Chapter 28
Success—Desired Leverage Achieved!
Once you’ve made a favorable first impression and followed up with some kind of communication, you are moving the relationship toward full leverage. You have established your credibility, uncovered a basis for further conversation, and demonstrated that you are interested in further contact. Now it’s time to consummate the opportunity, materialize the leverage point, and monetize the relationship. This is where you materialize the connection. It’s where you “close the deal.”
You can proceed accordingly based on your new connection’s response. If you want the name of a contact in his or her company, now is the time to ask for it. If you’re seeking a chance to make a presentation or submit a proposal, now’s the time to arrange it. If you want to land a job interview, now’s the time to request it. Whatever your goal and desired outcome for the connection, now is your time to go for it.
When I called my association president friend to follow up after his board meeting, we of course started with pleasantries: How are things? How have you been? What’s new? From there I asked how the meeting went, whether he was able to present me as a possible speaker, and what the next steps should be.
“You’re 75 percent in,” he assured me. “They like your topic. Now I need an outline of your talk, a fee proposal, and a more complete bio.” Needless to say, I responded right away with the information he requested. From that point, we exchanged a series of ...
