In a recent blog post, Jason Jacobsohn, in his Networking Insight Blog wrote about the value you receive when YOU act as a connector to your network.

Being a connector is one of the most important things a “master networker” does. Being a “master networker” means that you are so good at networking that you have an abundance of leads and referrals – more than you can handle.

By connecting others together, you’re accomplishing many positive actions at once:

• You’re showing members of your network how much you care about them
• You’re enhancing your personal brand and reputation
• You’re positioning yourself as the “go-to” person in your contacts’ networks
• You’re sowing the seeds of helping others so that at a later point they will want to help you
• You’re using the opportunity to connect people as a point of staying “top-of-mind” with your contacts
• You’re giving the contacts whom you connect to each other an opportunity to ask how they might help you

Here’s a little quiz to see if you are a connector. Do you ask any of the following questions – EVERY TIME you speak to one of your network contacts? Do you document the answer? Do you have a system, process, tool, software program to follow-up and track this information?

• Do you ask your network contacts what they need?
• Do you probe to understand how you might help them?
• Have you solicited from them in the past who their ideal client might be?
• Do you tell them what your ideal client looks like?
• What obstacles do they face in obtaining business leads or opportunities? How can you help them to overcome these obstacles?
• Have you attempted to understand why they succeed? What special gift do they bring to the table that you can share with other members of your network?
• What differentiates how they perform their services or deliver their products from their competitors?

Do you track the number of times you’ve connected people together? Do you monitor if a successful engagement or project came out of that connection?

Being a connector is one of the most valuable elements of networking. It practically guarantees you will have an abundance of referrals and leads.

What’s holding you back from taking on the role of being a connector within your network?

To read the full article on Networking Insights, click the link below:

Connect Others and You Will Be Rewarded

Barry Deutsch

P.S. This is one of the key issues we’ll tackle together in the Chair e-Course on Finding New Members. We’re going to start the first course very soon – have you sent me a note yet that you would like to take part in the course?

I liked this recent post by Scott Ginsberg on ensuring your network will find your messages impactful.

I assume the vast majority of Chairs send out some form of a regular communication to their network. (If you’re not drip-nurturing, perhaps now is the time to get started).

The big question is whether your network reads your emails, blog postings, tweets, Facebook updates. Scott describes 6 different approaches you can employ to grab the attention of your readers/followers/network and ensure your message will be read.

Perhaps, more importantly, not only will it be read – but it will have a powerful and meaningful impact on them personally.

Have you tried any of the 6 techniques he describes in his blog post. Do you have a mental or physical checklist every time you write a message to your network to make sure you’re covering one of these 6 approaches?

To read more about how to make your message more meaningful, click the following link:

HELLO, my name is BLOG!: 6 Ways to Make Your Messages More Meaningful, More Human and More Heard

Barry Deutsch

Keith Ferrazzi talks about the need and importance of developing strong and deep relationships in your network – not just accumulating names.

One of the frustrations most people experience in networking is that their network doesn’t provide leads back to them. Unfortunately, folks in your network will not provide good leads to you on a consistent basis unless there is a deep relationship. Trust is an important component of providing referrals and leads. Trust takes time to build, develop, and nurture.

What are you doing to nurture deep relationships with people in your network?

Are you buying them a cup of coffee? Spending a few minutes on the phone checking in with them periodically? Sending them white papers, summaries, or other content from the Vistage Library? Are you employing classic techniques of drip-nurturing with your network? When was the last time you approached someone in your network and began the process of building a deep relationship?

Have you gone through the exercise of listing out where your referrals and leads come from? If you have, I’ll bet you’re getting most of them from the deeper relationships you have with folks in your network.

Do you have a plan with specific tactics, to-dos, calendaring of when and how you’re going to build a deeper relationship with specific people in your network. If you don’t have such a plan, it’s obviously more of a random effort – can consequently your results around obtaining leads and referrals will be random.

To read more about Keith Ferrazzi’s blog post on building deep relationships, click the following link:

Four Reasons You NEED Relationships to Thrive, Today and Every Day « Keith Ferrazzi

Barry Deutsch