If you’re happy in your career and think everything’s going well for you, chances are you feel like you don’t need to or don’t want to network and grow relationships. It’s partly because of the feeling of, “who has time for that? I’ve got 99 other things to do.” And partly because networking can seem like a nebulous to-do that’s on your list along with “write a book someday” and it’s the last priority.
The better strategy is to reengage your network in a way that’s systemized and only takes three to four minutes per day. You won’t even have to do it on weekends (unless you want to).
Grab your phone. Go into your texting app and scroll all the way down to the bottom. You’ll find some people that you haven’t talked to in maybe a few years years. Send them a quick message saying something along the lines of:
“Hey Tim,” and be sure to use their name so they don’t think it’s a mass text.
“Jordan Harbinger here.” Make sure that you say your own name so they’re reminded of who you are if they don’t have your number saved.
“How are you doing? I’d love an update when you get a chance, things have been great for me out in San Jose.” This can be any generic message along the same lines.
“No rush on the reply. I realize everybody’s busy”. If you build urgency by ending the message with something like, “Hit me back as soon as you can,” people will think you’re trying to sell them something because that’s what salespeople do, but if you break the urgency by saying, “No rush”, your response rate will go up from 40% to 70%.
When I consistently use this strategy, I get a new speaking engagement or I get invited to an event every month or so. This works because you become top of mind for so many people who otherwise may not have thought about you again.
If you tailor and use this scripted structure, you’ll find that maybe three out of five people will reply. If you do this five days a week in line for coffee instead of checking Instagram, you’ll reengage 20-25 people each week and get responses from 10-15. This will add up over time and you’ll start seeing opportunities from being top of mind for so many people. It’s a quick and easy way to reengage people and dig the well before you’re thirsty.
Start today. Grab your phone, scroll all the way to the bottom of your text messages, and start reengaging some of your old connections.
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After hosting The Art of Charm Podcast for 11 years – regularly in the iTunes top 50 and downloaded over four million times a month – the critically acclaimed Jordan Harbinger begins his new adventure: The Jordan Harbinger Show. Already in the iTunes top 100 after just a few weeks, The Jordan Harbinger Show gets deep into the untapped wisdom of the world’s top performers — from legendary musicians to intelligence operatives, iconoclastic writers to visionary change-makers.
Throughout his career as a host, Jordan has interviewed the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson, Russell Brand, Shaquille O’Neal, Simon Sinek, General McChrystal, Tony Hawk, Larry King, Mike Rowe, Chris Hadfield, Penn Jillette, and many more.
A former Wall Street attorney, Jordan speaks five languages and spent several years abroad in Europe and the developing world, including South America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. He has also worked for various governments and NGOs overseas, traveled through war zones, and been kidnapped – twice. He’ll tell you the only reason he’s still alive and kicking is because of his ability to talk his way into (and out of) just about any type of situation.
