Embracing the Pyramid Shape (not the Pyramid Scheme)
Do I have any fans of The Office here?
In one of my favorite scenes, manager Michael Scott starts presenting an opportunity to make some money to sharp salesman Jim Halpert:
Jim: No, um. How is this not a pyramid scheme?
Michael: Alright, let me explain. Again. Phil has recruited me and another guy. Now, we are getting three people each. The more people that get involved, the more who are investing, the more money we’re all going to make. It’s not a pyramid scheme, it is a… it’s not even a scheme per se, it’s… [Jim draws a triangle around Michael’s diagram] … I have to go make a call.
We’re all familiar with scammy multi-level marketing schemes built on recruitment and people from high school hopping into your DMs to let you know about an “amazing business opportunity for you.”
We’re even getting wise to the “coaches coaching coaches to coach coaches” pyramid-like structure of these high-end masterminds that rely on charging exorbitant prices to a steady stream of people - required to make the money to achieve the revenue level that justifies the prices they're charging.
So, suffice to say in this space, I’m not a fan of the pyramid scheme.
But I think we can learn something from the pyramid shape, and how it applies to expanding our networks as part of our sales and marketing strategy.
Building Layer by Layer
In a pyramid, you start out by talking to three people, just the first layer of your network.
Building rapport, getting to know them and their business or what’s going on in their life. Maybe they’re a potential client with the need to work with you now, or not.
But that’s three more people that know about you and what you do than before.
Maybe they’re in a community you’re not in, and tell someone in their world about you and your work. (The power of weak ties).
That’s a ripple effect. Someone that you didn't know already is now aware of you because you built a relationship.
And the cycle repeats.
In the first year, let’s say you make a real connection with just one person each week. Could be a call, a zoom, or a deeper connection on a digital platform.
Over the year, that’s 50 new people that are aware of what you do.
And say half of them have a reason to tell a friend about this cool connection they made, or recommend you when someone in their network has a need, or signal boost you on social media.
Through the network effect, that’s 25 more people that now know about you - that you didn’t connect with personally.
Over time, the momentum snowballs. A client who comes in by referral then refers you to someone else they know. Someone in your audience brings a friend to a class you teach. Someone sends a podcast you guested on to a friend.
The pyramid structure means that you can build a relationship with just one person per week, and through the power of compounding and maintaining those relationships over time, you’ve built an ecosystem with hundreds of people who have some awareness of you and your work.
This doesn't happen out of the gates in 6 months. This building takes time.
But, I want to go faster! I’m ready for 10x solutions!
I hear this so often, wanting to meet more people at once instead of this 'retail networking' concept.
It seems like a no-brainer, right? Why talk to one person when you can talk to 100 with the same time?
And you might be exhausted with the idea of person-to-person relationship building. Reaching out, scheduling calls, having calls feels like so low leverage.
So you try to reach the masses on social media, pitch yourself to speaking engagements, pitch for local or national media, try to guest teach in other people’s programs, or try to get into these summit bundles.
The secret they don’t tell you about these “next-level” solutions?
Those more leveraged opportunities are all built on personal relationships.
And building relationships, in a non-transactional fashion, can connect you with opportunities you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
The big social media accounts? They partner with other creators to help each other grow and leverage each other’s audiences.
Getting the speaking gig? Organizers often bring in entrepreneurs in their personal network or through other trusted agents, who they know will bring a solid experience for their audience.
Guest teaching? I’ve been invited to teach in a number of communities (if you’re here from Josh Hall’s Web Designer Pro, thanks for being here!) because I built a relationship with the host after guesting on their podcast.
PR and podcasts? One reason I work with a trusted agency, is because the agency team has built relationships over time with podcast hosts and media outlets and those podcast hosts know the guest is prepared and the agency will be easy to work with.
Even growing your newsletter at the early stages often requires personal connections, personal invitations to join, and cross-promotion and swaps until there’s enough momentum built up for the flywheel to really start running.
The Pyramid shape in practice
Example 1: Someone in my network asked me for a referral to a career coach who does resumes and interview coaching. While I don’t need that service, I was happy to refer them to Karen Worthy. Karen and I connected through a frequent collaborator Julie Morris, and our relationship also developed through 1:1 conversations over 2 years ago.
So Karen will hopefully get a new inquiry because she took the time to build a relationship with me on LinkedIn and in Julie’s community. The power of networks.
Example 2: Paul Millerd wrote a book called The Pathless Path (10/10 recommend). His book has touched a nerve, being shared by 40K+ people.
But what’s interesting is the trajectory. Paul started selling his book to his audience and gifting copies. I’m happy to be an early purchaser of the book. But then the book got passed along. I’ve recommended it to at least 5 friends because I’ve got a lot of people in my network who want to break free from corporate. It got featured by some big creators - a result of a web of relationships in the creator worlds - and the book exploded.
Paul's Book Sales: pathlesspath.com
No way did Paul know all of these people - people passed the book around to their friends, and they passed it to their friends. Kind of the definition of a pyramid shape, am I right?
So exactly who do I reach out to for these relationships? Where am I going to find a whole new person every week?
Start creating your Three Lists
You should always maintain - and maintain relationships with - your “Three Lists”:
Your clients, clients in the sales process, and even people that inquired but haven’t worked with you yet: Stay in touch and in ongoing relationship with the people who already know about you and your work.
Your Network and Centers of Influence list
Connectors: People who can get you in front of their audience and help you connect with the right kind of prospective clients
Champions: People who have had experience with your work personally and can publicly share your work
Sponsors and Advocates: People who admire your work and spread the word without you asking them
Referral Partners/Adjacent Service Providers: People who have a complementary product or service who can refer you to their customers or clients
Your target clients list: Once you start identifying the patterns of who you like to work with, you can start proactively building relationships towards meeting these people.
Host Curiosity Conversations
Paul hosted 400+ curiosity conversations over 2017 to 2022, talking with anyone who wanted to book a call without an agenda once a week.
Just today, someone I saw on LinkedIn was looking to talk to female founders in a no-sales user discovery call. Someone I know through a community commented, I saw it, and I booked a call. Boom. One relationship that might lead to more.
Connect with Communities and Networkers
There are humans that live for curating connections - so leverage your potentially more extroverted business friends and where they are spending time!
Located in the Boston region? Check out Nichole Chapais’s newsletter with all of her networking events.
Growing your independent consultancy? Check out The Upside, with a curated power match each month.
Attend the free roundtables of providers you align with - like my free monthly dialogues - and be introduced to other values-aligned humans.
Take advantage of any groups or communities you’re already in and invite people to meet with you 1:1.
If you run any kind of service or creator business, especially if you are still building stability in your practice, I fundamentally believe that human-to-human relationship-building is the non-negotiable foundation of your sales and marketing strategy.
