Episode 13 - Your Next Opportunity May Be Sitting in Your Old Network

When senior leaders start looking for board roles, advisory work, consultancy opportunities or a different kind of senior position, they often assume they need to build an entirely new network.

But your existing network doesn’t need to contain your next client.

It may contain the person who knows your next client.

In this episode, I talk about the mistake I made when I wrote off my old network because those contacts weren’t my target market, and what happened when I started reconnecting with former colleagues and clients.

One of those conversations led to an introduction, which led to work with Airfield, then Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, and later another significant client engagement.

None of that came from meeting someone new.

It came through someone who already knew me, trusted my work and now understood what I was doing.

I also talk about why we can be too quick to dismiss former colleagues and clients because they’re in the wrong sector or aren’t potential buyers themselves, and why staying present in the minds of the people who already know you can matter when an opportunity appears.

One thing I’m assuming in this episode: before you start having these conversations, you’ve done the work to get clear on how you want to be positioned now.

If that part isn’t sorted yet, go back to Episode 3, where I talk about why old positioning keeps pulling old opportunities towards you, and start there.

Otherwise, you can have a great coffee with someone who genuinely wants to help you and still leave them unclear about what they should think of you for.

If that part isn’t sorted yet, go back to my earlier episode on positioning and start there.

Or, if you want help getting clear on how your experience should be positioned for what you want next, get in touch with me.

Connect with me on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainewalshmcgrath/