5 Ways To Build Relationships With Powerful People

If you’ve been in business for quite a while, you probably already know how important the people you know are. Often times, one strong connection can be the difference between success or failure.

You’ve probably seen certain individuals who seem to know just about everyone. You’re probably wondering, how do they know everyone?

It’s not luck or a pretty face that will get you acquainted with everyone important. It’s a lot more then that. These relationships are developed through establishing and nurturing important connections with people.

In this article, I’m going to share 5 ways to build relationships with powerful people:

1. Go To Live Events

Whether it’s a conference or an event in your industry, it’s extremely important to attend noteworthy things going on. There is no faster way to network and develop a connection with someone meaningful than meeting them face to face.

Live events and conference set you up in the perfect way. Other people usually aren’t busy with something else and you have the opportunity to make an introduction in person. By placing yourself at important events, you can position yourself to develop strong connections.

2. Do Nice Things For Them

If there is someone you really want to meet, you need to get them on your radar. An easy way to do this is to do some really nice things for them so that they eventually notice you. Here are a few things you can do:

– Share their content

– Interact/engage with all their posts

– Email them showing appreciation

– Allowing them to use a testimonial or case study for their products/website

I’ve been able to develop strong relationships with powerful people over the years just by keeping up with them. If you can be a solid ‘brand advocate’ for that person, they will eventually notice you and not feel uncomfortable when you try to make friends with them.

3. Start A Podcast/Blog

One of the quickest way to generate a strong connection with someone is to interview them. If they are powerful, they probably get many requests to get interviewed.

I too often get requested to do an interview, but I never say no. Whether your site is small or it’s just for your own sake, I always do an interview because I enjoy doing it and any exposure is great exposure. Most powerful people think similarly to me and doing an interview gives you a good chance of making friends with them.

4. Give Before You Ask

Most powerful people are weary of letting others into their lives because they feel like you’re going to ask for something. It’s almost like the gold-digger syndrome that many wealthy individuals are weary of.

Instead of asking someone powerful for something, give them something in return. It doesn’t have to be something of monetary value, but you need to show them that you’re not trying to build a friendship just to ask for things. Everyone has something unique or valuable to them and you need to leverage that.

5. Ask for Introductions

You don’t always need to directly make the connection with the person you want to meet. I have found it often easier to get introduced to someone by asking one of their friends to make the connection.

This is a great way to get connected with a powerful person because they are more likely to value an introduction coming from someone in their circle already. If you know someone that’s got a relationship with that individual, simply share the reasons why you want to talk to them and ask them to make an introduction for you.

Conclusion

As I mentioned earlier, the people you know are equally as important as the skills you have when starting/running a business. These are 5 ways to build relationships with powerful people!

photo credit: Richard.Asia via photopin cc