1. What is Guerrilla Networking? Guerrilla Networking is much more than merely meeting people, exchanging business cards and engaging in social pleasantries. In a business environment, you need to network with a purpose. That purpose is to get as many qualified leads as possible. Noticed my use of the word qualified. Getting a stack of business cards may make you feel good, but if no one is interested in your products or services, you've just succeeded in wasting your valuable time.

Guerrilla Networking is not a game. When you are out in the world business networking you are not looking to make friends but rather gain valuable contacts to help you close more business or get a job. You must be serious in Guerrilla Networking if you are going to be successful. This does not mean you need to be hostile or rude to people. It does mean you must be focused with a plan when you go networking events to make good strong contacts that will lead to more sales.

2. How to Network Like a Pro?

To be effective, you must first employ a properly designed and executed networking introduction. Your networking introduction should be not more than 1 to 2 minutes long (the average attention span for an adult), and contain the following information:

1 - Some Type of Greeting
2 - Your Name
3 - Your Title
4 - A Brief Description of your Product or Service with a Benefit Statement
5 - Should end with a question that engages the listener.

As an example, I will share my own networking introduction:

"Hi, I'm Rusty D'Aversa, Owner of Skyrocket Selling. I work with entrepreneurs and businesses to double their sales. And you are?

I recommend you write your networking introduction, practice it with family, friends, or business associates, or just record and play it back to yourself. Once you have mastered your networking introduction, it will become a powerful technique in your prospecting "tool box".

3. Target Guerrilla Networking

Networking groups are popping up like mushrooms. You will find that some groups will be a complete waste of your time. Targeted Guerrilla Networking means you are focusing on specific groups that deal with your specific business target market. It is highly unlikely you will be successful gathering leads if you go to a networking meeting for florists and you sell truck parts.

You need to determine what businesses can use your product or services and find networking groups that have those types of people. You must know your target market. What is a target market? The following are some questions to help you determine your target market: Who are the people who buy your products or services? Are they small companies or large companies? What specific industry do you sell to? The more precise you can be with your target market the accurate you can be when choosing networking groups.

Do not waste your time with "cake and coffee" networking groups if you are a serious Guerilla Networking professional. You will

be wasting your time, energy and not meeting with those people who can advance your professional goals. These networking groups are very general and tend not to attract seasoned business people. You may have to attend several meetings of various different organizations to see which ones are right for you. Even if a group is not right for you it is still a good opportunity to practice your networking introduction.

4. Dress Like a Professional

You are a professional and want to conduct business like a professional then dress like a professional. First appearances count especially in the business world. Perception is reality! If you are perceived as not being a professional you will be treated the same, both you and your offering will not be taken seriously by the marketplace.

You want to look and act like someone people "want" to conduct business with. You want to attract the right type of attention so people want to hear more about your products or services. Remember this is Guerrilla Networking every detail and I mean every detail is important. From the way you present yourself, your products through follow-up after the initial meeting.


5. Have Your Business Cards Ready

Guerrilla Networking is not a random event it is to be carefully planned and that plan is acted upon in a precise manner. You should have quality (whatever your budget can afford) business cards with you at all times, as you never know who you might meet and where you might meet them. Gone are the days of searching for bits of paper to write your name and phone number. You are a networking professional, so you need to act like one. You should have at all times when networking - business cards and pen. A key contact you may meet may not have his/her card so you must be prepared to copy their contact information.

Make sure you have all of your contact information on your card. Name, mailing address, phone and email address, in a clean, easy to read manner. Make it easy for people to find you and contact you in any manner they choose. Some people may want to send you an email versus calling you or visa-a-versa.

Write notes on the back of the other person's card when collecting business cards. This will demonstrate to the other person you take your conversation seriously and will also act as a memory jogger when you contact them. This is also a good time to ask 2 to 3 qualifying questions. You want to have qualified contacts in your pocket not just a fist full of business cards that go nowhere and waste you time.

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Oreste "Rusty" D'Aversa has more than twenty years experience in: sales, sales management, software, technology, professional services, support, training, customer service and public speaking. He has managed, trained and mentored sales teams generating millions of dollars in revenue Contact info: www.skyrocketselling.com.


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