As you will be aware, the current pandemic situation has meant that many of us have been forced to take business operations such as networking solely into the digital sphere. Face-to-face meetings and catch-ups over coffee have been wholly replaced by video conferencing applications, whilst even the likes of exhibitions have gone digital.
Thankfully, modern technology has meant that there are many adequate alternatives to physical networking, many of which are on offer to Made in Group members, such as virtual breakfast mornings, roundtable discussions, webinars, live Q&As and much more. Whilst this digitalisation of networking would not have been everyone's first preference, the reality of the worldwide pandemic is that industry professionals needs to embrace these changes in order to not be left behind, and there are even ways in which this alternative can actually serve as a positive with many benefits to be capitalised on.
10x Your Output
One of the most obvious benefits of remote working and digital networking is that, suddenly, the days have become longer through saving time on the likes of daily commutes and long trips to meet prospects and business associates. Many salespeople will be used to travelling across the country for "coffee catchups" and the like, however, through all of your meetings being conducted digitally you should have the capacity to conduct there more of these. This isn't just a benefit for salespeople meeting prospects, but also for meeting up with clients and providing some TLC to accounts who may have fallen down the pile.
With the sudden capacity to 10x your output, there should be no excuse for to not 10x your results also. However, it is important that you are conscious of this new digital medium you are operating in and mindful of how you may need to tailor your old habits accordingly; read our article on "The Challenge of Building Trust on Virtual Sales Meetings" to find out more about this.
Build Familiarity Beforehand
With the advent of digital networking, there are now further opportunities to lay the foundations of trust and build familiarity beforehand. Social media, email, virtual meetings and online conferencing all provide further chance to develop a relationship with other businesses and individuals which may not have been facilitated so regularly before.
One way in which you can lay the foundations for familiarity is to ensure that your pre-meeting information matches your website and your brand. For the salesperson conducting the meeting, it can also be important that the prospect has a good understanding of what they look like and even what environment they will be conducting the interview in, so they are not surprised by what they see in the meeting. Sending a Loom video introducing yourself can be a great way to do this.
Larger Prospecting Opportunities
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Prospecting, business development and networking opportunities have been expanded greatly through the digitalisation of networking. How?
For many professionals, the regional scope of potential clients and customers has been expanded, due to the simple fact that business operation being taken online compresses both time and space. With unfeasible distances no longer being a stumbling block for arranging meetings, prospects who seemed "out of range" prior to remote working trends may now seem like a worthwhile opportunity.
Experiment with New Ways of Working
As digital networking becomes an imposed reality for many, successful firms will be adapting and embrace industry change and trends. This offers businesses a rare opportunity to experiment with new ways of working and perhaps stumble upon more efficient and successful processes.
One clear example of this is, for many firms who would previously been unable or unwilling to commit time and money to attending a physical exhibition with high ticket costs, there is now a virtual alternative which provides all the simar major benefits for a fraction of the financial commitment: Backing Britain Live 2020 - the live digital business festival.
Over the course of two weeks, Made in Group will be hosting many virtual meetings at our groundbreaking exhibition. Beginning 17th August 2020, Made will launch a digital exhibition "with a big difference” called Backing Britain 2020 Live - an immersive experience between the digital and physical which will take place over two weeks:
BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS