Four burners is plenty. Stay focused.
It's a practice to prioritize your time.
This might be my first cooking analogy writing about four burners on a stove, but it’s a great reference for organizing your life and your relationship efforts to accomplish your goals. The reason why it’s my first cooking reference is that I’m not the most excellent cook. I get by. I have a few good recipes that deliver and can occasionally add in a new recipe, but complexity in a recipe is where my performance stumbles. When I first started cooking for myself during or after college, I used to use all four burners without much of a plan for timing and the time for the meal. I would turn the gas stove up super high, and things would bubble over when I walked away. You get the picture. It was mayhem.
When I first began building a network of people and coaching others to drive sales, there was an element of kitchen chaos to the networking approach. People would go to events, meet people, sometimes follow up, gloss over having a networking strategy, and move into what I call “busy activities”. Busy doing things but no purpose or intent or commitment. And after a few days, weeks, or months of this behavior, they might be exhausted with no real results, relationships, or sales to show for their efforts. The four burners were overflowing, and the sink was filled with dishes and the meal was only so-so.
Take a deep breath and ask yourself what relationship recipe are you making and what your deadline is to serve the meal. For example, I want to meet ten solid referral partners and three new clients in the next 90 days. I want to find a recipe that I can make over and over again to perfection. Think banana bread, trademark salad, guacamole, and holiday chicken dish. Something that is consistent, reliable, appeals to many, and you actually enjoy making.
So here’s the RockPaperStar recipe for your networking success:
How many people does the dish serve? 4-10 people. Doubling a recipe doesn’t always work. For the first time, you make a recipe, follow it closely, and give yourself time. As an established networker, you want to surround yourself with people to whom you can add the most value in whatever service or product you offer. (Make a meal people want to eat and enjoy!)
How long does the recipe take to make? Everyone likes fast food and moving quickly. Relationships are built over time; approach them as you want a relationship for the long term. Drive-by relationships rarely last.
Prep your quality ingredients.
Pick the best ingredients.
Pick the best people.
You may experiment to find your people and niches, but you want to ensure that you’re giving it your best. I have a friend who is an amazing cook, and she visits four different stores: one for meat, one for dessert ingredients, and one for wine. You get the idea. As you figure out which events and networks of people to tap into, try to isolate three networks that will place you in the best pools of people.
I recommend joining:
an industry association, local and national, i.e. Certified Financial Association
a local group like Rotary or Chamber, Minnesota Chamber
and a general network from a university, shared interest, or a nonprofit. Get involved and give to communities.
Have a plan. The stove burners overflow when there isn’t a plan. Kitchens are places of calculated attention and care. Your network deserves the same quality treatment. What is your plan? How often can you attend events with another person or meet with people to maintain the quality? What are you doing to keep up the relationships you deserve?
Stir the pot. Stir the soup. Stir the sauce. Whatever you are doing with your network, attend to it. Stir the soup. Pay attention. Nurture. Taste test. You may think you are building a network, but you are not if you don’t check in with them very often or only call when you need something.
Keeping four burners going can be a lot of work. You don’t have to start with all the burners, but you want more than one pool of relationships to grow your network.
I “Stir The Soup” with several habits and actions and stay connected with my network. I work with clients to recommend how they can stir their soup. I will share more tips in a future newsletter. But if you want to email me what has worked for you through the years or where you are stuck, please do.
Show and Tell: (I loved show and tell as a kid and I still bring a lot of items to people I interact with and get the same enthusiasm so please enjoy the newest feature in the newsletter!)
Here’s a local MN company, Double Pom I learned about from my friends at Michael Lynn’s Tennis & Pickleball shop. This company makes festive pom-pom socks that I used to think were too dainty to hold up. These Pom-pom ones are tough and pretty!! Double Pom is donating some of the profits and products to organizations supporting recreational activities and sports programs for women and youth. So, consider supporting them and your feet will thank you.
Upcoming Events: My Twin Cities Dunkers friend Katie Harms knows space! Not the NASA kind, but the home and commercial space. Space matters to your creativity and output. She hosts a highly rated podcast, The View in Your Mirror, with actionable tips and ideas on various subjects. Later this month, she’s hosting an intimate event in Minnesota that will build your clarity, connections, and confidence to Inspire Your Shift.
Check it out and build your winning recipes.
Rock on,
Cathy Paper
p.s. Not into cooking, workshops or new relationships. Whack the padel ball around a bit with me on the only Padel courts in Minnesota. More are coming as this sport is here to stay and I’m a certified instructor. Email me if you’re interested and I will hook you up.
