Welcome to Day 3 of The Connection Challenge, a 7-part series about creating, cultivating, and maximizing personal and professional relationships.
Here’s what we’ve covered so far:
And here’s what we’re looking at today…
Today, we’re covering how to connect with high-value people who can help you get ahead in your career or business.
High-value people are busy. They have a lot going on.
And they don’t want to randomly meet a for coffee, and they definitely don’t want you to “pick their brain”.
To get their attention, you have to stop taking and start giving.
6 ways to connect with high-value people
Attend paid industry events. If you want to meet high-value people, skip the free events and go to paid conferences or retreats. Paying for the room filters out people who aren’t committed to the industry, meaning the more expensive the event, the better.
Join online groups and communities. Become active in niche online communities (like Club 12) where you can interact with like-minded individuals. Engaging in these spaces allows you to build friendships, trade information, and establish long-term professional connections.
Become a value magnet. You need to make yourself intrinsically valuable to others.
For Entrepreneurs: Build an audience, an email list, social media following, or a Substack – focused specifically on your niche or industry. When you have a community or audience, other high-value people will naturally want to partner with you to reach your audience.
For Intrapreneurs: Volunteer for more projects, show leadership potential, and actively ask your boss (or your boss’s boss) for more opportunities to prove you’re engaged and want to get ahead. The more you do, the more opportunities will come your way.
Be the connector. If you meet two people who could benefit from knowing each other, ask for their permission and introduce them. Don’t ask for a cut or expect anything back. Connecting others naturally brings value back to you over time.
Add value without expecting anything in return. Like Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Engage with their work, send them relevant articles, buy them a helpful book, or send a genuine compliment or handwritten note.
If you want to take a deeper dive into building professional relationships, here are my two favorite books on the subject: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and Give and Take by Adam Grant.
Actionable insights
Your challenge for today is to practice your connection skills.
Here’s how to start:
Identify one high-value person you want to connect with or build a professional relationship with.
Send them a value-add email or message. Send them an article relevant to their work, give them a genuine compliment on a specific project, or introduce them to someone they would benefit from knowing. Don’t ask for anything yet. Just add value. And keep adding value—at least three meaningful pieces of value before you even think about asking for something.
Repeat this process over time. Once you’ve added enough value and the timing is right, then you can reach out and make your ask.
See you on Day 4.
—Dean
