Hone your virtual networking skills to expand your opportunities.
By Assertive Way
Key Takeaways
- When you reach out and re-connect with you network you accelerate your career, get better access to opportunities, assemble a more relevant network, and build more confidence.
- Grow your network even if you are socially awkward or introverted, if you don’t know many people, or if you don’t know what to say.
- Sign up for the 7-Day Reach Out Challenge where you get the step-by-step guidance to get in touch with people you haven’t talked to for more than a year and even with strangers, at your own pace.
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The free 7-Day Virtual Reach Out Challenge will help create the habits and skills to expand and deepen your network so that you can accelerate your career, get better jobs, and feel a greater connection with people.
Do you find it uncomfortable to reach out to people you haven’t spoken to in a long time?
Those who reach out to connect with others show leadership, resourcefulness, assertiveness, and influence.
When you proactively reach out to contact others, you’ll feel more confident, more connected, and even more powerful.
It allows for an exchange of value. You can facilitate the exchange by sharing the value map. Learn about others, add value to them, and show them how they can add value back to you if they wish to do so.
Benefits of Reaching Out and Staying In Touch
Here are 3 important benefits of reaching out to expand and deepen your networks.
Faster career growth and access to better opportunities.
70% of people found a job through connections according to Payscale. A famous African proverb says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” These days, you won’t get very far alone. Connect and to tap into the brains, souls, and resources that other people have.
Traditional event networking is limited and may remain limited for a long time. Virtual networking may become the new norm. Now is the time people are more likely to be available for networking virtually.
One of the biggest assets from top tier universities or jobs often isn’t the knowledge you acquire. It is the people you gain access to. But you must reach out to leverage those networks. You must keep them alive by nurturing those relationships.
More relevant networks.
When you reach out online, you are on the driver’s seat, speaking to whom you are interested in instead of trying to strike luck.
There is a lot of information on Linkedin, social media, and associations that can help you target the right people to build a relationship with. That way, you’ll end up with a network that is more relevant for your career.
More confidence.
The best time to connect with others is when you don’t need a connection. Insecurity happens when you reach out only when you want to ask for something because it feels non-genuine and one-sided.
Get into the habit of reaching out when you don’t need anything and finding ways to add value to others. That way, if you need their help in the future, it won’t feel as awkward to ask for it.
Invitation To The Free 7-Day Reach Out Challenge
The hardest part of re-connecting to your network is to develop that new habit when you have self-doubt, worry about judgment, and don’t know how to start.
This challenge is designed to give you all the support you need as you build this core habit and skill that will serve you the rest of your life.
Invest the time to develop the habit of tapping into the network that you have, which is an unbelievable resource, so you can get more done and contribute more too.
In this 7-Day Virtual Reach Out Challenge you’ll receive daily prompts with tips, tricks, and a daily assignment.
In each email you’ll get:
- A link to full presentation for day in video format
- Key points and challenge of the day on the email (if you prefer to read than to watch the videos)
- Workbook PDF attached
And remember there is no failure in trying. The only failure is to not take action. You are in charge of your own challenge rhythm.
The best time to connect with others is when you don’t need a connection.
“What If” Concerns Debunked
Here are some common worries people have that prevent them from getting started reaching out to expand and deepen their professional networks.
“What if I’m socially awkward or introverted?”
No problem, I designed this challenge to help you overcome that awkwardness start developing the courage to talk to people one step at a time. You can also learn the 6 myths on staying in touch with people here or how to not worry about how they judge you here. If you need more motivation then read these 20 speaking up courage principles here.
“What if I don’t know many people?”
Even better, this challenge will help you amplify your network.
“What if I don’t know what to say to people?”
As part of this challenge, you will receive a list of things that you can talk about!
“What if I miss a day?”
Then you continue from the next day! You don’t need to be perfect, just to get started and keep going.
7-Day Reach Out Challenge Rules
There are only 3 main rules to follow in this challenge.
- Rule 1 – Choose people to reach out to that you haven’t talked to in the last 12 months or that is a complete stranger.
- Rule 2 – Don’t choose someone you’ve talked on the phone, virtually, or in person in the 12 months (because that is much easier and more comfortable.)
- Rule 3 – Your goal is to schedule a phone call or zoom call with them, and then have the meeting.
In this challenge, there are 3 levels in reaching out that you will progressively work towards.
- Level 1 – Out of touch family & friends
- Level 2 – Out of touch former work colleagues, mentors, bosses
- Level 3 – Strangers
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – Proverb
7-Day Virtual Reach Out Challenge Schedule
Here’s the challenge schedule for the 7 days. The details and networking tips for each day will be sent to you daily once you sign up.
- Day 0 – Introduction and preparation for the challenge
- Day 1 – Reach out to family or friends & learn mindset
- Day 2 – Reach out to family or friends & learn approach
- Day 3 – Reach out to family or friends & learn the conversation dynamics
- Day 4 – Reach out to past work colleague or professor & learn approach
- Day 5 – Reach out to past work colleague or professor & learn the conversation dynamics
- Day 6 – Reach out to stranger & learn approach
- Day 7 – Reach out to stranger & learn the conversation dynamics
- Day 8 – Debrief
Connect and to tap into the brains, souls, and resources that other people have.
As a first step, here is a quick exercise to get started:
- Brainstorm 5 names of former work colleagues / boss (or school if you’ve only worked in one place) that you haven’t spoken to in more than 12 months. You can change these later.
I look forward to seeing you inside the challenge and to hear your success stories!
Once you start reaching out to more people, you will notice positive changes in the way you feel, in the way you relate to people, and in your ability to get results by tapping into the abundant people resources around you.
Sign-up for the free 7-Day Reach Out Challenge right now by clicking here.
“Be ready when opportunity comes. Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.” – Roy D. Chapin Jr.
Sign up for our Weekly Newsletter “Nice With Limits” for confident communication tips and inspiration to boost your career!
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“Out of sight, out of mind.” – Thomas Kempis