Networking - Let the Numbers Tell the Story

By Greg Peters

We all know that networking is a Good Thing. We've heard that study after study shows that word-of-mouth marketing is the most powerful way to sell for your business. I know, too, that you've spoken to folks who claim that this is the only way that they get new clients for their business. Recently, though, on two separate occasions, I experienced an "A-ha!" moment regarding the true power of networking and word of mouth.

It all comes down to the numbers.

In the first instance, I was setting up my account on LinkedIn. This is an online social networking service, focusing on business, which allows you to track your immediate contacts and provides tools to help you form new relationships through introductions. As you add more connections to your personal network, the system shows the number of people who are in your extended network. Now, at that time, I had around thirty in my immediate network. Of course, I know more than thirty people, but this was the subset whom I knew "well" and had accounts on LinkedIn.

Thirty people. That sounds kind of small, doesn't it? Here's where the power starts up, though. LinkedIn allows you to check the numbers in your network up to three steps away. My first thirty were at one step. At two steps (the connections of my connections) I was already up to over 500 people in my network. Going one step further put the total at over 100,000! Oh, sure, they aren't all good connections, but it amazes me how quickly those numbers can grow.

Think of it as the power of compounded interest applied to human relationships.

My second "A-ha!" came when I was talking to a friend about the various projects I had done in my business over the years. As I was describing some of them, it suddenly occurred to me that well over 90% of them could be traced back through a string of relationships to my very first project and the guys I helped out over ten years ago. Thirteen years ago I did some work for that first company. They passed my name along to someone else with whom I ended up working. They in turn passed along my name to their contacts. Some of the chains were five or six deep, but still could be traced back to that original project.

Do you think I should at least treat them to lunch?

In the end, for me, it underscores just how important it is to nurture my network. A weak one, or one that becomes poisoned by bad stories about me will certainly fail with any kind of adversity. Conversely, one that I've built and maintained over the long term will serve me well should the world turn against me. Of course, I also recognize the difference between "building and maintaining" and "handing out business cards." One is about finding out how I can help my network. The other is telling as many as possible all about me (whether I know their names or not). One is definitely better than the other and I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine which is which.

Copyright 2007, All Rights Reserved

Greg Peters is the owner and superhero-in-residence of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better web presence for their clients for more than a decade. We specialize in tools which help folks keep their websites up to date, fresh, and interesting. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your webmaster.

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