Would you be motivated to network if whenever you shook hands with someone, you got a penny? Would you be inspired to take action if you got a nickel when you shared information with another? How about if you got a dime when you provided encouragement to a person who was down? The answer to each of these is probably, “No.”
Would you be motivated to network if additional monies flowed to you as you cultivated these relationships? While this is more likely, you would probably still not be moved to act. After all, it is only a few bucks by now. You probably figure that your networking efforts would never seem to amount to much, right?
Remember that piggy bank?
Before you render a “final answer,” however, think it through a bit more. Can a few cents here and there ever amount to something meaningful? Think about it.
If you were like most kids, you probably had a bank. You may have simply used a jug or bottle. Or you might have had a container that represented an antique car or a cartoon figure. Or you might have been lucky enough to have one that neatly sorted the coins you deposited.
No matter the type, size or shape, however, you proudly referred to this receptacle as your “piggy bank.” Although it may not have been pig-shaped, the term was certainly fitting, as it symbolized your efforts to hog away coinage.
You likely stashed away monies you found in the couch. You hoarded away monies from the Tooth Fairy. And you salted away monies that you earned from doing odd jobs around the house.
Day after day, week after week and month after month, you saved. You saved a dime here. You saved a nickel there. You saved a handful of pennies whenever you could. And occasionally you were able to drop in a shiny quarter or two.
Pennies, dimes and nickels become a fortune
Then one day you decided to actually see what you had squirreled away. With any and all means available, you pried your piggy banks open and from within came pouring out a seemingly endless stream of money.
It was at this point that you realized you had a fortune – a kid-sized fortune, but a fortune nevertheless. It was absolutely amazing. After all, the money had literally only gone in a few cents at a time.
This was your own little personal IPO. You were now in a position to buy virtually anything that a kid would need or, better yet, literally everything that a kid could want – candy … toys … a bike.
Handshakes equal social capital
Whether or not you still hoard your spare change, you need to approach networking as being no different. Just as pennies, dimes and nickels become a small fortune, each small act of networking serves to add up.
In fact, you sort of have a networking piggy bank. While it does not hold United States Legal Tender, it holds the end result of your networking efforts, known as “social capital.”
Instead of filling your networking piggy bank by rooting through car seats, you do it by interacting with the people around you. You reconnect with old friends. You refer people to new clients. You share information. And you offer support. These actions each build social capital and just like nickels and dimes, they grow almost invisibly into a sizable fortune.
Using your accumulated social capital
Then like money, your social capital can get you things – things much more useful than candy and toys. For example, a cache of social capital can get you loyal friends … introductions to interesting people … invaluable information … new clients … even a better job. And this is just the beginning.
Certainly offering a friendly handshake does not sound like much. Like picking up a single penny on the street, in and of itself, the effort hardly seems worth it. Like saving a few cents here and a few cents there, however, the impact of individual small efforts will mount.
Over time you accumulate a wealth of social capital, one introduction, one encouraging word, and one referral at a time. Then, before you know it, one day, your networking piggy bank is teeming to the brim. At this time, just like when you were just a kid, you can use its contents to achieve literally anything you need and get virtually anything you want.
Author:
Frank Agin is the founder and president of AmSpirit Business Connections. In addition, Frank is the author of Foundational Networking: Building Know, Like and Trust To Create A Lifetime of Extraordinary Success and the co-author of LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website and The Champion: Finding the Most Valuable Person in Your Network.
