HOW DO I GET THE "CONNECTIONS" I NEED? (Continued)

2. The Power of Value Exchange

How do you mean Precious? I will explain it.

Everyone is looking for value, and this includes you reading this. I have recognized that most people appear as needy, asking for favors without proposing to exchange a favor.

I will tell you this for free, most highly placed people have lots of people reaching out to them from time to time for one form of favor or the other, what these people forget is that no matter how highly people are placed there is still something they need that they can offer.

The power of value exchange is so key in making and sustaining connections. When you have settled with the first point above which is about being clear and intentional,then you ask yourself based on the research I have conducted about the person I need, “What value can I add to them?”

    I will like to continue the story I started in the first point I shared with you. In the process of reaching my finance coach, I mentioned three things to her:

· What I needed.

· Why I chose her.

· What I can give to her in return.

I’m sure you are thinking I gave her money, no I didn’t, even if I wanted to at that time, I didn’t have the money to pay her. In the process of doing my background research about her, I saw that she churns out lots of creatives on her Instagram page,so I proposed to her that I had a little hang of graphics design and I could help her design some creatives. As expected, she responded to me the next day and now I can boast of having a connection with her, she is adding value to me and I also have an opportunity to add value to her.

    The value chain has to be kept alive, you have to keep it alive, it gets you the connection and it also sustains it.

The next time you are looking to connect with someone, please do not appear needy

— talk to them like they are also going to benefit from your connection with them

because they will.

I need you to sit down and do three things:

· Conduct research on the person you need at the moment.

· Find what is valuable to them.

Look out for how best you can add value to them based on your area of strength.

3. The Power of personal branding

This is the last thing I will be sharing with you. I know you have heard and

read a lot about personal branding. Personal branding here means how

you present yourself to people and create a perception in their minds

about you. Intentionality also plays out in personal branding, ask yourself

how you want to be perceived, then dress the part, talk the part, and look the part.

How you present yourself, is how people first view you. What are you showcasing? — Mama Zara

Have you ever seen someone step into a room looking very stunning — I mean a man in a brown tuxedo and a black shinning Paul Smith brogues and he then says Good morning, what comes to your mind? I will leave you to answer that.Some people trivialize the power of personal branding and I don’t want you to do that, because it has a great impact on what people give to you, who approaches you, how they pay for your service and talk about you. In your personal branding, you may want to take a careful look at how you speak, how you put your social media pages together, how your present thoughts, and your etiquette.

If you need to learn something new about how to behave when you are in a

social gathering, please do, if you need to learn to speak more articulately, please do, in whatever way you need to be perceived exactly the way you wish please present yourself in that manner.

As a young Agile Consultant, when I facilitate training and workshops, I want to be perceived as being a bit older, so I ensure I dress the part, I always have my glasses on. I remember a day one of the employees at a particular organization where I trained saw me without my glasses, he was like you really look different, and I smiled because that was part of the plan.

I need you to ask yourself and write it down:

How do I want to be perceived? I mean what three things you want to come to

the minds of people when they see you. Do you want them to come across you

as an investor, influencer, Growth driver, Leader, etc.? Be clear on how you

want people to perceive you.

What can I do to be perceived this way? I mean the effort you need to put it

together, do you have to learn dining etiquette, do you need someone to help

you with your choice of clothes, whatever works for you, go for it.

The recipe of clarity, intentionality, value exchange, and personal branding

will get you the connections you need in life easily. I believe this post helped

you to make some actionable plans because that is the major goal.

                ©Preshy