In my last post, I started telling the story about how I learned about why my salesmen weren’t getting any good leads from our investments in the Building Owners & Managers Association and the local Chambers of Commerce…let me continue from the point at which these guys finally showed up to the BOMA lunch. At exactly 12:10, my two salesmen—not seeing me—rushed in and sat by themselves and looked like they had a great time talking to each other while they ate their meals. Suddenly I knew why our company wasn’t seeing any ROI from our BOMA and Chamber investments and I knew what I had to do.

At our next weekly sales meeting.  I told my salesmen I saw them at the last BOMA luncheon and that it was my fault for not teaching them how to network.  “From now on,” I said, “this is how you’ll network:

  1. You are to arrive at a networking venue at least a half hour before it begins.
  2. You are not permitted to talk or ‘hang’ with each other.
  3. You are to introduce yourselves to other single attendees whom you don’t know. In other words, you are to meet and greet strangers who are standing by themselves.
  4. You are to empty one of your side pockets to receive the business cards of the contacts you make.
  5. You are to keep a stash of your business cards in the other pocket to hand to the contacts you meet.
  6. When asked who you are, you will respond by saying, We’re the only office mover in Atlanta that offers the ‘boxless’ move. When pressed further to explain what you mean, you will reply, “We’re the only company that moves your furniture without having to shut down and empty and pack up what’s in the drawers before the move.”
  7. You are not to spend more than 8 minutes with each contact. To end your conversations in a timely manner, you are to shake the person’s hand and say, “I know you’re here to meet as many people as you can, so it was nice talking to you,” as you move onto another contact.

To measure so I could manage, my salesmen gave me copies of the contacts’ business cards at the next weekly sales meeting. Within months of implementing this strategic networking process, we made tremendous contacts, got great leads, and ultimately booked a lot more business.

Be sure to join our Group at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12060567

For more information on our online office moving training, please visit

https://www.officemoves.com/training/index.html or call Ed Katz at 404.358.2172.