A student in the customer prospecting course raises his hand.
- Doubt.
- No...
- I have a great relationship with many companies. How do I use my address book to do business?
- You will be upset by my answer, my dear. But come on...
Do you provide real market value? That should be your focus. Not the relationship.
What is a relationship worth if you don't offer something necessary?
I want you to be competitive and not a pushover.
We are not here to be nice. We are here to be useful.
Would you perform a surgery with your doctor friend, without first checking his competence?
Friendliness is often a distraction for lack of competence in what one does.
I have met a dozen charming professionals who delivered zero or nearly so. You see, I am not saying that this is your case.
But do you have a good relationship with many people employed in good companies? Do you have a good relationship with many businessmen?
Great. Convert it into contracts.
Otherwise run for the presidency of the empty network, where everyone wants to sell to everyone else or wants to be able to send their CV as soon as they lose their jobs.
Produce value, friend. Add to the machine.
I know I was rude, but if you are here it is because you need clients and your agenda will do little or almost nothing for you if you don't have a product strategy and a cavalier process for approaching your market.
So forget your agenda and put all your energy into looking for the real potential market that can buy what you sell because they need it, not because it is in your address book.
- But my calendar has the cell phone numbers of about 500 CEO's. Should I throw it away?
- It is not to be thrown away. But don't rely on it to sell. In the Product-Target-Methodology equation you are missing all three factors. You are a collection of leads. That's it. Think about what product/service you are going to offer and whether it is really competitive. Then pick up the phone and schedule some coffees with the contacts in your address book.
But beware! For the sake of "friendship" a good number of them will agree to a cup of coffee, some will agree to lunch, and will make promises that they will look after it with affection. But contract that is really good, almost nothing, if anything. I have seen this movie dozens of times.
Don't bet on the relationship to do business. Bet on your competitiveness, bet on your product, on the value it generates.
Then friends and strangers will buy from you. It doesn't matter. Business is a pragmatic commercial relationship, not an emotional one.
