We are considered to be in the post-trust era economy. This happened in 2008 with the recession. Big banks lied and Wall Street screwed people over and caused the worst recession in our lifetime.
This resulted in people changing the way they do business as a whole. It changed what we think about businesses, and it changed our buying behaviors.
We stopped being so trusting of businesses and started doing our research instead. Let’s face it we were betrayed, lied to and just like any relationship that has trust issues it changed how we interact and how we buy from businesses.
People are also more knowledgeable about products and companies than ever before. We used to rely solely on salespeople for knowledge and information regarding a product we wanted to buy. But now the Internet is at our fingertips, and buyers are doing their own research.
In fact, there is almost nothing you can’t research. So this means buyers no longer need you to provide the facts about a product or service, they can do that themselves, and many of them do. But what they do need, is for you to build that KLT (know, like, trust) factor with them so that when they are ready to buy, it is YOU that they buy from. This why Networking is so important in doing business today.
We are now in the NEW economy where building the KLT factor through networking is a must when selling. Networking takes us a step in the right direction to help heal those trust issues and build relationships with our customers.
Gone are the days where you could manipulate, deceive or be too pushy to make a sale. There is a new and improved way of selling. And thank goodness! Who wants to sell like that anyway! I want to feel good about what I sell and how I sell. So this new economy works in my favor, and it can work in yours too!
Where can you Network to start building those relationships?
- Face to Face networking meet-ups are all over cities. You can use resources like Meetup or Eventbrite or LinkedIn to find networking groups that might be a good fit for you.
- Facebook Groups! My most favorite place to network.
In fact, I encourage you to join at least 10-12 Facebook groups where you think your ideal customer is hanging out. Feel free to join our Crowned for Success Queendom. But before joining random groups, ask yourself, what kind of groups would your ideal customers be in?
Once you are in groups, do searches around keywords that your potential customers might be talking about. i.e., I might search for “Instagram” if I am looking for new clients to teach my Instagram strategies to. Or the word “struggle” is always good to search in groups.
These are usually comments that have been made by someone who is struggling with their problems. Why is this important? Because you want to know and understand your potential customer’s pain points so that you know how to talk to their pain points and you know what kind of product or service to offer.
7 other helpful tips when networking in Facebook Groups…
- Post at least once a day in groups so that people start to take notice of you.
- Give helpful tips.
- Post an inspirational quote.
- Share a link to a helpful article.
- Comment on people’s posts and give your advice.
- “Like” peoples posts. Nothing drives me crazier than to see 10 people viewed a post but only 2 people liked it, be generous with your likes. It’s equivalent to paying someone a compliment in person.
- Remember you’re not there to sell, YET. You’re there to build relationships first and foremost.
Even with all these tips, I know it can be pretty scary and intimidating to the network whether it’s online or in person.
An easy way to get over the fear of Networking is to detach yourself from the expectations of making a sale.
And focus on these things instead…
- Ask genuine questions.
- Listen more than you talk.
- Discover their problems and why they have them.
- Determine how and if you can solve them with your products or services.
- Give FREE Value to help build the KLT factor.
- If it’s determined that you don’t offer the resolution to what they want or need, refer them to someone who can be a referral source. This act of generosity goes a long way, and it’s twofold, the potential customer is sure to remember you when they want or need your product or service. And the person you referred them to is likely to return the favor.
