A typical sales job hires individuals for its book of contacts, and their power of networking. Most salesmen or saleswomen have the gift of gab and persuasion, but really, it’s their contacts that are valuable. They know how to connect, bring people together, and make things happen.
They can spread the word about a product through their contacts and keep breaking down barriers by having their contacts introduce them to new contacts. And so on, and so forth. Having a great network, no doubt, will get you farther than if you are the only one working towards something. Asking friends and close contacts a favor will get you a long way. And it helps if you have a killer product too.
The online world has made that so much easier to connect, pass the word along, and network. We can connect and build relationships with people we’ve never met in real life. Amazing, right? On LinkedIn, you can ask a close friend to introduce you to someone they know. On twitter, you can follow and respond to the people you want to connect with. On Facebook, you can join groups or fan pages and find people with similar interests. It’s amazing how the online world is helping us make stronger connections faster.
When you are about to go to lunch with someone you’ve never met, do you research them online before meeting? There is no longer a “first date” in lunch meetings. You can save yourself the time and research the person online so when you meet with them, you can get to the meat of what you together want to talk about or work on. I am constantly amazed by the people I have met online and the various doors that open just due to connecting, and building a web.
I know we aren’t salespeople, and aren’t all online to sell something, but there is something to be learned from salespeople and how they leverage their contacts to make things happen. I hope you are building your web and network and making the world a better place.
Have any stories you’d like to share about how the online world has made your world better? I’d love to hear them.
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