Business relationships aren’t built in a day.
They’re built in layers—and the strongest ones unfold over time.
Here’s how that progression might look:
🔹 Level 1: You meet someone at a networking event, a conference, or on the sidelines of your kid’s soccer game. A handshake. A name. A brief chat. You send a LinkedIn request.
🔹 Level 2: You start seeing them regularly at bar association events, youth sports, community events, trade association meetings, or conferences. Familiarity builds.
🔹 Level 3: You invite them to coffee or lunch. You learn more about their work and maybe something about their personal background, their family, their hobbies, where they’ve lived or gone to school. The connection deepens. (Note: this can also happen right after Level 1!)
🔹 Level 4: You serve on a committee together. You see how they operate and start building real professional rapport.
🔹 Level 5: You begin sending articles, cartoons or memes (my favorite), or invitations to events that align with their personal or professional interests. You think of them even when you’re not in the same room. You serve as a resource when they have questions you can answer.
🔹 Level 6: You reconnect and have a deeper conversation: How can we help each other? What kinds of introductions are valuable to you? You start to become intentional about mutual support.
🔹 Level 7: You collaborate on a webinar or live presentation, an article, a podcast (that’s something I do), a nonprofit fundraiser, or a shared client matter.
🔹 Level 8: They refer you business. Or they hire you. Not because you pitched them, but because they know you, like you, and trust you.
People often talk about “networking” like it’s a transaction. But real business development is about building relationships—layer by layer, with intention and generosity.