps with memory. You
are sprinting a marathon. You need to condition yourself to be alert and
engaging at a much higher level and for a much longer duration than you’re
probably used to. Plus, you’re an older bastard than I am, and when I let
work/life get in the way of the gym I basically fall apart. Hopefully, you’re
still jogging and such. Stay away from any kind of junk food or you’ll pay the
price with drained energy and in this business, creating momentum and riding
that momentum is everything. In short, think of yourself as a 747 taking off.
As the 747 taxis down the runway, engines are at full blast, but it’s only
going like 50 mph. Once aloft, it’s going 400+mph, but the engines are at
half-power. Like the 747, if you don’t really push hard in the beginning,
you’ll likely crash, sorry to say. Biz dev is all about the $$$ afterall.
7.
TAPE EVERY MEETING AND EVERY CALL. Yes, it’s
illegal, but so is calling your penis “Technique.” The details and nuances you’re going to pick
up from listening to the casual things say to you will allow you to squeeze
TONS of valuable intel from every conversation and move things forward. Plus,
it’ll make you look smart. I have a Samsung and I use Call Recorder Pro and the
Samsung app called Voice Recorder. If you have an iPhone, just look in the
iTunes store for the corresponding apps. In meetings, I’ll take my keys and
phone out of my pocket and just put them on the table. Sometimes, I just put my
phone. Looks totally normal. Been doing it for years and no one has ever said
anything. You’ll be able to grab names, numbers, directions, it’s great. Trust me on this one.
Hope that’s helpful!
I’ll reach back out in a couple weeks and we can set something up.
J
You’re going to do just fine.
Eric
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