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sales trainingShutterstock photo/ Yanik ChauvinFrom Money to Lead Generation:Being ProactiveIn a nutshell, the introduction of moneyallowed people to be very proactive. Theydidn’t have to wait for infrequent “aha”moments in order to do business. Thanksto the money in their pocket, they could beprepared for an unforeseeable future. Theycould, in essence, experience “aha” momentsall of the time. Several times a day, in fact.Generating leads through your businessnetwork can take the same path, and benefitin much the same way, as the economicsystem did in its evolution from barteringgoods to exchanging money.How? Simple. When you network, don’tlimit yourself to looking for “aha” moments.There’s no need! Rather, learn about whatyour business contacts do; even if you don’timmediately need them, and they don’timmediately need you.When you develop relationships withquality partners and learn about what theydo, how they do it, why they do it, andwith whom they do it, you are, in essence,acquiring a store of value. You are increasingyour capacity to be proactive, and to generateexponentially more “aha” moments in thefuture if and when an opportunity to worktogether (or make a referral) happens.The thing to remember here - and it’simportant, because it’s a new way of thinking- is that you don’t need to need anythingfrom a potential networking partner in orderto proactively find out all you can aboutthem. Nor do you need to be trying to finda fit for someone who asked you if you knewsomeone who did this or that. As you developrelationships and generate leads, you areadding to your “bank account” of qualitypartners; both for yourself, for your partners,and for your clients. And at the same time,you’re investing into someone else’s account;they, too, now know what you do, how youdo it, why you do it, and with whom you doit. And when they need you, for themselves orfor a contact, they’ll be in touch.A New Way of ThinkingThe freshest way of looking at this isthat of opening a closed box. For centuries,generating leads has been a reactive exercise.You (or your business ancestors) went to a socallednetworking event, and tried to find a“fit” for your current need. At the same time,you were sought out by other businesses aspossibly filling of their current needs. If therewas no immediate “aha” moment - if youdidn’t need shoes and someone there didn’tsell the shoes you wanted - then littlewas accomplished.And even if you did walk away froma networking event with a pocket-fullof business cards, it wasn’t as helpful- or valuable - as it should have been.There was no proactive attempt tolearn about quality partners who didn’tfit one of your current needs, or viceversa. In other words, you (naturally)focused on the partners that could helpyou here and now; and so did the otherpeople in the room.But that’s the closed box; and it’sextinct (but doesn’t quite know it yet).The new way of looking at this - theopen box - is to proactively generatingleads regardless of whether there is acurrent need.This increases your bank account ofpotential partners down the road, and atthe same time, increases your exposureto quality professions in various walks ofworkforce life. Indeed, even if a businessdeal is never struck with a proactivelygenerated lead, the cross-dialogue withquality, excellence-driven professionalscan be incredibly rewarding and totallyprofitable. After all, as we all know,innovations in how business is doneis not limited to any particular field ortype of professional; knowing how anautomotive manufacturer is successfullyanticipating customer demand can helpyou sell your hotel rooms. Learning howa marketing firm is branding itself canhelp you increase market share for yourlaw firm.It’s Not Just About the Cards“Aha” moments will still pop upfrom time to time, and they’ll still be veryenjoyable experiences. But remember:networking these days, and in thefuture, isn’t merely about trading cardsand seeking that rare “oh yes, I knowsomeone who can do that” moment. It’sabout proactively building your businessbank account with stores of value; withinformation that you have learned fromactively generating leads.In this way, your access to newbusiness professionals will increase asyour circle widens and opens outside ofits conventional framework. The results?More “aha” experiences. A high qualitynetwork of diverse professionals whocan provide answers and insight. And, ofcourse, our old favorite: more money!vol. 2 issue 3 2007 /