How to Create Serendipity and Generate Breakthrough Opportunities

In our experience, around 80% of the breakthrough opportunities come from your network.?

This does not occur by chance but through a process called serendipity.

Serendipity is the right person coming across the right opportunity at the right time and sending something valuable your way.?

Whether it's helping you land your first client or something even more personal, like meeting your spouse through a friend's introduction – that is serendipity at work.?

The issue is that most people leave serendipity to chance.?

However, the assumption that you can't influence serendipity is simply not true.?

If you are in a leadership position or any position where you benefit from generating opportunities, you need to own the serendipity process to drive your success.?

Once you understand how to create serendipity, you can leverage it to generate breakthrough opportunities and drive referrals from your network repeatedly for yourself and your business.?

Let's take a look at how …?

The Two Key Drivers of Serendipity

Your ability to generate referrals or opportunities from your network hinges on two key factors: timing and mindshare.

Timing?

A classic assumption about serendipity is that it's all about timing. Someone in your network comes across the opportunity you're looking for just at the right moment.?

While this is a big part of serendipity, it's only half the story …

Mindshare

The other, more important, role you play in owning the serendipity process is influencing how top of mind you are.?

When someone in your network hears about an opportunity at the perfect time – how likely are they to think of you??

Unlike timing, how top of mind you are with key people in your network is more or less under your complete control.?

It is dictated by how frequently you interact with someone and, more importantly, how meaningful, relevant, and valuable this interaction is perceived by them.?

If you're not actively managing your mindshare, you're not only repeatedly missing opportunities, but worse, you might be unaware that they even exist.

Let's consider how you can commit to a more active, intentional, and proactive role in increasing your mindshare.

How to Improve Mindshare and Create Serendipity

Without intentional efforts to actively increase your mindshare, you're probably only hearing about 2-3% of opportunities that would be available to you.?

The goal isn't to go from 2-3% to 100%. That's unrealistic. Instead, we will show you how to stack the deck in your favor.?

Even if you go from 2-3% to 4-6%, you're already doubling the number of opportunities coming your way.?

Often, one breakthrough opportunity is all it takes to justify all the other interactions that didn't directly lead to something.?

Here are the three steps you can take to create serendipity within your network:??

1. Know What You Want From Your Network

At Mindmaven, we believe relationships are the number one driver of success. We'd go as far as to say you probably don't know anyone who has reached the top without help from others.?

So, first, clearly define what you want to generate from your network. It may be hiring top talent, connecting with investors, or even a new partnership deal.?

Until you know specifically what you want from your network, it will be very hard to take a focused, consistent approach.?

2. Identify the Right People

Now you know what you want from your network; you can start to figure out who you need to stay top of mind with.?

If you've been in business for any meaningful amount of time, you likely have a network of anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of people.?

You cannot and should not attempt to stay at the top of everyone's mind. You'll likely exhaust yourself and not be able to deliver the quality interactions needed to achieve the results you want.?

Instead, the goal is to output more consistent, focused efforts on a smaller subsection of people in your network who could likely give you access to the types of opportunities you're looking for.?

Therefore, you need to figure out who the most important people in your network are to stay in touch with. These could be former or existing clients, board members, or key players in your industry.?

Access Their Ability and Willingness

Once you've identified the right people in your network, we recommend starting with those who have the proven ability and willingness to pass on the opportunities you're looking for.?

For example, you may find aspirational people like Elon Musk to be an unrealistic source of referrals. Sure, he has the ability, but he may be very unlikely to possess the willingness.?

Instead, focus on people you already have a relationship with who likely encounter the opportunities you seek.?

We call these your Legends – the most valuable people in your network with the highest ability and willingness.?

Try to limit yourself to a maximum of 40 Legends. If you have seven, that's fine. Again, it's best to focus your efforts on your most valuable people.?

3. Interact With Your Legends??

Our general rule of thumb is to have a meaningful interaction with your Legends every 45 days.

As you look at your list, you may realize it's been weeks, months, or even years since you last spoke.?

If that's the case, it can feel a bit paralyzing to figure out how to interact consistently with these people without appearing spammy.?

If you email them every 45 days to tick a box, but all you say is, 'Hey, it's been a while. We should catch up,' it's likely to have the opposite impact of what you desire.?

The good news is that being relevant is easier than you may think.?

To show you how simple this can be, we will share five email strategies you can use on your Legends list that they will perceive as meaningful, relevant, and valuable.

Create Serendipity and Generate Breakthrough Opportunities With The Five Freebies – Free Download?

The Five Freebies are emails you can send to anyone in your network at any time to maintain a strong professional network that is crucial for driving referrals and generating opportunities.?

To help you achieve this effortlessly, you can download The Five Freebies – five simple yet impactful email templates that you can now send to your Legends to increase your mindshare.?

These emails are designed to:

• Reconnect and Re-Engage: Easily re-establish communication with your contacts, keeping relationships fresh and top of mind.
• Build Goodwill: Express genuine appreciation and gratitude, fostering positive feelings and stronger bonds.
• Strengthen Relationships: Engage your network with meaningful interactions, ensuring they feel valued and connected to you.

These templates will help you keep your Legends active and engaged, stacking the odds in your favor that you'll be top of mind whenever a valuable opportunity arises.?

Click here to get your copy of The Five Freebies.