Business Connection: The Art of Growing Your Network

At some point in your life, you’ve probably heard the old adage, “It’s not about what you know, it’s who you know.” Well, I’m here to tell you that there’s truth to this statement. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with one of my mentors to discuss the value of meaningful business connections and how to attract the right people to your network. So, join me as we take a close look at the art of business connection.

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TIME INDEX:

• 01:40 – Dan Rawls: The Connector
• 02:18 – The First Step to Building a Network
• 06:15 – What is a “Connector”
• 07:33 – Width and Depth
• 12:17 – Connecting in a Time of COVID-19
• 15:40 – The Most Important Aspect of Roundtable Discussions
• 24:05 – How to Attract the Right People to Your Network
• 30:36 – One Piece of Advice
• 32:15 – Wrap Up

Making a Business Connection: Where to Start

As I mentioned before, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with an incredibly talented “connector,” my mentor and friend, Dan Rawls. I’ve known Dan for many years now, and throughout his 20+ years of being in business, he has become one of the most connected people that I’ve ever known. So, as we were talking, I asked Dan what the first step to building a network was. After all, I could think of no better person to answer such a question.

You see, Dan is a National Connector for a company called Trustegrity. So, when I asked this question, I was actually surprised by the simplicity of his answer. Basically, what he told me was that “it all starts with one.” We never know what our message or story will mean to someone. There’s no way to know exactly what someone is going through unless we make that connection. Although many of us have the tendency to try to cast a wide net when we want to make a business connection, it’s often better to go deep instead. We’ll come back to that, though. For now, just understand that the first step to creating a network is to just engage with someone. It all starts with one.

More important than quantity is the quality of our connections. There are plenty of people on various social media platforms with tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of connections. But are they really cultivating deep connections with any of them? The people in our networks become valuable connections when we reach out to them, engage with them, and reconnect with them. When we form deep and lasting connections with the people in our network, a group of 3 can be more powerful than 300 people with no real connection.

What Is a Connector, Anyway?

I think of the wires inside a piece of conduit. If the wire isn’t connected, there won’t be any power running through them. Similarly, if the wire is connected to one end but not the other, then the item they were meant to supply power to won’t work. Only when the wires are connected from point A to point B, can the power travel from the power source to the light bulb.

I think that a lot of business owners grow stale in their business is that they continue trying to meet new people rather than reconnecting with past connections. This is especially important in our current situation. If we just reach out to a past business connection each day for a month, that’s 20 reconnections. That’s 20 times where the power goes from point A to point B.

Wider or Deeper?

Earlier, I mentioned the concept of casting a wide net versus going deep. So, which is the better method? Well, I guess that would depend on your purpose. However, for the purposes of creating a business connection, there are reasons that depth might prove more fruitful than width. As business owners, we tend to get really excited over large numbers. For example, if you had a podcast and you had an episode with 500,000 listeners, that would be pretty exciting, right? But is that what we should be focusing on?

As Dan said, we build width for profitability and depth for security. So, casting that wide net in our networking can be helpful in the short term. But if we want lasting success and stability, we need to really dig deep. It’s so important that we really cultivate relationships. During our conversation, Dan said that he uses a concept that he calls “like, know, and trust.” Basically, you need to like someone in order to want to get to know them. You must know someone before you can trust them. It takes a long time to earn someone’s trust, and most people never get to that point. But when you’ve reached the trust stage, that’s when people genuinely want to support your business. Too many times, business owners try to forge a business connection through a sales pitch. But the connections that trust you are formed through relationships.

The Power of Roundtable Discussions

When I think of roundtable discussions, I think of the amazing opportunity to learn from some of the best and brightest people in my network. It’s great to be able to sit down with some of the leaders and motivators in our lives. Dan has invited me to a few of his roundtable discussions and there’s always something new to learn at each one. In fact, it was Dan who taught me his philosophy on these meetings. He calls it the “TLC” concept.

The concept is a simple but powerful one. He says that every time you go to a meeting, you should be teaching, learning, and contributing. If everyone at the table follows the same concept, then everyone receives something valuable from the meeting. So, that’s part of it. But equally important is who is at the meeting rather than how many are at the meeting. When you have meetings with everybody, you’re less likely to draw any great meaning from them. This is because the conversation changes when you’re simply another face in the crowd. However, a group of 10-15 leaders in their respective industries can share their wisdom and feelings with each other because they know that they can learn from one another. There is power in surrounding yourself with people who are more successful than you. There’s power in sitting across the table from someone who can speak into your business life.

Attracting The Right People

If we know that we find security through deep relationships and value in meeting with people that can pour into each other’s lives, how do we go about attracting the right people to our networks? How do you make a business connection with someone who can truly help your business? Well, one of the biggest keys to attracting the right people is to build connections. There is a difference between a referral and a business connection.

Referrals are what you get when you cast a wide net. But when you build trust, you forge a connection. Once you’ve made that connection, you begin attracting the type of people that you can truly be vulnerable with because you know that you can trust them. If you truly want to begin attracting the right people, try being a guest in a mastermind group or a national networking meeting. Surround yourself with people who have credibility and influence.

Decide to connect with the type of people that you want to learn from. Once you’ve decided to connect, follow through with it. Take them out for a cup of coffee or lunch. Get to know them. Don’t try to sell anything, really get to know them. Learn from their experience. Life is hard, but it’s also very good. Forging a solid business connection can be frustrating but it doesn’t have to be. With the right people, networking can at least be financially simple. Hey, let’s go out and make it a great day!

If you’d like to learn more about Trustegrity, follow the link in the article. To learn more about all of the ways the business experts at Financially Simple can help your business, schedule a meeting. We have decades of experience in our own businesses and would be happy to connect with you!