Ever wish that marketing directors would share the "cheat codes" for getting to their position? A few mentors did that for me when I was young, and so now I'm sharing them here. The first?
Cheat Code #1: You are never too young to start building your network.
At the senior level, people are often hired based on their connections. The thing is you learn how to build connections when you are young. We all know there are different levels right? People senior to you, people lateral to you and others downstream? Here is how you connect with each:
Start by connecting laterally. Make a list of the other marketing coordinators you know and intentionally connect with them every few months. Go to lunch together, send an e-mail, connect via LinkedIn and just check in with them on a regular basis. You can even pull together a group of 4-8 (only what can comfortably fit at a table) and get together for lunch or breakfast each month. Serendipity happens when people in the same industry get together to talk about what is going on in their professional and personal lives. Don't worry about not being able to quantify the value going in. This is a long term endeavor that will pay off in ways you can't predict.
Downstream people are great to connect with for business intel. After all, vendors go from office to office. You can find out a lot of things just by asking, and then you can share that information upstream in your office. The thing about downstream connections is that most of the time they are the ones who reach out to connect with you. It is really just about identifying which people have game, zeroing in on their areas of expertise and then asking what you want to know. Start with open ended questions like: "What trends are you seeing in my industry?" "Is there anything our competitors are doing that surprises you?" or "What are people saying about my firm?"
Connecting at the senior level is a little trickier, but you can start with at least one person by asking if they are willing to mentor you. It isn't as hard as you think. Just invite them to coffee and let them know you value their advice. You don't even have to try to connect monthly. Two to three times a year can have high value.
One trick that marketers have learned from the business development pros is the importance of documenting your network. Why document? Because it is the only way to maintain the discipline of consistent connection. Whether we use a CRM solution (client relationship management software), are proactive with LinkedIn or go old school with index cards, having a list of all the people we know, setting a rhythm for connecting with them and documenting conversations forces us to focus outwardly rather than inwardly. Just like we put birthdays and anniversaries on our calendars for our closest relationships so we don't forget them in the busyness of our lives, we have to document in order to set regular times to connect with our business relationships.
People don't work with companies. They work with other people. And all of those people that we know right now? Well, that's the start of our network.