Networking for success

Grant Leboff: Phil, I think one of the really important aspects in business relationships and selling today is networking. Can you tell us a little bit more about the importance of networking and how one goes about doing that well?

Phil M Jones: There’s that old adage right, it’s not what you know, but it’s who you know and that’s kind of partly true, but it isn’t really that. I think I’ve learned it to be true and I can’t even remember who said this to me but I think it might have been Peter Thompson once said, well it’s not who you know, it’s what you do with who you know that’s important. What networking allows you to do is create some visibility, to get to know people, to be able to create a group full of people that you can influence and lean on that then can be able to help you reach a bigger, wider network of people both online and offline.

But you got to get an added value to them. What makes you successful at it is not about how do I get involved in this group and what can they give to me, it needs to be more of a case of how do I get involved in this group and then add value to them first? You’ve got to kind of make that first move and show them that you’re worth something because people who are worth investing in, that can help you to develop your business success typically are kind of guarded.

You can only manage relationships with a certain number of people, so they’ve got to see you as worth bringing into that circle and that normally is done by you providing a gift first and I don’t mean wrap in up in a box and turn up with some chocolates or some wine, I mean show them how you can help them. That needs to be the first move. Find the people that you know can help you and then see what you can do to help them first to get people into a feeling of indebtedness. That’s an important piece is that feeling of indebtedness and if they feel like they owe you, that’s a great place to get hundreds of people into.

Grant Leboff: I understand and in terms off giving that value to a group, how do you as an outsider, obviously you’re going to go and join the group whether that’s online or offline, but how do you start to access the value that you can give, because I think people often are very good about telling people about what they do but not so good at understanding the value that they present to people.

Phil M Jones: Okay. It’s listening. It’s that simple. I see people running to networking events, spouting their 60 second pitch at everybody and trying to get people to buy their products and services and they know nothing about them. They could just as easily be speaking to a competitor as a prospect. Shut up, listen. Go start understanding other people’s challenges. There’s a question you can ask in any B to B environment that earns me a fortune, I just ask the question, how’s business? What do you think nearly everybody says back to that question?

Grant Leboff: They’re all, it’s okay but or I’m looking to do this or.

Phil M Jones: There’s normally some version of, particularly in a stranger meet scenario, you get some version of fine, okay, so so, not so bad, right? Follow it up with a second question, which is really, and I say that again, the question really, and people start to just download on you all the things that could be better and what they’ve got going on right now. Listen some more, ask a few more questions and genuinely show interest and you’ll start to conjure up ideas as to how you can add value and help them.

Whether it’s an introduction to somebody else, whether it’s one of your products or services that could help them, whether it’s just a free piece of advice of something that you know that they might want to try or help. Think about you’re giving them a free taste of your relationship before you’re saying buy from me, buy from me, buy from me.

Grant Leboff: This is fundamental, isn’t it, because it means having a genuine interest in other people.

Phil M Jones: Yeah.

Grant Leboff: I think a lot of people are very interested in doing business, there’s a mismatch from being interested in actually other people. How important do you think that is?

Phil M Jones: Well Dale Carnegie made it crystal to me when I read his book and then studied that work on from there, where Carnegie said you make more friends in a short period of time by showing massive interest in others than you will in a lifetime trying to get people interested in yourself, right? That rule is still completely true today, both online and offline again is, I can’t say any clearer, shut up, listen, show interest, find out how you can help people. If you’re in the selling business you’re in the helping business.

If you’re not helping people, then you’re the wrong side. You’re that horrible stereotype of a salesperson that people tell horrible stories about and put posters up and put stickers on their front doors to avoid. Genuinely help people and the doors open for you.

There may be small changes to the spoken word in this transcript in order make it more readable.