There’s only so much time in the day. And yet, when it comes to building business relationships, it:
- shouldn’t be automated.
- takes time and actual thoughtful research.
- requires even more time for meeting online and (now, finally!) even in person.
But then there’s prospecting and lead generation and setting what we call, No Goals. That is: a goal for the number of no’s you are going to hear in a given day or week. (Knowing that the yeses will follow!) That means doing the behaviors necessary to collect decisions from your customers and prospects. It’s the part where you are working towards hitting your sales goals or quota.
But wait… everyone is always talking about building relationships. How do you slow down and build relationships or connections with prospects while hitting your goals for the day, week, or month?
Mike Vance worked with Disney (literally Walt Disney) and coined the phrase, “think outside of the box.” He also said, “Slowing down is sometimes the best way to speed up.”
If relationship building is slowing down… could it help you to hit your No Goals faster?
Perhaps not initially. Until one week when you’ll have 5 people all whom you’ve been building relationships with, call you with a “yes.”
But how does this look from a practical standpoint, day in and day out?
It means proactively scheduling both kinds of activity.
- Time to hit your no goals.
- Time to dig deeper to connect with people one on one.
For example, in a complete workday, split out 4 total selling hours.
Schedule the first couple hours of traditional (no goals) sales and prospecting activity in the morning.
Then, set aside a couple of hours in the afternoon to slow down. Review the people in your contact list whom you need to reconnect with:
- Call them. If they don’t answer, leave a voicemail that you were thinking of them and why. if they do answer, do the same thing.
- Investigate the social media platforms where they are active. Are they on Linkedin? Comment on a recent post. Give them a couple of recommendations or send a message with something they would find interesting or again, that you were thinking of them, and why. Are they on Twitter or Instagram? Actually engage by replying to a tweet or liking and commenting on their last post.
- Make a quick video on Vidyard and email it to them. (There are others out there, this is just my favorite.)
- Go beyond and send a postcard, note, card or, a gift. (There are plenty of fabulous services to do this!)
- Get creative! As Mike Vance would say, “think outside the box.”
Let’s say doing this kind of stuff, you were only able to reach out and really connect well with three people in that two-hour block of time.
And what if you did that only 3 times a week?
That would be 9 people a week.
That would be over 450 people a year. But one reach out doesn’t a “relationship” make, does it?
So, consider instead that you connected once a quarter with just over 100 of those. 100+ well-built relationships. People who know you, like you, and trust you, as Bob Burg would say.
And remember, that was only 3 people. 3 days a week. Very conservative activity.
The point is, that would significantly help you to hit your No Goals!
If people are looking at “go for no” as a way to hit a quota, they could mistakenly believe that we are not interested in building relationships. The two are not mutually exclusive. You should always go for no and build relationships. And you can.
If you want to go deeper into the mindset and strategies of connecting with others, definitely pick up a copy of The Connector’s Way by Patrick Galvin and The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
Comments? Please let me know your thoughts. And if you liked this post, please share! – AW