Relationships Matter. Invest Accordingly.
People will do business with those they know, like, and trust. But how do you network in a way that doesn’t feel contrived?
Let’s dive in.
We’ve all heard the saying "It's not what you know it's who you know.” And while there’s some truth here, the saying is outdated and oversimplified. It’s rooted in a pre-internet era when information disparities were everywhere and poor performers could network their way to success. Even if someone you know refers you to a client, you still need to provide exceptional service— otherwise consider that your last referral. You need to know your stuff and there’s no way around it. What the saying gets right is that relationships matter.
What matters more is who knows you.
Girard’s Rule is a basic principle that states people have about ~250 individuals in their lives that will show up at their funeral. There are obviously exceptions. But the point stands: Everyone has a few hundred people that actually know and care about them. Each person is the nexus of their personal network. When you deliver on your promises, proactively add value, and are kind to someone, you’ve opened up a door to ~250 people who will send referrals, leads, job opportunities, benefits, etc. in your direction.
A few weeks ago I received a cold call from an executive I had never met before saying he wanted to grow his business specifically with my team. He mentioned how much it meant to his co-founder that I went out of my way to resolve a payments issue six years ago. His current venture is rapidly scaling to be a $1M per month account. Referrals happen in unexpected ways in unknown timelines.
Look, I get this whole email might come across as obvious. Add value to people? Authentically stay in touch? And yet, I regularly see people failing to anchor their workflow on these fundamental concepts. Combining value creation with the ability to authentically maintain relationships is what “networking” should mean.
Find a way over the next week to do something for a client or stakeholder that’s not just “doing your job really well.” Value creation doesn’t always need to be related to your core role.
And if you needed any more fuel to better embody the straightforward concepts in this newsletter: 84% of buyers now kick off their buying process with a referral (source).