What if you had a way to give free positive publicity to one of your key connections or influencers? Would you do it?

Recently I joined the community of More Clients More Fun to learn more ways to leverage the power of LinkedIn to build strong relationships.

I was intrigued with one of the strategies suggested by the program’s creators, Ana Melikian, Paul McManus and JoAnne Henein.

What’s the idea?

Set up a “Virtual Coffee” video call with the person online and record the conversation. You conduct the interview and focus the spotlight on the other person. 

Who could you interview?

- Current clients who know you well

Meredith with Lewis Howes at Underground 8

Lewis Howes is not a celebrity in the entertainment or sports world. But if you’ve studied social media, especially LinkedIn, you know he's a superstar in that arena.

I first learned about Lewis a couple of years ago when I wanted to find out how to use LinkedIn. His name popped up everywhere in my searches, and I invested in his book, LinkedWorking.

Since that time I’ve attended several webinars that he’s hosted, invested in his products and heard him speak at live events. Most of the time, he focuses on specific tactics you can use to get positive results through social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

But his recent presentation at Yanik Silver’s Underground 8 conference stuck with me because of one significant point he made.

First, a little background.

When he graduated from college, Lewis fulfilled a childhood dream by earning a spot on an arena football team. But a serious injury to his wrist during a game destroyed that future, and he spent six months in a cast, followed by six months of rehabilitation. During that time, he was unemployed, living with his sister and sleeping on her couch.

One of his mentors suggested that he check out LinkedIn to look for a job. Lewis immersed himself in the site and after months of testing different strategies and forming several highly successful groups, he became an expert in creating networks and forming relationships with thousands of people.

Lewis has hosted more than 400 webinars and spoken to thousands at events. His email list of 75,000, his 12,000 Facebook fans and 500,000 views on YouTube are a testament to his ability to create a strong following.

For me, the key reason for his success can be summarized in this golden nugget Lewis shared with the audience at Yanik’s event:


Lewis explained that he’s never asked anyone to do anything for him up-front. Instead, he invests time in getting to know others first and figures out how he can help them.

A case in point: When Gary Vaynerchuk, host of Winelibrarytv.com for almost six years, published his latest book, The Thank You Economy, Lewis offered to interview him. As a result of Lewis promoting the call to his extensive list of contacts and conducting a great interview, Gary sold 850 copies of his book. This was a phenomenal result, especially compared to the paltry number Gary sold during his 30-city book tour. Lewis didn’t receive any financial compensation for this. He’d gotten to know Gary through live events where they were both featured speakers, and Lewis simply reached out to him in a way that would benefit Gary.

Too often in networking situations, people watch for opportunities that will help their own business or career. They can hardly wait to jump in and talk about themselves or their products and services. There’s no genuine interest in what’s happening in the life of the other person.

You can start applying the wisdom that Lewis offers today. And not just with people you meet at networking events. You can use this with family, friends and colleagues, too. When you decide to give first without expecting anything in return, people sense your generous spirit and they will naturally look for ways to help you in the future.

“No one is where he or she wants to be. Everyone wants more out of life. Maybe there is something simple you can do to get them there, even if it is only feeling important because you spent a moment with them.” – Lewis Howes in LinkedWorking

I recently purchased and studied an online program called Connected by Eben Pagan and Dave Logan.

Without a doubt, one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

If you’re interested in creating solid business and personal relationships, the strategies shared here can catapult your networking efforts to an entirely different level. Here’s their most powerful concept…

Eben and Dave recommend that you focus on forming “triads,” which redefines your purpose for meeting others. You don’t introduce yourself to someone else with the goal of finding out what the two of you might have in common. Instead, you ask questions and listen to learn who else you can connect that person with. Who do they need to meet in order to make progress on their current priorities and projects? Who else shares their vision and values?

You become a connector who brings two people together – hence, the triad.

Imagine the dramatic shift in mindset you need to make in order to approach someone with that intention. It’s no longer about collecting business cards so you can follow up later and try to book an appointment or sell your products or services. It’s about having a sincere desire to help others achieve their goals—by connecting them with people you know.

While the concept made sense and resonated with me, I wondered, “Will this work in the real world?”

I had a chance to put it to the test last week at the Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle (GKIC) SuperConference.

I’ve been a GKIC member for more almost three years and always attend their two big events each year. I’ve gotten to know quite a few people and keep in touch through social media. I decided that, at this conference, I was going to see how many people I could introduce to each other.

My feelings about the experience, as well as the results, were spectacular.

With the focus on learning more about the other person, I was relaxed and comfortable. I felt no pressure to tell them about my product or persuade them to take a specific action that would benefit me.

In one case, I talked with a person who needed help thinking through the next step for his business. He wasn’t in a mastermind group and wasn’t currently working with a coach, and he was stuck. I asked a couple of my bright, creative friends to join in a mini-mastermind meeting with him, and six of us ended up getting together over dinner. He got some breakthrough ideas that he’ll be implementing in the coming months. He was very appreciative of my efforts, and now he’s eager to help me in a specific area of my business.

Another example was a woman I met on the first day who was just getting started with an information product. This was her first GKIC event so she didn’t know many people. We became fast friends, and over the next few days I introduced her to several people who would be good future contacts for her. On the last evening, she gave me a terrific introduction to someone I had been wanting to meet; and that person was instantly impressed with me because of what my new friend said about me.

In both of these instances, I had no expectation of getting something in return. My sole purpose was to discover what someone else needed and figure out who could help them.

You might be skeptical, as I was when Eben and Dave described how “magical” this approach is. But after experiencing first-hand what can happen – and how good it feels – I’ve become a believer. And I'll be adopting this mindset at every event I attend from now on. 

What I've shared here is just the tip of the iceberg. Connected is filled with valuable information about human psychology and what it takes to form deep, meaningful relationships. If those topics interest you, I highly recommend the program.

“More evolved beings want to contribute without getting anything back. They don’t need to worry about if they’re going to get a fair shake 100% of the time, because they know if they don’t get it back from a particular person, it’s no big deal.” – Eben Pagan