Dunbar’s Number and Building Your Tribe

Matt and Garrett tackle the concept of ‘Dunbar’s Number’, or the idea that individuals can effectively maintain 150 relationships or fewer, on today’s podcast. They begin by reflecting upon the virtual holiday party they recently held for their coaching team which leads to a discussion of the challenges and benefits of running a virtual company and the importance of building a strong sense of community and tribe among team members who are spread out across the country. In light of this fact, they then consider the implications of the Dunbar’s Number concept for building and maintaining relationships in business and personal life, and discuss the benefits of having around 150 key contacts, as well as the importance of providing good customer service.

Our hosts go on to review the value of having systems in place to manage and maintain relationships with both the inner circle of 150 and the larger pool of customers, and touch on the idea of prioritizing relationships with key contacts and the potential for these relationships to lead to repeat business and referrals. They also talk about the benefits of having a smaller number of high-quality relationships and the value of seeking out and joining a supportive group or ‘tribe’. The importance of putting in effort to build and maintain these relationships and the need to give time and attention to these relationships in order to keep them strong is also examined. Finally, they explore the idea of “auditing” one’s database, bringing in new contacts to strengthen the inner circle, and the importance of being authentic and genuine in these relationships.

Speaking of building relationships, be sure to join the community of almost 10,000 Ninjas who collaborate, ask and answer questions, network, and more in the Ninja Selling Podcast group on Facebook at Ninja Selling Podcast Facebook. Leave a voicemail at 208-MY-NINJA if you’d like to offer more direct feedback. Be sure to check out Ninja Selling Events for upcoming installations and other events, and if you’d like personalized help in achieving your goals, visit Ninja Coaching to connect with one of our fantastic coaches.

Episode Highlights:

Matt and Garrett’s virtual holiday party
The challenges and benefits of running a virtual company
The importance of building a strong sense of community and tribe
“Dunbar’s Number” and its implications for building and maintaining relationships
Balancing the maintaining of existing relationships and building new ones
Focusing on cultivating deep, meaningful connections
The Comfort Crisis
Building a strong network of around 150 key contacts
Good customer service
Managing and maintaining relationships
Prioritizing relationships with key contacts
“Auditing” your database

Quotes:

“It’s interesting running a completely virtual company. A lot of people don’t realize that we are spread all over the United States.”

“I think it’s important to focus on quality versus quantity when it comes to relationships.”

“The amount of results that you’ll get out of 150 people that you build this type of business with is insane”

“You have your customer service program, which is you as a storefront, as a business, you want to make sure you take care of all of your customers.”

“The ROI is greater, but the effort is so much lower.”

“We’re all sharing energy together. And what you’re looking for when you’re building your group and your business people that you’re working with around your city is you’re building that tribe with all these people.”

“People want to be part of a tribe. They want to be part of things, especially things that take care of them.”

“Audit it up. Bring in like, hey, maybe it’s a new client, maybe it’s a new referral partner.”

“Be authentic and genuine in your relationships.”

“You have to show up every day and run that system.”

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