Nothing worthwhile can be influenced unless you have a network. The bigger your goal or purpose, the bigger your network needs to be, or at least, the more powerful its members need to be. And unless you have volume first, you’re not going to find and attract powerful people to be in your network.
Since everyone has a network, it is more important to challenge you on the health of your network…
- How many people are in your network? You need to build quantity before you can achieve quality.
- How would you define a quality contact? One indicator for me is that the individual promptly replies to emails. What can you add to this?
- How many high quality contacts do you have in your network?
- What process do you use to move contacts from an acquaintance to a confidant?
- To what extent are you taking from rather than giving to your quality contacts? Quality requires reciprocity to survive.
- How relevant is your network to your long term goals?
- What gaps are there in your network?
- How much time do you invest in networking each month?
Don’t just race through these questions, sit down with your notebook and jot down some answers to them. Once you have done this, make some decisions about what to do next…
- What action can you take this month to begin filling some of the gaps?
- Identify three people in your network and commit to taking specific action within the next few days to deepen the relationship.
- Develop a way of organising your network and your networking activity.
- Document the benefits that you hope to achieve in the long term from improving the health of your network.
Make sure and browse through the reading below to continue developing your network and your networking skills. And, keep reminding yourself of the benefits and checking your progress.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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