How Much is Your Network Worth?

The other morning while brushing my teeth and brainstorming ideas for an upcoming breakfast meeting about social networking, I had a thought—How much is a network worth? Not in the mystical, invaluable way, but in the cold, hard cash way.

Obviously having a strong network and a reputation to match can often allow you to charge a premium for your service or product. It can also open doors to opportunities you may not have experienced otherwise.

So how about when it comes to something like salary negotiation? Is your network worth an extra $5,000? $10,000? $50,000?

If someone offered you money just to use your network, how much would you sell yours for?

Please share your thoughts…

It’s not just about WHO you know, but HOW you treat them

We’ve all heard this before: “It’s all about who you know.” I am a firm believer in this statement. I have been influenced in the last couple of years by several “hard-core networkers” (the reason I decided to start a blog was largely due to function I visited where Paul Allen presented on blogging; and a good friend, Robert Merrill, has been coaching me along the way). I now have a profile on linkedin and I try to visit as many relationship building/networking functions as my schedule allows. As I have worked my way through the process of building a network, I have experienced an interesting phenomenon that is likely familiar to most. How many of us have felt this coming from a “contact” before?—“You’re importance to me is directly correlated to how much business (leads, job offer etc.) I am going to generate from our relationship. If I can’t sell you something then I am not interested in building a relationship with you…”

How differently should networking contacts be treated than sales leads? Are they the same? I don’t think so. Relationships take time, and people like to feel like they are important, and not just another business card in a rolodex.

So what can we do to show our contacts some love? Start by communicating with them without selling anything. After attending a networking event I often receive several emails from individuals I just met. Some of these emails waste no time jumping into the great deal this person can get me on their product. Not too long ago, I received an email from a new contact explaining the great deal I could get on a new fence for my yard. The problem? I don’t own a house. He didn’t know that because he hadn’t taken the time to get to know me yet.

Collecting business cards and building relationships are two very different things. Relationships are built on trust, and that can take time. You don’t need to take every contact out to lunch every week (but if you do, I am available on Thursday and Red Lobster just started their Lobster Fest) but you do need to show them you care about them. Personally. Perhaps one of the greatest ways to do this is to change your mentality from “what can this person do for me” to “what can I do for them?”