Billy Dexter is a power networker in Keith Ferrazzi’s league. I had the priviledge of seeing Billy speak this week at a National Black MBA event here in Chicago. He is dynamic, funny and charming. He currently serves as MTV’s Chief Diversity Officer, it was not a job he asked for, they asked him. To study Billy is a great case study of the importance of personal branding to future success.
Billy was working as a headhunter on the search at the time. MTV couldn’t decide which candidate to select and met with Billy to discuss the issue. After the meeting, MTV HR called Billy and said they changed their mind, they wanted to hire Billy instead! He thought they were joking, but they weren’t. They asked him to make his offer for them. In his words, he went “real ghetto with it”. They accepted his initial proposal untouched and h felt like he should have asked for more! I’m not doing the story justice with this blog entry, you should hear him tell it one day!
One of his networking tips that is distinct is that Billy says, “people need to feel comfortable with you.” It’s an interesting concept, one that Billy himself is a bit challenged to explain more deeply, though he claims not to be a natural.
Here are some of Billy’s tips for success:
– Develop a script to engage people and your “30 second commercial”
– Attend an opportunity event frequently
– Develop both up and down mentoring
– Study, refine and prioritize your personal and professional networking contacts
– Put your execution plan on paper by date and context
– Find ways to make connections with others
– Constantly monitor you results celebrate your accomplishments and adjust your plan, if required
As I stated, Billy Dexter is both interesting and enganging, I look forward to building a relationship with him over time.
If you ever need someting to start a conversation about with Billy – try golf, he is an avid golfer!
I truly adore the design that that you are using, is it custom designed?