Prospecting is hard. There’s no need to make it even harder.

I’ve run dozens of experiments over the years on how to get through the door and start working with a new account. In every experiment, I’ve found that the number one factor that influences a successful outcome has been a human relationship.

The smartest piece of content has never beaten a warm introduction from another person. In my own experiments, I’ve found a referral of any kind (not necessarily from a client) to be 3.25 times more effective than a cold approach (based on time spent–it’s even more effective in terms of conversion rates.)

The Social graph

Much of what is written about referrals assumes that referrals only come from clients. I have found the potential for introductions to many times greater. It’s fabulous if you can get dozens of referrals from your clients, in fact it’s ideal, but this is not reality for most salespeople. There are a multitude of other ways to get introductions. These come from any other person you know, and the potential client knows.

Mark Zuckerberg calls the map of all our human connections the “social graph”. Think of it like a giant relationship map on a new type of GPS that guides you to your target account as quickly as possible. In the future in may literally work this way (given how AI is going), you might say, “Carson*, show me the quickest way to get into Goldman Sachs” and the AI will reply, “Contact John Jacobs (your friend). He can connect you to Harry Smith at Goldman. If you take this approach, the probability of a meeting with Harry is 37%. Would you like me to generate an introductory email and/or phone script?”

Build your own map

A version of this is possible today as long as we do the work to set up our data and tools appropriately. We need to generate our own map of the relationships that will get us into our target accounts. Unlike road maps, these relationship maps are different for each of us–as we all have different relationships.

A first step in building our own “maps” is capturing all the people we know. This information is usually spread out amongst many different systems. We need to bring this data together to get a fuller map of our connections. The better our map, the more likely it is we will find the best route. We also need to add data about the strength of our connections and contextual data such as how we know people, to help us when we actually come to use our map.

Once we have our relationship maps built, we need to constantly invest in maintaining and enhancing them. People move around, new relationships form, some relationships weaken and some cease to exist. We need to track all these changes, or we will try to “drive down social roads” that don’t exist anymore or are full of “potholes”. (You may remember when GPS first came out some cars were stuck in fields as they blindly followed inaccurate maps.)

Maintain the roads

In this world of social connections, it’s up to us to maintain the “roads”, not the government. We need to keep our relationships strong enough that we can get introductions when we need them.

The key to maintaining strong connections is to help first. If you “pay it forward”, others will help you when the time comes. It does not take that long to become a trusted resource as long as you are always trying to help and you follow through on your promises. Make introductions for others, send useful content and remember birthdays.

Prospecting is hard. Why would you want to drive “off-road” through terrible terrain to get into accounts? Isn’t it worth investing some time and effort into building relationships, so that your prospecting is more like a smooth limo ride?

​* Carson will be the name of my future AI assistant. I just finished watching both Downton Abbey movies.