​You know about connecting with people but do you know about super-connecting?

According to Forbes, a super-connector is a person who “maintains contact with thousands of people in many different worlds and knows them well enough to give them a call.”

Why is it important to be a super-connector you may ask? Well, the biggest plus point is that you will be able to receive once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and get information fast.

Super-connecting is not just about adding people randomly on LinkedIn, it’s more about putting yourself out there to get to know professionals from different industries and being able to put them on your phone book.

By not confining yourself to a single industry, you will be able to create valuable relationships with people from all walks of life. The most important thing here is to build an image, a reputation for yourself that you are out here networking to help link up connections who might be able to aid each other in their careers.

So if you’re looking for tips on how you can improve your super-networking, here are some pointers.

1. Go to a networking event

Of course! The first step you should take in order to become a super-connector is to go to a networking event. The pandemic has effectively digitalised a lot of work functions and networking events are not excluded, hence, it might be easier for you now to network as you’re doing it virtually. Sometimes, it’s good to mix in physical networking events as well. That way, you will be able to meet people on the local scene and the global level too!

2. Offer your value

The proper mindset to have when super-connecting is “what can I offer this person?” rather than “what can this person do for me?”. Everyone is networking with the same goal in mind and by making yourself a helpful connection, you will be remembered by the people you have aided and when they find someone who might have a beneficial opportunity, they will refer them to you. It’s like a cycle of what goes around comes around.

3. Don’t sell out your connections

It’s really alright to be generous and try to link up your connections with as many people as possible. However, you need to make sure that you are giving your connections meaningful opportunities to build meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships. If you link them up with just about anyone, it will reflect poorly on you and it might cause a loss of trust. If you’re unsure, you can always ask first by telling them about the person and if they need their contact.

4. Be the bridge

When you are linking up two connections together, you will need to act as a bridge between them. Remember, these people have no idea who each other is especially when connecting virtually so, you will need to do the introductions. Here are a few prompts for you to make things easier.

• Who are they (what is their name, their occupation, their organisation, etc.)?

• What is their goal?

• How would linking up these two people benefit each other?

• What is the common point between the both of them?

With these in mind, a good introduction will go somewhere along the lines of: “Hello

Vanessa, this lady over here is Betty. I remember that you told me about your interest in the boutique project and Betty is a key player in that project.”

Keep it short and sweet as they are the ones who need to do the talking and when they are getting into the conversation, excuse yourself to give them more space.

5. Follow up with them

After you linked some connections up, you should always check up on them and see how it went. You don’t have to go out of your way to do it but you can do so in a conversational manner, just slip it in when you’re talking to them. Like “Oh yeah, Vanessa, that day I saw that you talked with Betty for quite a while. How was it?” With their response, you will be able to know more precisely what that person is looking for and maybe you can connect them to another professional in the near future as well.

So there you have it! Have a very good time networking while also staying safe!