What are some ways I could connect with experts, mentors, and other entrepreneurs from different parts of the world? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.
Answer by Lukas Schwekendiek, Life Coach, Speaker, Writer, on Quora:
What are some ways I could connect with experts, mentors, and other entrepreneurs from different parts of the world? When looking into getting into contact with other people always think about their perspective.
Imagine some expert seeing an e-mail from you. They are very busy, have a lot of deals, and some random person just messages them to connect. Most of the time the experts will not have the time even to read the letter, much less reply or do anything with it since they are not at a stage where they have the liberty to waste time.
So... what can you do to get into contact with them?
1. Know how to find them. Most experts will spend time on social media trying to get their business known. They will try to promote themselves through tweets, videos or posts on Facebook. Therefore, if you comment on their stuff, they will be more likely to answer you, seeing as they want to uphold their good image.
The bigger the expert is in their respective field, the harder step 2 is going to be, but the more value you will get from them.
2. Give them enough value. Every interaction is based off an exchange of value. I give you value, and you give me some. When you talk to friends you exchange equal amounts of social interaction, and when you buy something you exchange equal value with money and product. So when you want an expert to help you out, to network with you and to talk to you, know that they will give you way more value in a normal interaction.
It is because of this that you need to find a way to equal that value, and if you can give them even more value, they will be inclined to try to balance this as well. This means, the higher you seek, the more effort it will take.
3. Persist. When you give value to one of these experts, through whatever means, it may not be enough at first for them to even notice. But as long as you persist and constantly give them more and more, they will notice. And once they notice, you can be sure they will get into contact with you!
So if you cannot find one thing that will give them enough value, do a million things that give them small value. It will be equally as beneficial to them.
Some Top Social Media Sites where you will find experts are:
- Facebook Groups. Facebook can be a business tool as well. The groups on Facebook go from casual groups that are created by a whim to professional mastermind groups where you have to pay to get in. Finding some groups with experts shouldn't be too difficult, as there are thousands of groups regarding every topic. All you need to do after that is comment, message, and aid the people in this group to get known!
- YouTube Videos. Most everyone is doing YouTube nowadays, which is why it is one of the easiest ways to build a following as a start-up entrepreneur or expert. You will find a lot of different experts from all levels present on YouTube making videos. To get into contact with them there keep commenting and sharing their videos to give them more clicks, giving them more value.
- Other Sites like Twitter, Linkedin, and even Quora. The same goes for other sites that are free to use and have a large amount of people visiting every day. These sites may be utilized by all kinds of people again, and the best way to give value to the respective experts is to share, comment, like and view their content as much as possible. If you do this long and consistently enough, it will suffice to get into contact with them. Just remember, the higher you shoot, the longer it will take.