Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Consciously or unconsciously, we are all being evaluated by the four Cs of networking. The four Cs are credibility, competence, clarity and connectivity — these are the elements that are necessary to develop a powerful personal referral network.
When meeting a stranger, you are likely to be asking yourself one or all of the following questions: Can I trust this person? What does he or she want? What are their intentions? Do they want something from me? All of these questions point to someone’s credibility. Credibility means they are believable and worthy of our trust. Virtually no one gives referrals to someone relating to a person that they don’t trust.
From a general interpersonal and social scenario, trust or trustworthiness is the first box that needs to be ticked off in our minds before we let someone into our referral sphere. We assess a person’s credibility above all else when interacting with others.
Related: Want to Succeed as an Entrepreneur? Discover the Key to Building Long-Lasting Connections
Only when credibility has been established would we then entertain evidence supporting one’s level of competence. After all, what good is it to have someone around us who hasn’t earned our trust? In the past and even today when interacting with others, competence is a skill while credibility is a reputation. The more we demonstrate competence and credibility, the more we build trust with someone.
Credibility and competence go hand in hand in business as they do in non-business social interaction, but there is an important distinction. In terms of business and referral passing, you can have competence without establishing credibility, but you can’t have credibility without being competent. In the business context, competence supersedes credibility — that’s right, competence comes first in a referral relationship! Competence is the possession of the required skill, knowledge and qualifications to apply their craft. In addition to credibility, no one refers people who they don’t believe are competent as well. Ever.
It’s important to note that competency can lead to credibility, but credibility cannot lead to competency. Competency is a prerequisite for credibility in terms of referral passing. Just because you are credible as a person does not necessarily mean you are competent at what you do.
As you go about your life interacting with others, you are doing more than just assessing one’s level of credibility and competence, which are the first two Cs. The next C is clarity, which has to do with how clearly a person communicates their message to others. If someone spoke to you in a way that lacked clarity about what they want or need, it is more difficult for you to help them or more specifically refer them to someone in need of their product or service. If someone is not clear about what they value and how they feel, it is not easy for you to read them and connect with them. So even if someone has established credibility and is clearly competent, without clarity, it’s hard to fully understand how to refer them effectively.
It is human nature when considering others to assess whether they are credible, competent and clear. The fourth C is connectivity. It is a recently coined term, but its relevance to human interactions is also as old as time itself. Connectivity refers to the quantity and quality of a person’s connections. In this day and age, it is fairly easy to determine a person’s connectivity, especially online since you can look at the number of followers they have and the caliber of their connections.
Related: 5 Ways to Network Your Way to Business Growth and Wealth
Whether you are aware of this or not, you are assessing how well-connected a person is. As you interact with others, you are calculating one’s level of connectivity. You are observing a person’s acquaintances and with whom they spend their time. Knowing a person’s social circle is important because it is human nature to seek to rub shoulders with individuals who are highly connected. Having the right connections is not only helpful on a daily basis as you go about taking care of your family and resources but also essential, especially during difficult times.
By now it should be clear that you consciously and or subconsciously assess people you interact with in terms of their credibility, competence, clarity and connectivity. If this is true, then if we turn the tables, it is therefore obvious that you, too, are being evaluated by others with respect to the 4Cs. People are making value judgments with respect to each of your Cs as you are of theirs. The 4Cs are at play whether we like it or not and largely impact how well-respected we are in our communities. If you want to have strong healthy connections with others you will need to invest in developing each one of your Cs. You need to be credible. You need to be perceived as competent. You need to be clear in your communication and you need to grow your connectivity.
This article was developed in conjunction with Dr. Oudi Abouchacra.
