Cold call. There, did you feel that? Sent shivers down your spine, didn’t it? That’s not unusual. It takes a certain personality type to actually enjoy cold calls. I’m not one of them. But for some of us, it’s a necessary evil.

Or is it?

These days networking groups have replaced the phone book and the telephone for the most part. If you find the right networking group with the right partner businesses it can be like a feeding frenzy. Ask any mortgage lender who has been in a BNI group. The ROI is incredible!

From a sales stand point, the percentage of closing from a referral is considerably higher than it is from a cold call. If the referral includes a face-to-face introduction, then the percentage is sky rockets. You are essentially borrowing on credit built by another person. If they provide quality products or services and recommend you, your stock goes way up with that prospect. The danger is that you can also damage their reputation and cause them to lose their account. So play nice out there, Kids!

Here are some of the local networking groups you can check into to get off of the cold call and onto referrals:

Business Networking International (or BNI)

The American Club Association

The Chamber of Commerce

Make sure the group you choose has a good cross section of businesses that are compatible with yours. Think if your prospects come from business to business relations or business to consumer relations and then join accordingly. All of these groups have visiting policies to see if it’s a fit or no fit situation.

Now get out there and look good!

Chris Motley
Motley Creations

Tags: business, cold call, Networking.