Effortless Networking

I’m helping a company find qualified prospects for their product.

This company manufactures lighting systems. And although I’m no expert on this topic, I am still able to help them figure out and find qualified leads.

How?

The short answer is: through “informational interviewing”.

Here’s the long answer.

I’m helping the business owners first identify whom they want to meet. What kinds of people or companies would be good prospects for them? Retailers? Wholesalers? For interior or exterior lights? And in what countries?

Then, we’re using “informational interviewing” as a tool to test the waters. In other words, we’re networking to get information — specifically to find out what kind of interest, if any, there is for their product in a particular company, market or region.

These “interviews” invariably turn up new leads. Names of companies we hadn’t thought of, contacts that people we already know have within those companies, etc.

We’re also using “informational interviews” to understand how best to find and meet the decision makers in each of these companies.

By the end of such an “interviewing” process, you end up with a whole lot of useful information — such as who’d be a “qualified prospect” and why; the best way to meet these people and get their attention; etc.

Not only that, you can also get personal introductions to the very people you want to meet, through this same process.

And that is the ultimate goal, isn’t it?

For an in-depth tutorial on informational interviewing and related business networking topics, click here.

Till next week,
– Sri