Hotel Management — March 2012
Change Language:
Sales Clinic
Networking is not selling
All too often, in our business of bringing in more business, we have sales staffers attend gatherings where networking is critical; however, they go with the objective of making some bookings, and end up doing more selling than networking. Spending time selling at networking-type events is a mistake that some sales folks make.
If the whole idea of attending a chamber of commerce social event, or something similar, or even being an exhibitor at a trade show, is to book business, we need to rethink what our real objective is.
If we indicate that we will be attending a particular event for the purpose of networking, then don’t do any selling. The whole idea behind networking is to meet as many people as possible, and to determine how many of those we contact are in a position to provide business at some future date. What it is that we are doing is prospecting, not selling.
In making contact with people during a networking event, the idea is to spend as little time as possible with them. All that is necessary is to get enough information that would indicate whether that contact, or the organization represented, is in a position to do business with you. Thereafter, it becomes necessary to follow up. That is the time when the selling is done.
Don’t forget: The person to whom you may be in contact with at the event is probably also busy. Many times a sales person gets “wound up” in making a sales pitch that ends up taking away time from contacting other people. The best idea is to limit the time with a contact; use just enough time to get critical information. Using some sort of form is helpful; that way, one does not forget to ask critical questions. Spending five minutes with any one contact is more than enough time to find out who, what, when and where, along with accepting a business card (that helps make sure you have the correct spelling of the name and contact information). This way you maximize your time in a networking operation.
Measuring performance is critical in the business of networking. In most cases, particularly if exhibiting in trade shows, you would want to show return on investment. In doing so, the idea is to provide the amount of estimated business that would be generated for your property based on the number of qualified prospects identified. From that number, you can figure that about 10 percent would actually be booked at some later date. Considering the type of event being covered by the trade show, one would be able to estimate the dollar amount of business that particular market segment could produce. Your past figures of that segment of business should be able to reflect the dollars generated by one booking. The number represented by the 10 percent then identifies that amount.
Take, for example, a trade show of corporate meeting planners. Last year your property had 20 such meetings. The total revenue generated by all of those 20 meetings would be divided by 20 to determine the average amount produced by that market segment. If the average comes out to $10,000, as an example, and the estimated number of prospects that will turn into buyers is five, then, of course, the estimated ROI for attending that convention and trade show would be $50,000.
All too often, in our business of bringing in more business, we have sales staffers attend gatherings where networking is critical; however, they go with the objective of making some bookings, and end up doing more selling than networking. Spending time selling at networking-type events is a mistake that some sales folks make.
If the whole idea of attending a chamber of commerce social event, or something similar, or even being an exhibitor at a trade show, is to book business, we need to rethink what our real objective is.
If we indicate that we will be attending a particular event for the purpose of networking, then don’t do any selling. The whole idea behind networking is to meet as many people as possible, and to determine how many of those we contact are in a position to provide business at some future date. What it is that we are doing is prospecting, not selling.
In making contact with people during a networking event, the idea is to spend as little time as possible with them. All that is necessary is to get enough information that would indicate whether that contact, or the organization represented, is in a position to do business with you. Thereafter, it becomes necessary to follow up. That is the time when the selling is done.
Don’t forget: The person to whom you may be in contact with at the event is probably also busy. Many times a sales person gets “wound up” in making a sales pitch that ends up taking away time from contacting other people. The best idea is to limit the time with a contact; use just enough time to get critical information. Using some sort of form is helpful; that way, one does not forget to ask critical questions. Spending five minutes with any one contact is more than enough time to find out who, what, when and where, along with accepting a business card (that helps make sure you have the correct spelling of the name and contact information). This way you maximize your time in a networking operation.
Measuring performance is critical in the business of networking. In most cases, particularly if exhibiting in trade shows, you would want to show return on investment. In doing so, the idea is to provide the amount of estimated business that would be generated for your property based on the number of qualified prospects identified. From that number, you can figure that about 10 percent would actually be booked at some later date. Considering the type of event being covered by the trade show, one would be able to estimate the dollar amount of business that particular market segment could produce. Your past figures of that segment of business should be able to reflect the dollars generated by one booking. The number represented by the 10 percent then identifies that amount.
Take, for example, a trade show of corporate meeting planners. Last year your property had 20 such meetings. The total revenue generated by all of those 20 meetings would be divided by 20 to determine the average amount produced by that market segment. If the average comes out to $10,000, as an example, and the estimated number of prospects that will turn into buyers is five, then, of course, the estimated ROI for attending that convention and trade show would be $50,000.
Message