How well do you value your network?

If you aren’t aware of networking as a valuable business tool you probably have been on another planet for the last 20-30 years.

Yet I wonder how well you value your network?

Building a network of professionals who can refer you – a referral network – has enormous value. And yet some of us don’t really capitalize on that value.

Consider this? Every time you add someone to your network you potentially add over 60,000 possible contacts. A network of just 250 first class contacts can connect you directly to 50,000 people and indirectly to untold numbers.

So what things are you doing to value those first level contacts?

Here are some suggestions:-

•    Acknowledge them genuinely – the world is in dire need of more “acknowledgement” and recognizing people for their accomplishments with an acknowledgement goes a long way to building a relationship. Simply sending a birthday card puts you in the top 5% of relationship builders.
•    Be aware of opportunities for them – very few things build loyalty and appreciation more than giving one of your network contacts a referral. And it doesn’t have to be for business. Given that your contacts have personal lives as well referrals can be for any aspect of their lives.
•    Share valuable information – make sure you look out for – and share – information that may be of value to your network. Marketing tips and ideas are the best. Newsletters that are focused on the recipient rather than the sender are an excellent for this purpose.

A great referral network is like a bank account. If you invest in it by regularly depositing (in the form of acknowledgement, sharing and referring) you can always make a withdrawal when you need it. A 1st class network may even allow you to overdraw occasionally!