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January 21, 2019 at 06:31 AM
To grow your life insurance and annuity sales, here are four business networking strategies that can help you get there more, better — and faster.
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Fine tune your target market.
A target market is whom you serve best and therefore wish to serve most. Or where you do your best work. Or want to do your best work.
Remember, having a target market doesn’t mean you necessarily have to turn away business if it isn’t in your wheelhouse. It just means that you have a marketing focus helping you determine the best places to go, the best things to say, and the best people to meet. (I think they call that networking!)
(Related: 5 Business Networking ‘Musts’)
If you’re thinking your target market is the affluent marketplace, great. What does that look like? If you’re focused on small businesses, what type? Families? Corporate managers? Executives? Individuals? Anyone, everyone, someone?
Whatever your target, be specific. What industry, profession, market segment, niche, dynamic, demographic, and geography are you looking to target? And if you don’t have a target market, consider establishing one – today. It will only make your networking easier only every time!
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Make your lists.
And check them twice! I’m very much into lists. To Do Lists. Follow Up Lists. Hit Lists. Hot Lists. Prospect Lists. Client Lists. The Book of Lists. Shopping Lists. It’s all good.
Here are two of my favorites: A Questions List and a Names List.
Both can be written (as in handwritten) on an index card.
The Questions List is an actual list of questions that would be helpful if asked of those you meet at a networking event, trade show, product show, conference, convention, or wherever. Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be holding the index card and reading the questions out loud as you talk to people (because that might be weird) but being able to review and practice your questions while at the event could be helpful. Think about how much more confident you will feel meeting new people if you had specific things to ask them and ultimately share with them.
The other list, the Names List, could be written on another index card. This card contains all the people that you need to meet or reconnect with at an event. As you’re meeting people and getting to know them, you might share your Names List with them to see if they might know any of them and potentially introduce you. Kind of a LinkedIn Live scenario! Of course, offer to do the same for them. Remember, you’re in this thing together.
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Follow up.
I’m just off the phone with a financial advisor that I’m coaching. He just returned from a trade show that’s in his target market. He returned from the event with a stack of business cards in a snarl of rubber bands and he wasn’t really sure what to do with them.
