A more wise individuals might include a distinction between quantity and quality.
Both of these answers have a lot of truth in them.
In reality, however, WHO someone knows is only one of the three criteria that makes someone a valuable networker.
The other two criteria include an understanding of the domain & strong follow up.
One of the key distinctions that I have found in strong networkers is their ability to pinpoint the ONE (two or three) people that are most important.
For example, for someone raising money for a new fund:
A below average networker will give a couple names of some "rich guys".
An average networker will give a couple names of some "rich guys" who just had a liquidity event.
An excellent networker will give a couple names of some "rich guys" who just told him last week that they were looking for a large cap energy fund.
Of course, as with everything else, the expected success from the latter case will be 10-100x over that of the former one.
A similar relationship can be seen in the case of follow up. This is especially the case because, at its nature, follow up is a binary event: either someone follows up and connects you or they do not.
I am always shocked to see just how few people follow up (we're talking about numbers in the teens at best).
The good news is that people are very consistent in their follow up habits. Nothing is more frustrating than the perfect contact with a connector that is indecisive about making the connection.
As harsh as it sounds, I have made it an everyday practice to drop people who do not follow up from my professional network (because this is a habit that will be repeated in perpetuity). Conversely, the superstars in your network will be the ones who initiate and ask you if you would like to be introduced to someone highly relevant.
As with all the above criteria a networker's level of follow up can make or break their utility.
In other words, an individual can know the 500 richest people in the world, understand their needs, and still be of zero value, from a professional standpoint, if he or she doesn't follow up.
Good luck!
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