PPB March 2016

55 / 102

MARCH 2016 • PPB • 53
numbers-based approach. The
networking type of call is differ-
ent; you’re targeting one specific
person with whom you’d like to
build a relationship. It behooves
you to have at least a basic
understanding of who the person
is, what they do, etc.
I receive calls all the time
from people who don’t do that
research. They see one article I’ve
written somewhere and want to
connect with me. The problem is
they make all their assumptions
based on one article, so if they see
me in a magazine for the copier
industry they assume I’m a copier
industry guy—which I’m not. I’m
a sales guy, and perhaps a bit more
than that, but I’m not an industry
guy, so dropping names that are
prominent within an industry
probably won’t be meaningful to
me. At the very least, you should
know what the person does, what
their desired target market is and
how they help their clients.
BUILD A CONCISE APPROACH.
This is one area where
teleprospecting and telephone
networking are similar. If you
waste someone’s time, you won’t
get a second chance. You should
build an approach to your target
contact that includes who you are,
what you do (stated in terms of
the value you provide to your
clients) and why you think the
two of you should connect. Ideally
you should be able to articulate
this in less than 30 seconds.
DROP THE FAKE RAPPORT. I’m
from the Kansas City metro area.
For many years, this has not been
a fun place to be in terms of pro-
fessional sports, but in recent
months when our teams were
winning it has very much been a
fun place. This caused people to
think they could build rapport by
calling and saying things like,
“How about those Chiefs?” or
“How about those Royals?” It
doesn’t work—with me or really
with anyone else. I’m the most
casual of football fans, so while I
enjoy the Chiefs’ success, it’s not
meaningful to me. I do love the
Royals—and I’ve spent a lot of
money to watch some pretty
awful baseball for a lot of years,
but cold-calling me that way
won’t generate a win for you.
And seldom does it work on
anyone else in my experience.
ARTICULATE THE WIN. In any
good relationship there is a win
for both parties. You should be
able to anticipate and plan to
explain a meaningful win for the
other person, preferably within
the first 30 seconds, but beyond
that if necessary. Whoever you’re
calling for a networking relation-
ship should be able to win by meet-
ing you and knowing you. If
there’s no win for the other per-
son, you’re just grasping for coat-
tails. Think hard. There has to be
a reason that both parties can
win with this relationship.
REMEMBER: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.
One of the greatest pieces of
advice ever given to me in my
speaking career came from my
good friend Darren LaCroix who
said, “Remember, Troy, it’s not
about you—it’s about the audi-
ence. Don’t worry about looking
good, powerful and expert on
stage. Worry about whether the
audience is getting what they need
from the program.” In a network-
ing call situation, it’s easy to find
yourself wanting to drop into
telling your entire professional life
story. Don’t. Instead, give a quick
thumbnail to establish your cre-
dentials as a person whom your
contact would want to know, and
then move on. It’s about them.
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS
GOOD AND DECENT, GET TO THE
POINT. I had a call recently that
violated all of these rules. My cell
phone rang about 20 minutes
before I was to speak at a confer-
ence in Las Vegas, and I took the
call. That’s not a big deal—I was
all set up, my technology worked
and I don’t get my game face on
until about 10 minutes before-
hand. So, I had 10 minutes to
talk to whoever was on the other
end of the phone.
The caller said he’d met me
three years before and wanted to
‘reconnect.’ He started rambling
on about his professional history,
what he did, that there aren’t
many companies that do what
his does (which I still don’t know
what that is despite being on the
phone with him for a while), etc.
On three different occasions, I
politely asked, “What can I do
for you?” He even said, “I know,
you’re saying to get to the point,”
yet he didn’t. Finally—with 10
minutes to go before my
speech—I had to let him go. I
wasn’t trying to be rude, but it
was time to move on, and if he
couldn’t give me a reason why we
should talk within the first 10
minutes, I was willing to bet that
another 30 wouldn’t have made a
difference.
Cold calls can work in net-
working just as they do in
teleprospecting, but you have to
make sure you’re doing it cor-
rectly and creating a win for the
other person. Do that and you
can greatly expand your contact
base.
Troy Harrison is the author of Sell Like You Mean It! and The Pocket Sales Manager , and is a speaker, consultant and sales navigator. He helps companies build
more profitable and productive sales forces with his cutting-edge sales training and methodologies. For information on booking speaking/training engagements, con-
sulting or to sign up for his weekly ezine, call 913-645-3603, e-mail , or visit