Welcome to another week on my newsletter, which means it’s Friday already. Where do these weeks go?! Friday seems to keep coming around quicker and quicker each week!
Any business owner will tell you that the quickest thing that seems to come around for them is making payroll. You know what I am talking about! It always seems like 3 sleeps and a couple of blinks and then BOOM! Another payroll is due. And in my group, we have investor interest payments that come around just as quickly too. (If you want to chat with me about investing your lazy capital then request a call back here).
Well if the payment dates are going to keep coming around quicker and quicker, we need to make sure that income is coming in more and more frequently too right?
More deals mean you need more people to deal with. Needing more people means you need to be growing your network. So you need to be improving your networking skills, and as promised last week that’s what I’ll be talking about today.
I am going to give you 8 ways to grow your network (well 7 new ones and a reminder!) that EVERYONE can implement TODAY, no matter your business or financial situation.
1. Do Something To Draw People To You
A lot of people hate networking because they are too shy (or lazy!) to outreach. What if you could do something to kill 2 birds with 1 stone? Rather than you having to go out on a 1-to-1 basis to others, is there a way you can get many to come directly to you?
Content creation is your silver bullet here. What content you create and how you create it is down to you, your individual style and your industry, but concepts that can work for anyone are things like growing a social media profile, running a blog, writing a blog, having a podcast. (Oh, I’ve mentioned podcasts again!) But there are many other ideas I am sure you can think of too that can suit you. Maybe hosting events or being a guest on other people’s podcasts. (2 more for you there, and the word podcast came up again!)
2. Help People Already In Your Network
Giving and helping is at the core of building great relationships and making yourself valuable. You already have people in your network so make sure you are creating enough value for them. Don’t tell me you don’t have anyone in your network! You do! It may not be as big as you would like but everyone has as a minimum some friends, family members or work colleagues which is somewhere to start.
As you start to make yourself valuable to these people they will naturally want to reciprocate – and they can do that by making further introductions to people that they know which will get your network growing.
3. Surround Yourself With Great Networkers
Some people are better at networking than others and then there are people who are in the networking Premier League! (Yes, that’s me!). These people have a never-ending supply of great connections and their network is always expanding further because they apply all these strategies, and more, as well as being master relationship builders too so their best connections are DEEP.
If you aren’t one of these people then you need to get close to these people, because their network will rub off on you and it is an easy way to make great connections. My friends constantly tell me how many great connections and interesting people they meet when they spend time with me. Find yourself your own ‘Matt’ to fast-track you to network growth!
4. Say Yes!
Don’t be a negative, selfish little bitch! Stop saying no, start saying yes! Do things. Go places. Help people. Be a positive force. You will find it is like a magic trick to meeting new people and them wanting to build a relationship with you.
5. Expand Your Network Beyond Your Niche
Most people only network with people in their industry or in their direct peer groups. You should be going far and wide. Not just with random people, obviously. But with great characters, successful people, interesting and inspiring individuals – whatever niche or sector they are in. Great people know other great people – and people like this have a never-ending supply of opportunity and deals around them.
What’s your worst case? You don’t do a deal, but you have met a cool person and made a new friend! Sounds like a success to me!
6. Have Something To Talk About
You are never going to grow your network if people don’t want to spend time with you. So, you better be interesting! If you are shy and you struggle to go with the flow and be the centre of attention, then at least make sure you have 2 or 3 prepared topics, fun stories, and areas of interest that you can engage with people on.
Great networking is about great relationships, and you can only build a relationship if you can communicate and have something to talk about. But that doesn’t mean you should be a bullshitter and pretend you know about things that you don’t, or that you have done things that you haven’t. Successful people can smell bullshit a mile off, so being genuine and authentic is key – there is nothing wrong with admitting your faults or that you don’t know something.
7. Quality Over Quantity
Like most things in life, quality matters more than quantity. You are better off knowing 25 killer people than 100 morons who are good for nothing. Don’t use this as an excuse to be shy or lazy though – it is still the more the merrier, but just concentrate on great people and great opportunities.
8. Have A Podcast
And here is that word again! If you are a new subscriber this week then you won’t have seen that last week’s letter was all about why having a podcast could be one of the best moves you make. So I am going to quickly include it again here – because even if you did read about it last week I can’t overstate the importance and value of it as a networking tool.
Having a podcast hits multiple angles for you at once. It gives you the opportunity to meet and sit down with people you wouldn’t normally get the chance to do so with. It builds you an audience of people who want to know you and will reach out to you. When people Google you and see you as a podcast host with great guests, they immediately have an elevated perception of you. See how you can tick multiple networking tactic boxes all at once with this one thing. And by the way, it’s great fun too!
Please don’t tell me you haven’t got multiple strategies there now that you can’t immediately implement. Any business. You got this!
I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter. And please please don’t forget to send it on to your friends and refer them as subscribers if you think they’ll benefit.
Matt,
PS. I got a LinkedIn request from my eldest daughter, Harlie, a couple of days ago. Given that she never likes to listen to a word I say about business or careers (bloody kids!) I was pleased to see that someone else had talked her into the importance of LinkedIn and networking to get the internships and career opportunities she is interested in. She’s 17 next month – you are NEVER TOO YOUNG to start networking, and I would actually have a few strong arguments for why you will get greater success at a young age too. So get on with it NOW!
