1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:23,760 Hello and welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable Connections. 2 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:24,920 Welcome to the show, folks. 3 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:30,240 I'm your host, Michael Foreman, and you're listening to the podcast where networking 4 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,300 is more than just an awkward handshake and bad coffee. 5 00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:36,560 It's an art and a talent. 6 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:38,060 But here's the twist. 7 00:00:38,060 --> 00:00:41,280 It's an art and talent you can actually learn. 8 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:47,400 Yes, even if you're the person hiding in the corner at every event pretending to check 9 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,320 emails. 10 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:55,480 Working isn't just a nice skill to have, it's a game changer. 11 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,460 When you get good at it, you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner. 12 00:00:59,460 --> 00:01:03,680 More connections, more opportunities, more profits. 13 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,360 It's like unlocking the cheat code for life. 14 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,320 So whether you're the life of the party or the let me just stay at home and text type, 15 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:14,080 we've got something for you. 16 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:20,920 So stick around, let's turn those awkward small talk moments into big wins. 17 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,200 Now I've got a guest today. 18 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:29,760 She's a career coach, but I am going to introduce her very shortly, but I'm going to have her 19 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,600 tell you a little bit about what she does and who she is in her background. 20 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,560 So I'd like to introduce Randy Roberts. 21 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:42,840 She's an executive and career life coach, and it sounds very ambiguous. 22 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:47,920 But once you listen to her, you'll see and you'll listen to her background. 23 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,080 Randy, how are you today? 24 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:51,080 I'm well, Michael. 25 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:52,080 Thanks so much for having me. 26 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:53,800 I'm really happy to be here. 27 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:55,160 You're most welcome. 28 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:57,320 Could you tell us a little bit about your background? 29 00:01:57,320 --> 00:01:59,280 Yeah, be happy to. 30 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:05,000 So let me touch quickly on my first career, which was in pharmaceutical industry. 31 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:11,480 So I spent 30 years as a pharma executive, started as a sales rep and worked my way up 32 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:17,040 to running big businesses in the US market for some of the biggest companies and absolutely 33 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,720 loved it until for a variety of reasons. 34 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,360 It just didn't fit for me anymore. 35 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,080 And that gave me an opportunity to, well, there were some twists and turns along the 36 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:32,800 way, but about seven years ago I landed right where I am now, which is running my own executive 37 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:34,320 coaching business. 38 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,120 And I focus on a couple of different things. 39 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:42,320 I do one-on-one coaching of folks either trying to get to that next level or when they've 40 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:48,200 taken on new levels of responsibility, love to work with folks who kind of live the world 41 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:49,880 that I used to live. 42 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:56,600 And then I also do speaking as well as working with corporate leadership teams. 43 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:00,680 And one of the reasons that your podcast was so interesting to me and I was eager to talk 44 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,240 to you today is because how important networking is. 45 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,840 It was to my first career, it's so much is now to the way I work and build my business. 46 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,720 And I spend so much time talking to clients about it. 47 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,840 I was really excited for our conversation today. 48 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:17,840 Good. 49 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:18,840 I'm glad. 50 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:19,840 I'm glad. 51 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:26,040 So, since you are coming to me with that angle of networking, which I'm very enthused 52 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:32,640 for because I am so passionate about it, we have an increasingly digital world. 53 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:41,080 How would you build genuine connections with this digital world? 54 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,680 There's obviously differences of opinions on this. 55 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:49,320 I think the digital world is phenomenal in terms of finding the people and making the 56 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:55,760 initial connections and doing it in an asynchronous way so that I can send it. 57 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:00,080 When I send it, you can receive it when you receive it and we make it work. 58 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,000 It's amazing that way. 59 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,520 And it has its limitations because I think when we're talking true networking, very often 60 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,600 the digital world can be, do you know this person? 61 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:12,680 Can you connect me with this company? 62 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:14,800 Can I pick your brain about these things? 63 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:22,120 But to go deeper, I really think it has to get off digital and get into real life. 64 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:23,840 That might mean voice to voice. 65 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:28,560 That might mean meeting on Zoom or other platform, that kind of thing. 66 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,640 It may some days even be live. 67 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:37,200 But I think there's so much to be gained by going off digital because you get the nuance. 68 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,200 We all know the limitations of texting or email. 69 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:41,800 You can't get the context. 70 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,160 You can't sort of read between the lines. 71 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,360 We can make wrong assumptions. 72 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:50,160 So I absolutely love the digital as the way in. 73 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:55,760 And I think when you want to go deeper, I love the opportunity to get off digital. 74 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,920 That's funny that you say that because that one on one, when you meet with somebody in 75 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:07,200 person or you go to a networking event, you pick up a vibe of the person, a vibe of the 76 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,280 room and you really can't do that over Zoom. 77 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:15,720 I mean, he can be in a suit top and gym shorts bottom. 78 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:17,200 So you really can't tell what he's doing. 79 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,880 For all you know I am right now. 80 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:20,880 That's right. 81 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,640 But I care not to look at that. 82 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:32,280 So how would you share with me a specific example of how strategic networking, how a 83 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:37,160 strategic networking relationship, how it impacted your business? 84 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:38,160 Yeah. 85 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,200 I mean, impacting my business was huge. 86 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,560 And it was interesting because I really had to work with it. 87 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:49,960 I worked with, networking worked for me in one way in my first career. 88 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:54,640 And it was, I was in a position where people were trying to connect with me. 89 00:05:54,640 --> 00:06:00,280 But also it was a matter of staying connected with others, both for personal connections, 90 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:05,000 for situations that I might be looking for talent, for example. 91 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,720 But also just generating ideas, seeing what's out there in the world, looking beyond your 92 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:10,920 own four walls. 93 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,080 So that was really important then. 94 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:19,920 When I shifted to running my own business, networking took on a different role. 95 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:24,680 More important because I was looking to build a new business and the business was around 96 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:25,680 me. 97 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:26,680 It was my reputation. 98 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:27,800 It was my skills. 99 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,360 It was what I had to offer people. 100 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:39,520 And so in many ways it was harder for me because I didn't have the structure, the instant credibility 101 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,920 of the big name company that I was bringing with me. 102 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:44,720 This was all about me. 103 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:49,880 And what I found was I really, it was difficult for me in the beginning to reach out to people. 104 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,640 And ask for something. 105 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:54,520 In the beginning you've got to build your network. 106 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,800 You have to start getting your first clients. 107 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,720 Now I'm very fortunate that a lot of it is word of mouth. 108 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,880 I very rarely have to go out and get a client. 109 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,520 I go to my waiting list or it just happens. 110 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:10,280 But in the beginning it was really hard for me to ask because I was going from this world 111 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,400 of I didn't have to sell my importance. 112 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:19,400 I had convinced myself already to wait a minute, I feel like I'm the product and I have to 113 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,000 get comfortable asking. 114 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,000 That's good. 115 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,000 Okay. 116 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:38,120 How can you give me a fear of networking that you had, but how you overcame that fear? 117 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:45,560 Yeah, this is an easy question to answer because what I realized was when I first went out, 118 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:50,720 I started my own business, I developed this beautiful business plan of how I was going 119 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:54,840 to market myself and how I was going to get the word out and how I was going to communicate 120 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:55,840 to people. 121 00:07:55,840 --> 00:08:00,440 And I come out of the business world, I'm used to that kind of planning. 122 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:07,120 And then I got totally stuck because even things as simple as LinkedIn is the perfect 123 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:08,720 vehicle for me. 124 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,280 And now I put a lot of content out on LinkedIn. 125 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,680 When I first started, I second guessed myself like you would not believe. 126 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,120 My biggest problem was me getting in my own way. 127 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:21,600 It had to be perfect. 128 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:27,040 Wait a minute, what if someone misinterprets this provocative statement that I'm putting 129 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:32,120 out there and it turns them off and no, it has to be perfect. 130 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:37,400 Until I got over myself in that regard and I did that through deliberate work with my 131 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:38,920 own coach. 132 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:43,920 Until I got over myself in that regard, I was overthinking everything, taking way too much 133 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:49,160 time and it wasn't adding value, it was just holding me up. 134 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,520 So you asked too, how did I get over that? 135 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:58,040 It was working with my own coach, going to people who had experienced that before because 136 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:03,120 we tend to be very good, those of us that have the confidence to start our own business, 137 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:08,600 we tend to be very good at always acting like we know the answer, we know the path, we know 138 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:09,600 what we're doing. 139 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,440 But this is all stuff we've never done before. 140 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:16,080 So of course you don't know exactly how it's going to go, exactly how to do it. 141 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:21,520 So you've got to get over yourself, that expectation of being perfect and just get it going. 142 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:26,920 And my coach helped me a lot with that of it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has 143 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:28,480 to be in motion. 144 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:35,920 And in many ways, reframing my self-definition from someone in the corporate world who usually 145 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:42,560 knew what to do, knew what resources I had to work with, knew what my team could do, 146 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:48,080 went from that confidence to, all right, I got to redefine myself as someone who is 147 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:53,240 very good at fixing things that don't go quite right. 148 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:58,040 And that gave me the permission to get out the door, it doesn't have to be perfect. 149 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:04,320 And now if someone disagrees with a post or an article or a podcast that I put out, I 150 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:08,680 engage with them over it, this is great, this is an opportunity for me to learn. 151 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:10,880 Tell me what's going on, tell me what you're thinking. 152 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:17,360 And I use that as fuel to either consider their perspective or do better next time. 153 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:22,960 So it's a total mind shift and it has just absolutely reduced my stress level and fueled 154 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,360 my success as a business owner. 155 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:26,680 That's great. 156 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:35,080 Listen, every time you start something, whether a speaking career or a podcasting or something 157 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,040 else, the whole idea is just to start. 158 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:40,040 Just begin. 159 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:45,960 Now, when you're 20 or 30 episodes in, you look back on the first few and you go, oh, 160 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,080 how did I do that? 161 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:49,240 It's horrible. 162 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:51,440 But you started and you started. 163 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:57,400 So the only thing you're trying to invoke with clients or customers or anything else 164 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:02,960 like that, it's just a response, positive or negative, it's a response. 165 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:05,680 Make people think, give them something to help them. 166 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:06,680 That's it. 167 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,640 And if you do that, positive or negative, it does make a difference. 168 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,600 If you do that, then you've reached your goal and you can interact with that person. 169 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,280 So it's very, very important. 170 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,320 And that, you know, you asked about how I overcame it. 171 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:25,440 I think, I don't even know where my business would be had I not overcome that. 172 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:29,920 When I did get out of my own way and move forward, which has fueled itself, it's like, 173 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:32,480 okay, if stuff doesn't work, I know how to fix it. 174 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:38,280 If this is going to get me here, I'm very clear about lining up my initiatives to my 175 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:39,620 goals. 176 00:11:39,620 --> 00:11:43,920 But once I got out of my own way, I was able to build, I mean, at the moment, I have a 177 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:45,560 full client roster. 178 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:51,320 I do corporate workshops as many as I want during the year, in fact, right now the problem, 179 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:52,480 it's a good problem. 180 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,560 Problem I have is I don't want to say no to things because I like the work. 181 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:58,600 So I have to watch myself. 182 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,800 That's what getting over that issue, solving that problem for myself allowed to happen. 183 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,960 I don't think any of it could have happened if I had still been holding myself back. 184 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,480 Nope, that's great. 185 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:09,480 That's great. 186 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:16,480 So once you've gotten the clients or if you are familiar with other professionals doing 187 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:22,360 what you do, how do you maintain the relationship? 188 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:24,200 How do you follow up with them? 189 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:28,960 But how do you maintain those relationships? 190 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:36,080 I mean, it seems an impersonal way to continue a personal relationship, but I use some like 191 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:37,440 old fashioned trackers. 192 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,560 I have goals for myself. 193 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:45,960 I take a very strategic approach to my networking in terms of the inner circle are the few folks 194 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:51,280 that I really trust and that I can brainstorm with and not have all the answers. 195 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:56,200 And then there's sort of a next concentric circle of folks that may be referral sources 196 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,880 that I may have things to offer to. 197 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,240 And then there's sort of a broader circle of folks. 198 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,960 You're connected to a ton of people on LinkedIn that you don't personally know, but you still 199 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,600 can impact and access that level of people. 200 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,360 So I take a very strong approach to that. 201 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:18,400 And I think that I use trackers of who are the people I want to be impacting? 202 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,440 When's the last time I contacted them? 203 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,720 What are my notes for myself for follow up so that I don't forget? 204 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,280 Because it frees up my mental space to think about creative things because I know I've 205 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,600 got this information. 206 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:37,560 And one of the things that really helps is I have a practice on whenever I'm in contact 207 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:41,240 with people, I try and make it a two way street. 208 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,400 I may just want to be making a contact. 209 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,680 There's somebody that I cared about at one point in my life I want to keep up with. 210 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,840 There may be no agenda, I'll call it, which isn't necessarily negative. 211 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,600 Or I may have something specific I'm asking them for. 212 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:59,840 Can you connect me to this person who I think may help me find speaking engagements, that 213 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:01,320 kind of thing. 214 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:07,680 And then what I try and do is make it a two way street and always ask them, what can I 215 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:09,440 do to help you? 216 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,320 Is there someone I can connect you with? 217 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:15,360 Is there something you want to spend some time talking about a certain idea or challenge 218 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:16,560 you're having? 219 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:19,280 What can I do to help you? 220 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:25,160 And that really, that gives me permission to ask that also you never know what they 221 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:26,560 may need. 222 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,800 And it softens that situation. 223 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:36,080 Another thing I do is I try not to overthink what I'm asking for. 224 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:41,840 If I'm asking for someone to connect me to someone else, it's really not that big a lift. 225 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,760 They may choose to say no or yes and I respect that. 226 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:50,560 I'm making a request it's their agency whether to say yes or no. 227 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:51,920 But it's not that big a lift. 228 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:56,120 I'm usually asking them to send an email to the two of them and I take it from there. 229 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,960 I have to get overthinking that I'm asking for something Herculean. 230 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:01,280 I'm not. 231 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,280 And then I sort of reflect on how do I feel when people ask me? 232 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:06,840 I'm happy to help. 233 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,960 It's a nice opportunity to help someone else and put that energy out there. 234 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,880 So you know, in those ways, I sort of track it and keep myself moving forward. 235 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,040 Do you use a CRM or something like that? 236 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:25,880 No, I actually am not going out that big right now because I'm not looking to scale my business. 237 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:28,480 You know, I use old fashioned spreadsheets. 238 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:29,480 It's what works for me. 239 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:35,640 There may I have my assistant involved and she helps me with all that, which a lot of 240 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:38,120 what she helps me do is accountability. 241 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,960 Having a partner to talk through those things and go through the list. 242 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:42,120 What am I negligent on? 243 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,760 What are the next things I need to be doing can really help. 244 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:46,760 It holds us account. 245 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:50,840 It holds me accountable in a way that I don't do for myself. 246 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,160 Scheduling time on my calendar and sitting down and looking at it is great. 247 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:59,960 But when I have to report it back to my assistant, my team partner in this, it changes things. 248 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:02,480 So I encourage people to do that. 249 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:07,200 You hit something very important in what I speak about almost always. 250 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:14,360 But whenever you meet with somebody or go to a networking event, always look to give 251 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:16,320 not to receive. 252 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:21,120 If you go to that networking event and you expect anything, then you're really wide to 253 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:22,560 go in the first place. 254 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:28,600 Because if you do this often enough, then what goes around does come around. 255 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:36,440 So in the networking arena, there's a saying, if they know you, if they like you, if they 256 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,360 trust you, they'll do business with you. 257 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:45,560 And know you, everybody knows you, you're a lovely person. 258 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:50,440 Like you, well, that kind of narrows the field down because you're not everybody's cup of 259 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:51,440 tea. 260 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:52,440 That's right. 261 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:53,440 And they know you and like you. 262 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:55,080 That's the easy part. 263 00:16:55,080 --> 00:17:00,960 And the trust factor is so crucial that you have 30 seconds, you have two minutes, five 264 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:02,840 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes. 265 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,320 You don't know how much time you have. 266 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:10,720 And I have certain things that I do when I meet with people, but we'll get to that. 267 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,560 Trust is crucial in networking. 268 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:21,560 How would you establish and maintain relationships with fellow professionals? 269 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:27,000 What is often about idea sharing? 270 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,240 It's about, because one of the things that's interesting, and you may have found this, 271 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,800 Michael, our businesses are not dissimilar. 272 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:38,200 I can, I took a very purposeful approach when I started my business. 273 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:43,920 I could either play small and essentially be someone who set up a desk in a spare room 274 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:49,760 in her home and is pretending to run a business, or I could play bigger and make connections 275 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,280 and build that network and that community. 276 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,000 And I purposefully chose the latter. 277 00:17:55,000 --> 00:18:00,120 And so, you know, what that looked like for me was going to coaching program, going to 278 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:05,680 different, it's not, I do networking events, but it's ongoing. 279 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:11,440 So like when I'm looking to build colleagues of other executive coaches and small business 280 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:16,960 owners, that tends to be more a community of people that then you build that trust with 281 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:18,200 over time. 282 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,000 And there's, you know, a long list of people that I could pick. 283 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:26,440 I just, I got a text from somebody this morning who got a tough email from a client and wanted 284 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,320 to process it with me before she responded. 285 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:36,160 Like I have a lot of people that help me do better, put more value out there and help 286 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,600 keep me from feeling alone. 287 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:43,920 And boy did it set me up for COVID because I didn't, I wasn't going through that culture 288 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,520 shock in a way that others had. 289 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,680 I was already there renting a virtual business. 290 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:53,880 And I think in that way I was able to help my clients a lot because these people that 291 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,720 are still in corporations went through an earthquake. 292 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:57,720 Yeah. 293 00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,220 Yeah, it's true. 294 00:18:59,220 --> 00:19:05,280 Ever since the pandemic, I found as I discussed with you earlier, ever since the pandemic, 295 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:06,280 people lost their minds. 296 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,520 They forgot how to network and communicate with one another. 297 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,520 And it's like it set us back 10 years. 298 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,240 Like 10 years ago, everybody was out there networking. 299 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,040 So it's a rough situation. 300 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:24,520 Well, and I'm going to age myself by saying this, but I feel as I have a daughter who's, 301 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,240 you know, several years into building her own career. 302 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:31,720 And I see in her, you know, my son-in-law, she and her friends. 303 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:37,520 And then younger folks that I do work with, I worry that they haven't had the opportunity 304 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,760 to be in person, to build those relationships in that way. 305 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:41,960 Because I see what happens. 306 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,920 Like if you're on Zoom calls or Teams calls or whatever, all day long, you're shifting 307 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:47,920 from one to the other. 308 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:49,120 Because we're always late. 309 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:50,880 Things always go over. 310 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:52,880 Immediately shifting from one to the other. 311 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:59,720 There is no walk together to the next meeting or run into somebody over the coffee machine 312 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,160 or at the elevator. 313 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:06,160 The ways that you get to know people a little bit, they get to know you, then you're top 314 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:11,120 of mind for them when they have opportunities, projects, that kind of thing. 315 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:17,320 I do worry that folks who are solely remote or mostly remote miss that connection, especially 316 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,920 with folks at different levels in the organization. 317 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:21,920 Absolutely. 318 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,200 I couldn't have said it better myself. 319 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,120 You hit the nail right on the head. 320 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:32,880 And that is all, that's what I speak about when I go to different companies and things. 321 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:39,520 I require that one-to-one interaction, that one-to-many interaction. 322 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:43,120 Again, so you can pick up the vibe of the person. 323 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:49,520 And the small talk, the small talk that can lead to big talk and the overhearing a conversation 324 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:50,600 of somebody else. 325 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,760 So it's really interesting, but that's a story for another time. 326 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:58,080 All right, let's have one essential tip. 327 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:06,160 You give somebody looking to improve their networking or sales skills. 328 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,760 It's definitely around don't hold yourself back. 329 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:15,320 You're getting in your own way by overthinking the request that you're about to make. 330 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:20,480 And here's kind of a mindset, I mean, I'm all about the mindset and reframing things and 331 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:22,240 thinking about it differently. 332 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:27,120 And one of the ways that I started getting out of my own way in terms of networking was 333 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:31,960 to think about how good I feel when someone asks me for something and I'm able to help 334 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:32,960 them. 335 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:37,520 You know, that's a lot of why I do this work is to help people. 336 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,360 I love doing that. 337 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:45,080 If I'm making a request of someone else, I'm giving them the opportunity to help me and 338 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:46,760 have that good feeling. 339 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:48,280 And if that's not their thing, that's great. 340 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:52,120 They say, no, we wish each other well, we had a connection, it's all good. 341 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:56,600 But I'm giving someone the opportunity to help me and feel good about it. 342 00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:02,680 And you know, maybe it's kind of a mind game, but it's really an important reframe that 343 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,720 unlocks a lot of things. 344 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:05,720 Okay. 345 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:13,320 So, so with everything that we spoke about, what's your favorite marketing tactic? 346 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:15,960 Your favorite one? 347 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:21,520 Yeah, my favorite one is really is referral marketing is going out like when I was first 348 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,480 building my business to find new clients. 349 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:32,560 I had a very specific program that I went through and process of how to use my network 350 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:37,320 and go out there and use some of the things that we've talked about to ask for, who do 351 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,720 you need that might need this service? 352 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:46,000 And what I was offering was a free, a complimentary session to get to know each other, no obligation. 353 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:51,120 And so in that way, some of the people that I reached out to said, Hey, I want that. 354 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:52,120 That's great. 355 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:56,240 I want other people sent me others and it is what started my business. 356 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,360 And to this day, it's what I do. 357 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:03,200 If a client finishes coaching and I have an opening on my roster and don't have a waiting 358 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:08,840 list at that point, I go out and ask people and you know, what am I asking them to do? 359 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:14,200 I'm asking them to offer help to someone else in a way that doesn't create any commitment 360 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:15,200 for them. 361 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:16,200 And I'll take it from there. 362 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:17,920 And I'm not a hard sell person. 363 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:23,760 It really is an easy, easy request, but that referral marketing is probably the thing that 364 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,000 has made me most successful. 365 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,960 And you know, if there's anybody that wants to talk about my process, I'm happy to. 366 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:30,960 Absolutely. 367 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:38,200 And when I sit down with somebody and before I tell them what I do, I, what I do is I ask 368 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,680 them, I said, how can I make you more successful? 369 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,760 How can I be a good referral source for you? 370 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,320 And that usually blows them away. 371 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:50,720 You know, like, what do you mean? 372 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,760 I don't even know what you do yet, you know, and you're giving, giving, giving. 373 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,000 So that usually works very well. 374 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:02,200 Let me, if I could, Michael, I want to disagree with something that you said earlier, but 375 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:09,240 kindly, when you said going into networking events with no goal, you know, no, nothing 376 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,000 you're looking to get in to in it for yourself. 377 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,920 It's really about making the connections and whatever. 378 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:19,880 I'm a person that responds to goals and, and deadlines and objectives. 379 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:24,040 And when I left the corporate world, what I realized was in order to motivate myself, 380 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,000 I had to set those for myself. 381 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,000 Nobody was asking for them or asking whether I achieved them, but they were still important 382 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,000 to me. 383 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:35,080 So my approach to that kind of a networking event, like I have to set a goal. 384 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,560 I want to connect with three people that I can follow up with later. 385 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,760 Like I still need that, that metric. 386 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:43,760 That's true. 387 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:50,120 I, let me jump back a little bit because a hundred years ago I was in the mortgage business 388 00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:55,320 and I would go to a networking event, come home with a shoebox filled with business cards 389 00:24:55,320 --> 00:25:00,840 saying, look how successful I was when I really wasn't successful at all. 390 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:07,520 Now what I do in a three or four hour networking event, you come away with 15 or 20 business 391 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:12,800 cards and my follow up, my secret sauce, I saw, so to speak. 392 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:18,680 And my follow up, that's when I go after and I try to make contacts and everything else. 393 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,440 So that's after I built a relationship with them. 394 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:23,440 And then I go. 395 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,320 So that's my goal to get the 15 or 20 business cards. 396 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,160 Oh, that makes a lot of sense. 397 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,800 And after I meet anybody, I send them a LinkedIn connection. 398 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:33,480 Well, you know, that's your soft. 399 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:40,120 You should follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, you know, just for that soft touch. 400 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:49,520 But I have a secret sauce that I have a follow up system where I undoubtedly get a response. 401 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,560 Now positive or negative, doesn't make a difference. 402 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:55,120 But I elicit a response. 403 00:25:55,120 --> 00:26:01,840 And if you just do that, that little connection, like one email or something that usually doesn't 404 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:03,240 work, you have to follow it up. 405 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:04,800 And I have certain things. 406 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:10,360 I'll give you my main follow up is a handwritten thank you note. 407 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:11,360 Wow. 408 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:14,360 That's like, you know, see all the time anymore. 409 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:15,360 No, you don't. 410 00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:16,360 It stands out. 411 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,200 That's what makes me stand out above everybody else. 412 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:25,680 After I speak with, after I go to a conference or I just did a workshop in a company, I sent 413 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,160 a thank you note to the owner of the company. 414 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:30,160 Great. 415 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:31,480 And he immediately emailed me back. 416 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,320 So, oh my God, nobody does that. 417 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:35,320 So it's really good. 418 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:36,320 All right. 419 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:44,040 So, so give me one takeaway that my listeners can use today. 420 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:52,160 In terms of networking, I would say whatever you want. 421 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:57,560 I would say get clear on your goals and get creative with how you're going to achieve 422 00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,880 them and then set those. 423 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,640 If you're like me, like many of my clients, set those goals for yourself so that you can 424 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,640 measure against, you know, when is the time to celebrate? 425 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:10,040 When am I done? 426 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:15,080 And when do I need to reevaluate what the next goal should be? 427 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:16,080 Very good. 428 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:17,080 Very good. 429 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:18,080 Randy, okay. 430 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:24,400 If somebody wanted to get hold of you, either for your advice to become a client or to find 431 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,080 out about you, where would they go? 432 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:28,080 Or how would they do it? 433 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,160 Yeah, the two best ways to reach me are either to connect with me on LinkedIn and that's 434 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:36,120 under my name, Randy, R-A-N-D-I Roberts. 435 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:40,400 Or through my website, you can send me a message or see, you know, about my business and what 436 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:41,400 I do. 437 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,040 That's Randy Roberts Coaching. 438 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,200 So it's R-A-N-D-I-R-O-B-E-R-T-S Coaching. 439 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:48,200 Very good. 440 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:55,440 Randy, I can't begin to tell you how excellent this podcast was. 441 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,280 I learned all about your business. 442 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,760 I learned something about some coaching too. 443 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:04,480 So if anybody would like some coaching from Randy, please contact her. 444 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:05,480 Thanks, Michael. 445 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:06,920 I really enjoyed our conversation. 446 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:08,720 I want to have you on my podcast. 447 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:10,520 We'll talk about that after this show. 448 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:11,520 Absolutely. 449 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:12,520 All right. 450 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:13,520 Bye-bye now. 451 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:15,160 Well, hold on, folks. 452 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:16,160 Don't go anywhere. 453 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,640 Let me just read a few of our sponsors that we have. 454 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:21,680 Struggling to read success? 455 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,480 Maybe it's time to quit. 456 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:27,240 In Quit Your Ways is Accepted by Rodney Davis. 457 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:32,200 This reveals 27 steps to breaking bad habits that hold you back. 458 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:37,920 This powerful book helps you rewire your mindset, take control of your actions, and 459 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:40,680 turn setbacks into stepping stones. 460 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:47,120 With real-life examples, motivational quotes, and actionable lessons, especially for sales 461 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:52,600 professionals, you'll gain the tools to quit, what's stopping you, and start winning, transform 462 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:54,400 your future today. 463 00:28:54,400 --> 00:29:00,640 So quit your way to success by Rodney Davis, available now on Amazon. 464 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,120 And this is a nonprofit called Rev'd Up Kids. 465 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,320 This is something I believe in wholeheartedly. 466 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:14,000 Rev'd Up Kids is on a mission to protect children and teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, 467 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:15,000 and trafficking. 468 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,840 They provide prevention training programs for children, teens, and adults. 469 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:29,840 To learn more, go to Rev'dUpKids.org, that's R-E-V-V-E-D-U-P-K-I-D-S.org. 470 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:33,760 Well, that's a wrap, folks. 471 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:39,320 A huge thank you to our special guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and 472 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:45,360 of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your 473 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:47,040 time with us. 474 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:52,440 Remember, networking isn't about being perfect, it's about being present. 475 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:57,720 So take what you've learned today, get out there, and make some meaningful connections. 476 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,800 If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share 477 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:07,120 it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration. 478 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:09,440 Let's keep the conversation going. 479 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:17,280 You can find me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or my website, MichaelAForman.com. 480 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:23,440 Until next time, keep practicing, keep connecting, and keep building those relationships. 481 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:40,480 This is Michael A. Foreman, signing off, take care, and happy networking.