Ask a seasoned CEO where their best opportunities came from and you’ll rarely hear “a campaign.” You’ll hear a name: a former colleague who became a client, a chance introduction at a braai, a supplier who three years later sent the biggest deal of the decade.
Relationships are the real engine of executive-level business. What almost nobody does is treat that network as an asset to be actively worked, the way you’d never leave capital sitting idle.
We asked Renier Lombard, Managing Director of FDC, whose team has built and run this for hundreds of executives, how a busy CEO actually puts a network back to work.
How to turn your network into an asset
1. Show up consistently, so people can share in your growth
The people who know you well still rate you. It’s not them you’re after; it’s the wider circle who are valuable. The people you met once, heard you speak, or those you nearly did business with. They slowly forget the specifics or remember a past version of you. You’re not less impressive, but because you’ve gone quiet in the one space they’d otherwise be reminded, you’re no longer top of mind.
2. Think of the LinkedIn audience as acquaintances, rather than strangers
Acquaintances know you because they see you here and there. Same thing on the platform. Every post or story is a reactivation of your presence.
In traditional advertising/ marketing, it’s called “staying top of mind”, and it’s particularly important because most buying decisions are based on timing and budget, and you need to keep top of mind for when your potential clients are at their buying point.
3. Don’t confuse volume with presence
The instinct is to fix connection by posting more, commenting occasionally, or handing it to someone who schedules updates nobody engages with. This rarely works, because showing up is less about quantity and more about genuine substance, and consistently, written in a voice that unmistakably sounds like you. That’s a craft, and it’s not a skill to squeeze in between board meetings.
4. Say things only you can say
So often we read posts on LinkedIn that don’t sound unique, or, let’s be honest, interesting. Generic, safe and trendy content isn’t necessarily you; it’s not what you’d say, and it fools no one. What actually earns attention is the specific thing you know because of where you sit, the opinion you’d defend in a room, the lesson that cost you something. It’s the reason people choose to connect with you and follow your page.
5. Be a superconnector
A connector is more focused on the conversations than the follower count. Because the count is a vanity number. The metric that matters is whether the right people are connecting with what you put out there. The reply from someone you’d been meaning to reach, the “saw your post” at the start of a meeting, the introduction that arrives because you stayed visible is where the money is at, literally. That’s the return you’re actually after.
The big payoff
In conclusion, silence isn’t neutral; the people on LinkedIn chose to hear your voice, and it’s the place to stay connected to the Frikkie you met in June last year.
Do all five, and your network stops depreciating and starts returning.
Want help doing it right?
The catch is that doing it well, consistently, in your own voice, is a craft and a time sink, which is exactly why most executives don’t. That’s the gap FDC fills. They work with your leadership to:
Network Growth
Visibility
Engagement
Influence
Opportunity
And they do it peer-to-peer: Your CEO doesn’t need to talk to an intern; you can book your entire exco a LinkedIn maximisation strategy call directly with FDC’s company director, right now.
