Networking 101 - Targeting the right people

THE POWER OF NETWORKING

PART 60

Targeting the right people

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC

Who are the people that you connect with?  Or perhaps the  question should be who are the people that you target, to connect with?

Most people will say that they are people who would complement your business, or who would be able to give you business or who would generate business for you.  Am I correct?  I thought so!

And if I was correct, then your answer is . . . . . wrong, wrong, wrong!

Look, I know that there are hundreds of people, and probably all the books telling you to focus on being target driven, but the bottom line is very different and if you never listen to another thing I say – listen to this!

Trust your instinct, connections that you wouldn’t normally give the time of day to, will bring the right people into your life far more often than the people who you would expect to connect you.  How’s that for a statement?

I know that many of you will be very sceptical about this, but believe me it’s true.  Let me give you an example.  I have a friend (let’s call her Jane) who imports freeze dried foods for the masses.  We were at a Networking event a couple of weeks ago and at the table was a young lady, let’s call her Sue, who is a fashion designer.  I saw the look on Jane’s face when they introduced themselves because “how could Sue possibly help to get contacts to sell this food by the container load (and it does come by the container load)” and I am sure that all of you are asking the very same question!

Well I am in the process of teaching Jane how to Network and seeing that I am sharing so many of my Networking tips with you, I will share this one with you too.

Think about it people.

Ok, here goes – who goes to a fashion designer to have their clothes designed?  Certainly not me and probably not you.  But the wives of the rich and famous do.  And who best to twist the arm of a cabinet minister, or a member of parliament, or a CEO of a large firm with a big Corporate Social Investment (CSI) budget, if not his loving wife or daughter?  Suddenly the light bulb goes on, doesn’t it?

On the reverse side, and for Jane to be useful to Sue – who is meeting with CEO’s of big corporate companies and ambassadors of foreign countries who have wives and daughters, who would love to have their clothes designed for them and who on earth would Jane recommend?  So another penny drops!

So do not ignore people who have been put into your life, don’t pre-judge.  Get to know them, find out what it is that they do and be a ‘giver’, connect them with as many as you can out of your data base and then watch as they return the favour!  You see when you give to others you give them a reason to be your greatest advertisers – they will sing your praises to everyone at every given opportunity.

I don’t believe that there is such a thing as coincidence or sheer luck, I believe that you make your own luck.  I believe that it is all to do with what you ‘put’ out there, it will attract exactly what it is that you need.

Your greatest marketing tool is yourself and the people that you connect with.  There is no greater or stronger lead than the one that comes from a referral.

So go out and connect today – connect with everyone and open your mind to the possibilities that are everywhere.

Nikki Viljoen in an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za