Being a "person of influence", "change maker" or "rainmaker" are all interchangeable words.
How does a very successful international global enterprise become founded and headed by CEO, Jason Alba, from a person who had no job?
How does David Geffen go from working in the mailroom to become one of the founders of DreamWorks?
How does the world catch a cold and go into a feverish buying frenzy for a particular book, when Oprah Winfrey sneezes on it?
How does Rod Colon turn a 1-day temporary assignment at JP Morgan Chase into being on staff for 13 years? How does Mr. Colon then go on to become one of the top career management experts and "in demand" speakers in the United States?
How is it Keith Ferrazzi comes from obscurity to become the Dr. Phil of networking relationship management?
Coming from a major brokerage firm, how does Suze Orman become one of Time Magazine's most "Influential People" in 2008. How was Ms. Orman previously designated in Business Week as the top female motivational speaker in 2007?
When we think of influential people the thought of politicians, wealthy people, entertainers and company CEOs immediately comes to mind. We think of a few select individuals as only having influence. The truth is everyone possesses the power to change things or make an impact without having prestige or wealth. This ability can be learned, but must be carefully cultivated over time.
"Up Through the Mailroom" by Martin Lieberman points out a mail room clerk or a temporary worker can exert as much influence as the company CEO. Michael Ovitz, Barry Diller, and David Geffen (one of the founders of Dreamworks) all began their careers in the mailroom of the William Morris agency. I also know this from personal experience. I jump started a very successful 28+ year career in information technology (IT) by working as a temporary mailroom clerk.
A person who affects another, by leveraging their position, is said to be influential. When someone facilitates a situation that produces a change or particular outcome, a change maker accomplishes this through intangible means. The easiest, yet most powerful way to become a person of influence is through your network of associations. You must be willing to go beyond the basics of networking.
There are many articles that deal with foundation skills of networking like "10 Powerful Networking Tips Using Business Cards". To reach that rare distinction in being recognized as a person of influence, advanced networking skills must be developed.
In the mid 90's telephone companies were charging per minute rates. My wife was livid every time I paid a $700 to $800 monthly telephone bill. After a couple of years she once commented "you're always calling people, but very few call you. When they call, they usually want something". The jaw dropping look on her face was priceless when I responded with "honey, if anything ever happens to me you can call anyone in my contact database and they will help you, without hesitation". I never again heard another word from my wife about the telephone bill. Thank goodness for flat rate telephone billing these days, as I continue to reach out and touch people.
The suggestions below are habits to slowly implement. Although each requires a bit more work past basic networking approaches, the results will better position you as a person of influence.
1. Elevate and Upgrade Your Network. Start to develop 5 star relationships within your network. You can have many people in your network. Which persons can you call, right now, who would not hesitate to help you. A free tool called Jibber Jobber has a feature that facilitates this process. To the untrained eye this feature appears innocuous. It's provides a 1 to 5 star ranking system for each contact. When used properly it elevates a person’s network, while improving relationship skills that achieve powerful outcomes. You become a person of influence in regularly staying in touch with people, without asking for anything. You connect with proven people of influence, who reciprocate by touching base with you regularly.
Proper use of the Jibber Jobber contact ranking feature involves slowly upgrading the star level for each person. It's up to you to decide how you want to rank your contacts. For me it's a combination of the longevity of me staying in touch and how the person responds in kind. When these 2 criteria are met [or not] my 5 star contact rankings are adjusted accordingly.
The goal is to have 200 five star contacts. These are the top people relationships in your network. Be patient. 5 star contacts take time to cultivate. These become those few persons of influence that you can rely on, because they know they can rely on you for assistance. This only occurs by being disciplined in consistently reaching out to 5 star contacts. Below are smart ways to stay in touch, while maximizing your most valuable commodity called "time".
2. Nourish Your Network. Share information related to each contact's interests. You have a business associate that collects stamps. Keep an eye out for stamp collecting articles to send that person. When opportunities or relative networking events come into your email inbox, share them with your network. Call at least 1 to 2 persons in your network everyday.
Reconnect and warm up old contacts by sharing free tools like Jibber Jobber or the Career Management Swiss Army Knife. Making deposits into the goodwill bank http://coachingcompass.blogspot.com/2004/10/good-will-bank-pays-big-dividends.html always places you in a position of influence. People are more receptive to being contacted when you show an interest in them. Think of creative ways to keep your name in front of people all the time.
Email: Let people know what's happening in your professional life. Send out reprints of articles along with a quick note. One of the easiest ways of doing this is by setting up a mailing list. The small investment in time will pay huge dividends.
Voicemail: Your outgoing message and messages you leave can be powerful marketing and networking tools. Get voice mail tips . . .
Make Email Your Silent Sales Tool: Never assume friends, associates have your contact information readily available. The easier it is for anyone to get in touch with you, the faster they will contact you. Having contact information, as a signature, in every email you send.
Creating a mailing list of people in your trusted network. To stay in compliance with the U.S. Canned Spam Act of 2003, consider using a list server. This technology works much better than most newsletter list services. These days sending email to more than 10-15 email addresses in the same mailing, may be considered spam. A list server best minimizes spam related issues. Email Savvy Intrapreneur for a free list server of up to 50 contacts.
4. Create your own Business Card. Just pay for shipping and you can get free business cards at VistaPrint.com. Read "10 Powerful Networking Tips Using Business Cards" to begin your campaign of influencing people.
5. Schedule Relationship Development. In addition to using LinkedIn, consider using true client / contact relationship management software, like Act! or Free CRM. These programs fine tune the tracking of your interactions with people. Developed by author and speaker, Harvey Mackay, I highly recommend incorporating the Mackay 66. This powerful tool is essential for developing 5 star contacts.
When I have a conversation with someone, I write notes in their electronic contact card. This allows me to have a superior memory the next time I speak with each person. I reference personal tidbits mentioned previously. (i.e. did your son pass that test, did your meeting go well, did your anniversary dinner go well etc.). Entering the date I last spoke to someone produces a wonderful result. By entering the date of a conversation, my contact management system allows me to run a report that of people I have not talked to in 60, 90, 120 days etc.. Now I can catch up with a quite few people each week.
Schedule personal meetings over breakfast, lunch, dinner or a cup of coffee. There is no substitute for personal interaction. If an associate is coming to your local area, it's always nice to see a friendly face. So be disciplined about scheduling regular meetups throughout the month.
Last Thoughts . . .
Becoming a person of influence requires developing advanced networking skills. It will require extra time and effort, but the dividends are huge for expanding your sphere of influence. Ongoing development of relationships positions you to ask for help from others. Being able to leverage your influence with your network, to help others, makes you the rainmaker people will constantly seek out.
