Recently, I attended a big expo in the construction industry. I labored days and days on some prospecting tools I vibe-coded and was able to successfully run Paid Media audits on every exhibitor. Locked in on landing some big deals, I walked in with a strong game plan... This guy was going to make some sales.
In my extreme amount of focused, dedicated prep, I lost sight of what was important: relationship.
You should have seen me bouncing from booth to booth giving the concise pitch to the field rep with no decision making power. It was a glorious sight. I should have filmed it. "How to NOT make the best of your time at a professional event" would be the title.
It was a rookie mistake. You get so focused on the sale that your tunnel vision filters out the relationship. Shame on me, but by God's good providence I had a newly-made-friend there remind me of the simple truth that it's all about relationships.
If you focus on the relationship, it becomes a mutually beneficial value-exchange. If you focus on the sale, it becomes vampiric. Simply focus on getting to know others, making friends, asking them what they do and letting them know what you do. Go further. Find out about their family and where their from. Ask them what motivates them to wake up in the morning. What are their dreams? It's no different than making a friend and establishing a relationship in any other context.
The best part is that this is often where the best and biggest sales come from. So, in a way, relationship truly trumps sale.
If you focus on the relationship, it becomes a mutually beneficial value-exchange.
Ready to put this thinking to work for you?