If you don't already have an established network and you need sales right away, putting all of your eggs in the networking basket is going to leave you very disappointed (broke?).

Networking is a long-term business development strategy. In many cases that flood of referrals you're looking for is years away.

I don't share this to discourage you, but to inject some reality. I truly believe that relationship marketing is one of the most powerful strategies out there, but it's like an investment that you put just a little bit of money into a couple of times a week. After the first week there probably won't be enough in there for you to retire. But, over time with consistent deposits and compounding you'll be amazed at your balance.

I think many people start networking to grow their business because their afraid of sales. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pick-up the phone. There's no faster way to immediately generate sales, unless of course you already have an established network who can help with some referrals and introductions.

The real difference is in the lasting effects...

If you pick up the phone and consistently make cold calls several times a week for 6 months I guarantee you'll make some sales, or depending on your business at least start buildling a very good pipeline.

If you consistently start working to build your network several times a week, after 6 months if you're networking effectively you should start generating some sales and building a referral pipeline.

In the short-term cold calling will wildly outpace the results of your networking efforts. But what if you completely stop doing both?

Your cold calling efforts will immediately stop producing results.

Your networking efforts will most likey continue to produce results.

Relationships don't die, and it's tough to build relationships making cold calls.

The right approach is a balanced approach. If you're just starting out you're going to need to start focusing on things that are going to produce revenue immediately. That balance might be 90/10 or 80/20 cold calling vs. networking. Over time as your network grows, your relationships deepen and the referrals beging to flow you'll be able to turn the equation over to 10/90 or 20/80 cold calls to networking.

Just don't expect it to happen overnight. Keep networking, but don't be afraid to pick up the phone.

Happy Networking!

Scott Ingram

NetworkInAustin.com