Photo credit Keith Allison. http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/3803192528/in/photostream/ Some rights reserved.
Recently I read an excellent article in the Washington Post about Donald Dell, a local man who found huge success running the sports agency ProServ. At its height, ProServ had 300 employees and 12 offices and represented about 250 athletes who grossed the firm more than $15 million a year. One of those 250 athletes was Michael Jordan. Dell also founded what is today the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Dell credits much of his success to his networking and connections, and provides several key networking tips in the article. Below is an excerpt:
I never tire of hearing about the importance of networking, which I once considered a dirty word. Herewith is some advice from Dell and from his book, “Never Make the First Offer,” regarding the secrets of networking:
-Make friends.
Dell uses Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, another Washington area native, as an example of someone who has “worked at every relationship. What Kevin has done, and what I think is the most basic aspect of achieving business success, is to create opportunities to get to know people out [italics his] of the office, out of the normal parameters of the business relationship, and outside mutual comfort zones.”
- Make friends of their friends.
Dell met FedEx founder Fred Smith through a friend who had owned the Memphis Racquet Club in Tennessee, where FedEx is headquartered. Dell, who was ranked as the top tennis doubles player in the United States for 1961 and 1962, played a doubles match with Smith and two others. They became friends, and Dell later represented FedEx in its $205 million naming rights deal with the Washington Redskins.
For more networking tips, read the full article here.
Article citation information: “Value Added: Donald Dell Serves Up Secrets to Better Networking.” Heath, Thomas. The Washington Post, published July 17th, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/value-added-donald-dell-serves-up-secrets-to-better-networking/2011/07/14/gIQAN25CKI_story.html
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“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” ~ Mother Teresa