Forget Paris Hilton's Address Book:
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Who's in Yours?
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Although I’ve yet to figure out why millions of
Americans find hotel heiress Paris Hilton so fascinating, she recently made
headlines (again) for apparently doing nothing. |
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A hacker was able to gain access to Miss Hilton’s
email, her T-Mobile wireless account and her mobile phone address book. This
information was posted on several websites, and Hilton’s celebrity contacts such
as Vin Diesel, Eminem and Tara Reid started receiving calls from fans and
pranksters all over the world. |
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Your address book |
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What if the same thing happened to you? How much
buzz would your address book create? Of course, it’s rare to have movie actors
and rock stars as contacts, but what business value do the individuals in your
address book represent? Would your competitors care enough to print out your
contact list? Is your Rolodex® a gold mine or just a bunch of unimportant names
and numbers? |
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There’s a lot of truth to the old saying, “It’s not
what you know; it’s who you know.” But in sales we must take that adage one step
further. I believe it’s not just who you know; it’s how you strengthen and grow
your network. |
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Here are three things that we as sales professionals
should practice in order to turn our address books into increased sales. |
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1. |
Grow your contact list |
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You might spend a lot of time with existing
customers and respond when a new prospect contacts your company, but this is a
passive (and weak) approach to growing your sphere of influence. This type of
selling takes a reactive approach to acquiring new contacts. You just go about
your everyday work and once in a while a new contact falls into your lap. |
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The top sales pros take a proactive approach to
growing their contact list. They consider prospecting to be a critical part
of their business. Even if you’re a seasoned sales pro in an established
territory, be sure to set aside at least 10-20% of your time for good
prospecting activities. Attend industry events. Join organizations that your
typical customer might join. Don’t just schmooze, network. And remember that
networking is not an event, but a constant state of mind. |
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2. |
Identify the “network multipliers” |
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As a kid, I had a classmate whose mom seemed to know
everyone in town. She was a realtor. She was involved in her children’s school
activities and seemed to know all the other parents, the school administrators
and the coaches of the youth sports teams. If someone needed the name of a good
accountant, a trustworthy tailor or a great landscaper, Mrs. Miller was happy to
make a recommendation. She was a “network multiplier.” Knowing her was one step
away from knowing another 500 people. |
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Take a moment to think about the individuals in your
address book who are “network multipliers.” Which contacts seem to know a lot of
people? Who are the generous souls who take pride in connecting one person with
another? They are your network multipliers. Be sure to stay in touch with those
individuals. |
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Avoid making your relationship with network
multipliers into a monthly call to hit them up for referrals. Find a way to help
them in their business or in their life. When you help network multipliers
succeed, chances are they will feel obligated to return the favor. |
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3. |
Power of eight |
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Not all potential customers are created equal. Make
a list of eight “wouldn’t it be great if they bought from me” prospects and put
them in your address book. Pursue those prospects. Penetrate the accounts. Find
out who the decision makers are and what makes them tick. |
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Take a deliberate and careful approach with each
prospect. Demonstrate creativity and personal attention. That might be difficult
to manage with eighty prospects, but you could certainly do it with eight. Send
hand-written notes. Treat each prospect like he’s the only one in the world and
assume that this is the only chance you’ll ever get to sell to him. |
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If one of your eight key prospects turns into a dead
end, scratch her out, put another great prospect on your list and start the
process again. Maintain a rolling list of eight great prospects and you just
might find that this focused approach will help you convert more excellent
prospects into profitable customers. |
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You might be a star |
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Some salespeople simply maintain an address book.
It’s the sales pros who use their address books effectively and build upon them
to strengthen their sales efforts. Don’t think of your contact list as a bunch
of names and numbers. Instead, consider it a reservoir of information that leads
to increased sales and profits. |
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Paris Hilton and her high-profile address book will
likely continue to penetrate Hollywood’s glamorous culture. Even though we
salespeople might not end up on the cover of People magazine, we can use our
address books to help us become superstars – sales superstars – in our company
and in our industry. |
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