Many people like to think that one day they’ll just happen to run into someone important that they can connect with and suddenly their lives will improve. This is a very unrealistic expectation.
While it’s true that some people do happen to meet people by chance, it’s unwise to leave your future success up to a gamble. Instead, what you should do is have a system and a plan to meet people, connect with them, and get what you need from them in the future.
You never leave anything up to chance. Go-getters and high achievers make extensive plans to meet and communicate with people that can help them achieve their goals. You ought to have a full system that you can use to help yourself meet these people, what to talk to them about, and so on.
A good start of the process would be to research them appropriately. If it’s someone you look up to, you should be able to find some basic information on them such as what projects they’ve done, where they went to college, recent life events, and so on.
You don’t want to get into anything too personal, because that could come off as you being a bit of a stalker. However, if it’s related to business, it’s good to be well versed and well researched.
Next, you should try to arrange to meet them. It could be at an event, at a lunch, a party, or anything else. Once you’ve met them, you should know how you’re going to steer the conversation.
Don’t make it forced, but have a goal in mind that you want to naturally reach. Always start by introducing yourself, talk a bit about what they’ve done that you really liked, and keep it light and happy.
Eventually, you can see if they’d be willing to talk a bit more, and try to get some contact information in the form of an email or a business card. Have some proper discussions with them about business and about your goals, and see if they might be interested in helping you out with them.
Your system won’t always work, but it’s always worth a try. Even if you have 10 people refuse to help you, if you just get that one person that helps you achieve your goals, you’re going to be much better off than you were before.
Fortunately, along the way, you’ll make friends in these people as well. Your chances of finding success with planned networking are much higher than if you just walked up to someone and fumbled through a conversation.
