Network like they do in Hollywood for Success

It's not what you know it's who you know and nobody knows this better than those in Hollywood. They make their living by being at the top of everyone's mind. They also know where to be, how to be seen, and how to stay in touch with people for their next gig. So how do you go about networking the right way? You learn from someone who has been there done that and I got some great tips from our Hollywood insider and friend March Jannone.

What the Hollywood pros do

A great buddy of my brother and I is a long time Hollywood actor, real estate broker, real estate investor, and entrepreneur. He makes a living good times or bad because of his network and his ability to help people in even the smallest ways. He is always keeping in touch with people and checking in on them just to see how things are going.

In other words he doesn’t just call just to ask for something for himself. If people call asking for help on his expertise (which includes car negotiation, real estate, and marketing) he is happy to lend a hand and help. He does this to help and then when he needs something people are more than willing to help.

He started this practice early on in his career by always sending “Thank you’s” to the people who decided on the actors that were to be used on projects. He has been a long time member due paying member of SAG (screen actors guild) because of this practice.

How you can network like a Hollywood pro

So how can you act just like our friend and have an endless supply of people willing to help you? Well let’s cover some steps that you can take with your network, your clients, your friends and family to make sure you have a network that just keeps giving.

1. Call for absolutely no reason other than to say hi - that’s right call and say hi, hello, how are you to your past clients, friends, & former coworkers just to check in on them. On this call don’t ask for anything other than to see how they are doing.
2. Be helpful - Sometimes it may be real estate related other times it might be passing on a resume for a client to another one of your clients but help out. If you can connect people you will be a valuable resource for others.
3. Say Thank you (sometimes with gifts) - sometimes someone goes out of the way to help you and make sure you get a referral, lead, etc. Make sure you say thanks and send them something (preferable to their work) to let them know that you appreciate their effort. Whether something works out or not say thanks and let them know you are grateful. They will remember that and go out of their way.
4. Take time to go to lunch or dinner - Networking online is great but building offline relationships is amazing. Take someone to lunch and see how they are doing and see if there is something you can do for them that might help them in some small way.

Act like your life depends on it because it might

Original post from network like a hollywood pro on 12-11-2008