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April 2009 – Marketing
Agent’s Sales Journal
Written by Lin Grensing-Pophal
Stephanie Cohen has no problem networking — in fact, she’s a real pro.
As CEO of the health benefits firm Golden & Cohen, Cohen takes networking to an entirely new level. In October, she hosted the DC Health Summit, a meeting of 100 top health care insurance providers, doctors, hospitals, business owners, and politicians. Her goal: to establish a consortium of leaders that will begin a national dialogue about the connection between wellness programs and lower health care insurance rates.
Networking isn’t about selling, Cohen said — it’s about making connections.
“You have to put your guard down and just go up to people and talk about a subject that is not insurance,” she said.
In fact, she said, talking about insurance can be a real turn-off for most people.
“If I walk up and say, ‘Hey, I’m Stephanie Cohen and I sell health insurance,’ the conversation kind of ends,” she said.
Instead, she suggested, agents should find a commonality or connector between what they’re doing and what the other person is experiencing. Insurance, she noted, can be a big connector, but it isn’t the place to start the conversation.
Adrian Miller, president and founder of Adrian Miller Sales Training, has worked with many insurance agencies and carriers. She recalled a networking event where an agent “sidled up to me and said, ‘So, do you have long term care insurance?’”
“I guess I was the perfect boomer target, but, really, who wants to discuss old age and incontinence at an event?” she said.
Clearly, there are some subtleties involved with successful networking. Following are several tips from the experts on how to approach the task of networking, how to establish connections with contacts, and more.
Start with the end in mind
Networking should be considered a professional activity and not a casual event, said Alice Waagen, president of Workforce Learning LLC, a leadership training firm that helps C-level executives and managers improve relationships.
“The most important lesson I learned early on is to establish for yourself your goal or objective before you go to the event,” Waagen said. “That way, you keep focused and don’t get distracted by the hors d’oeuvres, the drinks, or your best buddy across the room.”
Having a goal in mind also allows agents to later evaluate the value of the event and whether it attracted a group they wish to continue to pursue.
Dale Chapman Webb, director of The Protocol Centre, a provider of business etiquette and international protocol training, said, “Networking is socializing with a plan. Do your research on what the event is and who you might meet. Think about what you want to accomplish.”
Susan Combs, president of the full-service insurance brokerage firm Combs & Company, said that agents should be cautious about spending too much time with people who have no potential value. That can be hard to even think about, she admitted, but time is valuable.
“The biggest thing is knowing when to cut your losses and move on,” she said. “A lot of people get stuck talking with a person who cannot be a prospect or help out and then you stand there for an hour.”
Listening well
Without question, the most important and most oft-cited key to effective networking is being a good listener.
“Forget the elevator speeches and the infomercials about yourself that are often advocated,” advised Jeanne Hurlbert, a network coach who heads OptinetResources.com, a group that helps business people — primarily business women — build social networks. While agents do need to be able to succinctly say who they are and what they do, these pronouncements should not sound canned.
Instead, focus on listening, Hurlbert said. If you do that well, you’ll quickly pick up on cues that will help you connect.
Liz Lynch, author of “Smart Networking” and founder of the Center for Networking Excellence, said it can also help to practice conversation starters before the event. Two that work well: “What brings you to the event?” and “Is this your first time here?”
Making connections
When Combs networks, she is interested in establishing new relationships with clients and collaborators. She noted that she often meets professionals with expertise that her firm does not have. As a result, Combs has built a network of not only insurance agents, but other professionals such as CPAs and attorneys who she is able to refer to clients, thereby increasing the value she provides.
“We’ll always refer about three people because we feel our clients should be the makers of their own destinies,” she said. “The last thing you want is for them to have a bad experience — basically, we help them get the contacts, but the ultimate decision is up to them.”
Miller referred to this as “being a connector” — an important networking skill.
“Think about all the clients and influencers that you know and how you can connect your new contacts with some of these folks,” she said. “That’s the meaning of being a connector.”
Follow up
Of course, it is not enough to simply make connections. To be successful networkers, agents need to follow up with and nurture the contacts they make.
“If you’re not reminding your business friends of what you do and that you’re still out there doing it on a very regular basis, you might as well stop wasting your time and energy on business development,” said Ken Lizotte, chief imaginative officer of Emerson Consulting Group and author of “The Expert’s Edge: Become the Go-To Authority People Turn to Every Time.”
“Networking without follow-up, and then without continued follow-up in the form of regular reminders, is opportunity unrealized,” Lizotte continued. “Make a commitment to keeping your client community informed and reminded of what’s going on with you and your business.”
In the end, Cohen cautioned agents to not be discouraged if networking contacts don’t materialize into something immediately.
“It might not be something that happens right now — but it could be something that happens a month, five months, even a year or more from now,” she said.
The bottom line? Keep at it. Networking is not unlike physical fitness, said Taksh: “You don’t feel like doing it, but often times you do it and you’re almost always glad you did.”
Lin Grensing-Pophal is an independent business journalist and author of several books, including “Marketing with the End in Mind” and “Human Resource Essentials.” She can be reached at llpophal@charter.net or 715-723-2395.
Additional Networking Tips
Following are some additional tips from networking experts on how to effectively work a room in any situation:
• Wear nametags wisely — pinned to your upper right shoulder area. Because most people are right-handed and will extend their right hand, this puts your name tag in plain view, minimizing the need for them to search for it. Among the worst spots for name tags: for women, hanging in front of their chest; for all, attached to the bottom of a jacket or pocket.
• Camp out at a destination location, such as the registration table or the bar.
Always approach people who are standing alone — it’s much easier to break into a conversation with one person than with two or three who are already having a conversation.
• If you’re in a room with total strangers, find somebody who is doing what you are — whether they’re drinking the same drink, eating the same dessert, or simply standing around. This way, you know you have one thing in common.
• Remember S.H.E.E.: smile, handshake, eye contact, and enthusiasm.
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