Successful Networking: Prepare, Plan and Prosper

A fantastic article from my colleague Marion Freijsen, Co-Founder of The E.Factor, the online community and virtual marketplace designed for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.

Sales people ought to know that preparation is key. It is one of the three p’s that I always used to repeat to my team: Prepare, Plan and Prosper. But it isn’t simply something that aids the success of salespeople alone - preparation in many ways should be the automatic first step in any process an entrepreneur chooses.

This week I spoke at a WimLink (www.wimlink.org) event in New York - whilst the subject was about Networking specifically - again the topic of preparation came up. Talking about networking - we hit upon the issue of how you deal with events. Whether large scale or small scale - again you can do a lot worse then prepare yourself well in order to gain maximum advantage and knowledge.

I so often wonder why people actually attend conferences. Typically when you speak to someone about their upcoming conference or trade show - they bemoan the fact that they have to go and sit through “boring” lectures and “sad case studies” or listen to people “drone on” about stuff they really don’t care much for. So why do they go? Only because their boss tells them, or they feel they have to be seen to be there. To me, all the wrong reasons. Conferences or Events can be great, but only if take the trouble to prepare, to research the subject, the speakers and the other participants.

FOR THE COMPLETE STORY FROM E.FACTOR CLICK HERE