MARKETPLACE: READY, SET, PITCH
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Lon Achenbach has found a way to give cold calls the cold shoulder.
Achenbach, director of sales for Aspen Communications in Las Vegas, is accustomed to making random phone calls and visits to area businesses that might need his company's telecommunications and information-technology services. The calls can be hit-or-miss, and converting that first contact into a sale can take weeks or months.
Advertisement
On Tuesday, however, Achenbach got right down to business at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce's 5 Minute Networking event, where 50 local professionals gathered to swap details in five-minute increments on products they need and services they provide.
By Wednesday afternoon, Achenbach had used his 5 Minute Networking contacts to line up a proposal presentation for a new business looking for phones, security cameras and computers. A second prospect wrote Achenbach to let him know her boss might place some orders. And Achenbach had arranged to enter one of his salespeople in a networking club via a third contact from the session.
"It would be well worth it if we got one account out of (5 Minute Networking)," Achenbach said. "It was a quick opportunity to find people who truly need us, and to find people who might know someone who could use our services."
The 5 Minute Networking concept mirrors speed dating, a match-making process that rotates singles through rapid-fire meetings of one minute to eight minutes to allow snap judgments on compatibility.
Two California sisters launched the 5 Minute Networking program in 2004, after one tried speed dating and found it especially valuable for the business contacts she made. The chamber adopted the program in March.
At Tuesday's 5 Minute Networking event, participants sat around a horseshoe-shaped table and shifted one seat to their left when a ringing bell indicated that their face time expired. Conversations began with business-card exchanges and desultory small talk about the weather, hobbies and weekend road trips, but quickly turned to business. Attendees including Realtors, commercial-insurance companies, cell-phone retailers and mortgage bankers met about 15 new people each.
"Not every contact is useful, but people will make a lot of contacts," said Robert Heidt, events manager for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. "For people to be able to make 15 contacts by 9 a.m. is very productive. Most people won't make that many in a day."
Joshua Spiegel, owner and operator of a 6-month-old Farmers Insurance brokerage at 7884 W. Sahara Ave., agreed that 5 Minute Networking allowed him to build up new leads quickly.
Spiegel took a break Tuesday to note that of the first five people he'd spoken with, three looked like promising possibilities for new business.
"This is a lot quicker than banging on doors," said Spiegel, who's targeting Realtors and car dealers for prospecting. "It would take me three or four weeks to make the kinds of contacts I'll make in two hours here."
Jules Bitsilly, owner of JV Safety & Supplies in Las Vegas, said he's also pleased with the leads he developed through 5 Minute Networking. Of the 15 people he met, he estimated three could spur fresh sales.
"Meeting other people is key to business," said Bitsilly, whose company sells protective equipment such as hard hats and safety goggles for industrial and construction sites, as well as first-aid kits and fire extinguishers for offices. "You want to get your company's name out there, because people talk. They remember safety, and they remember the 'safety guy.' That's how word about your business gets passed around."
Even better for Bitsilly, though, was the practice at making conversation.
"It helped my networking skills and how I approach people," he said. "I found you also have to be a good listener. You can't just do all the talking. It's a 50-50 conversation where you're really trying to learn about other people and what their needs are. I enjoy building my people skills, listening to others and seeing what they have to offer."
Experts say speed-networking has both ups and downs.
Diane Darling, a Boston-based networking expert who's written "Networking for Career Success" and "The Networking Survival Guide," said speed networking is especially helpful for shy professionals who don't like mingling.
"It gives people who are allergic to networking a format to try networking and get more comfortable with it," Darling said. "It gives them structure and guidance. A lot can be said of its usefulness for people who are networking novices. They learn to tell people, 'Here's what I do, here's what I'm looking for and here's how I can help others.' And because it is time-limited, you're not afraid you're going to get stuck talking to someone to whom you don't have a lot to offer."
Darling recently tried speed-networking herself, and said the sheer volume of participating businesses struck her as another potential advantage.
"There are a lot of interesting people out there," she said. "The challenge is to decide whether you're after quality or quantity."
The number of contacts made during speed networking can overwhelm participants and make follow-ups difficult, Darling said.
Darling also cautions that professionals who speed-network are often in the earlier stages of their career.
"People outgrow it. Once they get to a certain level in their career, I don't think they'll be doing something like that," Darling said. "I have a hard time imagining the CEO of Cisco doing anything like (speed networking). You're not going to meet executives of big companies."
Darling also laments the urge to boil business down to brief, superficial interactions.
"I'm concerned there's an audience out there being taught that this is what networking is about," she said. "When you see people who really have amazing, powerful, authentic networks, they're not doing anything in five minutes."
Despite the drawbacks Darling cited, participants in the chamber's most recent event said they'll be back for another round.
Achenbach said he now has a firmer idea of how to pitch Aspen in a fast-paced meeting environment, so he's looking forward to additional opportunities to market his company through 5 Minute Networking. Rather than the security-camera fliers he brought to Tuesday's session, Achenbach will in the future distribute literature with general information about Aspen's line of products.
Bitsilly also said he plans to give it another try.
"Part of our marketing strategy is networking and meeting new contacts," Bitsilly said. "And the best marketing tool is talking to other people."
The chamber has scheduled its next 5 Minute Networking session for Aug. 16 at the organization's building at 3720 Howard Hughes Parkway.
A separate 5 Minute Networking gathering is scheduled for Aug. 23 at the Palm restaurant inside Caesars Palace and is open to people ages 21 to 39.
The cost to attend either session is $25 for chamber members and $40 for nonmembers.
Return to Press Releases...
|