... And the Clients Went Wild!: How Savvy Professionals Win All the Business They Want

Chapter 5. Fourth Principle Leverage Your Business Network for Incremental Growth

Find and Cultivate Centers of Influence to Move Your Message Fast

If you have a great idea, product, or service and no one knows about it, does it really exist? Technically, yes; but it's a bit like the oft-asked philosophy question, "If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?" The obvious answer is, "Of course!" But for years, philosophers have claimed that sound is only sound if a person hears it; and the same could be said for your product or service. If you've designed something for other people who simply don't use it or know about it, in philosophers' eyes, it really doesn't exist. If you have something extraordinary, but no one buys it, then it may as well not even have been created. You must attract people to your product or service and get them to latch on to the idea.

Sales 101 versus Advanced Sales Strategies

The most skilled salespeople build strong business relationships. They may start at a cold call, follow it with a series of contacts, face-to-face meetings, and presentations, and use these to turn the prospect into a paying client. However, this Sales 101 process is doubtlessly the most difficult way to grow new account sales, even—and especially—for the most experienced salesperson. Yet this is how the system of sales is being taught—that salespeople need to execute a plan designed to reach out systematically, one-on-one, with potential buyers. ...