Business networking needs to evolve in order to retain its usefulness to business-to-business (B2B) salespeople. The biggest challenge facing business developers is finding the right types of opportunities within the right types of companies. The second biggest challenge is having the appropriate resources at hand to deliver the product or service once the deal is closed. Luckily, business networks are adapting to accommodate both of these problems.
When people think about business networking, two images typically come to mind: Chamber mixers and traditional leads groups that cater to people who sell to small businesses and individuals; or “old boy’s clubs” known for closed-door meetings in smoky backrooms where “under the table” deals are made. Neither of these scenarios is very fruitful for the average entrepreneur, consultant or salesperson who is trying to sell to established businesses at senior decision making levels.
The other problem with these antiquated networking strategies is that they are dependent on a network being geographically-focused or controlled by a few powerful personalities within a specific industry. If a salesperson’s territory is regional or national in scope, networks focused on specific zip codes or cities that work well for insurance, financial services, real estate and other community-based leads are relatively useless. And if they represent a smaller company, they can forget about penetrating the “old boy’s club.”
Some innovative companies such as LinkedIn.com, Xing.com, MySpace.com and other online social networks are allowing geographically dispersed-colleagues and long-forgotten friends or acquaintances to exchange ideas, leads and help stay connected. Other networks try to add value through online message boards or interest-specific email distribution lists. While these valuable tools help connect people technologically, their adoption hasn’t been as rapid as some would expect, because people are hesitant to blindly trust technology as a replacement for face-to-face networking and relationships.
The solution is a hybrid approach that combines local face-to-face meetings with technology-enabled meetings that expand the reach of the individual so they can collaborate with other business developers interested in common geographies, industries and/or providing complementary products or services.
This new approach takes into account the fact that technology is an augmentation to interpersonal connections, not a replacement for them. It also allows people to form alliances nationally and internationally, so they can develop and deliver business on a scale that would have previously been nearly impossible.
A culture of collaboration is sweeping the business-to-business sales world. And new technology is coming into play to enable national and even international collaboration, so small and large companies alike can change the way they uncover, close and deliver new business opportunities. Business networking must continue to evolve in ways that enable this collaboration, and companies must understand networking is not a face-to-face or technology-enabled interaction alone, but requires both online and offline components working together to be truly effective.
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