All too often people go networking, hoping something will magically happen. They have some good and interesting conversations, which may or may not go somewhere. Networking, by itself does not yield results – e.g. new business or a new job. It’s how you follow-up and maintain the follow-up, which actually delivers the results for you.

The question is, do you know who are the people you need to spend the time investing in a relationship? These are your A-listers – the people who are most likely to have a short term material impact on your business or career goals. As you would expect, you would treat an A-lister very differently to a B-lister and very differently to a C-lister. A C-lister is someone who is very unlikely to have a material impact to your business or career in the short, medium or long term. These are the networking equivalent of your great auntie Sarah. As you would expect a B-lister is someone who isn’t worthy of A-lister status, but may be able to help you in the medium to long term. Now, the definition of an A, B or C-lister will differ depending on the business, size of the firm and position in a firm.

Let’s look at a practical example. Richard is a partner in a small full service law firm. Richard specialises in Property – both commercial and residential conveyancing. Richard defines his A, B & C-list in the following ways:

A-lister: Someone who, if I invest time to build a relationship, will provide me personally with a steady stream of referrals. E.g. Property investors, Landlords, Surveyors, Estate agents, solicitors from firms without a specialism in conveyancing.

B-lister: Someone who, if someone else in the firm invests time in building a relationship will provide the firm with a steady stream of referrals, e.g. business coaches, accountants, IFAs, business owners, restaurant and hotel owners.

C-lister: Someone who is unlikely to generate a recurring stream of referrals for the firm in the short or medium term, e.g. life coaches, consultants, trainers, tradespeople, freelancers.

Do you know who are the A-listers for your business? But, more importantly, have you worked out how to deepen your relationship with these people?


Heather Townsend is the driving force behind The Efficiency Coach and a co-founder of 'the executive village'
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