Ditch the Sales Pitches at Networking Events

This info from Beth Bridges, the Networking Motivator, is just too good not to share.  If you are in business ... networking can by your biggest ally, but too many of us don’t like getting the hard sell at a networking event.

No one does.

How to stop getting the hard sell?

When someone tells me they don’t like networking, I don’t think that they’re really saying that they don’t enjoy meeting new people, they don’t like seeing old friends or that they don’t want to build beneficial relationships. What they’re really trying to say is that they don’t like going to events where they thought it was going to be the above, i.e. networking, but instead they got a sales pitch from several people.

It’s a challenge, because we don’t like to be sold when we’re not looking to be sold. Some people react by rejecting networking altogether. This is the classic “cut your nose off to spite your face” mistake. We avoid the small pain of the over-enthusiastic sales pitch but experience the bigger, long-term pain of losing out on network-building opportunities.

So how do you deal with getting sales pitches at networking events?

1) Be realistic about how often it really happens.
It probably happens less than you think. Maybe 1 in 10 encounters or less? But because it’s so uncomfortable, we give it a bigger place in our awareness and remembrance of the networking event than it was.  If you think it’s happening to you all the time, track it. Go to an event, meet several people and put the “pitchers” cards in one pocket and the networkers card in another. You’ll probably see that it happens less often than you think.

2) They might not really be trying to sell you.
They just don’t know what else to do besides give you a run-down of their product or services features and benefits. A true sales pitch should end with a call to action, “When would you like to get together and get signed up?” Most of these presentations just run down. Instead of responding in kind, remember why you network (to give and receive value). Take charge of the conversation and direct it to your purpose.  They’ll be grateful that you’ve got a clear intent rather than spouting your features and benefits back to them.

3) Nod and smile, thank and retreat.
If they are really giving you the hard sell, you can be like a ninja and let it go right by you. Listen while you nod and smile, or just smile – they might take the nod as your agreement to buy! When they wind down their pitch, say “Thank you, I’m not interested (or able to take advantage of it right now). It was nice meeting you, have a great night.”  That will end the conversation. It might also end your opportunity to build a future relationship with them.

4) Change the subject.
If you don’t want to end the conversation or the future potential, Not to something completely different, but get them off the features/benefits and into something a bit more personal. How long have they been in business? When did they join this networking group? What do they do when they’re not working?  They could be new and in the first throes of their enthusiasm for their new business. If you’re patient, you could be rewarded with a real-live, networking and relationship-building human being and not a sales machine!

5) If all else fails …
And you find yourself constantly bombarded by sales pitches and calls to action by a majority of people over and over at this event or within this group, it’s time to find a new group or a different type of event. Either you misunderstood the intent (probably not) or their leadership has created a “sell-sell-sell” environment instead of one that encourages attendees to connect with and support each other. Find a group or event where people understand the value of networking and are willing to forego the sales for the longer-term relationship building.

To learn more visit http://thenetworkingmotivator.com