How to Build a Network That Actually Helps Your Business Grow

Bhushan Ekbote, CEO, TAB Austin · 2 min read

Stop collecting contacts. Start building a few relationships deep enough to call on a bad day.

A big network and a useful network are different things. I know owners with four thousand LinkedIn connections who have nobody to phone when a key employee quits on a Friday.

Why most networks stay shallow

We network to be seen. We lead with the highlight reel: the wins, the growth, the new office. Everyone else does the same. So everyone in the room trades polished versions of themselves and goes home.

Shallow works if all you want is name recognition. It does nothing for the hard decisions.

What works instead

I keep coming back to one idea: the speed of a relationship depends on how vulnerable you are willing to be. Open up about a real problem, and the other person usually does the same. Trust compounds from there.

Here is how to put that to work.

1. Go small and repeat. Ten people you see every month beat a hundred you meet once. Familiarity builds trust, and trust needs repetition.

2. Lead with a real problem, not a pitch. Next time someone asks how business is, give a true answer. "Honestly, hiring has been rough." Watch what happens to the conversation.

3. Give before you ask. Make an introduction. Send an article that fits their situation. Do it without a hook.

4. Pick people ahead of you and beside you. You want some who have crossed the line you are approaching, and some who are fighting the same fight right now.

5. Follow up like it matters. Most connections die in the week after the first conversation. A short note with a specific detail from what you talked about keeps it alive.

What it looks like when it pays off

One of our members owned a communications company and planned to sell it and retire. A fellow TAB member bought it from her. A deal like that rests on trust, and trust comes from knowing someone well. It does not come from a stranger at a mixer.

You cannot manufacture that in a single evening. You can build toward it one honest conversation at a time.