A while back, I read “How to Sell Anything to Anybody” by Joe Girard and one concept that stuck in my head was his point about throwing spaghetti at a wall. Joe says “if you throw enough spaghetti against a wall, some of it will stick.” He used this point to describe his philosophy on cold calling – if you call enough people, someone will eventually listen to you. The concept can be used in other areas of business such as sales, pitching ideas and even looking for a job – if you contact enough people, you’ll eventually find someone who is interested in what you have to offer. But wait, there’s more…

There is some truth to the fact that the law of numbers can help you. After all, many businesses use bulk mailings as an inexpensive way to reach new clients – if 1% of the people the items are sent to respond, then it’s considered a big success. The problem is that the bulk approach may or may not work for your situation. The big risk of the bulk approach is that repeatedly sending out mailings may tarnish your image. In the case of postal mailings, you may look like an environmentally insensitive junk mailer while repeatedly sending email may make you appear to be a spammer.

That’s why it’s sometimes better to use a targeted approach. After all, you’re much better off with a targeted list of prospects so that you’re not wasting your time (and theirs) contacting people that are possible duds. Now this doesn’t mean only contact the people that have a 100% chance of being interested in what you’re offering, but it does mean eliminating the people who have a 100% chance of not being interested.

For example, I offer workshops for professional organizations and recently came across a list of 2400+ organizations in my area. I could have sat down at the phone for a month contacting all of these folks or sent them a bulk mailing hoping that one or two might look at it and hire me. But instead of doing that, I spent some time trimming the list down to the 400+ that I figured I had a shot with. The ones I eliminated were groups that were too small, didn’t host conferences, had no budget for workshops or weren’t a good fit for the topics I give workshops on.

This approach has been successful for me as I mainly talk to people who may have an interest in my services at some point. On one extreme, some folks will refer to me to other groups they know of that might be a better fit. On the other extreme, someone will say that they’re simply not interested.

Again, it all depends on your situation. The targeted approach works best when you have a clearly defined target audience for what you’re offering – and if you’re looking for a job or selling a business idea, you’ll probably fall into this category. The bulk approach works well if what you’re offering has global appeal such as a pizza place or generic cuisine restaurant.

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If you’re like most people, you probably don’t do a lot of preparation work prior to a networking event. Most people just pick an outfit and grab a stack of business cards, and they are off. For some, this works out adequately for them – they know how to talk to people. But for many, while they have a good time at the event, they don’t see any direct benefits from them.

Every now and then, I listen to one of my own audio programs. This week, I happened to pick up the Effective Networking program which is always interesting for me to listen to. I share a lot of stories on the program and to most listeners, they concisely illustrate a key point. But to me, they bring back the full memories and sometimes remind me of other stories that didn’t make the CD. So what does this have to do with anything? It serves as reminder for me for two things. First, I remember how bad I used to be at networking and second, I remember some of the avoidable mistakes I’ve seen others make at events.

Some mistakes are just due to the times we live in. Networking today is much different than it was ten years ago. Back then, most of the attendees were looking for work while today most are looking for jobs (at least at the general events I typically attend). Also, there was no social media back then and not everyone had email (and yes today, I still run into people without email). While some of us might not like people texting on their iPhones in the middle of conversation, it’s unfortunately the way society has moved. But to me, the bigger problem is the job seekers that attend these events and don’t bring resumes or even business cards. How can someone have a positive first impression of you as a job candidate if you don’t even think to give them an easy way to contact you?

Other networking mistakes are timeless. Ending a conversation can be more difficult than starting one. Walking up to someone and saying “hi” can seem like a walk in the park compared to getting some people to stop talking. And entering an event without goals or a strategy makes it hard to determine whether the event was a success.

I don’t fault people for making mistakes at networking events – I’ve made my share and will continue to do so as it’s a constant learning process. The trick is to put a little thought into the event and do some prep work before you leave your home. That’s why a good chunk of my 70 minute audio program contains tips just on preparation. It’s that important.

So if you feel you’re not getting the most out of networking events, then consider the time and effort you’re putting into your preparations. If you’re not sure how to prepare, you can get my program for about what it would cost you to go out for lunch.

Related posts:

1. Networking Success: Three Reasons People Fail at Networking Events
2. A quick tip for overcoming shyness at networking events
3. Networking Can Be a Complete Waste of Time
4. Social Media vs. Traditional Networking – Which is better for you?

I was recently cleaning out some old emails and found a couple of emails from a vendor that got me thinking. Before we get to the actual email, let me tell you the situation. A few years ago, I had downloaded a trial version of a piece of software. Many companies require you to provide some information prior to allowing you to download, so I had provided whatever info they had requested. It’s not uncommon for companies to have someone in their sales group follow up. In this particular case, this vendor was in the same city as me (I’ll refrain from sharing the name of the company or sales person) so a salesman emailed me requesting a meeting.

Here is the email I recieved, with the subject being “[his company name] visit – [my company name]:”

Hi Jim.
I would like to stop by and introduce myself. Here are some times.

Monday 1/28/08 at 10am, Noon for Lunch or 2pm.
Tuesday 1/29/08 at 10am, Noon for Lunch or 2pm.
Wednesday 1/30/08 at 10am, Noon for Lunch or 2pm.

Please reply back with a time that will work for you.

Thanks.

Have a great day!

[his name]

I then received the same exact message six months later – the only change was with the three dates he supplied. Normally, I would have deleted these messages and ignored them, but there are so many lessons to learn her that I figured that someday I could share those lessons with either my readers or within my courses. So let’s look at some of the ways this could have been a more effective message.

1. It’s too obvious that it’s a form letter.

Everyone uses templates and form letters these days – they make life a lot easier. But for this one, all this guy does is change the name in the salutation (more on that later), the dates of the meetings and the name of the target company in the subject. The key with templates (and this is especailly true with sales letters and resumes) is that they shouldn’t read like a template. If this guy had simply added “not sure if you saw my earlier request, so I just wanted to follow up” or something like that to the greeting in his second note to me, I would have given him a Mulligan on this first one. Even the subject reeks of convience on his part – it helps him sort of his mail nicely but it doesn’t encourage the recipient to open it.

2. Never assume people like nicknames.

The thing that caught my eye right away is that he shortened my first name. Yes, people do that all the time (which is a pet peeve of mine) but you need to be more careful with potential prospects. I know some people who get very upset when people shorten their names so I always ask people if they go by something other than their full name. While I don’t hate someone for life for making this assumption, I happen to prefer my full first name and politely correct them. I could go on and on about how this happens in casual conversations but let’s go back to this sales person. I filled out the form on his website with “James Feudo” as my name so he should have erred on the side of caution and gone with that.

3. He completely missed the point of sales.

Now he could have still been successful if he messed up the first two points if he got this one right, but this is where he failed miserably. When I look as his letter as a busy professional, all I see is someone that wants to come talk to me and waste my time. “I would like to stop by and introduce myself” doesn’t appeal to me in any way unless I was lonely and looking for someone to talk to. Spam for things like penis enlargement (which is his message might as well be) are more effective than this because at least there appears to be some benefit to the reader (unless the reader is female of course). But there’s nothing about his services or any specials in the message. All he’s saying is “I want to come by and learn what you do so I can tell you about my products.” He could have said something like “I’m just trying connect with clients in the area and was wondering if I could take you out to lunch so I can learn about your needs.” When you’re a salesperson, you need to focus on your customers’ needs, not you’re own.

Unfortunately, the only thing I can think of that this guy did right was follow up with me right away. But given his communication was so ineffective, he could have followed up months out and it would have had the same effect. So whenever you sit down to write a sales letter, take a piece of advice from speaking – remember that it’s all about the audience.

Related posts:

1. How to Exit a Conversation
2. How to Get Others Excited About Your Ideas
3. Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall
4. Are you Not Getting the Most Out of Networking Events?

I have a confession to make: I’ve spent the majority of my life being shy. When I was a kid having to meet new people – adults especially, but even kids – was a challenge for me. I grew out of it in high school and college but then when it was time for me to hit the workforce, it came back.

I finally addressed it the way I dealt with my fear of public speaking – I tossed myself into situations where I had no choice but to introduce myself to people. Shortly after I graduated from college, I attended a job fair. Okay, “attended” might not be the appropriate word. I walked in the door and gave some resumes to the person that was handling sign-ins. And I went into the crowded room where there were all these tables set up – but I didn’t talk to anyone. I just walked out because I had no idea what to do. Pretty pathetic, huh?

Flash forward five years and there I was looking for work again. I found myself in a position where I had to put my money where my mouth was. My Toastmasters club (which I was the President of) had just voted to do something extremely controversial (in the club’s mind that is) and join our local chamber of commerce. As the club’s President, I had to attend a “Business after hours” networking event so I could promote the club – the primary reason why we joined. So there I was walking into the room completely scared.

I had set a goal to last at least 30 minutes and introduce myself to at least three new people. And while it was tough, I met (actually, exceeded) both of my goals. That first introduction was a little tough, but it was the hardest of the night. I actually took advice from Larry King and was honest with people. I told people that I was new to networking and not sure what to do at these types of events. And surprisingly, people helped me. Yes, I made some mistakes but overall the event was a success.

I eventually went on to become an Ambassador for the chamber so it was my job to help people mingle. It was my way of forcing myself to do something I was uncomfortable with (just like I gave speeches as much as possible at Toastmasters).

Shyness itself can be caused by a lot of things such as lack of confidence, fear of rejection or fear of failure. So if find yourself a bit shy don’t worry, there are things you can do about it. The best thing you can do is ease your way outside of your comfort zone so you can have small successes to build your confidence. I actually have a ten step process for doing this that I teach in my networking class that eases people into introductions. The gist of it is to take baby steps, each one building on the one before it. Social media is also another avenue for dealing with shyness because you can hide behind an avatar or username. And services like Twitter make it easy to connect with people and jump into conversations.

So if you feel you’re too shy, don’t worry. You’re in good company and you can overcome it. Just take a few steps, no matter how small. The fact that you’re pushing your comfort zone is what matters most.

Related posts:

1. How to Exit a Conversation
2. A quick tip for overcoming shyness at networking events
3. Networking Can Be a Complete Waste of Time
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