Networking | Bigg Success

A friend of ours was going through a career change. We had an interesting conversation with her in the midst of it.

She had applied for a job. She had a connection who knew the CEO at the company, personally and professionally.

Her connection was a former supervisor, who thought highly of her. He had already written her a glowing letter of recommendation. But he said that he was willing to personally call the CEO on her behalf.

Our friend declined. She said she felt like she would be taking advantage of her relationship with her supervisor. She also said that she wanted to get the job on her own, without playing to her advantages.

We said playing to your advantages helps you get ahead in your career and your life. What good is an advantage if you don’t use it?

This story has a happy ending. She did get the job so maybe she was right. It’s a great example of life on your own terms.

But we think she took a BIGG risk that could have been avoided. What do you think? Is this a male/female thing? Would a man have responded differently to the supervisor? Do women fail to capitalize on their advantages?

Image in this post from katagaci

You’ll occasionally see a list of people you “must follow” on Twitter. We just saw such a list from CBS Moneywatch where they highlighted ten people in business and finance that you should follow on Twitter.

___

Hear George & Mary-Lynn talk Top Lists on The Bigg Success Show! Click the player to listen [4:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

___

They’re good people who put out great content. It made us think about people that entrepreneurs should follow on Twitter. So we decided to compile our own “Top Ten” list. And here we go …

Follow your 10 best customers.
Keep tabs on what they’re up to. See how they’re promoting their business. What products or services are they talking about? How are they engaging with their customers – your second most important customer? How can you help them serve their customers faster, better or more cost-effectively?

Note that you may follow them personally instead of, or in addition to, following their business. Get to know them. Customers are people too! You’ll be able to relate to them much better and find more common ground when you know them better as individuals.

Follow 10 people you’d like to have as a customer.
You’re going to watch for the same things as you would for your existing customers. You’re trying to discover a need that you can fill while you build a relationship.

Follow 10 people with whom you collaborate or would like to collaborate.
In addition to building your relationship, also look for where they’re trying to grow. Can you help them? If not, do you know someone who can?

It may take a while before you work together. Be patient. Your BIGG opportunity will present itself.

Follow 10 competitors.
What are they doing well? For example, if you see a tweet that sparked a conversation with one or more customers, test to see if you get a similar response.

You may also look for opportunities to collaborate with your competitors. You may find BIGG opportunities that you can execute together that neither of you could do on your own.

Or you may be able to cooperate to do something faster, better or more cost-effectively than you could do individually to get a leg up on the rest of your competitors.

10 employees or virtual assistants with whom you work.
Enhance your relationship by getting to know them personally.

10 people who educate you, inspire you or encourage you.
They will help you think more creatively while nourishing your heart and soul.

What if …
We’ve said that you should follow your 10 best customers. But here’s a question: What if your 10 best customers aren’t on Twitter?

Then maybe you don’t need to be either!
Or maybe Twitter is just for your personal use.
Or you use Twitter to find people with whom you collaborate.
You’ll be much more effective when you know why you’re participating in the space.

2 keys to following the right people
So don’t put too much stock in lists that tell you who to follow. No one can create a list for you as good as the list you create yourself.

Which bring us 2 keys to the top people you should follow on Twitter:

1. Follow people who are the most relevant to your life and business but …

2. Don’t just follow people who are pertinent to where you are. Also follow people who are germane to where you want to go. They’ll help you reach BIGG success!

What would you add?

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00604-070610.mp3

(Image in today's post from Twitter)