Making Connections

When you already feel super time-crunched...


I completely understand that you have a certain relational capacity and that over-investing in meeting new people is not a good use of time. However, through recent conversations with new additions to my network, I've been reminded of the incredible importance of expanding my horizons in this area.




Principle #2: Pace yourself. Unless you are in a field like sales or business development, meeting new people will not always be your highest priority. It's completely reasonable to set a limit for yourself and to spread out meetings over the proper amount of time. For instance, you may decide that you will have one to two phone conversations with new people each week and that you will attend one event each month.

Once you have those two principles planted firmly in your mind, you can use these tips to start connecting with more people:


Ask for introductions from others. Cool people generally know cool people. It's completely acceptable to ask if someone might be willing to write a quick e-mail introduction that could lead you to setting up a phone conversation or face-to-face meeting.

Talk to new people when you see them. This may seem beyond obvious, but as a general role, we like to stick to our comfort zones. That means that even at networking events our natural inclination is to only spend time with the people we already know. When you're out and about -- at a meeting, at a conference, at a networking event, or even at lunch -- consider saying "hello" to the people around you. Not all may lead to good connections, but you could have some big breakthroughs for relatively little effort.

Use social media strategically. Social media typically doesn't lead to deep connections with people, but when used strategically, it can be incredibly helpful in facilitating an initial introduction. One of my friends, Shama Hyder Kabani, wrote "the zen of social media marketing" that contains incredibly practical advice on how to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other social media tools for business. If you're looking for step-by-step practical advice, I recommend that you check it out.

Plan in one-on-one time. Talking to someone for three minutes as you wait in line for food rarely leads to a pay-off. But scheduling a phone call or a lunch meeting for even 30 minutes can have a huge return on investment. It's completely reasonable to plan these one-on-one meetings even a month out from when you meet. But the important point is that you get it on the calendar so that you'll be prompted to make it a priority.



To your brilliance!


"It's not about who you know. It's about who knows you."

About Real Life E®


McGraw Hill just published her first book, The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success With Less Stress, to help you make and keep your time management resolutions in 2013.
