Comments on: It’s not who you know, it’s who they know!

By: Chetan Rajani

Chetan Rajani — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:01:06 +0000

SCHMOOZING FOR DEALS, DOLLARS, AND DATES
Totally agree with your ideas making “friends” with people who have lots of friends. When I lost my cushy government consulting contract and ended up on the street without a network of agency people, friends said, get out there, man, put yourself in harm’s way. I went to some formal networking events and hated it: felt awkward, out of place. There was an air of desperation there, in both the film and business events, and then the disheartening realization that you were all wannabes exchanging cards you’d never follow up on, and suspecting that real deals were happening elsewhere.

Then, a few years later, I was blessed to meet Sam (his real name–he’s never going to see this, he’s out shaking hands and making conversations!). I could sit in Starbucks all day and never talk to anyone. But you sit with Sam, and mini parties erupt: people stop by, he brags about how smart you are and why they should work for you, gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous, women come by and exchange Italian style kisses with him, while totally looking down at you. Now Sam’s no Mr. GQ. Looks more like Stanley Tucchi, except taller, but wow. I’ve seen him get phone numbers out of women as though he had hypnotic power over them. Once he called me for help: we’re both born-again Christians and a young woman was hitting on him and he felt he was going to cave in though he was engaged!. For some odd reason Sam took a liking to me. We could never come to terms to actually doing business–though God knows he need some marketing consultation. But I’ve come to accept the other benefits: fun, and contacts. Everything from reliable mechanics to lawyers, to CEOs. and so on.

So my best tip is: get out there, and look for YOUR Sam. It may take a while but it’s worth it. All you need is one good one.

Then all you gotta do is master being extremely likable.

By: 7 Things To Do When Hanging Out With The Neil Patel

7 Things To Do When Hanging Out With The Neil Patel — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:32:07 +0000

[...] is also achieved through networking. While raw hustle can get your business pretty far, a little help from powerful people can take it [...]

By: 7 business mistakes you ought to avoid | Entrepreneurial

7 business mistakes you ought to avoid | Entrepreneurial — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:52:32 +0000

[...] have a really big network. Big enough where I can make six-figure deals with companies without doing much work. The problem [...]

By: 7 Business Mistakes You Ought to Avoid

7 Business Mistakes You Ought to Avoid — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:02:09 +0000

[...] have a really big network. Big enough where I can make 6 figure deals with companies without doing much work. The problem is, [...]

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:44:44 +0000

It is impossible to “prove” but it’s pretty easy to say it’s quite accurate.

By: platonik

platonik — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:46:13 +0000

Yeah it was done a while ago. It’s not a valid or proven theory, mainly because it’s almost impossible to say, but it seems to be quite accuratereally platonik.info

By: Beginner’s Guide to Finding the Right Business Partner

Beginner’s Guide to Finding the Right Business Partner — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:40 +0000

[...] Network, network, and network – you can never have a big enough network. If you have a business partner not only can you tap into your network, but also you can reach into his or hers. [...]

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:37:14 +0000

It’s all about building your network so thats true. Anyone of the people you know, may know someone else that can benefit you.

By: Damon Day

Damon Day — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:05:38 +0000

That certainly can be true, but it can definitely be a valuable resource. If nothing else, it easily lets you see who your connections might know. Then you can easily ask your friend to drop a line to one of their connections that you are interested in getting to know. Of course if that friend doesn’t really know that person it might not help, but it is certainly better than asking your friends to make a list of everyone they know so you can see if you would like to meet any of them

By: Good to read … « Kotti2's Blog

Good to read … « Kotti2's Blog — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:21:53 +0000

[...] With networking, it isn’t about whom you know,Â it is about whom your network knows. [...]

By: 51 Ways to Become a Better Entrepreneur

51 Ways to Become a Better Entrepreneur — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:55:24 +0000

[...] With networking, it isn’t about whom you know, it is about whom your network knows. [...]

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:15:51 +0000

You can add thousands of people to your network by adding just a few friends.

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:15:06 +0000

Yeah it was done a while ago. It’s not a valid or proven theory, mainly because it’s almost impossible to say, but it seems to be quite accurate.

By: cheapdvds

cheapdvds — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:33:53 +0000

For example, if all you know is web design, you probably have a lot of techie friends. Say one of your buddy’s friends, Bob, is a realtor. If you network with the goal of developing a personal connection with everyone, you might have learned that Bob’s circle of friends includes every local realtor within 1,000 miles.

By: Pdf

Pdf — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:31:22 +0000

I believe it was MSN who did this, correct me if I’m wrong, but there was a study done saying that we are all within 6 degrees of each other.

By: The 15 things I did not really cared for when I started this blog « WiNG - What else?

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:12:52 +0000

[...] you look at the blog posts that I wrote when I first started Quick Sprout, you will notice that they aren’t too detailed. Until the last month or two I continued to write [...]

By: Authority Building: Tools of the Trade | Search Engine People | Toronto

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:13:03 +0000

[...] do a guest post on an industry site? KK knows someone there. As Neil Patel alluded to in this post, its not who you know, its who they know. Trust is virtually transferrable. If a person’s friends believe in them, and see where their [...]

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:58:04 +0000

Making friends will help your business grow. You will be amazed on the feedback friends can give you.

By: Voice Of Dingchao

Voice Of Dingchao — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:55:20 +0000

I don’t want to know too many people, because I am tired of communicating with people, especially boring people. So I’d rather spend my time on my business, other than make friends with others.

But sometimes I do feel it is a great thing to have some friends.

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:07:24 +0000

Yea, it has backfired with me. Some people may find me offensive, but it is a very small percent.

By: Vik Dulat

Vik Dulat — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:02:26 +0000

If someone likes you, they will help you out. Also, it is your persona. Being funny doesn’t hurt but that can backfire if the other person finds it offensive.

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:57:48 +0000

You can kind of do this on LinkedIn. Through that service you can connect with your friends’ friends.

By: AJ Kumar

AJ Kumar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:09:06 +0000

I believe it was MSN who did this, correct me if I’m wrong, but there was a study done saying that we are all within 6 degrees of each other. For example, if I would go through 6 people, I would get to Obama. Amazingly difficult to prove, concept seems valid. But with that in mind, you can network with very successful people if you wanted to.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:01:22 +0000

I agree Neil – the problem with LinkedIn et al is that many people focus on building a big network, rather than developing strong mutually beneficial links. Bigger is not always better!

Phil

By: The Baldchemist

The Baldchemist — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:21:36 +0000

Be the one to be known. The one who even when you are boring, people think its their fault.
If you go around analysing peoples worth you’ll get spotted and avoided very quickly.
There is an art- no a gift in being no kicking and screamingly interesting and its being interested and being seen to be interested and importantly getting joy from everything and everyday. THEN, everyone wants a part of YOU. The Baldchemist

By: Pete Kistler

Pete Kistler — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:27:22 +0000

I agree that, "Networking isn't all about getting to know people who can just provide direct value." Most of the people you already know (and their close friends) share the world you live in. They can't supply anything new because they occupy the same space and know the same things you do. It's the most tenuous connections (i.e. my colleague's brother's barber's aunt) that offer the most valuable new opportunities. Because the worlds we inhabit are so different. For example, if all you know is web design, you probably have a lot of techie friends. Say one of your buddy's friends, Bob, is a realtor. If you network with the goal of developing a personal connection with everyone, you might have learned that Bob's circle of friends includes every local realtor within 1,000 miles. And all of his realtor friends wish they had a nice clean website to put on their business card. That business opportunity wouldn't have come up if all you aimed for was direct value when meeting Bob. Instead you connected with him and he shared his contacts with you. Without meeting people outside our normal circles, it's easy to not see what opportunities we're missing. - Pete Kistler Director, Brand-Yourself.com Brand-Yourself.com Blog

By: mike foster

mike foster — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:28:45 +0000

I spend a lot of time during the week meeting with people. Mostly for non-business reasons. I subscribe to the mantra of “never eat alone.” I take people to lunch almost everyday because its a great networking tool. Often I will drive to them because I value connecting with people so much. It has been the key to every success or opportunity I have had in life.

I think it is also very true about name dropping too. Most people I know who know key people don’t do it. It is a trust thing with key relationships.

Mike.
http://www.DeadlyViper.org

By: Neil Patel

Neil Patel — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:25:06 +0000

Don’t you mean, you couldn’t remember all the people I had to shmooz to meet you?

By: Matt Ellsworth

Matt Ellsworth — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:16:36 +0000

your spot on with this post. it is definately more about connecting people and helping each other out.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:51:49 +0000

Nice post Neil and so true. I can’t even think of all the people I had to shmooz until I finally met you. It was so worth it!