We are all in this journey called life, together. While we may try to separate ourselves, it will be difficult to live a fulfilling life without the input of others.
One great way of meeting or connecting with people is when you can be a person who facilitates finding a connection for others.
Good Old Fashioned Networking
No matter how hard we try and no matter how many different channels exist, we cannot escape good old fashioned networking.
It is a great chance to not only meet people, but to introduce other people as well. If you introduce two people who can help each other, it is quite likely they will remember you!
Reaching out to others in a face-to-face manner is still one of the best mechanisms for connecting with others and connecting them with others. It is possible to connect without the traditional form of networking, but it is likely to take much more time.
There is something about meeting someone in person that no amount of social media can match. Eye contact and body language are two core ingredients missing from online interaction. It’s true that video chatting will bring some of those elements into the mix. But, it shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement to networking in person. You will be remembered much easier when you meet a person than when you simply connect with them on a faceless (somewhat) social media channel.
Help Others to Help You
Your goal should always be to help other people out without expecting anything in return. However, if you can create a connection between two people who you know, they will remember this and will try to help you out in the future. This is especially true if that connection works out well.
If you continually make connections with people who you meet and know, you will have a long list of people who will want to return the favor. People feel an obligation to help those who have helped them. It’s human nature. Again, it’s important not to expect anything in return as this will be viewed as manipulating the situation for personal gain.
Learn More About the Other Parties
To make connections, you need to know about the people you are connecting. If two people are looking to start up a business, but the type of business is different, this will not make a good match. This is avoided by knowing the people in your network, which requires that you stay connected and reach out frequently.
Peoples’ needs change over time. What they wanted five years ago is likely to be different than what they are looking for now. That’s why keeping the communication channels open is essential.
Find Common Traits
It’s always better to make the right kinds of connections at the start. When you learn about people, try to determine their traits so that you know who will be compatible with whom. It may help to create a grid (spreadsheet) and record the names of the people followed by their traits. Then, you can filter on the traits and see who comes up as having similar ones. This is how dating sites work when they try to match up people on the dating scene.
Connect with Connectors
The best people to connect with are people who are already influential. These are people who have been making connections already. Connect with these people and offer to help them out in any way possible. You want your name to come up whenever they are looking for something or someone. These people can quickly expand your network.
To find these people, simply look for the most authoritative and influential resources on social media. LinkedIn is a great way to check this out, but it can be done with Twitter and Facebook as well. When connecting with these people, make sure you respect their time and be willing to give much more than you receive. Offer to help set up their next seminar or give them access to a tool that you find helpful in making connections, etc. The more you help them, the more they will come to know who you are.
Nurture Your Connections for the Future
You can’t expect people to know who you are after letting your communications with them lapse for several months or years. If you connect people and then don’t check in on them frequently, you will need to reestablish who you are and how you helped. People in your network should not have to ask who you are when you are reaching out. In fact, they should go out of their way to make sure they are available to receive your communication.
If you can’t find the time to call your connections, you can reach out via private messages or email. While calling or meeting direct are the preferred means to communicate, these other methods are better than not reaching out at all. The key is to keep your name in on their radar.
Try to Help Resolve Differences
When you connect others, there will be times when conflicts arise. Either you did not connect the right people, or the connections took a different turn. As mentioned, peoples’ needs change and this change can be what causes conflicts.
If you can help to settle disputes, the parties involved will see you in a positive light. They can rely on you to be the peacemaker and keep the connections going for the better.
Not All Relationships Will Work
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, people just cannot seem to get along. It’s going to happen. You have to let some of these connections go. Don’t take this personally and simply move on. When a situation gets to the point where it cannot be reasonably resolved, there is nothing you can do to make it work. Hopefully, both parties will keep in contact with you directly, and you may be able to create connections for each with other people. Sometimes, even this won’t be possible. Again, just keep going.
Create Social Events Often
Meeting up with people face-to-face is one of the best ways to connect. So, why not create events where that can happen?
Schedule social events on a regular basis. To keep the costs down, you can either raise money for these events, or you can charge the participants. To give people an incentive to pay, make the event something worthy to attend. For instance, you could ask prominent speakers to speak at the event.
Not every event will be a smash success, but if you continue to build a name for yourself as a connector, it should get easier as time goes by.
Make your events fun to attend. This will get people to come back, and that is the goal of holding these events. You want to be at the forefront of the event so that people know you are the one responsible. You can be the announcer, or you can be one of the speakers. Ask other attendees to speak based on what you know they can contribute. You can choose to pay them, or they may be willing to do it for exposure for themselves or their business.
The more events you sponsor and the more people know you are the coordinator, the more they will connect with you. This, in turn, gives you the ability to connect them with others in your network.
Learn How to Manage Your Growing Connections (Schedule)
As your network grows, you will need to have some way to manage who is in it and when you are going to reach out to people. What many people find helpful is to set up a schedule throughout the year on when you are going to contact people or put important events for those people on the schedule. If someone in your network is going to speak at an event, let your network know about it. The speaker will appreciate you giving them this exposure.
Sometimes, it can be as simple as sending a birthday greeting to keep up-to-date with your network. It does take time to do this, but it pays dividends in the long run.
Show Others How to Be Connectors and Grow Your Network Further
When you refine your connecting skills, you can show others in your network how to do what you do.
This will expand the network even further. The people you teach may go on to form their own groups without you. It may happen on occasion. Just keep going and don’t worry about it! Usually, with this kind of networking, it all comes around and you will be able to share amongst the groups. Continue to build up your network, while at the same encouraging people to connect with others on their own.
