It's not who you know - it's who knows you
Jill Lublin and Networking Magic

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved magic. I get goose-bumpy when I'm in front of a group of wide-eyed kids whose mouths drop open at the simplest sleight of hand. You can often find a deck of cards in my purse (and perhaps a rubber band or two), making me an awfully annoying person to sit next to on an airplane. (I've found that magic can also be a nice way to meet men, as I'm the only female regular at my local monthly meeting of the Society of American Magicians.)

Combine that with my deeply-rooted love of networking, and it's no wonder why I was so excited to learn about the best-seller called Networking Magic. I was all over it like rain on the streets of Seattle.

Networking Magic is co-authored by Jill Lublin and Rick Frishman, both known for their great skills in networking the upper echelons of business. Jill is a long-time friend of mine, and I called her the other day to pick her brain and find out if--unlike some members of my magic club--she'd be willing to share some secrets from her book with us. Here is what I learned....

In doing research for the book, Jill and Rick interviewed some of the best business networkers around the country. They found that the most successful ones had certain principles in common:

1)   Start With Your Heart -- Be a Giver

Most of us only practice "transaction networking." We only interact with the people we think we have to, in order to complete the transaction.

Instead, think of networking as a relationship, and an extremely valuable marketing tool. It will bring new people to you in a way you hadn't experienced before. Jill suggests you shed your business persona and be yourself! Don't think for a minute that success in business requires a stoic business persona. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The best networkers are successful because they simply love helping people and playing matchmaker. They are gigantic givers. Jill recommends that when you walk into a room, make it your intention to serve other people there. It keeps people talking about you, and makes them much more drawn to reach out to help you, too.

2)   Create Intentions Beforehand

The problem most entrepreneurs have is that they're not clear about their requests. Jill is amazed by the number of times she's asked someone what they need, and they fumble as if she asked them to recite the Periodic Table.

When you walk into a room with intention, it gives you clarity for what you want to create. You might create the intention to meet a certain number of new people. You might have a particular financial goal in mind. Or, you may feel in a supportive mood, and decide to spend the time giving back.

(Before Jill arrives at a function, she typically makes it a habit to create intentions for all three.)

But the bottom line is, if you are clear, focused, and you make a specific request, your results will skyrocket like Mentos in a new bottle of Diet Coke.

3)   Create an Environment that's Teaming With Possibilities

No, that's not a spelling error. Successful entrepreneurial ventures survive and thrive because of their strong teams. Think in terms of collaboration , not competition. Instead of trying to do it all yourself, seek out people with whom you might collaborate and build strong connections. That is what we can truly call "Networking Magic."

Jill's own entrepreneurial success is easily attributed to her passion for networking. When we talked about it, she bubbled over with enthusiasm. "I'm the Queen of Networking," she replied. "I'm committed to connecting people, and it's so natural for me."

Jill's innate talent for networking has built some amazing victories:

·        After meeting a literary agent at a professional speaker's meeting, the two teamed up, and Jill's Guerrilla Publicity became a runaway best-seller.

·        On the heels of that success, Jill's publisher said the words that every author dreams of hearing: "What's your next book?" Jill leapt at the chance to write about networking.

  Networking Magic went #1 for three weeks in a row on the Barnes and Noble best-seller list. A major contributing factor? The joint ventures she created by networking with influential people.

·        Walking into a networking event with some fellow instructors after teaching a class, Jill had some clear-cut intentions in mind. The woman who always gives to others became the recipient this time, as someone gave her her own radio show. Do The Dream is an hour-long syndicated show about people who have reached their goals and how they got there.

·        And my personal favorite story: Jill was on stage at one point presenting about the power of networking. As a demonstration of how to be direct and ask for what you want, she expressed her goal of finding a sponsor for a new TV show idea she had. An audience member came up afterwards, and offered to sponsor the entire first year of her show. "The Connecting Minute," a one-minute sound bite on Networking Magic , can now be seen here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

There's no question that Jill Lublin has earned her title as Queen of Networking. Her brilliant catch phrase, "It's not who you know, it's who knows you," is at the heart of every piece she writes and every presentation she gives. For some amazingly simple tips on how to work your next networking function, take a look at one of her many articles, called The Anatomy of Networking Events .

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read me on The National Networker! Please let us know if an article that you've read here today has helped you in any way.

Cheers!

Jan Altman, JanA@TheNationalNetworker.com, Entrepreneurial Editor of a free online publication www.TheNationalNetworker.com