Last Wednesday we talked about the importance of having “Magnets” as business contacts so that you would be pulled towards growing, rather than keeping the status quo with your Grounders.  Magnets are essential to making the big leaps that get you to move past what you think you want and start chasing what you really want.  (Clay gets this.)

Now let’s talk about how to start attracting the attention of these Magnets so your business can grow like you want it to.  Here’s the big, deep, dark secret:

The Top Secret Strategy:  Givers Get.

I’ve said it before – the number one way to connect with people is to get to know what they are passionate about and discover how you can add value to what they are doing.  That’s it.  You want to get on a Magnet’s radar?  Find a way to make their life easier.  Find a way to help them get what they want.  Find a way to make them feel better, or more valued, or more confident.

Take note:  I’m not talking about ass-kissing.  That’s a stupid networking strategy, it’s not sustainable, and it doesn’t give you any leverage.  I’m talking about connecting with someone on a meaningful level and making their world better for your being there.

A long time ago I realized the secret of climbing the corporate ladder wasn’t to be a superstar at work (though that’s important for a lot of reasons).  The secret of climbing the ladder is making life easier for the people above you and helping them reach their business goals.  Then they notice you and want to reward you.

When You Give, Give Strategically

Face it – your time, energy, and personal bandwidth are limited.  There’s not “enough of you to go around” for everyone.  So when you start networking via this giving strategy, you have to choose the people who you give to strategically.  You can’t just give to everyone without limit.

Think about what your end goals are, and begin to give accordingly to the types of people who can not only benefit from what you give, but also are in a position to give back according to your goals.  A great example of this strategy is guest posting on people’s blogs.  (James gets this.)  I’m doing this like crazy right now, because it works both ways – I bring good content to other blogs, and I get exposure to their audience.

This is also the reason that links to other blogs work so well when connecting to bloggers.  You’re giving them something they want (exposure) without asking for anything in return.  And more often than not, what goes around comes around.

These are blogging examples because that’s my giving strategy at the moment – I’m working on raising the profile of this blog, so I’m helping other bloggers achieve their goals.  Many people keep the focus on themselves, but shouldn’t – the payoff for helping others is nothing short of amazing.

Of course, there’s another benefit to focusing on being a giver – it makes you a nicer person to be around.

In my next Rock Your Business article, I’ll go into how to start choosing strategic networking connections.  Stay subscribed so you don’t miss it.

A Few Networking Posts You Should Read

A while back, I started writing a few networking tips articles that I think you’d enjoy.  Check them out if you’d like, and please leave a comment if you’ve got a moment.  That’ll put you on my radar

• 5 Must-Have Skills For Million Dollar Networkers
• Become A Master Networker By Changing These 3 Beliefs
• Confidence: The Networking Strategy That Works Every Time
• How To Build A Huge Network Without Traveling Anywhere
• How To Start Building Your Networking Plan

How’s your business growing?  If it’s expanding by leaps and bounds, then “good on ya,” as Michael Martine is fond of saying.  If it isn’t – and you’re struggling to bring in more traffic, more customers, more sales, then the problem may not be your business model as much as the people in your peer group. You may limiting yourself based on the expectations of your business friends and associates who don’t drive you to be more, do more, and demand more from yourself.

Two Types of Business Forces: Grounding And Magnetism

There are two types of people you can hang out with in the business arena:  Grounders and Magnets. Here’s what makes one type different from the other.

• Grounders are people who are roughly at the same level as you are in your business.  People with similar sales levels, or brand awareness levels, similar connections, skills, etc..  These are great people to connect with because they are able to work with you where you are and  understand where you’re coming from.  Additionally, there’s often opportunities to team up and do cool stuff to expand your business.   But there’s a limiting factor as well – it’s often hard to find people who are willing to think outside of the box, push themselves harder and raise their standards in huge ways.  Long-term, you tend to stay at the same level if all the people you connect with are Grounders.

• Magnets are people who are well above your level in their businesses.  They are bigger names, stronger brands, and more connected people.  Most people thing Magnets are “out of their league,” but it’s often not the case.  If you can find the right way to connect with Magnets, they can take you under their wing, showing you what’s possible beyond your comfort zone and even providing things like mentoring advice, first-hand introductions, and the occasional kick in the pants. Magnets are powerful contacts because to continue connecting with them, you have to raise your own standards just to keep up.  Sometimes this is tough work, but sometimes it’s actually easy because your Magnets show you ways to get the results you’re currently getting with less work – freeing you up to grow.  Long term, Magnets can be the strongest factor in your business growth.

Don’t Spend All Your Time With Grounders

If you want to grow your business at a faster rate, you need to, need to, NEED TO carefully strike a balance between Grounders and Magnets in your life.   You can’t spend all your time with Grounders because you’ll grow slowly – or stay at the same level forever.  This is not to say Grounders are bad to spend time with. Far from it – in fact, you’ll have a lot of Grounders in your life because they are your peer group.  They have valuable things to contribute to your business growth, and you have many valuable things to contribute right back at them.  And most importantly, Grounders are the people who will have more time for you.

And in reality, you’re a Grounder too, to other people, just as I am.  So I’m not knocking it.   Not at all.

The Psychology of Magnetic People

Why do I call the other camp of people Magnets?  It’s because of a basic psychological principle that we tend to perform according to the expectations of our peer group. If everyone else we like to hang with is doing things a certain way, or achieving a certain level of things, then we want to do the same things too.  It’s just natural.  But if all you have are Grounders, your peer group doesn’t drive you to push yourself to higher levels.

When you include more Magnets in your peer group, you’re going to feel that psychological pull to behave in ways that match what your Magnets are doing – to employ better strategies, to think in bigger-picture ways, and to move outside your comfort zone.

And the coolest part – when you grow as an effect of hanging out with all of your Magnets, you become the Magnet to all of your Grounders. You get to take them with you, if they’re willing.  And how cool is that.

A Quick Shout-Out To My Magnets

There are a few solid people a rung above where I am that have been m most powerful Magnets to me over the last 6 months, helping me create a business with more growth than I’d seen in 5 years (cumulative!).  These Magnets are awesome people who you likely already know, but I want to give them a special shout-out to say thanks for all they’ve done to help me:

• Freelance writers James and Harry at Men with Pens, for getting me into freelance writing and helping me build my brand,
• Home business resources maven Naomi at Ittybiz, who has given me valuable technical and marketing advice,
• Freelance entrepreneur Christine O’Kelly at SelfMadeChick, who helped me with strategies to gain long-term, well paying clients,
• Social media web designer Jon Phillips at Spyre Studios, who helped me get huge exposure as one of the original writers at Freelance Folder
• Marketing and Copywriting superhero Sonia Simone at Remarkable Communication for her real-world advice and support as I’ve jumped into the freelancing waters.
• Blog consultant Michael Martine for helping me understand more about creating blogs that drive clients to you.

How To Get The Attention of Magnets

On the next Rock Your Business post, I’ll go into the strategies I used to get my Magnets to pay attention to me and help become part of my business growth.  Check back next Wednesday or subscribe to this blog for free to get updates automagically sent your way.  Huzzah!

Tip #1: Remind Yourself That No One Is Out Of Your League

It’s tempting to put successful people on a pedestal and think that they are larger than life – especially when they’re more “established” than you are in your industry. But get this into your head: No one is out of your league. Every one of those people you “just can’t imagine” easily connecting with is a person just like you are. Stuff keeps them up at night sometimes, just like you. They have people who they look up to, just like you. And they have unbelievably sh*tty days, just like you.

Get that fear out of your head and realize that people are people. They’re not magically more special because they were sprinkled with the fairy dust of success. They worked for it. So what if they’re farther up the food chain than you right now.
You’re committed to taking consistent action towards your goals, so you’ll climb the chain yourself.

Bottom Line: Look at people as people, and not as a list of achievements and skill sets. Don’t let yourself become intimidated by how much more they’ve done than you. Talk to them, person to person.

Tip #2: Remind Yourself That You Add Massive Value To The Equation

Focus on what it is about you that is valuable – your skills, your experiences, your connections – and keep that at the forefront of your mind. You’ll choke during the networking process if you’re worried about impressing the other person or having them like you.

Instead, center your mind on what it is about you that the other person will find valuable, useful, and compelling. Even if the other person isn’t sold on you yet, lock the though of them appreciating your value to them in your mind as an inevitability.

When you know – I mean know - that the other person has a lot to gain from connecting with you, that confidence will shine through. They won’t see you hoping to connect with them; they’ll see someone they are drawn to interact with, and that’s what will make them hungry to connect with you.

Bottom Line: Focus on why you’re so irrefutably worth networking with. Without being cocky, remember all the reasons that you kick a$$, and you’ll act with the compelling confidence you need to succeed.

Tip #3: Remember That There’s No Losing Situation

Don’t let a fear of failure hold you back from networking with someone who might intimidate you (even if it’s just by a little bit). If you’re well versed in the art of networking, it’s likely you’ll make a strong connection. But even if you don’t seem to connect well, it’s not the end of the world. Sometimes it just takes time.

While your end goal is to create a strong connection where value flows both ways, in reality today’s step may be just to plant a seed. If your target connection seems less interested than you had hoped, take heart in the knowledge that you’ve at least made an impression. You can always learn more about your contact’s needs so that future impressions are more likely to result in the “click” that you’re looking for.

Bottom Line: Looking at connecting as a now-or-never proposition does not serve you and saps your confidence. Focus on planting seeds and you’ll be less stressed, more confident, and more likely to get the long-term results that you’re looking for.

Bonus Tip #4, 5, 6 … You Fill In The Blank

These three tips can help you create the kind of confidence that lets you connect with people more quickly, easily, and frequently. But let’s not stop here: why don’t you share your experience right now in the form of a comment describing your top networking confidence tips? You’ll help others, and you’ll learn from the other comments on this post. Go ahead and leave a comment now, and then sign up for email updates (or the RSS feed) so you get all the articles in this better networking series.

You know what to do,

Dave

First, Why “Old” Networking Styles Will Never Die

There will be some people who think I’m about to go on a rant and tell people to abandon face-to-face (FTF) networking. Those people would be wrong. FTF is here to stay because it works, and in a significant number of situations, it’s your only bet. Multi-million dollar deals will still be made in FTF situations, on the golf course, at dinner, or over drinks. That’s never going away, and you’ll do well to leverage that as much as possible. But FTF is only one little slice of the networking pie. Failing to leverage the power of the keyboard will only slow your business growth.

3 Painful Limits Of Face-To-Face Networking

As effective as FTF networking is, it’s often slow and requires a lot more follow-up than it should. Consider these three limitations that an FTF strategy locks you into:

1. Getting access to your target contacts in the first place. If you’re aiming high (and you should be), the people you’re trying to connect with are likely to have some competition around them – other hopeful networkers who are vying for a slice of the targets’ time. It’s likely you’ve been at events where you just couldn’t get in front of the people you wanted to speak to, no matter how hard you tried.
2. Getting your target contacts to focus on you. If you’re at an event and do manage to speak to the people you want to connect with, it’s likely that they will have other things on their mind: namely, the things they want to get out of the event. Or how much work they have left at the office. Or how they wish they were home with their kids instead. A million things could be going through their minds during the brief opportunity you have to talk to them, and each of those things is going to dilute your ability to be memorable.
3. Getting your target contacts to continue a conversation with you after the event. During the event, your target contact is going to meet a lot of people. Chances aren’t stellar that they are going to pick up a conversation with you after the event is over. They will have a million things going on when they return home, and unless a conversation with you will take one of those things off of their plate, getting back to you will likely become “something they’ll get around to when they have the time.” You know how that ends.

Again, I’m not criticizing FTF networking because you’ll be want to use it when appropriate. But in many cases, online networking can go a lot faster.

How To Use Online Networking To Overcome Those 3 Limits

Here’s a simple, “spiral up” strategy for rapidly growing your online network starting today. It relies heavily on the “givers get” philosophy I wrote about earlier and it’s incredibly effective.

1. Look at your current warm contact list, the people who you can touch base with freely at any time, and who would feel comfortable receiving referrals from you. Shoot them an email and ask them what they’re up to these days. Get to know the projects they’re working on, and find out what issues and needs they currently have that are holding them back.
2. If you know of people who can help them out, offer to make an email connection for them. They’ll likely say “Hell, yes!”
   1. If you don’t know of anybody yet, let them know that you’re always meeting new people, and you’ll keep an eye out in case you run across someone who can add value to their business. They’ll appreciate the gesture. Keep your eyes out, and when you find a good contact, then go to step 3.
3. After the “Hell, yes,” send an email to the two contacts, doing these two critical things:
   1. Introduce each of them to each other and give some relevant background for each of them.
   2. Explain why you’re connecting them – in other words, what you think each contact can contribute to the other.
   3. Ask them both to keep in touch to let you know if the connection is useful.
      (At this point you’ll probably get an appreciative reply.)
4. Afterwards, follow up with each of them and ask if there are any other types of people you can connect them with. In that same email …
5. Let them know you’re expanding your network. Then ask them if, given what they know about you and your projects, they know anyone that they might want to introduce you too. The important thing: Ask for an email connection, similar to the one you sent for them, rather than a verbal one. The reason you want an email introduction is twofold:
   1. First, because you can ask the sender to highlight the most relevant details about you and how they can add value to the recipient’s business, and
   2. Second, because you can later reply to that email with as much relevant information as you can after you’ve done some research on the person. That gives you a lot more leverage than being on the phone making small talk.

You can repeat this process with your new contacts over and over again to move up the networking “food chain.

The Verdict Is In: Givers Get

These five simple steps have allowed me to amass a solid contact list of people who add value to my business and can add value to the businesses of others. Building a network this way ensures that everyone in it is receptive to me and sees me as an adder of value to their business. And that’s where you want to be.

Remember, the #1, unbeatable way to stay memorable and top-of-mind for a contact is to make some aspect of their life/business better. That makes you unforgettable. So, use these five simple steps and you’ll overcome the three limits of FTF networking:

• Instead of struggling to get face time with someone, you’ll have a nice warm introduction that is meaningful and relevant to the recipient,
• Instead of fighting for focus, the relevance of the introduction will capture the attention of the recipient, and
• Instead of hoping for a follow up, you’ll be able to reply to your CC’d email introduction and add additional relevant information, as well as ask for a quick phone call to get to know each other.

Now It’s Time To Put It Into Practice For Yourself

Contact one person a day for the next five business days and get a taste for just how well this system works. Be sure to post your success stories in the comments, too, so I can see what results you’re getting. Get to it!

And if you’re new to this blog, why don’t you sign up for email updates (or the RSS feed) so you get all the articles in this better networking series?

You know what to do,

Dave

Step One – Determine Where The Finish Line Is.
I could have taken the boring route and said “determine your objectives,” but I want you to think like it’s a race, for two reasons. First off, in a race you have to keep running or you’re toast. With networking, you have to keep moving, or you’ll see the opportunities you’re building wither away as you lose top-of-mind status with people. You don’t want to do the same work twice, so remember that you’ll need to keep up the pace.

The other reason I want you to look at it as a race is because a race is exciting. You have an endpoint that you are constantly closing on, and constant progress is a hell of a lot more motivating than “Gee, I have this goal, you see …”

So let’s talk about the finish line. The finish line is a specific person, or specific type of person that you’re looking to connect with (such as “A-List Blogger” or “CEO of Advertising Firm”). Let’s call this person your “target.” If you don’t have a specific person in mind, then do ten minutes of web searching to discover who the major players are in the target profile you’re aiming for.

Don’t be a sucker and skip this first step, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll eventually meet the people I need to.” Think about that word “eventually.” Translation: “long, long time.” You don’t want that. Besides, you’d be kidding yourself anyway, because you’re not going to hit a target you haven’t established.

If you’re feeling hesitant about defining your target, because you’re feeling that these types of people are “out of your league,” take a deep breath. No one is out of your league. Reaching someone, no matter how high up, just takes concentrated action (maybe a lot of it, but it can be done). Don’t buy the lie that it can’t. Focus on moving forward and you’ll do so.

Bottom line: You need to define the target at your finish line so you can make sure all of your networking efforts carry you in the right direction.

Step Two: Search Out The Soft Spot
If you’ve read about the 5 critical networking skills already, you know that a key strategy is to find out what your target’s problems and needs are so that you can be the hero by connecting them with what they need.

Look at your target with fresh eyes. What are the unmet needs that separate them from their goals? What are the “soft spots”, or “hot buttons,” or whatever you want to call it that will make them sit up and take notice of whoever helps them find a solution? You want to know this because as you network your way towards the finish line, you’ll be able to keep your eyes out for people who have the resources to help solve your target’s problems.

Having these resources in your contact list can help you accelerate your progress, because the closer you get to the target, the more attractive your list of connections becomes. If you’re only a few links (connections) away from the target, those links may also know about your target’s needs, and be very willing to help pave the way for you to meet your target (because that introduction will make them a hero to the target as well).

Bottom line: Know your target contact’s problems so that you can pick up connections along the way who can help solve them.

Step Three: Begin Charting Your Course
At this point you know who you want to connect with, so it’s time to work backwards from your goal. Whether it’s on paper or with your favorite piece of software, begin writing the names of people who might be in your target’s personal network. Web searches or sites like LinkedIn can be useful to kickstart this process, as they can help you read about people your target interacts with. Additionally, you can list organizations that your target is closely involved with. It may actually be easier to connect with the head of the organization than you think.

For any/all of those first level people/organizations, repeat the process. If it seems intimidating, don’t make it that way. Include just one or two people under each contact – as long as you start somewhere you’re on your way. The more levels you work your way down, the more likely you are to find someone who’s accessible to you in your current position.

Additionally, as you chart out this course you may find people you already have in your network, or in your network’s extended network. You may be surprised at what a small world it can be. Here’s where LinkedIn can come in handy as well – if you search for your target it can help you find the path to get to them.

Bottom Line: You want to work on building a chain of connections that will lead you to your target. Once you have that, you can start working yourself along the path.

That’s Enough To Go On, So Start Making It Happen
This is a fair bit of work, to be sure, but you’ll easily make that time up as you network faster and more easily than you’re doing it now. Naturally, the average person reading this won’t even put a single hour into building a networking plan, but I’m betting you’re one of the above-average readers. Schedule some time as soon as possible (so it doesn’t become “someday”), and make it happen.

And if you’re new to this blog, why don’t you sign up for email updates (or the RSS feed) so you get all the articles in this better networking series?

You know what to do,

Dave

Networking Giant Bob Burg once said that those who master networking “do the little things right, consistently.” Imagine someone describing you as a “networking giant,” because you’re doing the little things right, too. It’s time to make certain that you’re using the skills that will move you upward, so read on; class is in session.

Skill #1: Giving (Before Taking)
There’s an expression you may have heard before: “Givers Get.” This is the mantra, the cornerstone of successful networking. What you want your contact to remember when they think of you is how you were a contributor, how you actually helped add value to their business or their lives.

Those who struggle with networking usually approach contacts as prospects, as someone to sell themselves to. But your contacts don’t want to be sold on you – they have too much on their plate to hear about how great you are. What they really want is for their projects to be successful and their lives to be easier. Help them with that, and you’re “sold” without even trying.

In other words, make the spirit of giving the driving objective in your networking efforts, and you will succeed like never before.

If you can solve (or contribute to solving) a contact’s pressing problem you instantly gain credibility, rapport and top-of-mind position. That’s like gold for your business, but you won’t get it without …

Skill #2: Drawing (Asking Questions, Only Smarter)
Does your contact want to hear about you? Unless your reputation precedes you, the answer is likely no. They have a lot of things on their mind, the demands of multiple projects swirling around, and the last thing they’re going to want to do is spend time validating you on how interesting you are (hint: if they’re interested in what you do / who you are, they will take it upon themselves to ask).

So you don’t want to force facts about yourself onto them. Instead, you want to draw out the facts of their life that they are most interested in. Ask them how they got started. Ask them what they’re up to. Listen to their responses, and listen closer for emotional cues. When they talk about what they are doing, what do they sound most energized by? What do they sound most harried about?

Your contact will appreciate your interest, especially since your targeted questions show that you’re really listening. You know from experience the difference between when somebody “listens” to what you’re saying as opposed to when they’re actually “interested” in what you’re saying. Let the quality of your questions leave no doubt in your contact’s mind that you are focused on them.

Ultimately, as you pay attention to their verbal and non-verbal cues, and you draw out the answers are most emotionally charged for them, you’ll discover what their most important project is (or the one they’re most excited about). Then you can ask the the home-run question:

“What can I do to help you with (or add value to) what you’re doing?”

Naturally, you’re not trying to take on extra workload here, though. What you’re really after is discovering one of two things:

1. Is there something that’s very easy for me to do that would be difficult for this contact to do? (If so, offering to help is a powerful way to make an unforgettable impression)
2. Do I know the person who can solve this contact’s problem? (If so, a quick introduction may be all it takes to be the hero here).

Skill #3 -Following-Up (Don’t Be A One-Night Stand)
Don’t let follow-up be left to chance. After your initial flurry of contacts (which will come naturally because you’re adding value to their most important project, right?), you’ll need a natural “in” to allow you to keep the relationship alive. You want to stay top-of-mind with your contact so they have good reason to initiate staying in touch with you.

I’ll write more about how to manage your follow-ups, but for the moment, simply keep tabs on what they’re up to so you know when to contact them. If they have a project launching in 6 months, make a note to yourself to follow up with them to see how it’s going. And of course, ask them again how you can add value.

(More on this in an upcoming article.)

Skill #4 – Connecting (Continue to Give)
The more you build your network, the wider your sphere of influence will become. Your contacts list will contain a broader collections of skills and resources that you can leverage when you’re networking with new people.

When you realize that your new contact’s needs fit nicely with the skill sets of people you already know, ask them if they would like you to send an introductory email to break the ice. Connect them with useful people, and they will welcome your continued contact.

As you become a source of connections for your new contacts, they will volunteer to connect you with other people as well. If you’ve used all these skills well, you won’t be surprised at how many times you hear the unsolicited words, “You’ve done so much for me … now what can I do for you?”

When that happens, you close the circle with …

Skill #5 – Receiving (Your Just Reward)
When your new contact asks you those six magic words, “what can I do for you,” you want to be good and ready. The way to be ready is to have your own list of things you need handy. This doesn’t have to be a physical list, but you should be conscious of a few resources that you believe your contact has access to. You don’t want to say “I’ll get back to you” and risk losing the momentum you’ve built up with this contact.

At this point, you’re ready to ask them to connect you with someone specific that they may know, or someone who has access to skills/information/resources that you need. Since they offered to do something for you, they’ll generally be happy to connect you (be sure to ask them when you can expect the introduction so it happens quickly).

And when your contact connects you with the people you’re after, it won’t just be any introduction. It will be an introduction that starts out with your contact bragging about what you’ve done for them … and that sets you up as the hero from day one.

And that’s what networking is all about.

Bonus Skill #6+ … You Fill In The Blank
Have the tips I’ve just given helped you? If so, why don’t you give back right now in the form of a comment describing your #1 networking strategy? You’ll help others (remember, givers get, and you’ll learn from the other comments on this post). Go ahead and leave a comment now, and then sign up for email updates (or the RSS feed) so you get all the articles in this better networking series.

You know what to do,

Dave

Myth #1 – Networking Is A Natural Skill (You Got It Or You Don’t)
Networking is no more a natural skill than tying your shoes is, so don’t fall into the limiting belief that “some people have it,” and that you don’t. That’s bullshit. Powerful networkers simply use a combination of basic skills that are all utterly, completely within the grasp of anyone who really desires to learn them. Most people never will, though (but you’re not “most people” are you?).

Granted, some people seem to be naturally brilliant at networking, but that doesn’t mean the average person can’t be great at it. The reason these people seem to be “naturals” is simply because they’ve spent a lot more time practicing than you have. Their chosen profession may have automatically forced them to learn some of the key skills that master networkers use. But it all comes down to practice.

So remember: While there will always be geniuses who have a natural level of talent that seem impossible for you to reach, there’s nothing stopping you from getting more than competent enough to achieve a lot. It takes a genius to write like Mozart, but it just takes practice to earn money playing his music.

Bottom line: If you’re in a position where you feel like you don’t have what it takes, do yourself a favor and accept the fact that you can learn these skills, one by one. It is a fact of life that whatever you practice consistently, you get better at. For now, focus on using the level of skill that you already have, leveraging the hell out of it, and improving gradually.

Upcoming articles in this series will go into the specific skills that you need to have.

Myth #2 – Networking Requires A Lot Of Traveling (And That Costs Time And Money)
This may have been true before the internet, but it’s certainly not the case now. While there is tremendous value in face to face interaction with people, it doesn’t have to be a major part of a successful networking strategy.

You can do just as well networking online – sometimes even better. Consider this – as you move up the ladder towards higher-level contacts, it’s going to be harder to get “face time” with them. If you’ve ever been at a crowded seminar, you know what I’m talking about. You can be talking to your dream contact and discover that you only have 5 minutes with them.

Online, things are different. You can research someone before you contact them and increase your chance of making a strong first impression. You can leverage email, instant messenger and phone to create the casual conversations that create strong connections. More on that later. The bottom line is do not underestimate the networking power you can wield using your keyboard and phone. It can be more powerful than any face-to-face you’ve done before.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m not saying face-to-face networking is dead – far from it. But it’s just one tool in your arsenal, and you want to leverage as many tools as you can to network quickly, effectively, and profitably.

Bottom Line: Make online networking a priority, as it will frequently let you create stronger connections and uncover more opportunities than hurried conversations at networking events.

Upcoming articles in this series will go into the specific strategies for networking online.

Myth #3 – Networking Takes Forever (And I Don’t Have Forever, Baby)
Things take as long as you make them take. It took 90 days for the builders to finish my house. That seemed short to me, given the complexity of the task. Then I turn on the TV and see the team on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” toss up a house twice as big as mine in seven days. Seven days. That’s almost 13 times faster.

That house went up so fast because the builders carefully mapped out how to leverage every hour of daylight and pulled all the right resources together at just the right times. It was no accident. They didn’t wait to see if they bumped into the right people at the right time. It was planning, baby, planning all the way.

To network like a pro, you’ve got to have a plan. You’ve got to know what your endpoints are (”endpoints” being either the high-level people or the types of resources you’re trying to connect with). You’ve got to develop a solid plan to work your way to those endpoints as efficiently and effectively as possible. And you’ve got to know what you have to offer that will make it worth people’s while to put you in touch with who (and what) you’re really after.

Bottom line: Success in networking doesn’t happen by accident; it happens through planning. Spend some time developing your detailed networking plan and you’ll be surprised how quickly it all comes together.

Upcoming articles in this series will go into the specific strategies for creating your networking plan.

Bonus Myth #4 – I Won’t Be Able To Make This Work (That’s Bull And You Know It)
You may be doubting your ability to become a powerfully effective networker. That’s crazy talk (that’s my polite way of “calling bullshit.”) Bottom line is that what you practice, what you do on a consistent basis, you get better at. So instead of doubting your ability to grow your business through networking, tell yourself in no uncertain terms that you sure as hell intend to practice. Successful people aren’t born – they’re made, one incremental improvement at a time.

Bottom Line: Do these two things before you leave:

#1: Subscribe to this blog via email or RSS so you get all the upcoming lessons on networking.

#2: Leave a comment below and ask your #1 question on how to become a more effective networker. You may get a response via an upcoming article.

You know what to do,

Dave