After more than 30 years in international business, I've come to believe that the old saying only tells half the story.
We've all heard it. "It's not what you know, it's who you know."
And there is certainly some truth in it. Throughout my career, relationships have opened doors, created opportunities and introduced me to people I might otherwise never have met. But the older I get, and particularly since moving into freelance consulting and business development, the more convinced I am that the saying is incomplete.
Because knowing the right people is one thing. Having the knowledge, credibility and ability to deliver something of value when that door opens is quite another. And sometimes, you have to acquire that knowledge remarkably quickly.
When Knowledge Meets a Powerful Brand
Much of my career was spent in international logistics, working for some of the industry's best-known names. There is an enormous advantage in approaching a potential customer when you have both a deep understanding of their industry and a globally recognised brand behind you.
Take DHL, for example. When you're representing a company of that standing, the door is often already slightly open. The prospective customer knows the name, understands broadly what the business does and, in many cases, already has a perception of its capabilities.
Add years of industry experience, a good understanding of supply chains and the confidence to discuss a customer's challenges, and you have a powerful combination.
Of course, the brand doesn't do the selling for you. You still need to understand the customer's business, identify opportunities, build trust and deliver on your promises. But there's no denying that a recognised brand, supported by genuine expertise, makes the initial conversation considerably easier.
Now imagine removing both advantages…
When You Don't Know What You Don't Know
During my more recent career as an independent consultant, I've taken on projects well outside my traditional areas of expertise. One particularly challenging assignment involved a specialist B2B SaaS company.
When I started, my knowledge of the particular solution was virtually zero. To make matters more interesting, I was developing business in a country where my relevant professional network was relatively limited. So, virtually no established contacts to fall back on, no decades of specialist knowledge and no instantly recognisable global brand opening doors. Just a solution to understand, a market to research and prospective customers to identify.
And there was another complication. Many of the businesses I approached didn't even realise they needed what I was offering. That changes the nature of selling considerably. Rather than simply presenting a product or service to someone already looking for it, I first had to help potential customers recognise a problem or opportunity they hadn't necessarily considered.
In other words, I had to educate before I could sell. It meant researching companies thoroughly, understanding their operations, identifying where the solution might add value and learning enough about the technology to hold credible conversations. All while continuing to develop my own understanding of the product.
It was challenging, time consuming, occasionally frustrating and certainly a steep learning curve. And, if I'm being fair, not the ideal way to approach a new market.
Ideally, you want to build a solid foundation of knowledge before beginning serious business development. But consulting assignments don't always offer that luxury. Sometimes you're learning as you go, and you have to learn quickly.
The encouraging part was that the approach gradually began to work. Conversations became more meaningful, the proposition became clearer and opportunities started to emerge. Unfortunately, the project came to an end just as that progress was beginning to translate into success, that I am very sure of. Disappointing? Absolutely. But it reinforced something I've carried into subsequent projects: the ability to acquire knowledge quickly can be just as important as the knowledge you already possess.
The Value of Who You Know
None of this diminishes the importance of relationships. Quite the opposite. A strong professional network remains one of the most valuable assets anyone can build over a career. But I think we sometimes misunderstand what makes a network valuable.
It's not simply the number of people in your phone or the thousands of connections displayed on your LinkedIn profile. It's the quality of those relationships, the trust you've established and whether people are willing to take your call, offer advice, make an introduction or explore an opportunity with you. And that trust rarely develops overnight. It's built through experience, reliability, shared challenges and, importantly, delivering on commitments.
A personal introduction can get you into a meeting that might otherwise have taken months to arrange. But once you're sitting across the table, your contact's reputation can only take you so far. You still have to demonstrate that you know what you're talking about.
Starting Again, Without Starting From Scratch
One of the more interesting aspects of moving from a long corporate career into independent consulting has been discovering how transferable certain skills really are. I may not know a particular industry, product or market when I first encounter it. But I do know how to research a business, identify commercial opportunities, develop relationships, ask questions and manage the process of turning an initial conversation into something meaningful.
Those skills don't disappear simply because the industry changes. Today, my projects take me into areas including beverages, international market development, business partnerships and advertising opportunities through my successful newsletters, with property investment introductions soon to be added to the mix.
Some are familiar territory. Others require considerable research and a willingness to learn. And I've found that the learning process itself can be one of the most rewarding aspects of the work. You don't need to become the world's leading expert in every new sector you enter. But you do need to know enough to ask intelligent questions, recognise where your knowledge ends and understand when to bring in someone who knows more.
There is a big difference between being confident and pretending to be an expert.
So, Which Matters More?
If I had to choose between a strong network and strong knowledge, I wouldn't particularly want to give up either. Who you know can open doors. What you know gives people a reason to listen.
How quickly you can learn determines how effectively you can respond when an opportunity takes you into unfamiliar territory. And what you deliver determines whether those people want to work with you again. Perhaps the old saying needs updating.
It's who you know that opens the door, what you know that gets you through it, and what you do next that determines whether it stays open.
After more than three decades in business, and several years of working independently across different sectors, that feels much closer to the truth.
What do you think? In your own career, has it been your network, your knowledge or your ability to learn that has made the biggest difference?
