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A long time ago, I went to a breakout session at a BNI conference that was called “The Mathematical Formula for Networking Success.” Well, because the founding father of the organization, I absolutely had to see this presentation to learn the working formula for successful business networking.
The speaker began his presentation by writing a formula on the flip chart. He talked about “D” representing Dunbar’s average variety of relationships and “M” representing Metcalf’s law (also often called the Squared Connection Effect). He continued with a very convoluted and confusing formula doing the square root of 1 thing and multiplying it by something that seemed totally irrelevant to me.
He hesitated as he spoke to us. He put his fingertips to his lips and hemmed and hawed in his presentation. It was uncomfortably clear to all of us that he was confused and bewildered by his own formula. Not only that, but we were also very confused and bewildered by his formula as well. All of us sat there feeling pretty embarrassed for him.
That is when he turned around to the tons of of individuals within the room, picked up a huge red felt marker and put a giant red “X” through the whole formula and said to all of us: “Oh forget in regards to the math — it’s all about relationships!”
All the room concurrently exploded into laughter. He was right. Business networking (when done right) is all in regards to the relationships you construct.
He went on to explain that there is no such thing as a mathematical formula for achievement in business networking. It’s all about nurturing skilled relationships — and while there is probably not a mathematical formula, there are some principles that, when applied properly, add up to great leads to networking.
Related: Are Your Networking Efforts Falling Flat? Shake Things Up With These 5 Strategies.
1. Ensure others know, like and trust you
“Know, like and trust” — that’s the process that business people need to follow to feel comfortable referring to other people. I refer to this because the VCP process. First you’ve to have Visibility locally by going to networking events. Then you definately establish Credibility by constructing a solid repute for doing good work. After that, the relationships can lead to Profitability through referrals. Don’t just go to networking events to do face-to-face cold calling. Go to them to work your way through the VCP process.
2. Maintain consistent communication
Constructing and maintaining relationships requires what I like to call “touch points.” How often are you reaching out and connecting with the people in your network? Often checking in, sharing updates, and expressing real interest in what other individuals are doing helps to keep connections alive. Benign neglect or letting relationships dissipate over time dramatically weakens your network.
Doing regular 1-2-1s with people, whether in person or online, may help keep the connection alive. The truth is, one university study conducted by Beatrice Sparacino in Europe discovered that individuals who do 4 or more 1-2-1s a month each give and receive twice as many referrals as individuals who do just one 1-2-1 a month. Whether through face-to-face interactions, emails or social media, maintaining open lines of communication reinforces the bond between you and your network. Consistent communication ensures that connections remain strong, even within the absence of immediate opportunities, and allows for a more natural progression of the connection over time.
3. Hone the outline of what you do
Describing what you do definitely will depend on your audience. Giving one line at a chamber event is substantially different than doing a weekly 60-second presentation at a group like BNI. For instance, for those who are doing one sentence about what you do to a large group — use a memory hook. One in every of the primary I ever heard was from a dentist who raised his right hand and said: “I think within the tooth, the entire tooth and nothing however the tooth.” With just a dozen words or so, he made sure everyone in that room would remember who he was and what he did.
However, for those who are in a networking group where you’ve a little more time to speak and also you achieve this weekly, you would like to do something that’s fairly counterintuitive. Namely, don’t take a broad brush and explain your online business in generalities. As an alternative, get laser-specific about one aspect of your online business. Then the following week one other aspect, and so forth. After a yr, you’ve taught the people you network with some ways to refer you. In groups like this, the goal will not be to make a sale — it’s to train a salesforce to find referrals for you.
Related: 5 Ways to Network Your Way to Business Growth and Wealth
4. Create value together with your existing and potential referral partners
Successful networking will not be solely about what one can get; it is usually about what one can provide or contribute. Creating value for others establishes the sense of getting a reciprocal relationship. This will involve sharing insights, providing assistance, connecting individuals to relevant resources and in fact, giving someone a valid referral for his or her business. By contributing to the success of others, individuals strengthen the bonds inside their network and turn into invaluable assets themselves.
Recently, I used to be doing a radio interview and I talked to the host about value creation by asking individuals who you would like to construct a skilled relationship with this query: “How can I allow you to?” He said (live, on air) “That drained old phrase — that does not work!” I didn’t want to argue with him on air, so I moved on. When the interview was over, I asked him who were a few of the those that he was in search of to get them on the show. He gave me some names. One in every of them I knew thoroughly. I told him that he was a good friend of mine and I’d be comfortable to make an introduction. The host thanked me profusely for my offer. That is once I said to him that that is how you’ll be able to ask, “How can I allow you to?” without using those actual words. He said, “Touché!” and admitted that it could possibly work well in any case.
5. Constructing a diverse network is significant
Networks are, by nature, clumpy — that is not the technical term, but they honestly do tend to be cluster-like unless we attempt to create a broad and inclusive network. People tend to spend time with those that are very similar to them. Nevertheless, constructing relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds, industries, ethnicities, ages, educations and experiences helps to broaden our perspectives and supply us access to a wider range of opportunities (which I discuss at length in my book The Third Paradigm). These individuals turn into connectors who connect you to other clusters of individuals whom you may not normally meet. Embracing diversity in networking not only enhances the richness of our relationships, it also opens doors to a myriad of possibilities for private and skilled growth.
The journey to success in business networking is not sure by mathematical formulas but moderately it thrives on real relationships. The resulting laughter from the mathematical formula resonated with the shared understanding that human connections defy quantification through equations. The core message emerged: Success in networking hinges on meaningful interactions, not complex mathematical computations.
In case your network is a mile wide and an inch deep, it would never achieve success. It needs to be each wide and, in some places, deep. Meaning that regardless of what number of individuals are in your network or how well you’re connected — the hot button is to have deep relationships with individuals who might be there to allow you to, support you and refer you over time. This underscores the importance of each breadth and depth in someone’s connections. Merely accumulating a vast network is not sufficient; cultivating deep relationships ensures ongoing support and referrals. In essence, the true formula for achievement in networking lies within the art of constructing and nurturing authentic connections with others.
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