Networking Coffee and Contacts Style
By Jean Hedges
Founder of Women's Power Networking and Coffee and Contacts
Coffee and Contacts has a very distinctive style of networking. We work at building relationships not simply, “closing the sale.” The difference is we are building our businesses for the long run. We know we are better than our last sale. We are more concerned with the next sale, and the sale after that, and the one after that. Future business is the direct result of the relationships we create today. It's more about referrals and sharing our sphere of influence with our fellow members than closing a prospect on the spot.
If the purpose of networking is to increase business, then why do so many people go to networking events only to alienate just about everyone they try to connect with by arm twisting and out of date hard sell tactics?
Think about when you are in a position to make a purchase. What do you look for?
If you are like the majority of people, you prefer to do business with people you know, like and trust. It's hard to know, like, or trust someone who is beating you over the head as a business prospect.
Think about it: Know is a given, how can you purchase from someone you don't know? Somehow some way, you need to know an individual offers what you need.
If there's a choice (and let's face it there usually is) we would all prefer to work with someone we actually like. Someone we feel we have a personal connection with. This is transferred when a trusted source provides a business referral.
But finally and most importantly, we need to trust. We need to trust our service provider or salesperson is looking after our best interests above and beyond their personal bottom line. We want to trust they are competent and know what they are doing and will do the best job possible for us.
It is hard to walk into a store or meet a new individual and have all three of these qualities. Coffee and Contacts gives us the unique opportunity to develop this high trust sales opportunity through weekly meetings, as well as numerous social, business, and educational opportunities.
Best of all we make work fun as well as successful!