Let’s be honest, being a sales professional is tough. The day-to-day grind of filling our lead

pipeline, vetting opportunities, driving sales forward, managing difficult clients and sometimes at the end of it all losing a sale can get to be overwhelming! But you get up the next day and push forward.

Now that people are becoming more comfortable with meeting in-person, there are more

networking events that I have been attending. It’s refreshing to talk to people face-to-face again without a screen and internet connection issues or asking them to repeat themselves because they were muted. But being at these events means I am also meeting more vendors and at times running into competitors.

So how can you make the most of your time when this happens? Two things I have focused on in my own sales career is that there’s no such thing as a wasted conversation and to take a genuine interest in people. 

When I first started my sales career, I had to build my network from nothing. I started with a company that was new to the area and wasn’t known in the industry, so of course, it made sense for me to talk to anyone I could. Now that I am seasoned sales professional, I have an established network and lead pipeline, but I still try to genuinely engage with everyone I meet. I remain open to the conversations I have and the relationships I build. Just because an opportunity doesn’t immediately turn into a sale doesn’t mean that my time was wasted.

There have been many times over the years where I have seen the fruit of having this attitude when I am in the field. For example, I have had a contact at a competing company became a referral source down the road because they changed careers. Individuals I thought would be direct competition, once I started talking to them, I came to find out that there’s opportunities for our companies to work together. Sometimes I have had to cultivate a relationship for a few years before I saw anything come from it. And in all those times, I have made long lasting friendships.

And at the end of the day choosing to focus on treating everyone with respect and showing a genuine interest in them as a person has gone a long way in building my relationships and creating trust within my network that has impacted my business for the better.

If you're ready to take your networking and sales strategies to the next level, remember—every conversation holds potential. Let’s connect and explore how we can help you build authentic relationships that drive real business growth. Reach out today, and let’s make your sales journey a little less overwhelming and a lot more rewarding!