Where are you all building your relationships online?

[Rob Toth]

Just to chime in on these last few posts...

Most of my jvs, networking, partnerships all stemmed from faceless contact: forums, skype, facebook, emails. Of course, phone calls then occurred but in person meetings were rare.

That being said, I've directly and indirectly made thousands upon thousands from every single IM conference I've been to. I've only been to about 5... each one flipped into high 4-figure quick deals or more commonly low 5-figure quick deals and even 1 6-figure deal. But those same relationships are here for a long time and will develop into even more indirectly.

So...

I agree with Laurie, there's a lot of value to online networking. When done with purpose vs. just "hanging out" and "chatting". (Or at least that's what works for ME).

But you greatly accelerate the process with in person meets. Especially if lunch, dinner, drinks or some down-time is involved with that other merchant/marketer. It's a quick way to build the start of a new friendship and working relationship.

[Laurie Rogers]

Just to chime in on these last few posts...

Most of my jvs, networking, partnerships all stemmed from faceless contact: forums, skype, facebook, emails. Of course, phone calls then occurred but in person meetings were rare.

That being said, I've directly and indirectly made thousands upon thousands from every single IM conference I've been to. I've only been to about 5... each one flipped into high 4-figure quick deals or more commonly low 5-figure quick deals and even 1 6-figure deal. But those same relationships are here for a long time and will develop into even more indirectly.

So...

I agree with Laurie, there's a lot of value to online networking. When done with purpose vs. just "hanging out" and "chatting". (Or at least that's what works for ME).

But you greatly accelerate the process with in person meets. Especially if lunch, dinner, drinks or some down-time is involved with that other merchant/marketer. It's a quick way to build the start of a new friendship and working relationship.

Case in point, a lot of people I did big deals with I've never met in person, some I've never even talked to on the phone or via chat etc. just email or on a forum. And for some, you never even knew what they looked like or what they sounded like ie: Jimmy D. Brown, back in the day, NOBODY knew what Jimmy looked like or sounded like, but everyone wanted to work with him. I can't even remember how long it was that I was speaking with Mike, before I met him in person, quite a while I think and for the longest time he was the ONLY person I ever met in person lol ...

If that's going to be someone's sole basis for not working with a person, I wish you all the best in this industry. ... now I'm going to go back to hiding behind my computer lol

[Chris Pambos]

Always give before asking, in most cases, you won't need to ask for anything in return as long as you've given good will to begin with.

[KevinRiley]

Skype. Can't say enough good about it.

I'll always try to get someone on Skype, whether I meet them in a forum, on Twitter, or at a live event (which, due to my geographic location, is not as often as I wish it could be).

[shireesh]

Point well noted about Skype, Kevin. I believe that is a neglected tool as far as relationship building is concerned.

It's surprising how many people will be willing to touch base on Skype even if they are not willing get on the phone with you.

Amazing relationships are built pretty fast on twitter. But you have to work it diligently. Become a part of the conversation. Find what the people you want to connect with are tweeting about and become a part of that conversation. I know people who have built their businesses in the past two years solely through relationships built on twitter. However, not everybody has the discipline and commitment needed to work this fast moving medium. Some people are just naturals and thrive in it.

[jacksonlin]

I was able to get the attention of Mark Ling by doing his course and following it word for word - then getting results! Tomorrow I'm going to meet him in New Zealand! =]

But I would like to know other ways, because my method is SLOW.

[Rob Toth]

Skype is great.

And you can often find contacts (a target JV partner) on there by searching by name. You may get 2-3 results... just toss a feeler to each of them and you'll end up on Skype directly with the person you want to deal with.

Skype is a must in my world. Only surefire way to reach me. I take sabbatical's from my email inbox, Facebook PMs are never treated with priority, my personal cell phone is turned off when I'm focused and working, office line never gets answered... but skype is great.

[Glen Kirkham]

If You Are In The IM Niche, Warrior Forum Is Absolutely Imperative