The sayings, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”, and, “It’s not what you
know, it’s who knows you” are true. It’s a big world, full of opportunity, and the
more people you know, the bigger your chances are of landing that opportunity,
or at least finding one. The best way to grow your network is to do just that:
network.
Building relationships is extremely important in becoming successful. Think
about it. Would you want to do business with someone you don’t like or trust?
Not likely. Take advantage of meeting new people because whether you end up
working with them, or not, you can learn from them in some way.
To put things into perspective, did you know that according to the Pew Research
Center, the average American has approximately 634 contacts? Now, that may
seem like a lot of people; well, it is a lot of people, but those contacts mainly
consist of friends, family, ex-colleagues, and/or ex-classmates. That said - there
is plenty of room to grow and broaden your network.
Personal networking isn’t just about how many Facebook friends, Twitter
followers, LinkedIn connections, or acquaintances you have, it’s about how many
actually know who you are and what you do, and vise versa.
people in your network. Here are some of the ways you can do this:
1. Stay in touch
2. Be interested in what they do
3. Be reliable
4. Share resources
5. Attend social and networking events
6. Share your connections with other people
Before you know it, by growing your network, those 634 personal contacts you
have could double, or maybe even triple, and if you’re really good, the numbers
will just keep going up from there.
