When do I quit my networking group?

We live in a fast food society. We seem to be demanding things quicker and quicker. At one time you would turn on your computer and then go fill up your coffee while the programs loaded. Today we almost “lose it” when it takes 10 seconds to load a webpage instead of instantaneously seeing our Facebook profile the minute we hit the enter button.

So when one of our reps came to me with the question “How long do I work my networking group before I give up on it?”, I had to mentally roll back the years to a time when we weren’t “microwaving” every decision.

My answer was simple yet cryptic. You work the networking group until you are done with it. In other words, the group was identified as a group of potential prospects. IF that is accurate, and they do fit the profile of a potential client, then the group is finished when you have successfully taken everyone on the list through the sales process. Until that point, you continue to work it.

Sales is a simple, yet difficult vocation. The simplicity is that the process is not complex.

Step 1 – You identify potential prospects

Step 2 – You connect with those potential prospects

Step 3 – You work at identifying specific needs of those prospects

Step 4 – You present a potential solution to those needs

Step 5 – You ask if the solution fits and move on

You‘ll note, I said move on and not forward. Sometimes, the solution doesn’t fit. It might be timing, financial, or a myriad of other reasons. But you still have to ask.

Too many times, in sales, we look at a territory, a list, a networking group, etc., and if we don’t see results immediately, we want to switch gears and look for something new and better; a better group, a better territory, and sometimes a better employer.

But until you have moved all of your potential prospects through the process, you should not move on. The key is – to move the prospects through as quickly as you can and not dwell on what is not happening. Fall in love with the process and the results will come.

When do you quit your list of prospects? When it is done!

Written by: Bill Leesman