Pivotal contacts are those individuals who can help accelerate your ability to achieve your goals. Not only can pivotal contacts help you achieve your goals, but they can truly accelerate your achievement of them.

But, how can you recognize someone who is a pivotal contact? Below are five traits you can look for:

Time

To pivotal contacts, time is a valuable asset and they don’t like to waste it. You’re not likely to see these people hanging out by the water cooler, chatting it up. Read the rest of this entry »

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Finally at the peak of our pyramid we have a special group. Not only will this group not get upset if you call them at 2 a.m., they will come and bail you out of jail! Your access to them is immediate and you have a very interdependent relationship.

These are former bosses, mentors, coaches, and other select people with a very real vested interest in your well-being and success. These people are the real gems in your portfolio of relationships. Protect them at all costs, take care of them, never let them down, and constantly aim to remain an asset to them. These are mentors who…

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Received this LinkedIn note about 1/3 of my contacts having changed jobs or titles in 2010. Not only it’s clever of them to show me pictures – we’re a visual society, vs. simply their names – many of which most of us can’t remember or connect to the right person / context, but each is a hyperlink to their profile. This is right up there with "call your mother on holidays." But I love the question at the bottom of the page – What DID You do in 2010? and a clear, logical call to action – Let Your Connections Know.

From: LinkedIn 2010 Review

Date: January 18, 2011 9:27:31 AM EST

To: David Nour

Subject: David, 413 of your connections changed jobs in 2010.

 

David, 2010 was a year of change. 413 of your LinkedIn connections started something new. Here are a few of them:             See Beth’s new job! » Where is Edward "Ted"? » And MICHAEL? » What did you do in 2010? Let your connections know.

© 2011, LinkedIn Corporation

Sociologists call this being "ambient aware" – the more you know about your portfolio of relationships, the more proactively it helps you manage those relationships. So, here are a handful of questions for you to ask yourself:

1. How well do you really know your "connections" in LinkedIn, "Friends" in Facebook, or "Followers in Twitter?" Amazing that we’ll connect with anyone – regardless of whether we know them or not, respect, trust, or value them or not. I actually heard a presenter tout that he can help you get a 1000 LinkedIn connections in just a couple of hours!! Really? Where do I sign up? Needless to say, I’m no longer involved with the organization who actually thinks this yahoo will add value to its members!
2. Are you using social networks consistently, intently, and strategically – as part of your broader marketing gravity / relationship development efforts? I used LinkedIn for my most trusted relationships. If you want to simply connect with me, let’s do that on Facebook (facebook.com/davidnour, and if you simply want to hear of my thought leadership, follow me on Twitter (@davidnour).
3. How are you listening, engaging, and influencing your most valuable relationships via social networks? The worst thing you can do on social networks is to sell – it unequivocally turns everyone off. The best thing you can do is to listen to their ideas, engage them in a unique perspective, and influence their thinking and call to action.

Would love to hear your perspective on dos and don’t on social networks…

David

Some of my favorite networking functions are early morning breakfast briefings. I am an early bird and most attendees have yet to face the minutia of the day, so they are likely to attend for the two critical factors: content and community.

I recently attended a Harvard Business School executive breakfast series featuring the president of a well-known corporation. It doesn’t get much better than this. The content was interesting, and so was the caliber of the people both anticipated and found in attendance. Doors typically open at 7:30 am with the program starting around 8:00, and wrapping up by 9:00. I was simply amazed by the number of people who showed up after the program began and completely missed the opportunity to engage the attendees in advance of the content. Conversely, those who were prompt, if not early, had the opportunity to connect with some of the sharpest minds in the local business, political, and philanthropic communities.

Even at events with great opportunities such as this one, you tend to have those in attendance who, although polite and cordial, are not relevant to your current role, realm of responsibilities, or aspirations. Read the rest of this entry »

Ask any sales manager what the top qualities they want in the next great sales hire are I would be surprised if a strong Rolodex wasn’t near the top of that list. But if you carefully consider its characteristics, the Rolodex itself is purely transactional. It’s perceived or underlying value is desired relationships which, by definition, lead to accelerated access, enhanced go-to-market, or extended reach at a much more attractive cost of sales.

Unfortunately, like many transactional measures, a Rolodex seldom has the means to represent more than its quantity. Two greater attributes often missed in the analysis of the ultimate value of that Rolodex are the diversity or quality of the individual it contains. What percentage of that Rolodex includes C- or V-level executives? How long have those relationships existed? Could you document a natural quality progression of those relationships? How many are invested in daily? What has been the documented repeat or referral business from that Rolodex? Has the inherent built-in trust ever been battle tested? Read the rest of this entry »

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The process of identifying, building, and nurturing relationships requires disciplined thought and action.  In essence, this needs to become the dye in the fabric-not a patch.  The dye permeates throughout the fabric.  In many ways, the dye defines the fabric.  A patch is just that-a bandage, a fix, a transaction.  If building relationships becomes what you do every day, as opposed to something you feel like you have to do to get by, it tends to become less of an afterthought.

Think of…

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