Three ways to connect with your industry peers

With one of my businesses I was struggling to close deals. The sales cycle was long, it was difficult to get to the top of the buyer’s priority list, and initial excitement faded to unresponsiveness. This was somewhat of a niche industry and I did not have colleagues to turn to for support. What I needed was a group of industry peers to talk to.

Using these three very simple methods (so simple I cannot believe I’m writing a blog post on this but it took me a long time to actually make this effort so maybe others could use a push) I started connecting with my peers. I ended up getting a much better response to my emails that I had expected and some very thoughtful advice that helped show me why I was struggling.

Introduce yourself

Yes, it really is that simple. Just like the guy/girl at the party that you would love to talk to, if you do not introduce yourself then nothing will happen. You cannot wait for fate to intervene. Maybe nothing does happen but more likely than not you might end up talking to somebody who provides good conversation, has similar interests, but can also provide a different point of view.

It helps if you know a little bit of background on the person in order to get the conversation started. See what articles they have written or products they have released. Complement them. Everybody loves a compliment.

Send congratulations notes

Now when I see a fellow entrepreneur in the industry featured in a press article, or that they have won an award, I drop them an email congratulating them. This is an extension of the previous method and is a great excuse to take the step of introducing yourself.

Ask for advice

At the end of the day this is what you really want–advice in how you can take your business to the next level.

Many people are willing to dispense with advice but it is up to you to decide if you want to take it. Because they might not know the full extent of your business and situation the advice might not be as applicable as you might like. They will speak about what has worked for them and their business. Thus, try to prequalify who you ask for advice from. If they took a path to where they are today similar to the one you are on then they might provide you with insightful and actionable advice. If not, then you still might get inspirational advice but you will not be able to act on it as much.

How to connect

Your industry peers might have their contact information on their websites. I think it is best if you treat them like a cold lead and email them first and then possibly ask for permission to set a call up with them. Many times they will prefer to respond via email until you have built up a rapport.

If their contact information is not posted there are a couple of ways to try to reach them.

Hunter.io

Hunter.io has been an amazing tool that has helped me to build up a list of cold leads. After using Google to build up a list of potential prospects (if they have an About Us or People page I capture each name, title, phone number and email if they have it) I turn to Hunter.io to find any email addresses that were not published. More often than not they have the email address I desire.

You can use the same method to find your industry peers and get their contact information.

LinkedIn

I do not particularly love LinkedIn but it has definitely become the online networking tool for the business world. Lots of people publish links to their LinkedIn profile which I take as an invitation to connect with them. When you request a connect on LinkedIn do not use the default text. Instead use one of the methods above (introduce yourself, congratulate them, or ask for advice). This shows you are not a bot or spammer but somebody genuinely interested in connecting with them.

If you have no 1st or 2nd degree connections with somebody you are going to need their email address in order to connect with them on LinkedIn.

Twitter

The thing I love the most about Twitter is the ability to talk to anybody else that has an account. They might not listen but no other medium has the same power to reach busy people without having to get through all of the gatekeepers.

It is harder to establish the personal connection with Twitter so it might be best to think of it as a way to slowly establish a relationship by following them and consistently trying to provide value by providing them feedback on their posts and passing on links that might interest them.

Follow up

Successful people tend to be busy so you might not get a response to your first email, or ever for that matter. But, just like the hustle school of sales, you need to follow up two or three times before giving up on a response. Do a “goodbye” email as the last one where you thank them for their time and wish them the best of luck.

Hopefully this is the simple push you needed in order to connecting with and engaging your industry peers. There is no telling what sort of advice and opportunities will come from growing your professional network.

(See my post “Network up. Niche down.” for more on why this is a good strategy for your personal and business development.)