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Excerpt from Chapter 9
Build a Wide Network of Contacts and Associates
Successful people nurture a network of contacts. Ouch! The common language used makes this seem calculating, usurious and cold. So let’s go past the words and look at an example you’ll all know.
Once upon a time, there was a dynamic businessperson who didn’t know he had something wonderful. He was a small-town banker when he could have been “more.”
Business can be ugly and an unscrupulous rival took advantage of an innocent mishap to ruin him. Not realizing that he had tremendous assets, the banker fell into despair and decided he would end his life
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After a failed suicide attempt and a very strange night, he arrived back home and his assets were there: his network, his contacts, his friends. His network had rallied to solve the problem.
Everyone lifted a glass and toasted him. “To George Bailey, the richest man in Bedford Falls.”
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Seek Variety
Great networkers don’t just fish for the big fish – senior executives and power brokers.
Networkers realize that you need a lot of different types of people on the road to success. Different folks bring different influences and abilities into play. Here are the special kinds of people that can play a powerful role in your professional network:
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Grass Roots: |
This is your core group. Grass-roots supporters are people - friends, family, business colleagues - who know you well and will do what they can to help further your success. What they lack in prestige, they make up for in the support they provide.
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Rulers: |
This is an important power base to nurture. Rulers are high-level executives at your company and elsewhere that you know (but maybe not that well). You need to find ways to gracefully stay in touch with people more experienced than you are through areas of mutual interest.
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Connectors: |
This group leverages your reach. Connectors are plugged-in people who know everyone. (They have two degrees of separation instead of the normal six.) Connectors may or may not have a powerful job. Often doctors, financial advisors even hair stylists can be valuable connectors because they interface with so many different types of people.
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Promoters: |
This group is your PR machine. Promoters amplify your self brand message through word of mouth. Promoters sing your praises and can be invaluable in building your self brand equity. One or two promoters in your network packs a lot of media power.
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Gurus: |
This is your think tank. Gurus are like mentors or professors you can call upon for advice or strategy sessions. They know a lot, are well-read and like nothing more than sharing what they know.
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Weak Links: |
This is your wild card. These are people you don’t know very well but whom you could call for advice or help. Don’t ignore them. Often a weak link is the source of a job lead that pans out.
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