{"id":13163,"date":"2017-10-30T05:55:46","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T12:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/?p=13163"},"modified":"2017-10-27T00:16:26","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T07:16:26","slug":"networking-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/networking-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Networking Up! Five Ways to Connect Above Your Weight Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all heard the advice: \u201cyou become the people you hang out with\u201d.\u00a0 This means that you need to surround yourself with successful people (however you define success). Plus, you also need to be networking up<\/em> to raise the bar for yourself over time.<\/p>\n

Having run the world\u2019s largest business networking organization for more than three decades, one of the things I\u2019ve learned is that: There\u2019s generally room at the top.<\/em>\u00a0 It\u2019s the bottom that\u2019s really crowded. \u00a0So how do you start networking above your weight class to move your way up?\u00a0 Here are five things I recommend that will help you accomplish that goal.<\/p>\n

Hang out where successful people are.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We are all at a different place in our career, so start by assessing where you are and then determine where you can go to \u201cnetwork up.\u201d\u00a0 When I was new in business, that meant joining a local service club like Rotary, Lions, or Kiwanis.\u00a0 Organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and BNI are also excellent ways to start networking up.\u00a0 Later, I added boards of non-profit organizations and charities to my list.\u00a0 Many successful people play in these areas.\u00a0 What a great way to connect with these people in a professional environment.<\/p>\n

Embrace discomfort<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re not uncomfortable connecting with someone, then you\u2019re not aiming high enough. I\u2019ve been there.\u00a0 I understand this feeling. However, you need to get past that and go talk to them.\u00a0 Your discomfort may be a sign that this is the exact person you should be talking to.<\/p>\n

Work within the context.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If at all possible, find a way to connect what is happening at the moment to something interesting in your discussion or setting.\u00a0 For example, I met a well-known international thought leader for the first time at a book signing for speakers at a conference.\u00a0 The problem was that the audience was still at dinner, and no one was at the signing!\u00a0 So I shared a story with him about a book signing I did where the only person who showed up was my mother.\u00a0 She acted like she was a fan and made such a big deal at the signing that people started crowding around my table.\u00a0 It was an incredible embarrassment that turned into a huge success.\u00a0 He laughed so hard that it helped him remember me well enough to invite me to join a professional organization that meets regularly around the world.<\/p>\n

Find out what they\u2019re currently interested in. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is a critical item.\u00a0 If you know they are going to be at an event, do some internet research to find out what they are currently working on, then open up your discussion by asking them to tell you about it.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t done the research \u2013 ask them what they are working on that they are most excited about.<\/p>\n

Add value.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is the most important item.\u00a0 If you can find a way to add value \u2013 you\u2019ll be remembered.\u00a0 For example, the last time I had the opportunity to talk to Richard Branson, I asked him about his latest endeavor at the time \u2013 The \u201cB Team\u201d or the Business Team.\u00a0 When I asked him about it, he was pretty excited with the program. I asked him how I could help him with it.\u00a0 While he was thinking, I asked if it would be of value to him if we did a short video interview so that he could share the program with my audience.\u00a0 He loved the idea, and we shot the video about the B Team program <\/a>for my blog.<\/p>\n

Finally, remember that if you\u2019re always the most successful person in the room, you\u2019re hanging out in the wrong rooms.\u00a0 Take these five suggestions and start \u201cnetworking up\u201d to the right rooms.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all heard the advice: \u201cyou become the people you hang out with\u201d.\u00a0 This means that you need to surround yourself with successful people (however you define success). Plus, you also need to be networking up to raise the bar for yourself over time. Having run the world\u2019s largest business networking organization for more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-networking","category-networking-tactics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13163"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13167,"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13163\/revisions\/13167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ivanmisner.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}