Feb 09 2010
Networking & Pyramids
When you start to network more widely, you quickly realize that there is a pyramid, or hierarchy of depth or quality in all of your potential relationships.
Pyramid Levels:
At the base of the pyramid are what we call ‘suspects’. These are people who seem open to an approach to offer support. (remembering my earlier point about giving and reciprocity).
It is usually better to find out more about suspects before approaching them in person. Many are often misidentified and only randomly picked. Only some suspects (when researched more closely) get to the next stage of becoming ‘prospects’.
Prospects are individuals who research confirms meet the effective network criteria, and can usually be approached in person. Once again, initial conversation may reveal that not all prospects have been correctly identified. However, the numbers of people at this level are fewer and you can be much more patient in letting time provide an answer.
Contacts are prospects to whom you have offered support and advice and whose assistance or guidance you have requested on one or more occasions. At this stage, you may have discovered only minor opportunities to call, talk or contact one another, but the potential to do more has been established.
Advocates are contacts that are openly promoting or advocating the benefits of networking (with you in particular) to other prospects and contacts. Although this may not mean frequent contact, it is likely to be more frequent than with general contacts in your network.
Partners are the best and most effective networkers that you know, and the ones you most often call to chat to, to ask advice, or suggest ideas or options. By this stage, the relationship has generally reached a much higher level of mutual trust and understanding.
Using The Pyramid To Look For Opportunities:
To begin to discover who might be your network suspects at the base of the pyramid, an excellent place to start is to read for opportunities much more widely.
This means becoming broadly alert to the many opportunities to network that may present themselves every single day. Many of these opportunities will be posted in newspapers, magazines, on notice boards, in advertisements, on the Internet and many other sources.
An increased alertness will count for little unless you have a well thought through perspective on what you are looking for. There is no point in networking for the sake of networking. To an extent, this will depend upon your overall personal networking aims and objectives.
Possible networking goals:
• To increase market share/customers
• To find new ideas
• To learn and develop yourself
• To find a job/work/career
• To find a new colleagues/friends
• To pursue a hobby or interest
• To gain new perspective on topics of interest to you
• To go into business for yourself
Different Kinds Of Network:
Every one of these networking goals is a worthy aim in itself, but it is usually the case that only one or two goals of this type will apply at any one time. Consequently, your networking research efforts will be invested quite differently if your goals are broadly around work or career options rather than if they are about starting up your own business.
Hence, although a few people will have very wide and diverse interests and a broad array of interesting contacts, our networking pyramids are built according to our specific goals and interest areas. This is often why we talk about a jobs network, a small business network, an education network and so on.
Networking is not a new phenomenon but with the plethora of sites now specializing in bringing people together, it is certainly something business people should do well. Personally, I enjoy networking very much.
Today’s News: OK, here are those FREE places I promised you ….
Can Gen X, Gen Y, and Baby Boomers Co-Exist? – The Debate Rages
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Here are the thoughts from one of our panelists, Dr. Greg Stebbins
“The people of our generation started to radically change the corporate infrastructure. First mini-computers, then personal computers, then the Internet, email and finally the Web.
Gen X and Gen Y have leveraged the technology, but didn’t invent it. So there are some fundamental disconnects when discussing depth of understanding. They know how to do it, but don’t know why it’s done that way.
Today, all of that has changed. Gen X and Gen Y were raised totally different from each other. As boomers we were expected to go out and produce or lose our job or get demoted. Gen X – the slacker generation – just didn’t care about that. They wanted a life and most were willing to sacrifice praying to the alter of gold coins. Gen-Y – the coddled generation – calls their Mum and asks what they should do.”
You will not want to miss the lively discussion! You can even join in. Please register HERE
This is often why we talk about a jobs network, a small business network, an education network and so on.