When you’re running a small business, you know that your reputation proceeds you. However, it’s hard to quantify. Your network tends to bring in more of the same type of client that you’ve been working with.
Word of mouth expands in seasons:
Your initial network is small and you can keep up with everyone
Once that first level is solid, there is a period of “nurturing time” while the next next season of relationship/network growth happens. From purely a business-only standpoint, this feels like a “lull.”
Finally, you feel comfortable in this new “second layer” to your network, the next one slowly starts to form around it. As I’ve gone through periods of expanding my network, each “layer” seems to take longer to feel comfortable in.
And this process continues on and on and on.
From David Feldman tried to figure out how to quantify the “word of mouth” factor on his post on LinkedIn Post.
