Salespeople: Put Down Your Phone and Network!

Last week, I spent three days in Orlando at this year’s CompTIA ChannelCon conference — one of the world’s premier training, partnering and networking events for IT professionals.

If you’ve never been to ChannelCon (formerly known as Breakaway), it’s a remarkable conglomerate of high-level executives, incredible salespeople and inspirational entrepreneurs in industries that range from cloud computing and IT security to mobile and social media.

Translation: It’s a networker’s—and, more specifically, a salesperson’s—dream.

So, there I was at breakfast one morning, sitting at a table that was perfectly set up for networking—round, not too large to talk across, and populated with just four other attendees. Naturally, at an event like ChannelCon, you would think everyone would jump at the opportunity to pick each other’s brains and dive into the conference’s subject matter more deeply.

Instead, everyone had their heads buried in their mobile devices.

When I did try to strike up a conversation, the four other people at the table rarely lifted their eyes from their phones, and would typically respond with one-sentence answers.

What You’re Missing by Tethering Yourself to Technology

Here we were, in an environment that’s brought together the best of the best in IT, sales, marketing and telecom, and no one was taking advantage of the opportunity to talk in person?

Needless to say, I was shocked. I’ve been named an OpenView Labs Top 25 Sales Influencer and a Top Sales World Top 50 Sales Expert. Think of what I could have shared! And I’m just one person.

That may sound like bragging, but that’s not my intention. Rather, it’s to illustrate the quality of attendees that were at this event.

For instance, also attending the conference was a Channel VP from Xerox, The VARGuy executive editor Joe Panettieri, esteemed author and entrepreneur Laura Atchison, and myriad other business leaders who are growing their businesses by double percentage points year-over-year.

Why wouldn’t you jump at the opportunity to engage any and all of those people?

It’s Time to Stop and Smell the Roses

We’ve all heard the old adage, “stop and smell the roses,” and that’s precisely the message I’d like to convey to salespeople and business owners reading this post.

Stop. Put your phone down. Look the person next to you in the eye. And introduce yourself. You might be shocked by what you learn.

He or she could be your next significant partner, customer or business mastermind. Or that person might give you exactly the insight you need to launch a new solution offering, identify the right technical staff, solve your biggest sales challenge or simply choose your next vacation spot.

Whatever the case may be, you’ll never know what someone has to offer until you look up and engage.

Now, you might be thinking, “Sure, Kendra. You’re in sales. That’s easy for you to say.” But you’d be wrong. Yes, I’ve been in sales for a long time, and yes, technology is my passion. But I’m also an introvert. Believe it or not, walking into a room full of people that I don’t know is frightening and challenging to me, so I certainly understand where you’re coming from.

But shyness and introversion are not excuses to bury your head in the sand and ignore the world around you.

Instead, I urge you to open your eyes and embrace it. Wherever you are, do your best to seize the moment and weigh the value of the conversations you could have. They could quite literally change your business—and possibly your life.

Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert, author of the newly released book, “The Sales Magnet,” and the award winning book, “Selling Against the Goal,” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment.