As we move from crisis to recovery, many people are keen to make up for lost time. They want to grasp the opportunity and advance their careers, upwards. At the heart of achieving this advancement is amplifying one’s own personal brand. Yet the common challenge I hear is, “I am overwhelmed with my day job and back-to-back Zoom calls, I’ve got no time for networking.”

I remember only focusing on the day job myself and not factoring time in my day to be promoted, believing my results would speak for themselves. However, I slowly realised I was sleepwalking through my career.

At various points I became bewildered at the unearned advantage of the confident “Old Boy Network”, who gained promotion with ease. After the third time of being overlooked for promotion, (which was allegedly to be on merit), a painful thought struck me - if I do not change my approach and mindset, my career will plateau permanently. The clock was ticking, and I needed to find a new path urgently.

I was so frustrated with the situation that I decided to cancel a weekend trip away and got a pencil and paper out to write down my reflections and come up with better options. By Sunday morning I had ‘aha’ moment! I had built a reputation for being fearless at business development. This was mainly due to my attitude – I currently have no relationship with this ‘cold’ prospect, however, if I can create dialogue then I will earn the right to add value to them. I realised this was my ‘unfair advantage’. I could put this learnt skill into action for my own career.

In his excellent book ‘David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants’, Malcolm Gladwell highlights how underdogs win more often than expected. There are ‘hidden advantages to being disadvantaged’.

I took control of my career by developing a network. I had to build trust to create meaningful dialogue - I add value to others first. In a hectic world, many people do not take the time to create useful connections even within their own company. I connected two Sales directors from a leading SaaS provider - this may sound like no big deal, but they sat 30 metres apart, one on the 4th floor and the other on the 5th of the same building!

...A client of mine became frustrated by the lack of opportunity in his company, so decided to move on. He is someone always looking to support others, connecting people who would benefit from an introduction.

When it came to his hour of need, he was given several prompt introductions to key decision makers, which led to four job offers. He is an overachiever, yet ‘the difference that made the difference’ was his attitude. By consistently investing in others, he did not look needy when it came to asking...

I have been very fortunate to have been guided by a stellar mentor, Rob Howes, founder of a leading Big Data and Analytics Community with over 450,000 members, and co-creator of Enterprise Sales Club.

Networks are hard earned, so Rob is naturally protective of his.

I urge you to forget shallow networking, and create meaningful dialogue instead.

Do your due diligence and identify a challenge that the other person has in their life.

Have the right intention – to create a connection and dialogue.

Earn the right to create dialogue by giving value first.

Never act with entitlement - be polite with any request. I believe it is worth the risk of creating dialogue when you have everything to gain and nothing to lose…

Our purpose at Enterprise Sales Club is to enable SaaS Sales Professionals to achieve their potential through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences, and collaborative learnings.

If you have found this podcast valuable, please review, re-share and pass onto a work colleague or someone within your network whom it could help at this stage of their career.

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