How to Grow & Leverage Professional Networks

“It’s who you know.” Maybe you’ve heard this phrase throughout your career. We use it to highlight the impact someone’s network can have on their career or even their life.

Networks can be powerful, regardless of your age or what stage of life you’re in. Think of the teachers or coaches who took an interest in you, or the friends, family, and teammates you could always count on. Maybe you had a mentor you emulated, someone who gave you guidance.

Even later in life, relationships can help us grow. With the right professional network, we can save money, scale our businesses, or develop stronger skills ourselves.

For example, good relationships with trusted, competent legal and financial counsel, contractors, and auto mechanics makes life easier, safer, and (probably) less expensive. Just as good accountants can make your business stronger when you leverage their skills, a broad, carefully tended network of professionals in your industry can make your career stronger when you leverage their talents and contacts. It works both ways, of course, with you providing talent and contacts in return.

Having people you trust, who are willing to share their experiences, brainstorm with you, or introduce you to a prospective customer can accelerate your journey to success. It can also be deeply gratifying to return the favor by making introductions and recommendations for others.

That said, developing and curating a network takes time. Making and building a friendship or professional bond requires commitment and action. Just as you wouldn’t ask a new acquaintance for something you would only ask of a longtime friend, the longer and stronger your network is built, the more it can be relied upon when needed. Like saving for a rainy day, you don’t wait until the first drops fall before you start. Some people are natural networkers. They seem to know everyone, and everyone seems to know them. But for most of us, this is a conscious, deliberate effort to get to know people.

This is not a simple two-way street, or a calculated score card of reciprocal trades. It’s a continuous process of paying attention and providing value to those in your network, regardless of whether or not they are capable of helping you at any given time. To some in your network, you will provide more than you receive. With others in your network, those who are powerful or in a position to help you, the opposite may be true. For the former, be giving; for the latter, be thankful.

Personally and professionally, building and leveraging my network has been a gamechanger. So, my team and I decided to launch a website that will help women entrepreneurs, investors and professionals to share their knowledge and build relationships. We’re building a community that offers information, advice, webinars, podcasts, and events that make collaboration and contribution easy and rewarding. We also did it because networks take time to build and can deteriorate if they are not maintained, and this platform makes both tasks simpler.

Although utilizing certain platforms can take the guesswork out of networking, so can a few best practices. Below are a few tips to get you started.

5 Tips for Successful Relationship Building

1. 1. Cast a broad net but be selective about what you keep. Be receptive to meeting new people whenever the opportunity arises. The more people you come into contact with, the more likely you are to find good candidates for your network.

1. 2. Don’t stop with business card exchanges or 30-second descriptions of people or companies. Ask questions, show interest, and look for areas of mutual interest or experience. Turn introductions into conversations that create the basis for ongoing contact and relationship building. Maintain those relationships with regular contact. A quick call, email, or text, especially one inquiring about something you may have discussed, keeps the dialogue going.

1. 3. Look for ways to assist others. The conversations you start and the dialogue you have should create an ongoing rapport and basis for possible friendship. Knowing what challenges are faced by those in your network or what they are looking to achieve helps identify opportunities to offer your expertise or contacts.

1. 4. As with building a solid management or sports team, look for those who complement your skills, know-how, experience, and contacts and – just as important – who your skills, know-how, experience, and contacts complement in return.

1. 5. Leverage your contact network by asking them to make introductions to their contacts. A warm introduction by a mutual contact allows you to leverage your contact’s credibility and reputation.

Notice that the only “ask” I’ve suggested is the last item on the list. A broad, deep, active contact network, built and nurtured carefully over time through your contributions will yield much more. These include lasting friendships, informal experts upon whose advice you can rely, and influential colleagues who can help you meet challenges and achieve your goals.