How many of your business networking connections are paying off for your marketing efforts?
The Pareto principle (more commonly referred to as the 80/20 rule) states that 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes. Or, “80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers.” This is often cited in discussing upselling past customers or securing referrals.
The same principle holds true for business networking. Approximately 20% of your contacts are going to have the strongest results for your efforts. But which are the 20%?
Successful people know the importance of hanging around with successful people. They may be cordial to everyone, but the people who get their time, energy and attention are those that share their drive and worldview. In other words, people who are as success-focused as they are.
Why is that?
Success-focused professionals add more value to your business network
Imagine you meet Fran at a business networking event. Fran’s done some good professional work and is charming enough when you speak to her. You start to talk about her latest project, and she expresses exasperation about the team dynamics. Then the budgetary restrictions. Then the constantly changing project scope. After several minutes and a couple of well-meaning suggestions to improve the situation, you’re looking to escape the conversation.
In a very short time, you’ve evaluated Fran’s attitude and focus and guessed that she’s not going to be the dynamic problem solver that you’re hoping to meet. Instead, her negative energy and focus is likely to drag you down to her level. Can’t you imagine it? The hour-long coffee meeting where she expounds upon her issues with her manager, bemoans the state of the industry, and leaves you without a next step, a new connection, or comment of value. How is that worth your time?
Success in business networking comes from cutting the dead weight
Choice of attention — to pay attention to this and ignore that — is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences, whatever they may be.
–W.H. Auden
Masters at business networking aren’t just good at making and cultivating connections — they’re good at choosing which connections to invest in. They understand the impact of their efforts and how selecting the right people to surround themselves with pays dividends for years to come. But the flip side of this is the part that makes us uneasy — in order to say yes to high-value relationships, successful people have to say no to business networking relationships that won’t pay off.
You don’t have unlimited time or energy. You can’t cultivate meaningful professional relationships with each of the hundreds of people you meet in a given week. To a certain extent you do this already — you don’t automatically hand a business card to your pharmacist. You look to connect with people who share a common background or interest, and might have an interest in what you offer. If you find someone like that you might start your business networking process. But are you choosing what to do with that person after your chat?
Most of us lump each new person into a giant mental bucket labeled “networking” without assigning any judgment of value or potential to them. The failure to make a decision on how each person can be of value to us makes it nearly impossible to succeed.
Let’s look at some very good reasons to take someone off of your follow-up list:
- They’re not invested in the process. If they don’t seem to understand the value in building a network, they’re not likely to be a reliable member of your support team. Most networkers out there fall into this category. They’re networking because someone told them that they should, or to meet new people, but haven’t seen any direct benefit from the practice and aren’t really sure any big wins are headed down the pike. Because these people can’t see their way to success with business networking, they’re unlikely to put forth the effort, time or focus to be of real value to you. Success-minded people understand the power of support and collaboration, and understand that business networking relationships lead to opportunities.
- They talk more about problems than solutions. Your network is your professional support system. Over time, you’ll look to them for ideas, resources, connections, feedback and more. If someone can’t get past challenges in their own professional life, how likely are they to help you bust through yours? Success-minded people may vent, but will spend more time talking about big challenges, interesting approaches, and solutions to business hiccups — all of which can be educational for you.
- They keep score. In a perfect world, we all give as much as we get when it comes to business networking. This person expects that balance from day one. If they offer you a resource, they expect a resource from you. They may even hedge from providing additional help until you’ve met an invisible quota. “Win-win” isn’t created one letter at a time — it’s about both sides working to achieve the other’s goal. If someone doesn’t come to the table with generosity in mind, you may always be trying to rack up invisible hash marks on their Wall of Worthiness. Success-minded folks look farther down the line at the big outcome, and the day by day trades are less important.
- They ignore boundaries. Your business network is a valuable commodity, based on your credibility. People who pressure you into making introductions or speeding their path do not have your best interest in mind. They’re looking for the quick payoff, and can’t be a long-term supporter for your goals. People who are truly invested in success don’t want to get there at your expense, but with your support.
- You just don’t feel good connecting with them. No relationship is worth a knot in your stomach. If you’re not comfortable with someone, how likely are you to be honest with them? Ask for business? Get excited about doing business with them? If everything about the interaction turns you off, look instead for someone that you love to talk to and spend your time, effort and energy there.
All of these are indicators that someone isn’t fully grasping the potential around them. Perhaps they’re focused on other things. Doesn’t much matter — they’re not focused on how your connection can better both your lives. How much value can they be to you?
Surround yourself with success, and be successful too
Some networking relationships will grow, thrive, and expand over time. Others won’t. But the ones that do will be based on good rapport, shared views, and a dedication to adding value. By adding more success-minded people to your pool of contacts, you’ll naturally gain a better view of the business world, more support, and better connections, simply because they have more to bring to the party. If they’re success minded, they’ve likely achieved something of value — and that something can be of value to you too.
Have you had to cut back on who you give your time to? How did you make that decision? What’s been the impact? Share your thoughts in the comments.
