“How can I help?”
Have you noticed the most notorious relationship building question in the book has it’s challenges…
What do you do when you’re looking to build a relationship with someone by providing value to them and they say, “I’m all good for now” when you ask how you can help?
You could say crap and pack it in, but I think there’s a better way that I want to share with you…
Photo Credit: IvanWalsh.com via Compfight
But in order to instill a greater sense of confidence around what I’ll soon propose, I want to highlight this important foundation:
Everyone and anyone regardless of how much “they’re crushing it” can have their progress accelerated by other people (whether they’re aware …
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I’ve tried this 4 times and I know it’s worked twice…
Having an understanding of how people behave puts you in a unique position to engineer situations so you achieve ideal outcomes…
Today I want to talk about a [theoretical] strategy you can use to further enhance positive feelings people have about you.
Have you ever been introduced to someone and totally rocked the in-person meeting? Feels good right…
In an ideal world, the person you just met reports back to your mutual contact that they got a lot out of the connection (and that you’re cool a badass). You want this to happen because it further supports your street cred and gives the connector a sense of gratification from the value …
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This post was originally featured on Technori.com, a leading digital publication for the world’s best starters.
There are certain people out there that seem to always have amazing things come their way. NEWFLASH. It’s not a coincidence.
Your ability to attract great opportunities comes down to a simple formula:
Size and Quality of Your Network + Transparency + Perceived Ability to Create Value = Volume of Opportunities
Let’s dig in.
Network:
Your “true network” is not everyone you’ve ever met. Your true network is the group of people who’d gravitate towards helping you out given the opportunity (assuming the ask is appropriate).
The larger your true network, the larger the pool of people who might decide to send an opportunity your way. Network quality has implications …
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How many follow-up emails do you think influential entrepreneurs, investors, and authors receive after going to a heavy networking event like a dinner, conference, or retreat?
If they actually hand out cards, my guess is a ton.
I’d like to share a few props and tricks that I use to create an interesting excuse to continue the dialogue after I meet an “A Player.” Before I talk guerrilla networking tactics, let’s paint a picture of how most people treat these interactions in order to understand why these untraditional tactics can be effective.
After their initial conversation, the typical networker asks the “A Player” for their card so they can send a follow up email to establish the connection (Score!). The next day they …
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One of the most powerful things you care do in the relationship building process is to let someone know how they’ve helped you learn, grow or succeed. We’re presented opportunities to provide those who’ve helped us with feedback on positive results constantly, yet few people actually follow through.
Human interaction is the biggest catalyst to progress in our lives:
An introduction may help you close a deal.
Product feedback may inspire an enhanced iteration.
Advice over coffer may dramatically change the shape of your career.
Each one of these interactions represents an instance where someone else has afforded you their time, energy, or reputation to enhance your well-being. Sharing the fruits you’ve reaped from their labor accomplishes …
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Awhile back I did a presentation to New York’s CTO School about how to bring an intentional approach to networking. Here is the video that accompanies the slides which I previously shared.
The structure of the talk:
How to be Helpful to others
Developing a Networking Plan
Maintaing Your Network
Here are the slides that accompany the presentation.
If you enjoyed this presentation and are interested in networking you might also like:
How to Break in and Build A Network in the Startup Scene from Scratch
The Art of Asking Someone to Meet for Coffee
The Biggest Networking Fail
I recently gave a presentation on networking to New York’s CTO School. The focus of the talk was on ways to provide value to others and how to bring an intentional, targeted approach to networking:
Video:
Slides:
To accompany this talk, I created a page for CTO School with other resources on networking. Feel free to check it out.
Have you ever met a great contact, then found yourself cautious to email them months later because you’re not sure if they even remember who you are? I sure have.
I’ve wrote about this before, but the biggest networking fail is consistency.
A great networker strategically massages his network in order to turn acquaintances into trusted professional contacts and friends. The methodology for doing this is simple – consistently provide value to these acquaintances without expecting anything in return. Just like content marketing, time + value is the magic formula.
Anyone who’s attempted this realizes that building relationships this way can be challenging and time-consuming. After all there’s only so many relevant articles to ping, feedback to provide, or potential hires to source …
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