The contact list never ends
Do you know Robinson-Crusoe-Syndrome? Robinson Crusoe was the tragic hero in the novel by Daniel Defoe, a shipwrecked man, who has to spend 28 years all alone on a desert island. That's what I call the supposed loneliness of new networkers who, after a series of recruitment-talks, come to the terrible realization that they don't know anyone anymore to talk to.
That would really be a sad fate - if it were objectively true. In fact, each of us knows between 600 and 800 people, according to the statistics. Subjectively, I can understand this feeling of not knowing anyone anymore. There may be three reasons behind this, but these are more personal:
On the one hand, we define the term acquaintance too narrowly. We usually think of the closer circle of friends, which usually consists of only one, maybe two dozen people. In order to be able to address a person about our business, we do not have to be friends with them. Acquaintance in sense of business are all people we have ever dealt with in our lives - no matter how superficial. The appointment arrangement is only about a hanger, a commonality to which we can refer when inviting to a presentation. What do you think, do we want to redefine the term "circle of acquaintances"?
Second, it is about courage, or the opposite of it, fear. We still know a lot of people. We know that, but we don't dare to address them. Maybe we are afraid of their reaction, maybe we feel underneath to them. Do you realize that these people will control your success, meaning an important part of your life - and they don't even know about it? Do you allow that? Or do you want to stop being a victim and overcome your fear? That will be an important victory in your life!
Third, there are those people you just don't like, with whom you don't want to do anything. That's OK. In this business you have the freedom to decide with whom you want to work with. On the other hand - maybe these people are not as bad as you always suspected. Just find out by talking to them. Perhaps, on closer inspection they will turn out to be quite passable fellow humans.
But you will certainly find out that after a while you dare to approach people you avoided in the beginning. Not only your business grows, but also you as a personality, your courage and your self-confidence. And that's exactly why you never run out of contacts.
So, dig in!
