Oh the woes of networking!  Lots of time, money and poundage all in the pursuit of more business!  It’s the best thing and worst thing that’s ever happened to sales people. The allure is obvious: comfort and camaraderie of a group, promises of help and introductions, and more sales and revenue—OK, who did I lose with that last item?

More often I hear people who are frustrated with the actual results they are getting from networking.  There are several issues at play.

Issue #1: They have built relationships (a hallmark of good networking) yet the relationships aren’t resulting in referrals and introductions to qualified prospects. Yes, I just said qualified prospects.  Although I have no desire for others to qualify prospects for me, I am aware that if I’m never getting referred to the right companies or at the right level, it may be that the group either doesn’t understand what I do or doesn’t have relationships that fit with my business model.  The first problem is easily remedied.  The second problem is related to Issue #2.

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