Growing Your Social Capital

1)              Tony (Market Expert) – Roy is a sales representative at a Harley Davidson dealership in Tampa, FL. This dealership also sells a variety of motorcycle-related retail items and equipment in which my product could be included. I established social capital with Tony by visiting this dealership and asking to briefly interview him for this class. This interview included questions about which products sell well, which products sell poorly, and the factors that determine whether a product will sell well or poorly in the store. His feedback provided very valuable insight into the point-of-sale interactions that take place in this market. This interview took place on 10/17/18.

2)              Marcus (Domain Expert) – Marcus is a customer service representative at a Best Buy in Tampa, FL. This retail store sells consumer electronics, which include several different types of traditional and Bluetooth headphones. Like the previous interview, I established social capital with Marcus by traveling to the store and asking to briefly interview one of their employees. This feedback provided insight into the factors that influence electronics purchases at the point-of-sale. I also asked Marcus if electronics that target a niche market tend to sell well, which he affirmed, citing fitness-centric electronic devices (e.g. Fitbit) as an example. This interview took place on 10/18/18.

3)              Ron (Supplier) – Ron is an employee at Direct Components, Inc. in Tampa, FL. This company is a company that supports the supply chains of many electronics manufacturers. I established social capital with Ron by calling the business and requesting to briefly interview one of their employees. Although the interview was brief, Ron was able to give me some information on the steps involved in the supply chain of products similar to my own. This interview took place on 10/26/18.

Reflection: This experience was very different from my previous networking experiences. The primary difference is that this targeted networking involved initiating contact “from zero,” which I found similar to cold calling in sales. One of these interviews took multiple attempts to find someone willing to establish social capital with me, but once it was established, the experience was very rewarding. This approach also provided me with more meaningful connections than traditional networking, as these individuals took notice of my proactive interest in what they had to offer.