Networking thought

Thought-provoking videos and material from other practitioners on developing business through networking.

Is your online network too big?

“My advice for all business people, whether they are expert networkers or more naturally reserved, is to go through your online address books and identify the 150 people you actually like the most, and make some quality time for them.”

Thus Mike Southon, who asks, “Is your business network too big?”.  This article talks in the same area as Ivan Misner does below, and it’s interesting to read both articles together.   Mike, the self-styled “Beermat entrepreneur”, is always worth reading—and seeking out, if he is giving a presentation.

Developing profitable business relationships

 Networking in business is first and foremost about building relationships with other business people.  Elsewhere we discuss the criteria for identifying potential advocacy partners.  But most business people are likely to be aiming to have around four of advocacy partners at any one time – and certainly no more than eight – yet we all have many hundreds of contacts with whom we have relationships of various types and strengths.

So, how to decide which to focus on?  Ivan Misner outlines his VCP model, which divides business relationships into three categories:  visibility, credibility and profitability.  The article may be ten years old, but not a word of it is out of date.