How to 5x your network size and quality this year?
Are you fed up with crowded Meetups every week? Are you missing those deep connections when you really need them?
I’m sharing three simple and unique actions that can really boost ANY network in 6 months.
I’ve recently built Z Digital Agency, a network of 40 CEOs and Entrepreneurs to help companies on their digital growth strategies. By definition my network was at the core of my new venture.
1. Know & match your network — daily routine
You’re often on social media, so next time switch from scrolling down the beach pictures of your “successful” friends, to monitoring the people you like from a business or career point of view.
a. On Linkedin, FB, Twitter, Instagram or Medium, just unfollow the noise and start following those who matter. (15 min)
b. When reading your social network pay attention to people looking for answers or tips. Take 15 minutes each day to answer them.
c. When meeting someone ask him: “What is currently your biggest challenge?”. Simple but very efficient question that will cut through the chitchat and help you bring value to your network. Now you know what they really need (clients, technical help, time, organization, talents…).
d. Last but not least observe the needs of your online and offline network for a week and match them with one another. Be the fabulous host of this fancy party. I bet you’ll bring value to more than three people this week alone.
2. One dinner per month per city
The quality of your network has nothing to do with likes on your posts. Period.
The only think that matter is: Do I really know my network? Can I count on them?
Here is my secret tip:
a. Take 5 good people in your network that you’d like to learn more about.
b. Tell each of them you are organizing a casual dinner in 10 days (don’t ask them for their availabilities) with 4 other friends.
c. Tell each of them has to bring a person he really likes from his network.
d. Tell them we won’t talk about work, but only about life.
You don’t have to pay for everything, pick a restaurant and you’ll share the bill or cook at your place. This is a casual dinner between among friends and friends of friends.
The results are absolutely amazing. You just doubled your network and made deep connections with new people while talking about life.
I named this rule “one dinner per month per city”, because I travel a lot, so I decided to take each city as an opportunity to plan a dinner, just 10 days ahead.
3. Launch a WhatsApp group around a specific topic
You’d like to learn more and faster about a topic? Ask online about tips and sources about this topics. You’ll get plenty of links and people willing to help.
Reach out to those people and offer them to create a dedicated and closed Whatsapp group, where you’ll receive a quick summary every day about the latest facts on that topic.
Ask the person who is the most knowledgeable about this topic to prepare those quick daily summaries and build a list of the best sources. He’ll be flattered.
Give them the possibility to add people. Everybody loves being part of a closed group for a specific industry, so expect your group to quickly grow organically.
After a while this person may be overwhelmed with the daily task, but thanks to his list of sources, you can now hire a virtual assistant to prepare this template summary for $30 a month, by curating the latest news from those specific feeds.
Your job is to engage the conversation around the daily summaries.
Simply replicate this for each important topic for your personal network.
Conclusion.
- Know & match your network
2. Organize a dinner each month, in each city you visit
3. Create a Whatsapp closed group around a topic
It all boils down to:
- Cutting the noise
- Acting by helping out
- Curating knowledge and making it accessible
Happy (real) networking.
Tim.
Talking about network: you’ve just virtually entered mine. So feel free to tell in the comment what is your biggest challenge, and you’ll be surprised how much help you can get.
If I can personally help or if your network is struggling with digital growth (small and big companies), maybe we should put them in touch with my network at Z Digital Agency ;)
