TIN #035 - How To Mange Your List Of Networking Connections
Use this "secret" weapon to become the best possible networker
Good Morning š - Greg here.
Happy Saturday to everyone who took time for themselves this week.
Everyone has a different way to approach networking.
Iām always on the lookout for new approaches.
This morning, Iām sharing a unique way to track and to stay on track with your networking efforts.
This issue takes less than 5 minutes to read.
Keeping Track
We all have lists.
To-dos
Goals
Bucket
For networking, some of us have lists of people and addresses. We use these lists to keep track of who weāve connected with and remind ourselves who we need to contact.
The more you network, the longer the list gets.
Over time, it can become unruly.
I was working with a coaching client who was using a spreadsheet to track his connections. Itās a common approach, but he mentioned in one of our calls, āSometimes, I get stuck in the spreadsheet. I spend so much time creating the list, I forget to contact people.ā
Happens to all of us, right?
People have asked me what I use to keep track of who I have talked to and who I still need to get in touch with.
I use my email and my LinkedIn Inbox. I scroll through them and look for people who I havenāt talked to in awhile. When I find someone I want to send a message to, I reply to the last email exchange.
Not scientific or systematic, but itās something Iāve been able to do consistently.
However, I recently came across another approach Iām going to try.
5/25/150
I subscribe to a newsletter from Josh Spector called For The Interested. Josh helps creatives grow their audience and business.
A few weeks ago, he shared a post from Sean Johnson who writes about helping people live more intentional lives.
It was called, 5/25/150: The Secret of the Best Networker I Ever Met. You can see why I clicked on the post.
I wanted to know the secret, and hereās what Sean says:
Their secret is their system. They call it 5/25/150. The simplicity is incredible. But it blew me away when I heard about it.
They have a spreadsheet in Google Drive. It has three groups of people, organized based on the goals that are important to them and their business at that time. Each person is on a row, with their contact details and a notes field about their last conversation. (You can see an example hereĀ ā feel free to make a copy.)
They live inside of that spreadsheetāliterally their entire day. And this is what they do:
The 5 people they think are most critical in accomplishing those goals, they contact multiple times per week.
The next 25 people, they contact once per week.
The next 150 they contact once per month.
Read the rest of Seanās post to get more details and his take on why this works. But come back because, Iāve spent the past few weeks thinking about how to execute this approach. Hereās how Iād do it:
Build The List
As I thought about who would go in each of the three groups, I struggled coming up with the Top 5. These are people who are aligned to your goals AND people who you can help on a regular basis.
Too overwhelming.
I decided I would start with the group of 25. This is a group of people who I talk to on a regular basis.
For me, I can look at my emails and LinkedIn messages to find this group, but if you are starting out, I have another suggestion:
Your LinkedIn 1st Degree Connections
Remember, I showed you how to get this list in TIN#011 - How To Network On LinkedIn? If you donāt already have this list, go get it when youāre done reading this issue.
Itās sorted by connection date with the most recent connections at the top.
Iād start at the bottom of the list. The connections at the bottom are more likely to be former co-workers and friends youāve known the longest.
As you scroll through the list, put an āXā next to the name of the person who youād like to message or talk to on a frequent basis.
If you end up with more than 25, no problem. Prioritize the top 25 and move the rest to the group of 150.
From the list of 25, identify the Top 5 people you have most in common with or who you would like to connect with most frequently.
If you donāt have 150 people, donāt worry about it. As you meet new people, you will add them to the group of 150.
This list will change over time.
The key is that you come back to it to make sure you are continuing to connect with the people on the list.
Giving Value
You may be reading this thinking, āGreg, what am I going to say when I send messages to these people?ā
If you read Seanās article, youāll recall the person who created this list kept the name of the person, their email address, and something that person was working on or interested in.
Each time the person sent someone on the list a message, it was to give them something of value related to what they were working on.
When you give people something they value, without asking for anything in return, they arenāt going to get annoyed by the frequency of your outreach.
Of course, if you spam them with memes, clickbait, or political commentary, youāll likely ruin your connection with them.
How should you think about what to give? In TIN#004 - How To Make Networking Feel Good, I talked about Hannah Morganās concept of giving AIR - Advice, Introductions, and Recommendations.
As you review your list and see what people are working on,
What advice have you found in the past few days that might be relevant to them?
Who on your list has common interests? Who can you introduce to each other?
What recommendations could you give based on someoneās interests?
Whenever you learn something new, meet someone new, or find new opportunities, ask yourself, āWho on my list could use this?ā
Working The List
Personally, I canāt contact 25 people per week. I could possibly contact my Top 5 once each week.
I might be able get to the group of 25 once in a month.
But that doesnāt mean Iām failing at this approach.
In fact, you should adjust this approach to your life. If you only have a few minutes a day, focus on connecting with one of the people in your Top 5 or group of 25.
Focus on consistency of action instead of getting through the whole list in some arbitrary timeframe.
Update the list as needed. Add new people to the group of 150. Move people into the group of 25 if you have found yourself connecting with them more frequently. Move people who donāt respond out of your group of 25 and into the group of 150.
The point is you show up intentionally each day and stay in touch with your network.
As you get consistent, this group of people will become your biggest supporters and the source of every opportunity that comes your way.
Iām going to start working on this approach and see how it works for me. Iāll come back with updates in a later issue.
If you try it, share your results with me.
Have a great week!