If you’re trying to be more influential, there are many things you can do to improve your credibility, enhance your logical arguments, and leverage emotions to make your ideas more compelling. But influence isn’t something you develop in isolation. There are ways to use your personal and professional network to boost your credibility and the persuasiveness of your argument.
When I use the term “network,” I’m referring to people you know or have contact with, including everyone from current managers and colleagues to high school friends on Facebook. Your network includes strong connections to people you know and trust and weaker ties to people you might only know through a mutual associate. You can benefit from any of those relationships when it comes to being more influential.
How to Build a Useful Network
Before we discuss how to leverage your network to be more influential, we should first discuss how to build the best possible network. Like most things in life, what you can get out of your network depends on what you put in. Use these approaches to build a network that will be valuable when you need it.
Connect
The biggest mistake you make is not solidifying a connection when you make it. For example, you meet someone at a conference, chat briefly, and then go your way without exchanging contacts. A year later, when you realize they were the person who told you about a vendor who would be helpful right now, you have no link back to them. (I have hundreds of people in this category who I wish I’d connected to on LinkedIn at the time.)
Search
Suppose your network has gaps relative to the work you’re doing or the career goals you have. In that case, you can seek out valuable connections through professional associations, chamber of commerce events, and, of course, LinkedIn. If you’re using LinkedIn, don’t send connection requests right away. Instead, follow the person’s posts for a while, comment, and contribute; once your name is familiar to them, customize an invite telling them why you’d value the connection. Make it specific, such as, “I’ve been reading your posts for a while, and I value your insights into the SaaS industry. I’m researching SaaS models in healthcare for my company and would love to connect.”
Document
When you make a connection, take a moment to note when, where, and why you interacted with the person. Jot down anything that will help you remember how they might be relevant to you (and how you might be of value to them). With these notes, finding opportunities to strengthen your connection will be easier.
How to Use Your Network to Be More Influential
No matter how impressive or sparse your network is, it can help you when you need to increase your clout. You can use it for any of the following:
Positioning
Positioning is about demonstrating credibility by association. You have a certain amount of credibility if you hold a CPA designation. You might have more credibility if you share that you completed your CPA training with Mandy Piper, the CFO of a critical customer your company is trying to win.
One caveat: Be careful with positioning. Irrelevant connections can feel like gratuitous name-dropping and cause resentment. Only name people for whom your association is legitimately relevant.
Sourcing
Sourcing is when you get information to boost the credibility of your argument. This might be facts and figures that strengthen your logical case or novel insights about the emotional components of the issue. As you’re presenting your case, specify where your insights came from by saying something like, “I wasn’t sure how to estimate the potential market size, so I reached out to Satnam at McKinsey, and he gave me these projections for the next five years.” Now, the decision-makers aren’t just relying on your credibility; they’re also factoring in Satnam’s.
Validating
Validating solicits your network’s help to stress-test your ideas and ensure they’ll hold up. You can look for generic reactions to the quality of your work or be specific about a stakeholder or an audience that might know better than you. To do that, you might say to the decision-makers, “I asked Bob in Finance to run through my budget, and he was confident that it would incorporate the appropriate amount of cushion.” Bob’s credibility with the decision-makers bolsters your own.
Assisting
The first three techniques involve the members of your network indirectly. Assisting is when a network member gets directly involved to help you persuade your audience. One typical example of this is when a salesperson asks for the support of a happy client to help convince a prospect to choose their solution over the competition.
When you ask a member of your network to get involved on your behalf, it can be a significant imposition, so use this approach sparingly. But when you’re negotiating on something critical and your own credibility is not going to get it over the line, having someone who can add a little extra oomph is very helpful.
How to Give Back to Your Network
If all you do is lean on your network for advice and favors, you’re likely to be perceived as self-centered and more of a taker than a giver. That’s a bad strategy. Instead, actively seek opportunities to loan your credibility to people in your sphere.
Say Nice Things
Take opportunities to share detailed positive feedback about people in your network. This kind of good news often travels fast and gets back to the person in a way that makes them feel good about themselves and you.
Share Relevant Information
When you see an interesting news article that might be relevant to an associate’s work, send it along. Add a quick note such as, “Saw this and thought of the work you’re doing on Indigenous partnerships. I thought it might be good support for your approach. All the best!”
Offer Help
When you connect with members of your network, be sure to offer your support and ask for specific ways that you might be of assistance.
Pay it Forward
It’s important to keep the virtuous cycle going by loaning your credibility to people who might benefit from your experience, relationships, or expertise.
When trying to convince an audience of the merits of your approach, it’s easy to make the mistake of going it alone. But when your standing isn’t sufficient to persuade the decision-makers, calling on your network can help you boost your credibility enough to get to “yes.”
Additional Resources
How Can I Be More Trustworthy?
How to Sell Your Strategic Idea
How to Influence Without Credibility