During this pandemic, basically, human-to-human interaction is very few and far between. Knowing the right people will allow you to work smarter. How are you networking and nurturing that network online? The three types of people you should be networking with are:
1. Strategic partners/ Power partners
These are people that share your target market and that will advocate for you when you’re not in the room. It’s important to have those kinds of people in your network to provide referrals that are complementary to your field. For example, real estate agents and divorce lawyers, right now, are fantastic because they can share the same client. When someone’s getting divorced, they’re either downsizing or upgrading.
2. Subject Matter Experts – Industry Specific
Right now, everybody is in the process of having too much time or not enough time. If you have too much time, learn a new skill. Start reaching out to subject matter experts in your industry, asking for a 15-minute introduction call to learn more about who they are, what they do, and how they got there. And hopefully, in time, you can also become an SME in your field.
3. Current network
When was the last time you took a look at anybody that had given you a referral or a great introduction before? Start giving people a call and start doing whatever you can do to provide value and continue that relationship.
Reach out and see how they’re doing by not necessarily giving them a referral or an introduction, but giving value by providing a resource on whatever they’re onto, may it be figuring out a PPP loan or a SBA loan, or how to teach their kids math. Reach out on LinkedIn, share their posts, follow their businesses, however you can keep in front of them to show that you genuinely care.
Start doing those activities on the regular because when all this is over, who are they going to remember? Barbara who barely said anything until she wanted something and wanted to sell you her crystals, or Ashley who reached out and got you three webinars that she thought would be really helpful for you and your network?
There are plenty of ways to nurture your network online. Click on the link https://www.ashleyowens.co/training-materials to see more of these and share them.
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