Thank you for the question. I've been on both sides of the connection, and Carolynn's advice was spot on. You can't approach it as "I need a trick to get to this person." Offer genuine helpfulness to people you genuinely want in your network because their work helped you out in some way,

Never waste someone's time. Never assume they even have time to give you. Never ask for a favor-- especially the type of favor request he or she typically gets bombarded by. (Example: Music manager = never ask for tickets, autographs, or to meet their artists.)

I often see the advice of "find out that person's interests and talk with them about it" but more often than not it comes off as smarmy, and most high profile business people have keen radar for people who try to force a common interest. (It can also come off as stalkerish.) Plus, if someone mentions in Forbes that they enjoy purple peanut butter sandwiches and go-go dancing with polkadotted unicorns, their email, Twitter, and Facebook will suddenly be filled with people who "just happen" to be purple peanut butter sandwich eating go-go dancing polkadotted unicorns! So how does that person know who's genuine about that interest, and who's just trying to get to them via any means possible? They don't, so all those unicorns are suspicous. I just don't recommend going there.

Approach someone genuinely, from a place of service with no pretense. They're smart people, they know they have influence for a reason. So don't act like that reason isn't there. Tell them thank you for something they helped you with via their work, or tell them you enjoy their work, and offer something you're NOT selling or promoting.

Example: "Dear Mr. Frogdiver, I enjoyed your article about feeding and caring for green tree frogs and was so sorry to read about your dear Froggy's anorexia. I was there myself, when mine wouldn't eat for five years. If you're still having trouble with Froggy, here's the number for my flycatcher. He works wonders." When you send the information, just put it out there and let it go. They may or may not respond, and that has to be OK with you. If they don't, it's just that you and they aren't the right fit. If you're genuine, eventually someone will.

If the connection is via Twitter, retweet or favorite something of theirs that you genuinely liked or found helpful, or @reply to something insightful they've said. it often takes a few different tweets over a period of time to get a response, and it usually happens when you're least expecting it.

But really, put yourself in their shoes and treat them as you'd want to be treated. Imagine how you'd feel if someone wanted to date or marry you only because of your car, or only because of your bank account, and that they couldn't care less about YOU as a person. That's how powerful people and celebrities are treated every day. So don't be the person who does that.

Good luck. If you have questions or would like further info, I'd be pleased to set up a call.