See Why It Is Essential to Reach Outside of Your Current Circles

Some of the most powerful connections are made through networking. HubSpot says 85% of jobs are filled through networking. When you break networking down to its basics, it’s as simple as knowing something about someone and being willing to share that information with someone else.

I’ve been reaching out to people I want to connect with lately, and I have learned something different from each one of them. It’s so valuable that I want to challenge you to pick someone you know, even a little bit, and ask them if they’d like to hop on a call.

Keep Conversation Casual

Have an idea in mind about what you want to talk about and keep the conversation natural. You don’t have to force anything unless you have a couple of talking points. If you have a talking point, share it ahead of time so the other person isn’t caught off guard. Once you’ve had a few calls with people, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to schedule more calls with other people, even people you don’t know as well as others.

Foster Differences

Danny Forest always gets me thinking differently. Beyond that, he’s an interesting person I’d like to get to know better. He offered an interesting takeaway recently.

Let the shit roll off.

That’s not the way he said it exactly, and he’ll probably laugh about that being the point that sticks out in my memory. But, you understand the meaning. Let little stuff roll off and hold onto the big nuggets of wisdom. You can bet there’s at least one in every call.

Reach Out

Christopher D. Connors is someone I’ve had a couple of calls with. I don’t remember how we got talking initially, but we hopped on the phone one day and just started talking about our lives and what the other person was doing. I’m reading his newest book, Emotional Intelligence, and excited to talk with him about it soon.

Once you connect and hear the other person’s voice, it’s easy to keep connections alive through short messages and brief notes.

Share Information

Be open to sharing what you know, not in an egotistical way, but in a nonpretentious way. Ayodeji Awosika shared some tools and techniques I’ve applied recently. I was able to share some information from a different perspective too.

Be willing to share a tip or trick you’ve learned and how it works. When parties are open to sharing the information they have, everyone wins.

Have a Pow Wow

Sean Kernan and I had a meeting of the minds recently. We knew we each had a different piece of information that could help the other person. It turned out to be a powerful sharing session of knowledge and techniques to apply what we knew.

Share Your Expertise

I’m looking forward to talking with John Emmerling again soon because we have different backgrounds that complement what the other person is doing.

Help each other grow and keep ongoing connections.

Ask What You Can Do

I’m looking forward to an upcoming call with Chris Craft. This guy is fantastic. He’s smart, talented, plays music, and is an energetic man of faith. He tells heart stories and connects them in meaningful ways.

When we spoke last, we asked what we can do for each other. It can be as simple as suggesting someone to connect with or scheduling a future call.

Make Referrals

Be on the lookout for how to connect with other people. Jordan Gross is probably the most positive person I know. He makes an effort to help others and connect the people he meets.

Be willing to make referrals. Maybe you can’t help the person you’re speaking with, but you know someone who can. Share those connections.

Find People Who Do Similar Things

Dr. Christine Bradstreet 🌴and Agnes Louis are two people I’ve wanted to speak with for a while. We finally got on a call recently. We do similar things and wanted to connect. We got together for some “girl time” and are excited about what we’ll talk about on the next call.

Hang out with people of interest.

Look for Other Connections

People naturally talk about other connections they find helpful. While talking with people, I’ve learned things about other people I don’t know well but have found an interesting connection point. I learned something about Marta Brzosko, Casey Botticello, Niklas Göke, and Jake Daghe that makes me want to schedule calls with them.

George J. Ziogas, when are we going to have a glass of wine and see each other in person? Aram Boyd, we’ll connect again soon.

Reach out to old friends and make new ones too. Stay connected with those you know and look for ways to connect with someone new. Grow your circles of influence and grow your networking connections.

Who knows, maybe they’ll help get you hired.

Don’t forget this golden rule.

“My Golden Rule of Networking is simple: Don’t keep score.” — Harvey Mackay