Rainmakers in their prime advise the most powerful people in the corporate world: the CEOs, Presidents, CFOs and other c-suite executives. These people can authorize projects with little more than the flick of the wrist to sign a contract. If they like you, they can dispense with competition with a wave and they can refer you to their friends working in c-suites in other companies.

We would all like to get people of that caliber into our networks, but the task is daunting. Ask an executive about his children, and you learn that the kids are ten years older than you are. Ask about his vacation and you learn that he was flown by private helicopter into the furthest reaches of Kamtchatka, or whatever the latest prestige holiday destination is. You will dread the inevitable question that follows, “where did you take yours?” to which you must answer, “the Jersey Shore.”

Still, there are ways to network with c-suite executives that can spare you embarrassment, and rainmakers have discovered them. Here are three for networking with executives you know from your client work.

Invite the executive and spouse to a charity, civic or cultural event. This will be neutral ground where the difference in your age, power and means are not relevant. To increase the chances of the executive accepting, pick a big event where she will be able to meet some of her peers. Even if the executive declines, you can hardly be faulted for making this kind of invitation. (See Jane’s Lunch, or A Lesson in Dominos Networking.)

Provide volunteer support for an organization she is active in. A little research will tell you what organizations the executive devotes her time to. If you have interest in the cause, volunteer and help her further her goals there. You must avoid seeming commercial during your volunteer hours, so this approach requires patience and diligence.

Ask for mentoring. Instead of trying to work around the differences in age, experience, and wealth between yourself and the executive, use them to your advantage. Ask for some career advice. Many older people like the mentor role. Follow up the mentoring meeting with a thank you note, which specifies the value you took from it.

Of course, time is the long term solution to building your network of senior executives. Bringing a few into your network early by using these techniques will hasten the process.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 2:29 PM and is filed under Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.