For some the term Sales is a four-letter word. Of course, at netlogx, the term we use is Outreach. Everybody is expected to participate in Outreach. How does one “Outreach” when your job is not Sales and the idea of Sales scares you to death?
There are basically two (2) concepts on which an individual can focus in order to conduct Outreach:
- Listening, and
- Relationship Building
When you can’t even imagine making a phone call to ask somebody if they would be interested in learning more about netlogx or if you could sit down and talk to them about the services we provide, how then can you sell anything?
The first step is to listen. In every single situation in which you find yourself you can listen: on projects you work on, when you meet people in the hallway or on the elevator, and before and after meetings when people are chit-chatting. Anytime you are exposed to clients or potential clients you can listen. What should you listen for?
- Listen to what people say
- Listen to what people complain about
- Listen to learn where people are struggling
- Listen for new potential projects
- Listen for things that are changing: new processes, new leadership, new legislation
- Listen to news that might be related to current or potential clients
- Listen for comments about things not working: systems, processes, anything
By simply listening, and maybe engaging in conversation, you can identify a slew of potential opportunities. The beautiful thing about Outreach is that you don’t have to become the “Sales” person. You don’t have to follow up and make appointments and give presentations and “close the deal.” You simply take what you learn, by listening, and pass it on to the experts. netlogx has individuals who are specialists in Outreach and they would be overjoyed to receive any information you have about potential opportunities. Share this information with them. But the only way you can share it is if you listen and learn about it in the first place.
The second thing you can do as part of Outreach is Relationship Building. Simply put, Relationship Building is developing and nurturing a professional relationship (hence, “Relationship Building”) with other business professionals through the sharing of mutual understanding and common interests. You do this by:
- Talking
- Showing interest
- Asking questions
- Sharing helpful information
- Being kind and friendly
- Listening
- Offering advice
- Working hard on current projects
- Leading by example
- Providing high quality deliverables
None of these points are difficult. Most are common-sense communication. And many are just you simply doing your job and doing it well. Once you have made a connection and established a relationship with like-minded business professionals, they will remember you and they will keep you in mind for future opportunities. Soon enough, they will be reaching out to you for your help.
There you go – Listen and Be Nice. Do these two (2) things and you are “Outreaching.”
Not so difficult after all – is it?
