How to Get to the Top of Your Field

Your business depends establishing a good rapport with your audience. Your business also depends on you having an audience. You can be the best orator since Cicero presented his cause to the Roman senate in the first century, but if you haven’t an audience, you’re no more than the proverbial one hand clapping.

To be successful, you have to be visible and getting highly paid speaking engagements is more about whom you know than what you know. This is where networking comes in. I believe in the magic that happens with high quality networking. When you surround yourself with the best people, you naturally attract the best engagements. Effective networking can do more for your business than any accumulation of expertise or polishing of your speaking skills. Learn to network well and you’ll wonder why you ever thought getting new business was hard.

What is networking?

Networking is the process of building and maintaining relationships. Effective networking involves surrounding yourself with the most caring, outstanding, intelligent, creative, and successful people; then actively building mutually supportive and beneficial relationships with each one of them. It’s not quantity, but quality that counts in networking.

Networking means forging deep bonds as you develop a team that will support your efforts. Networking becomes magical when there is an unspoken exchange of goodwill and generosity between you and your network as well as between members of your network to each other. Goodwill is the foundation for making great contacts and generosity is the soul of networking. With generosity comes warmth, kindness, and a genuine delight in providing help.

Where to start

All relationships, including and especially networking relationships, start with you. Ask yourself, “What do I have to offer others?” and “What help do I want or need from others?” Networking is reciprocal. It is based on the idea that “If you help me, I’ll help you”. You can’t always be the connectee in relationships; you must also be the connector. It’s a give and take relationship, where the best networkers give more than they take.

The best networkers delight in connecting the best people with each other. They are matchmakers, always on the lookout for opportunities to connect quality people with other quality people.

Your first step in building an effective network is to find the best people and begin introducing them to each other. Create a comprehensive list of things people want or need: doctors, lawyers, parks, schools, and restaurants. Recognize that the best often associate with or hire the best. Carefully screen anyone you add to your list to ensure the quality of your network.

Your relationships hinge on the quality of the connections that are forged. If you want excellence in your network, turn to those who do things excellently and introduce them to each other. The real magic of networking kicks in when you build relationships with the most outstanding people.

Building your networking relationships

The best networks are multi-dimensional. Rather than think of your network as strictly your target market, peers, or colleagues, think broadly and inclusively. Your network should radiate out in all directions and include top experts in areas that differ from and complement your skills. Imagine the World Wide Web, only with a personal touch. Successful networkers derive more joy from building relationships than from the ultimate increase in their businesses. They build their network on a foundation of enthusiasm and passion, which cannot be forced.

Create a list of at least four or five people whom you consider the best at what they do. Adding these people to your network will increase the diversity of your network and increase the value of your network. Regardless of whom you think you can or can’t reach, set your sights high. Wonderful, marvelous, greater than expected bonuses occur when you let your friends in on your network, and especially when you let the world in. Inform your network partners and friends about your needs and allow them to help.

To build great networks, you need great people. Include on your list the best lawyers, doctors, dentists, accountants, dry cleaners, hair stylists, massage therapists, coaches, writers, computer specialists, and any other service you’ve ever had occasion to use. If you don’t think they’re the best, expand your search to include the best people in each industry. Ask people who routinely use a service who they’d recommend. Then, ask those people whom they’d recommend for other services.

Practice the following three steps to develop a networker’s eye for quality:

1. Develop your awareness. Begin seeing everyone you meet as a potential member of your network.
2. Clarify precisely how people you meet could help. Could they introduce you to the president of a prestigious club or help you find the best dentist?
3. Learn to listen and observe. Asking questions and listening is the fastest path to being seen as interesting and intelligent. Besides, it’s fun to listen to the best most talented people.

Finally, take inventory of whom you know and how they fit into your network. Make a written list of your network members and be sure to include specific reasons why they are on your list.

The ingredients of an effective network

Effective networks are like a finely tuned professional sports team who can appear as if their coach is irrelevant. You are the coach of your network and your goal is to get it running so smoothly you can step back and watch it purr. To get from here to there, you’ll need to:


Build trust

Mutual trust is an essential ingredient. You have to trust the people in your network to always do their best and you have to provide outstanding service when called on by a network member or referral. Everyone delivers what is promised, honors the relationships, delivers to consistently high standards, and gives honest feedback to each other. Should any member not deliver up to your expectations, it is your responsibility to let him or her know as soon as possible. Honesty is one more gift you bring to the table as you build trust.

Establish a good reputation

Develop a reputation as someone others can trust. Keep your word, do what you say, call when promised, speak highly of others, take responsibility for your mistakes, and always recommend the best people for each job. Remember that networking involves more giving than receiving and if a colleague or client of yours needs assistance, you will recommend the absolute best person for the job. By referring the best people, others will associate excellence and quality with directly with you, regardless of your level of participation in the job.

Maintain a positive attitude

Your attitude has a great deal to do with your success in networking. A positive attitude has these qualities:

• Be optimistic. See everything as an opportunity or a step that could lead to a break. See everyone as a potential ally, a network partner with whom you can provide mutual help.
• Remain flexible. No matter how committed or involved you are to a specific strategy, method, or approach, be open to its failure and have some backup plans.
• Be alert. Learn to recognize warning signs and see the positive side of challenges. Look for opportunities to grow and expand.
• Be grateful and express it. Appreciate the efforts of others and make sure to tell them how thankful you are. Actively look for ways to express your appreciation.
• Shoot for the best. Always try to find the best people and then create a plan to reach them. If your top target is out of your reach, identify alternatives, but still try to reach the top.

Tapping into the magic of networking

Networking can be a magical, joyful experience. First, prepare by clearly identifying your purpose – what you want and need. Clarity of purpose opens the door to possibility. People know who you are and what you want with absolute certainty.

See nothing but possibility in everyone you meet. Every encounter you have with someone new or someone in your network is an opportunity to create magic. Then, magic spills out from your generosity in these encounters and from your gratitude for every connection you make and every person you meet.

Aim high in your networking strategies. You always risk getting less than you want if you stop short of your ultimate dreams. Make your request known by getting out there and playing big. Take immediate and decisive action with every chance meeting or planned encounter.

Once you are in action, playing big, giving and receiving on a regular basis, the true magic of networking will happen in the form of new friends, higher quality associates, and more opportunities than you’ve ever had. Think big, play big, and fall in love with giving to those in your network. No matter what happens, you’ll always have this tight network of friends at your side.



How to Get to the Top of Your Field - To learn more about this author, visit Jill Lublin's Website.

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