Networking for profit is actually a counter-intuitive process. If profit is the end result that you are trying to achieve, your focus must not be on profit itself. Making a sale is the end result of good networking coupled with added value. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Would you ever want to buy something for the sole purpose of lining some salesperson's pockets? Of course not! We all make purchases when we feel that the value that we will receive will exceed the value of having the dollars remain in our billfold for some other offer that come along. So the focus must be on our prospect and what is in it for them, not on us and our desire to make money.

We all have a favorite topic and concern. It is ourselves. Since we all still have this favorite topic even when we are in a selling situation, we have to go against our natural inclination to be concerned with ourselves first and instead put our prospect's thoughts, feelings and goals ahead of ours. This is called empathy. It can be a difficult skill to learn and takes on going practice to master, but it puts us in a better position to make the sale.

Profit is the goal of everyone who is really in business. Anyone who doesn't have the goal of making money is really just pursuing a hobby. So if the goal is profit why shouldn't we focus on our goal? The answer is that there is always at least one other person involved and that person is the decision maker. They are deciding if what you are offering makes sense to them and their goals. If the focus is not on them then it is misplaced.  The real goal is to make our customer happy and solve their problem.

Value is really defined by the prospect and what they want. The best way to find out what that is would be is to ask them...and then to listen. This is what everyone craves, to be listened to, yet so few are willing to do it. Listening is a skill that can help you to achieve greatness. As the saying goes, we have one mouth and two ears for a reason. Listening is twice as important as speaking.

Questions are the best discovery tool to find out what the other person wants.  This puts you in a position to be able to fine tune the process and be certain that what you have is actually the best solution to the problem. You can then let them know if you will be able to fulfill their needs.

Never assume that you know what the other person is talking about. Clarify and define until you really know for sure.

What is it that you are thinking to yourself when it becomes obvious that someone is trying to "sell" you? Are you looking for a way to get out of the situation? Pay attention to how you feel when you are being hard sold, You wouldn't want anyone to be squirming to get away when you are speaking. How differently we would approach everything if we only put ourselves in the other guy's place before we took any action.

Value, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Also just like beauty it is often times based on feelings. They are both very individualized.

There are some basic principles to follow that help put the odds in our favor. Developing the skills of listening and empathy along with product/service knowledge put us into a position to make the sale when what the prospects desires matches what we have to offer.  If the prospect feels heard and understood and then in turn also understands how the benefits of our offer fit them and their lifestyle there is a very high likelihood that they will buy.

This is the key. Everyone loves to buy. No one likes to be sold. You know that value has been created when your prospect decides to become a customer.