I am sure that many of you have heard of this word, “Networking”. It seems to be in fashion these days, and in fact, although we believe it is a new sales technique, many salespeople have been using these techniques since the origins of marketing.
Let’s define networking: “it is a way to expand our network of contacts and detect potential clients or collaborators, to subsequently create an action plan for the benefit of both parties.” That is to say, and so that we understand each other, the work of a salesperson does not consist of making visits and handing out brochures and business cards everywhere. Although, without a doubt and taking advantage of this definition, we can classify salespeople into different segments:
- The internal salesperson: the one who is dedicated to selling their products on-site, advising and quoting clients.
- The external salesperson: the one whose mission is to promote their products and services, trying to generate the greatest business for the company, which is subsequently quoted by the internal salespeople or company administrators.
- The key account manager: coordinates the commercial strategy of large accounts and defines the guidelines and actions to carry out for the acquisition of new business.
- The account manager: analyzes the production of the accounts applying Pareto’s law to determine the percentage of time dedicated to each of them to ensure their loyalty.
Of all of them, having left some pending that you can find in the market, and all being “salespeople” at the end of the day, I stick with two types: The hunters, or those who were born with that “gift” for sales, and the gatherers, who take meticulous care of each of the clients who walk through the doors of their establishments.
Knowing how to choose the type of profile you need in your company is fundamental, especially if we are talking about differentiating a start-up from an established one in the market, as well as the ownership priorities based on the production levels they take into account for their income statements.
Well, we ask ourselves, what does a salesperson do? How do they start doing their job? Surely, to many laymen and even some professionals, it is difficult to define the first steps of these profiles. Well, let’s start with the hiring company, what they nowadays call a senior. Without a doubt, hiring this type of profile will give us no problems, especially if our Human Resources staff has done a good job and found the right profile, since this type of professional will come with a loaf of bread under their arm (a solid foundation) and very interesting accounts for the property you are hiring for. In these cases, this professional already has a name in the market and brings with them years of experience and consolidated relationships with accounts showing significant and potential production for the company they work for.
With the junior, the complete opposite occurs, although if they are a professional in the sector, they lack the experience and consolidated relationships with important accounts that the senior brings. But nevertheless, when starting to make a commercial action plan, both need to create a network of like-minded contacts interested in the services they sell. For this, and before going out on the street to throw brochures and make visits handing out cards left and right, they have to generate some reasons to connect with their potential clients. This is done through Networking.
We find networking activities every day of the year. Our parents and grandparents used to meet in bars, associations, etc., where they exchanged impressions and communicated with professionals from the same and different sectors, creating a network of services and products that met the needs of the moment. Nowadays, salespeople do not go to bars to implement their action and acquisition plan, although they also resort to a multitude of activities and events where needs and services are matched:
- National sales fairs
- International fairs
- Workshops or work tables
- Golf shows
- Fam trips
The point is that the salesperson has to create a network of contacts—loyal, known, and trusted—where they can weave their structure to promote their services. We cannot create relationships with our clients with a simple visit or by knocking on their door, because we know that the first reaction will be negative.
Networking in the hotel business, as in the golf business, is fundamental to create that commercial structure that helps us distribute our products or services. It will be the access to the needs of our future and potential accounts, as well as the true development of a “relationship” between company and client.
