Continued from Guerrilla Networking 6. Make Your Own Name Badge Bring your name badge. Make your name and your message easy to read so people know who you are and what you are looking for or what you have to offer. The biggest challenge I have found when attending networking events is that most of the time people names are difficult to read on the those sticky name badges or they fall off or you don't know what their interested in pursuing.

When business networking you are not there to make friends and socialize. Yes one needs to be polite, social and courteous. You are there to speak to your target audience. It is a complete waste of your time to speak to some one is not interested in your offering or who has no desire to help you with yours. It can be very frustrating networking a large event and all the people you are speaking with are not your target audience. By you having a prepared name badge with a very brief marketing message it tells people who you are and what you do very quickly. Think of your name badge as a "mini billboard" advertising your product, service or offering.

7. Work The Room

When business networking you must speak to as many people as you can when attending a networking event. You want to meet as many new people as possible. Walk up to people and introduce yourself. You have prepared your networking introduction - now go for it! Everyone is there for the same reason. There is no need to be shy, just be yourself. When "working the room" try not to spend more then ten minutes with any one person, unless it's a real hot prospect. You want to get as many qualified leads as you can. By speaking to as many people as you can especially those people who are in your target market. You will walk out of that networking event with a pocketful of strong qualified leads - which will lead to more sales!

As a Guerrilla Networking professional "working the room" for you must become second nature. Your goal is to seek out your target market using a clear and precise methodology to get in front of as many people as you can. Especially in front of the right people - that
is, your target market. You have learned how to network to be successful - now go "work that room" like a pro!

8. Don't Go For The Close!

It's high unlikely you will be closing any business when are business networking. The goal of networking is get as many qualified leads as you can in the time you have allocated for the networking session. It better to get five very qualified leads then twenty weak or not qualified leads. What you need to have in your Guerrilla Networking "tool box" is three and no more than five strong qualifying questions.

The following are some sample qualifying questions. Questions in the areas of: Who is the final decision maker for this project? Is money budgeted for this project? When are you looking to make a decision to move forward on this project? Who are the people necessary to get behind this project? What would be the win to the organization and to you if this project is completed on time and under budget? Make the appropriate adjustments to your questions based on the industry, product line or services you offer.

If the answer to many of these questions is "I don't know" it's highly unlikely you have a qualified lead. Place this person's card on the bottom of your deck and move on to the next person. You are there to "work the room" as quickly and efficiently as possible to get as many qualified leads as you can. You are a busy professional, you don't need to spend a few hours at a business networking event to walk out of there with empty pockets or useless leads that are wasting your time.

9. Build Business and Non-Business Relationships

Building relationships is always important, regardless if they are for building your business or adding value to your personal life. Being a Guerrilla Networking professional does not mean you do not mix and mingle with people. All it means is that you a focused individual with a purpose. Non-business relationships have their rewards as well. You never know, you might be meeting your next spouse at a networking event!

When networking you are always looking to harvest and cultivate relationships. Be they professional or personal, you are a professional and in being so you know and understand the importance of both types in your life. No one becomes successful alone. We all need each other to get to our respective goals be they in the business world or in your personal life. So constantly be on the look for good solid relationships. They will help you on your journey in the business world and in your personal life.

10. Follow Up As Soon As Possible

You worked that business network event hard and got those leads now what? It time to follow up on those hot leads as soon as possible! Every day that goes by and I mean every day that goes by, those hot leads get colder and colder to the point where people have forgotten who you are, where they met you and what your story was all about. Follow up is just as important as getting the actual lead itself!

When following up you want to have a reason to get this person into your "business world". Maybe you want to offer them a FREE analysis of some type or give them a copy of your work. You want to get an appointment with your qualified prospect so you can begin your sales process.

The process goes like this:

First: Marketing (your offer - gets the prospect into your world) Second: Sales (this is a process to close them to become a client or customer) Third: Service (delivery of your product or service)

Sales is not a random event rather a process that can be duplicated over and over again insuring your success. If you need to work with a sales consulting professional to learn all these and other proven sales methods and techniques it is well worth the investment in time and money to get you a formula you can use time and time again to deliver results and revenues.

Remember, networking is skill. Master that skill, and your introductions to people will be very productive. Your time is valuable. Make the most of your networking opportunities and your profits will soar!

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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