Once In a Lifetime: What the Talking Heads Taught Me About Networking
As a bona fide sales wonk, I am always on the lookout for great sales content. Consequently, I have been following the experts at Top Sales World for quite some time. It’s a one-stop shop for daily insight, technique, motivation, mastery and sales trends. If you’re not dialed into this resource – do yourself a favor and get connected right now!
Now, I am not only an ardent follower of topsalesworld.com but I am truly thrilled to announce today that I am also their newest contributor! Starting immediately, you can look for fresh and original content from me – along with a host of other top sales leaders – on Top Sales World.
As I said, it’s a thrill for me, and also quite an honor, to be invited in as a contributor. So much so that I find myself echoing the classic Talking Heads song ‘Once In a Lifetime’ wherein David Byrne rhythmically chants, “And you may ask yourself – well…how did I get here?”
You see, I’m just a sales guy from Northern California and I’ve never been particularly fond of networking. It’s the introvert in me, along with the general discomfort of being on the phone or pressing the flesh with people I don’t know. Alas, I recently wrote a book about overcoming comfort addictions called, Be Bold and Win the Sale. All excuses were thus taken off the table and my excursion into networking began.
In the conviction of the book writing process, I came to the conclusion that I needed to start networking among the absolute best of the best in my field. It took a conscious decision, but since then I’ve come to appreciate (and even enjoy!) opportunities to intentionally interact with people I don’t know. And, on top of that, the rewards have been tremendous.
So in the spirit of sharing my own journey, here are 4 tips that have helped me shift my mindset when it comes to networking:
- Decision Before Discomfort. You can make the decision right this moment to be outgoing at your next networking opportunity. Don’t wait until the moment of discomfort to make this decision – you will most likely be weak in that moment.
- Think “Give”, Not “Get”. Focus on what you can contribute to relationships vs. what you can take from your new acquaintance. Seek to serve without thought of personal gain
- Be Interested. Everyone has a story, they usually like to talk about it and many times you can learn from it.
- Be Nice. Choosing to have a genuinely nice (vs. merely civil) approach to people is critical to your networking success. And it makes life a lot more fun!
Once I made the decision to leave my networking comfort zone, I connected with some of the smartest and genuinely good people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I benefited from the wisdom of Robert Terson, the intelligence of Anthony Iannarino, the boldness of Dan Waldschmidt, the kindness of Babette Ten Haken, the genius of Linda Richardson, the savvy of Jill Konrath, and so much more from the strongest sales thinkers around today.
Now here’s where we come full circle. There was one constant thread that tied all these individuals together – all are contributors to Top Sales World. So, that my friends, helps me answer the age old Talking Heads question, “Well…how did I get here?”
My once in a lifetime journey started with one simple step on my part: embracing discomfort – in this case, the discomfort of networking. What discomfort can you embrace today? Leverage that discomfort…and you can change the world.
Bookmark the page today: topsalesworld.com. Follow their Twitter feed at @TopSalesWorld.
