Building Your Business Leads Bank, Part 1

There are two essential pieces to having a thriving business; being able to effectively promote your product or service, and having someone who will listen to your presentation.  You may have a great product and the skill to make a sale, but without someone in front of you, you can’t close the deal.  You need a good lead, one that results in an opportunity to present your product or service to a prospect.  Business leads come from many sources and vary in the investment of time and cost, and the likelihood of a return on investment.  There are plenty of books and classes that teach about lead sources, but I will be sharing tips about what I have learned “in the trenches.”

Before I tell you what I have learned about lead sources, I want to relate my first formal networking experience:

A newly-hired sales representative who had just moved back to Pittsburgh from Tennessee, I didn’t have many contacts.  My manager told me to find and go to networking events to meet prospects.  He made it sound simple.  To him, a room full of people was a roomful of prospective clients.

I researched Pittsburgh for networking opportunities using www.PittsburghBusinessCalendar.org, signed up electronically, mapped out the location and put it on my calendar.  On the day of the event, I told my manager where I was going and he sent me off with a thumbs-up gesture and a smile, encouraging me to go out and conquer.  Having been informed beforehand that there would be thirty-five women at the event, I made sure to take a large stack of business cards.

Arriving at an upscale restaurant, I was pleased to see a large room in sufficiently muted tones to promote conversation.  Being one of the first to arrive, I cased the room for the best seating location.  Pulling out my business cards, I laid a small stack next to my beautifully-laid place setting at a table for eight.  When one or two women came up to the table, I introduced myself in a few words and offered my business card, confidently expecting one in return.   I became impatient at the slowness of this process, and set out on the hunt.  Interrupting people at the next table, I quickly gave my name and thrust my card into their hands, demanding their business cards.  Pleading a wish not to interrupt further, I moved on to further victims.

In this way, over the course of a ten-minute introductory period planned for attendees to talk and get to know each other, I acquired over twenty business cards.  Once seated, I continued my kamikaze tactics and extracted business cards from the rest of my tablemates.  Each person was given a 30-45 seconds to give what I later learned was an elevator speech.  Hardly caring what I ate, I listened attentively and marked down those that I particularly wanted to contact after the event, all the while planning what I would say for my first elevator speech.  I cannot recall the exact words, but I am sure it was a self-serving speech that boasted of what I could provide for them and offering to meet, designed to make each woman rush up to me after lunch to make an appointment.

Returning to work, I reviewed my treasures.  Despite my best efforts, I had only obtained twenty-eight business cards and a few business brochures, sometimes duplicates.  As I had been taught, I proceeded to follow-up with everyone.  After creating a tempting email letter in which I explained that I was looking for referral partners and wanted to meet and learn more about their business, I sent it out in a mass email.  Then I sat back and waited for responses so that I could “reel” in new clients.

How many women came up to me after the lunch and wanted to make an appointment with me?  How many emails responses did I get?  Those of you in sales, probably know the answer.  In Part 2, I’ll tell you what happened, or didn’t.