May your Network Blossom, One road to Success

Exponential Network Growth: 101 Points to remember 

Before graduate school, I must confess I was clueless about Networking, or what the value was to networking or how to cultivate a network. Like most of us I associated Networking as a cheesy, transactional, direct marketing, pushy sales-oriented negative experience.

The truth is no one is a natural at networking or sales. Nor do you need to be an extrovert to succeed or if you are an introvert will you fail. Like everything, there is no magic to it. It is hard work, requires persistence, and being intentional.

Just yesterday someone reached out to me asking for help building her network.

Hi Michael,

It looks like your job requires you to network and constantly grow your business. Any suggestions for me as I get into real estate? Any advice is welcome!

Have a great day- Sally

This article is for Sally and for anyone who might be new to sales, or for those who might need to recharge their network or for those forced to realize no network no eat.

Networking is relational. It requires a genuine interest. So what can people do to grow their network?

1.      Start with yourself: What are you interested in? What are you currently involved in? What were you previously involved in? 

2.      Never overlook the obvious

3.      Confidence is essential, and if you are working hard to learn, doing the activity, let it grow

4.      Self-Talk: Listen to Rocky or whatever gets you excited

5.      Positive Affirmation

6.      Listen more than you speak

7.      Trust: It is all about trust. How can you increase your trustworthiness? How can you increase your credibility? Do what you say. If you do not know, be honest & quickly learn. Can people trust you? Nothing different than 1,000 fight hours: get out there and improve your pitch, your message and how you relate and connect with people.  

8.      Integrity is everything. Do everything with integrity.

9.      Keep the highest standards and a process improvement approach

10.  You must ask for the sale or the opportunity or at least tell them what you are doing.

11.  Everything is relational. Keep close & keep in touch. It takes 6-8 touch points until a sale is made or closed.

12.  Do not take things personally: The natural gravity is down: business fail, and entrophy happens.

13.  People say no. It is our natural reaction.

14.  You must kiss a lot of frogs. Most people do not need our services. It is okay.

15.  When you find your target, an opportunity, interest, never lose.

16.  Be persistent. Be Relentless

17.  Show up

18.  Volunteer

19.  Join a non-profit or a board, or a council, or committee

20.  Go to church or join an organization or social community group

21.  Prayer is good and even better when it is not just about you, make it about others

22.  Be Bold

23.  Go Big

24.  Do not look back

25.  Develop your own signature

26.  Be curious & ask lots of questions

27.  Get involved

28.  Build your brand: your own niche. For example, if you were a teacher and now you are in real estate. Market yourself to educators, professors, etc. 

29.  Channel Partners: if you are now selling restate but might have once been a teacher can you partner with financial planners, insurance agents that have built a business helping teachers and educators.

30.  Be honest, work hard building a reputation. It takes time but losing it can happen fast in just 5 minutes.

31.  Get a coach or find a mentor or people who have succeeded and ask them for their time or recommendations or feedback

32.  Be a life-long learner: read, ask questions, and learn as much as you can

33.  Activity breads innovation and confidence.

34.  Have faith

35.  Continue to tell your story. You will get better at it.

36.  Help people help you. What is your message?

37.  Track your success: how many appointments, how many calls

38.  Fail forward

39.  Do you have the right tools: email, lead sources, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, etc.

40.  Facebook / Social media use it to lead to real relationships of VALUE

41.  Meetups, Free Events, community involvement.

42.  Rest and find time to exercise

43.  Review your activity for the week: how you can improve, lessons learned, etc.

44.  Be intentional and hone your strategy

45.  Remember strategy comes from doing, and iterating. A strategy does not happen in a vacuum.

46.  Be thankful

47.  Be positive

48.  Avoid Negativity and negative people

49.  Watch what you say. Words have the power to bring life or death

50.  Be an encourager and you will be encouraged

51.  Do not seek validation of social media likes, or others, Find your own source

52.  Find your way but you must start the journey: No Fear

53.  No one can tell you who you will become or whether you will succeed or not

54.  Own it

55.  You are your own boss

56.  We are made for something more

57.  There is nothing more powerful than being part of something bigger than yourself

58.  You cannot network alone nor can you do it alone bring people with you, and follow the right models.

59.  Community is what we seek

60.  Share or present

61.  Join a new group

62.  Give away and get more than you can ever imagine

63.  Have fun

64.  Crush it. Close the deal

65.  Friends, customers for life

66.  Help people

67.  Educate

68.  Connect

69.  Vision: Build it. It will energize you

70.  You do not need to fake it until you make it. You are a success and you are creating it now.

71.  What is your greater purpose? It has got to be more than just about money?

72.  Know Your Why!!!!

73.  Humility goes a long way

74.  Thank yous’ go a long way, there is nothing wrong with saying “I am sorry”

75.  Referrals and personal introductions are your silk road

76.  Be grateful

77.  Shed all negative emotions: anger, and worst of all arrogance

78.  Positive attitude and excitement

79.  Know thy self & your services & solutions: School of Hard Knocks

80.  May your life, your friends, your network flourish: Flywheel effect or high tides rise all boats.

81.   To catch a whale you need a lot of shrimp

82.   Marathon. Take the long view. You do not need 100 year China strategy.

83.   What are you doing to sharpen your skills? Ask for feedback

84.   Celebrate small wins

85.   Who are your top 10 list?

86.   What did you do today to move the needle?

87.   Time inventory: how are you wasting your time?

88.   What can you delegate?

89.   Can you outsource anything?

90.   Focus on your competencies

91.   Even more importantly know your weakness

92.   How can you increase your self-awareness

93.   Know your friends

94.   More importantly know your enemies

95.   Use your time wisely

96.   Leverage your friends

97.   Build your own advisory board

98.   How do you measure your success

100. All it takes is to get 1 Michael Jordan's testimony. Who can promote you to the A List

101. Are you mentoring anyone? How are you giving back?

Summary: Exponential Network

When you are building a genuine living breathing network you must first start with yourself. When you are authentic and self-aware to who you are and what you value and what is important to you and what matters to you it is easy to share this with others and ask of others these same questions with honesty and interest. You have a power in a connecting force. The power in your network is not found from the number of connection but from the shared mutual trust and desire for each to coexist and build something bigger than oneself, a shared vision.

References and Resources

The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career

Book by Reid Hoffman     FYI Reid Hoffman was the co-founder of LinkedIn