Chapter 23
Map the Road to Opportunity
A quick conversation, a fun exchange, or a single shared moment. How many times have you met someone, either while traveling, at a party, at a bar, or in the coffee shop, and left it at simply what it was: a pleasant, perhaps even interesting, one-time conversation?
Now imagine the possibilities that might have materialized had you explored a little deeper, discovered a basis for staying in touch, and followed up with a communication that kept the relationship going and the opportunity alive. Those random connections may very well have changed your life in some significant way.
Bottom line, random connecting is about turning your new relationship into opportunity—something productive for both you and your new association. It’s of course completely fine to just make friends, and everyone you meet doubtlessly has some value to you and you to them. However, turning random encounters into profitable business relationships is the goal—and that means an out come, a purpose, and an intention.
The difference between someone who likes to meet people and someone who turns random meetings into relationships that materialize into something of great consequence—a bigger bank account, access to people of influence, new insights or knowledge—is that successful random connectors invest the time and effort to follow up, stay in touch, and cultivate the relationship. It’s the difference between collecting business cards and gathering business connections
