The Power of Subtraction
Years ago a sales mentor told me to hook up a recorder to my phone to capture conversations I was having with prospects. I took his advice and my learning took off like a rocket. I was amazed at what I learned in a relatively short time by paying very close attention to the "replay" of my performances.
Sometimes I was shocked at how dumb I was - subtle clues that practically jumped off the recording on playback, I had totally missed during the original call. But some of the greatest learnings were when I captured something brilliant coming.... out of MY mouth. I swear, I didn't know at the time where it came from. But there is was - a gem, a moment of WOW that just seemed to appear from the context of the conversation.
Well, it happened today during a webinar.
We were talking about the incredible Rule of 250, the one that states most everyone knows some 250 or more people. The implications of this rule for networking are immense. It means that every time you add a person to your personal network, you are actually adding a virtual 250 people because you are now connected to that person's network. This principle is what systems like LinkedIn, BNI, etc. are really founded on. You meet a new person, you get to know each other, develop some trust and hopefully become a conduit to tons of business for each other.
It makes sense.
But here is the big AHA.
What happens to that virtual 250 and its potential when one person leaves?
What it means is that every single relationship lost represents 250 people you can't talk to anymore. 250 people who probably won't know you, grow to like you or learn to trust you. 250 people who wont tell their 250 people about you or recommend you to them. 250 possible connections that may never occur because you have lost that critical connecting link.
When you lose 10 people it means 2,500 connections are lost.
Two Thousand Five Hundred!!
This is the opposite of attraction - it's SUBTRACTION.
Now I know that no one reading this is intentionally putting the Power of Subtraction into action in their life but it is nonetheless happening all the time. And the reason is typically nothing more complicated that neglect, overwhelm or distraction.
This is why I preach - over and over and over - that you must have systems to keep those people connected to you. Systems that give you leverage. Systems that will work on autopilot. Systems that save you energy and time and money.
Yes, they take some time and effort to design and implement. Maybe they require an investment of money. But it you DON'T make the investment to keep in touch with the people in your network, it is pretty much guaranteed that you are slowing your growth at best. At worst you are letting it slowly die and wither away along with all the opportunities it represents.
Sometimes I was shocked at how dumb I was - subtle clues that practically jumped off the recording on playback, I had totally missed during the original call. But some of the greatest learnings were when I captured something brilliant coming.... out of MY mouth. I swear, I didn't know at the time where it came from. But there is was - a gem, a moment of WOW that just seemed to appear from the context of the conversation.
Well, it happened today during a webinar.
We were talking about the incredible Rule of 250, the one that states most everyone knows some 250 or more people. The implications of this rule for networking are immense. It means that every time you add a person to your personal network, you are actually adding a virtual 250 people because you are now connected to that person's network. This principle is what systems like LinkedIn, BNI, etc. are really founded on. You meet a new person, you get to know each other, develop some trust and hopefully become a conduit to tons of business for each other.
It makes sense.
But here is the big AHA.
What happens to that virtual 250 and its potential when one person leaves?
What it means is that every single relationship lost represents 250 people you can't talk to anymore. 250 people who probably won't know you, grow to like you or learn to trust you. 250 people who wont tell their 250 people about you or recommend you to them. 250 possible connections that may never occur because you have lost that critical connecting link.
When you lose 10 people it means 2,500 connections are lost.
Two Thousand Five Hundred!!
This is the opposite of attraction - it's SUBTRACTION.
Now I know that no one reading this is intentionally putting the Power of Subtraction into action in their life but it is nonetheless happening all the time. And the reason is typically nothing more complicated that neglect, overwhelm or distraction.
This is why I preach - over and over and over - that you must have systems to keep those people connected to you. Systems that give you leverage. Systems that will work on autopilot. Systems that save you energy and time and money.
Yes, they take some time and effort to design and implement. Maybe they require an investment of money. But it you DON'T make the investment to keep in touch with the people in your network, it is pretty much guaranteed that you are slowing your growth at best. At worst you are letting it slowly die and wither away along with all the opportunities it represents.
Labels: Networking
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