Seeking advice on networking with consulting partners

Question

Hello everyone,

I am a 33-year-old Business Unit leader at a bank, with 8 years of experience at a Big4 firm where I reached Manager level in the Risk & Regulatory Advisory division. I’m posting to seek advice on building meaningful professional relationships with Partners and Associate Partners at top-tier consulting firms (e.g. MBB, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger). My goal is both to stay up-to-date with industry best practices and to explore possible future career opportunities at these firms.

I would greatly appreciate any practical strategies on:

Initiating contact: How to reach out to senior consultants (even via cold LinkedIn messages or during industry events) in a respectful and engaging way.
Building and maintaining relationships: Tips for following up, nurturing the connection over time, and staying on their radar without being intrusive.
Providing value: Ways I can share insights or help these contacts, rather than only asking for help or favors.
Pitfalls to avoid: Common mistakes people make when networking with busy senior consultants.

Thank you in advance for your insights and suggestions. I look forward to learning from the community’s experience.

Best regards

Answer 1

Hi,
thanks for the intro! Regarding:
Initiating contact
Start with a short LinkedIn message that references something specific (e.g., a shared background, a relevant article they published, or a recent event). Example: “Hi [Name], I came across your recent panel on digital risk strategy and found it highly relevant to my work in banking. I’d love to stay connected and follow your insights.”

Building and maintaining relationships
Follow up occasionally with something meaningful, e.g., a short update or relevant article. You could ask for advice only when relevant but avoid spamming or being too generic.

Providing value
Use your banking and regulatory expertise to offer insight, e.g., share a trend you're seeing in the market or offer to collaborate on a panel. Even a short message showing awareness of their field can create reciprocity.

Pitfalls to avoid
Avoid generic outreach without context or immediately asking for job opportunities. Also, don’t disappear after one exchange; relationships build slowly.

Happy to provide more examples. Best of luck!