You have seen me advocate “networking up,” but what does that entail? How can you select from the best of your connections to further enhance that relationship? (I know you are asking this mentally.)

I offer this acrostic of incentive-based business connectivity, with my LinkedIn twist. Here goes.

Oh, and feel free to add to my comments with your success stories and insights to optimize this experience for everyone reading here, for any idea below.

Nominate them to organizations and companies seeking speakers and trainers to put your reputation, and your connection’s, on the line to help the attendees, with the best minds and experts you know.

Engage your connections with high level thinking, enough to get them to comment on your posts…and you should comment on theirs. Make this a conversation that all can share and benefit from.

Tempt them into co-presenting with you on a webinar, zoom session, etc. to show off their, and your expertise. I call it co-collaboration and they will be honored you asked them, and remember you for it.

Work your connections to e-introduce one to the other, in hopes that tangential achievements and expert work in like, or similar, fields will spark new relationships. Be a catalyst connector of like-to-like quality people. Check to see how the newfound relationship is going. Keep the energy up!

Offer connections a guest blog post, a guest spot on your podcast, a shout out on your post or video, in essence, an educational way to bring them to the attention of your readers and connections. Use @ in front of their name so it’s easy to read their profile too.

Recommend the best connections for your first-hand observation of yeoman work they performed under challenging circumstances. Endorse for skills you know they have. You can do this with their permission, or perhaps you want to leverage the element of surprise and do it without their foreknowledge and they will appreciate you even more.

Know everyone you are connected to. Either have a couple of touchpoints to ensure the privilege of connectivity is sound or knowing them as a client or collaboration partner is reason to make them part of your inner circle. Conversely, if you see them on LinkedIn marked as a first-level connection and cannot recall how or why you connected, that’s a sign you are not meant to be each other’s connection. Be honest in whom you say you know and are associated with.

 

Understand the commitment you are making to connect and nurture the relationship. It takes time and brain cells. Offer them something they need, and ask for something back later on, which they should be willing to provide to you as an exchange.

Propose innovative ideas to wrap them into your fold, in frequent conversations, scheduled weekly or monthly, with open exploration of how you can help each other. Keep each other up to speed on the velocity of your business affairs, successes, yes and failures too, so you learn from each other. Isn’t that why we are here, after all, to learn from the best, and help them from your experience, to be best-er? Amazing-er?

Summing up here, be a resource, be a confidante, be a referrer, be a recommender, be an endorser, be yourself in the building blocks of service leadership among your peers.