WEBVTT 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:21.079 Hello, and welcome to Networking Unleashed, building 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.260 profitable connections. Welcome back to the show, 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:27.480 folks. I'm your host, Michael Foreman, and you're 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:30.120 listening to the podcast where networking is 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:33.079 more than just awkward handshakes and bad coffee. 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:37.119 Yes, it's an art and a talent. But here's the 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:40.320 twist. It's an art and talent you can actually 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:43.679 learn. Yes, even if you're the person hiding 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:46.539 in the corner at every event and pretending to 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:49.979 check emails. Networking isn't just a nice skill 00:00:49.979 --> 00:00:53.520 to have, it's a game changer. And when you get 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:55.920 good at it, you'll wonder why you didn't start 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:59.200 sooner. More connections, more opportunities, 00:00:59.659 --> 00:01:03.060 more profits. It's like unlocking a cheat code 00:01:03.060 --> 00:01:06.439 for life. So whether you're the life of the party 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:09.420 or the just, let me just stay in a corner or 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:12.560 stay at home and text type, we've got something 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:16.120 for you. So stick around. Let's turn those awkward 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.640 small talk moments into big wins. Now, my guest 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:27.019 today is Dima Rakeda. Yeah. Okay. And he is, 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:30.790 he is. an incredible, incredible guest. He's 00:01:30.790 --> 00:01:33.930 a world -class expert in reputation management, 00:01:34.430 --> 00:01:37.150 digital marketing, and international business 00:01:37.150 --> 00:01:40.510 development. He's a member of the Forbes Business 00:01:40.510 --> 00:01:43.849 Development Council and a two -time winner of 00:01:43.849 --> 00:01:47.689 the Stevie Awards. And without further ado, let 00:01:47.689 --> 00:01:50.170 me introduce Dima and let him tell you a little 00:01:50.170 --> 00:01:52.530 bit more about his background. Dima, welcome 00:01:52.530 --> 00:01:56.000 to the show. Thank you so much for having me 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.480 at your show. I'm very pleased. Yeah. My name 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:04.120 is Dima Raketa. Yes. And I'm over 15 years enhancing 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.019 and developing different companies all over the 00:02:07.019 --> 00:02:11.580 world. My journey has started from the Hong Kong. 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:14.960 Actually, there I have established my consultancy 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:20.650 for different startups to help them. to get into 00:02:20.650 --> 00:02:23.830 the acceleration programs or incubation programs. 00:02:24.050 --> 00:02:29.530 And I have found very good people there who met 00:02:29.530 --> 00:02:33.449 me with the world of reputation management. I 00:02:33.449 --> 00:02:36.900 was... Honestly, when I first time heard about 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:39.840 the reputation management, I thought, who cares 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:43.020 about what do people say in Google? Who cares 00:02:43.020 --> 00:02:46.300 about what do people say in comments in YouTube 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:50.979 and so on? But suddenly I have found very big 00:02:50.979 --> 00:02:55.060 world of reputation. Now there are approximately 00:02:55.060 --> 00:03:00.759 250 different websites and platforms where people 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:04.330 can leave comments. where people can share their 00:03:04.330 --> 00:03:07.409 opinion, share their view, and they discuss. 00:03:07.729 --> 00:03:11.289 And suddenly I have found that big companies, 00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:15.430 they use special tools like social media listening 00:03:15.430 --> 00:03:19.629 to know the voice of their customers, users, 00:03:19.810 --> 00:03:25.210 and their clients. And this is incredibly interesting 00:03:25.210 --> 00:03:30.319 because you can find a lot of things. For example, 00:03:30.419 --> 00:03:32.939 when you work at the company, you think that 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:37.400 you create a good product, your customers are 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:40.099 satisfied, your employers are satisfied with 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:43.919 their work. But when you run social media listening, 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.460 you see how do people all over the world perceive 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:51.520 you, your company, and even what do your employers 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:55.219 write in LinkedIn or Facebook about working in 00:03:55.219 --> 00:04:00.909 your company. many, many people start to be at 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:05.509 least maybe disgusted or disappointed because 00:04:05.509 --> 00:04:09.830 the picture is not quite different. It has a 00:04:09.830 --> 00:04:14.750 huge difference. And that's why already for eight 00:04:14.750 --> 00:04:17.269 years, I worked in reputation management and 00:04:17.269 --> 00:04:20.810 I have found a lot of interesting cases with 00:04:20.810 --> 00:04:25.170 big companies, different brands, personas, sportsmen. 00:04:25.870 --> 00:04:29.430 Cinema, movie actors, and so on. Yeah. Also, 00:04:29.509 --> 00:04:32.970 my key expertise, I'm keen on raising companies 00:04:32.970 --> 00:04:36.129 from zero to one. I'm not interested in doing 00:04:36.129 --> 00:04:39.170 something routine, you know, operational works 00:04:39.170 --> 00:04:43.990 and so on. I'm happy to convert idea in a working 00:04:43.990 --> 00:04:48.170 business model. That's my passion. Very good. 00:04:48.290 --> 00:04:51.250 Sounds like quite an extensive background you 00:04:51.250 --> 00:04:54.970 have. Let me just start with, give me what role? 00:04:55.629 --> 00:04:59.290 Has networking played in your success across 00:04:59.290 --> 00:05:03.149 management, digital marketing, and international 00:05:03.149 --> 00:05:07.870 business? I will tell you the story. It was 2017 00:05:07.870 --> 00:05:11.329 or 18 or something like that. I came to Hong 00:05:11.329 --> 00:05:14.529 Kong and even those times, I already understood 00:05:14.529 --> 00:05:19.649 that I have to be impressive. I have to leave 00:05:19.649 --> 00:05:25.329 a print. in the mind of the people which I met 00:05:25.329 --> 00:05:31.269 and so on. But dressing red colors is not enough, 00:05:31.449 --> 00:05:34.610 honestly. That's why I was bringing some special 00:05:34.610 --> 00:05:39.110 presents in my backpack. It was caviar, it was 00:05:39.110 --> 00:05:43.930 vodka, and it was incredible sensitive presents 00:05:43.930 --> 00:05:47.970 for people whom I met. And during one of the 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:51.379 conference in Hong Kong, It was something around 00:05:51.379 --> 00:05:53.500 something about blockchain or something like 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:56.839 that. I have met guys second time or maybe third 00:05:56.839 --> 00:06:01.399 time who was greeting me from the entrance saying, 00:06:01.620 --> 00:06:05.199 oh, there's Dima. He has some vodka. Let's talk 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:07.720 to him and so on. So it was a point of connection. 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:11.439 Yeah, it looks not professional. It looks like 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:15.800 not high business value and so on. But I was 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:19.980 the person who people like to meet. second time, 00:06:20.019 --> 00:06:22.959 third time, and so on. By the way, with this 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.899 person whom I met those time at the conference, 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:28.660 still we have two companies. His name is Thomas 00:06:28.660 --> 00:06:32.199 Chong. He's a very good friend of mine and consecutive 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:35.100 three years in a row, he's coming to my birthday 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:38.040 in any point of the world and we celebrate it 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:42.199 together. That's the value of imprinting into 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:45.439 the mind. Not about your business skills, not 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:48.100 about your hard skills, soft skills, and so on. 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:51.300 It's about what kind of impression you can give. 00:06:52.339 --> 00:06:56.879 Yeah, that's my point. Okay, good. Give me some 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:00.899 key differences in networking strategies between 00:07:00.899 --> 00:07:07.959 local and international. You mean local in UAE 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:11.970 and international? Sure. I know there are a lot 00:07:11.970 --> 00:07:14.670 of key differences, but let me divide my answer 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:18.910 into two parts, okay? Number one, I divide all 00:07:18.910 --> 00:07:23.970 countries into the straight nations and un -straight 00:07:23.970 --> 00:07:27.470 nations. What means straight nations? It's people 00:07:27.470 --> 00:07:33.329 from Germany, UK, US, sometimes Hong Kong. These 00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:37.009 people will say directly to your face they don't 00:07:37.009 --> 00:07:39.180 like the product. They don't like to work with 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:42.779 you. The price is high, or maybe it's not a good 00:07:42.779 --> 00:07:46.100 time to sign a contract and so on. And there 00:07:46.100 --> 00:07:49.899 is indirect nations like Middle East, like Chinese, 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:54.860 Filipinas, and so on, who never say to your face, 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.399 no, I won't sign with you. They will tell you, 00:07:58.459 --> 00:08:01.579 let's wait a little bit. Yes, I have received 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:04.560 your agreement. I didn't have time to review 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:08.199 it. Blah, blah, blah. And it can continue for 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:12.500 months. So this is one of the things. Number 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:15.399 two, personally, let me bring value to your listeners, 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:19.420 okay? Personally, I do like to divide people 00:08:19.420 --> 00:08:22.879 into three categories. And it takes for me around 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:25.980 30 seconds to understand which category belongs 00:08:25.980 --> 00:08:29.120 to the person in front of me. I call it, thanks 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:31.259 for Peter Nixon, he taught me these tactics. 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:37.480 I call it RGB dialect. Red. Green and blue. Only 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:40.100 three times all the people can be standing in 00:08:40.100 --> 00:08:44.539 front of me. Who is red? Red is always active. 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:49.460 Wearing red t -shirt. He's doing everything fast, 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:53.480 quick to move on. He's very demanding, competitive, 00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:59.259 driving and so on. Another dialect is blue. They're 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:04.809 warm, friendly, caring. supportive. So they are 00:09:04.809 --> 00:09:08.610 well connected. They are not about the profitability 00:09:08.610 --> 00:09:11.389 of the business. They are about good, strong 00:09:11.389 --> 00:09:15.950 relationship. Okay. You good, me good also. And 00:09:15.950 --> 00:09:19.210 the green dollar, it's rational dialect. Okay. 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:25.129 They calculate every penny, thoughtful, methodological. 00:09:25.659 --> 00:09:29.240 skeptical, critical. So it's rather hard to find 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:33.860 the proper keys, how to work with them. And for 00:09:33.860 --> 00:09:37.519 each of these RGB dialect, I have a special script, 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:41.860 how to work with them. Okay. For example, with 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:45.120 the red category, you have to tell big picture. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:49.700 You have to tell how you're going to strike the 00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:52.799 moon shots. Okay. You should be very confident. 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:58.549 Keep talk very... short phrases and don't don't 00:09:58.549 --> 00:10:01.169 make any big sentences or something like that 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:05.190 okay so for a blue dialect who is friendly and 00:10:05.190 --> 00:10:09.269 warm you should be very fair and polite you should 00:10:09.269 --> 00:10:12.529 never push you should discuss you should demonstrate 00:10:12.529 --> 00:10:17.029 trust transparency and so on my one of the first 00:10:17.029 --> 00:10:20.769 hints which i would like to share is right in 00:10:20.769 --> 00:10:24.710 the first 30 seconds before the negotiation 100 00:10:24.710 --> 00:10:28.549 % that 80 % of success for negotiation is your 00:10:28.549 --> 00:10:30.850 preparation. So prepare before negotiations, 00:10:31.509 --> 00:10:35.070 try to find out maybe, for me, it's three different 00:10:35.070 --> 00:10:37.149 categories. Maybe for you, it could be five, 00:10:37.190 --> 00:10:40.429 seven, 10, depends on the psychology or your 00:10:40.429 --> 00:10:43.570 occupation or maybe event or something like that. 00:10:44.049 --> 00:10:48.850 And spend around more than 30 seconds to understand 00:10:48.850 --> 00:10:52.509 who is in front of you. Yeah, this is one of 00:10:52.509 --> 00:10:56.279 the key things. That's great. That's great. What 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.460 are some effective ways to start a conversation 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:03.980 at an event or online without feeling awkward? 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:11.259 How do you start the conversation? The humanity 00:11:11.259 --> 00:11:16.639 has a brilliant weapon and not many people use 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:21.379 it. This weapon is called smile. When you smile. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:26.559 a lot of muscles all over your face are initiated. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:31.980 And if we look to the past, for maybe 20 or 30 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:38.899 ,000 years ago, women who were on a household, 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:44.720 they were waiting for men from hunting. And when 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:50.620 the man was back from hunting, he hadn't... He 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:54.620 hadn't to say even a word on his face was everything. 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:59.639 And now, nowadays, women, they call it sixth 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:01.740 sense or something like that, but it's bullshit 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:07.100 in my opinion. They see on our face, muscles, 00:12:07.179 --> 00:12:12.039 how do they reflect on the current situation. 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:15.639 And without any words, nowadays, women know that 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:19.159 you're lying or you was with another woman or 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:22.120 something like that. That's not success. It's 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:26.679 genetics, DNA, something like that. So my perfect 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:30.840 weapon to start to initiate the dialogue, to 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:37.960 meet people, to perform an organic, very clear 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:42.120 smile. Smile with dice. Smile with your teeth. 00:12:42.460 --> 00:12:46.679 Smile with your cheeks. Okay? And everybody would 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:49.120 like to start the conversation with you, even 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:51.940 if he's staying in 10 meters or something like 00:12:51.940 --> 00:12:54.639 that. Look directly into the eyes and smile. 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:59.320 That's it. Very good. Very good. What strategies 00:12:59.320 --> 00:13:04.500 have you found helpful for maintaining, nurturing 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:14.210 professional relationships over time? Let's be 00:13:14.210 --> 00:13:18.990 honest with each other. If your connections become 00:13:18.990 --> 00:13:24.169 cooler, if you don't keep your connections maintaining, 00:13:24.490 --> 00:13:27.129 they become cooler. Relationships become cooler. 00:13:27.610 --> 00:13:30.789 And there's a very good strategy, value number 00:13:30.789 --> 00:13:33.929 two. There's a very good strategy. Big numbers, 00:13:34.129 --> 00:13:38.750 okay? Let's imagine that from tomorrow, each 00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:42.529 of you... We'll start do very simple thing. It 00:13:42.529 --> 00:13:45.649 is called five connections per day. It's not 00:13:45.649 --> 00:13:48.870 about new connections. Just open your LinkedIn, 00:13:49.169 --> 00:13:53.809 talk to your previous employer, or maybe far 00:13:53.809 --> 00:13:59.250 family or something like that, and do five actions 00:13:59.250 --> 00:14:03.450 to restore the connections, to keep them warm. 00:14:03.730 --> 00:14:07.710 Ask if their children graduated, how is their 00:14:07.710 --> 00:14:10.399 wife? I don't know. Do they work in the same 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.720 place or something like that? And just imagine 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:16.259 if you do it five times a day per week, it is 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:19.759 except weekend, for example, per week, it's 25. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:25.759 Per month, 100. Per year, 1 .2 thousand connections 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:29.779 you can keep maintaining. And it brings you a 00:14:29.779 --> 00:14:35.820 lot of value. It brings you the opportunity to 00:14:35.820 --> 00:14:40.600 be connected day to day. And one of my good friends, 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:45.000 obviously, I'm very impressed how he's doing 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.519 it. We were in friendship for more than 10 years. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:55.620 And his phone book has around 3 ,500 addresses 00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:58.460 and telephone numbers and contacts and so on. 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:10.200 And he reminds all birthdays. Every year, sending 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:13.799 a message, making a telephone call, sending a 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:18.460 bucket of roses to girls. And he said that it's 00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:21.700 a very good tactics to remind to the people that 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:27.269 I exist. This one is very good. But it's rather 00:15:27.269 --> 00:15:31.210 hard. No, but I could not implement it into my 00:15:31.210 --> 00:15:34.870 life because my phone book is huge. And I even 00:15:34.870 --> 00:15:37.549 don't have a time to find out their birthdays 00:15:37.549 --> 00:15:40.870 and just print into the iPhone. I have tried. 00:15:40.990 --> 00:15:44.429 I spent around a week and my result was around 00:15:44.429 --> 00:15:50.230 25 or 30 contacts and said, oh, Jesus, no. Do 00:15:50.230 --> 00:15:54.269 you use any type of CRM to any of your follow 00:15:54.269 --> 00:15:59.990 -up? My bad. No, I'm not using any CRM. I'm not 00:15:59.990 --> 00:16:03.730 using any CRM, but I'm using, we call it with 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:07.629 TutorNixon, Bulldog Opportunity Tracker. During 00:16:07.629 --> 00:16:10.830 events, during the events, you can collect dozens 00:16:10.830 --> 00:16:14.769 of different business cards, but it's very hard 00:16:14.769 --> 00:16:19.789 after the event to remind who was who. That's 00:16:19.789 --> 00:16:23.299 why we have created a short list. Where we have 00:16:23.299 --> 00:16:26.440 printed like a form, okay, and you have to fill 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:29.820 into the form. You can do it during the event 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:34.220 or the next minute after. Where very simple questions, 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:38.580 like what is the opportunity working with this? 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.539 When you have to connect with this person next 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:45.820 time? And one of the key things during the first 00:16:45.820 --> 00:16:49.379 conversation would be great to know some kind 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:53.210 of detail. What kind of dog he had? From which 00:16:53.210 --> 00:16:56.730 city? Where did he live before? What college 00:16:56.730 --> 00:17:00.070 his children have studied? So this is very small 00:17:00.070 --> 00:17:04.789 detail will help you a lot when you wanted to 00:17:04.789 --> 00:17:07.930 establish new connection or start the conversation 00:17:07.930 --> 00:17:10.930 and so on. We should understand that personally, 00:17:11.089 --> 00:17:13.789 I understand that I don't have clients. I have 00:17:13.789 --> 00:17:15.990 a relationship. We're working with reputation. 00:17:16.230 --> 00:17:19.650 It is very sensitive and intangible thing. And 00:17:19.650 --> 00:17:23.609 very less people in this world will pass to you 00:17:23.609 --> 00:17:26.809 their reputation to manage without being in a 00:17:26.809 --> 00:17:29.930 relationship with you. So for me, it's vital, 00:17:30.109 --> 00:17:34.609 important to have very strong and warm relationship 00:17:34.609 --> 00:17:40.970 with my sorry clients. What I do is when I'm 00:17:40.970 --> 00:17:45.450 at an event, if I'm having that. talk with somebody 00:17:45.450 --> 00:17:48.450 or anybody, and I want that deeper relationship, 00:17:48.829 --> 00:17:52.750 on the back of their card, I write down the date, 00:17:52.910 --> 00:17:56.230 the name of the function, and something we spoke 00:17:56.230 --> 00:18:00.109 about. So I have that. So in two weeks or so, 00:18:00.150 --> 00:18:01.589 when I look at that business card, I'm going, 00:18:01.710 --> 00:18:05.849 who is this? I turn it over. I know exactly who 00:18:05.849 --> 00:18:08.769 it is. That's who it is. And that's all part 00:18:08.769 --> 00:18:11.730 of my follow -up. And there is a secret sauce 00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:14.789 to the follow -up because it's probably more 00:18:14.789 --> 00:18:18.170 important than even meeting the people. But the 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:21.009 follow -up is very important. But let me ask 00:18:21.009 --> 00:18:23.309 you a question. You've had such great success. 00:18:23.990 --> 00:18:27.869 What mistakes have you made and how did you overcome 00:18:27.869 --> 00:18:33.430 it? Yeah, it's always a good question. Yes, it's 00:18:33.430 --> 00:18:36.509 a good question, but I feel a lot of... positive 00:18:36.509 --> 00:18:39.549 emotions from this good question. Because personally, 00:18:39.730 --> 00:18:43.630 I think that all great experience is coming from 00:18:43.630 --> 00:18:47.529 the past. People say there is no color of an 00:18:47.529 --> 00:18:51.730 experience. It could not be negative or positive. 00:18:51.829 --> 00:18:54.690 I think it's a bullshit. It could be negative 00:18:54.690 --> 00:18:57.369 and it could be positive. And negative is much 00:18:57.369 --> 00:19:01.829 more better than positive. I have faced two times 00:19:01.829 --> 00:19:06.500 bankruptcy. In that time when I faced it, the 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:10.519 next couple of months, it was, it's a very deep 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:15.319 depression. 90 % of my friends, they didn't answer 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:20.000 my calls, messages, and so on. Because I've been 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.539 everything and became nothing. That's it. And 00:19:24.539 --> 00:19:28.859 it was terrible times. But after one year. or 00:19:28.859 --> 00:19:32.599 two years when I did something like reverse back 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:35.640 engineering about what is happening, why I was 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:38.519 at that point. And that was the great experience. 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:42.500 That was the best experience I ever faced in 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:46.940 my life, honestly. But the next time I did mistakes 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:50.960 also, but it was another mistake. So I had an 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:54.460 opportunity to learn more and more. Yeah. So 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:57.579 I think, yes. And if we are talking about negative 00:19:57.579 --> 00:20:00.039 experience, one of the worst experiences in my 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:03.539 life was in Hong Kong. I moved to Hong Kong with 00:20:03.539 --> 00:20:07.480 a great project. It was my passion. I spent days 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:10.539 and nights developing this project, helping to 00:20:10.539 --> 00:20:13.259 bring it into the market, find proper partners, 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:18.059 and so on. But my teammates, somehow, they decided 00:20:18.059 --> 00:20:22.799 that I'm doing wrong things. And they, you know, 00:20:22.859 --> 00:20:27.920 nearly... Nearly, frankly, two hours before my 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:31.980 key presentation in Hong Kong, they blocked my 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:36.400 access to the demo, to the MVP. And there was 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.440 a partner in Hong Kong and it was a breakfast 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.960 in Shanghai. I remember this day as today, honestly, 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:46.660 and it was a breakfast. And when I was going 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:48.980 downstairs for the breakfast, I had only one 00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:53.339 question in my mind. Should I tell truth or should 00:20:53.339 --> 00:20:58.230 I lie? Tell truth. Just put on the table everything 00:20:58.230 --> 00:21:01.730 what happened. Or lie. We have technical error. 00:21:02.190 --> 00:21:04.750 Let's postpone or something like that. I cannot 00:21:04.750 --> 00:21:09.210 show at the moment. Or continue imagining the 00:21:09.210 --> 00:21:11.809 good day or something like that. Yes. And my 00:21:11.809 --> 00:21:17.210 decision was to say truth. I was waiting almost 00:21:17.210 --> 00:21:24.089 any reaction. Any scenario I was waiting. But... 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:29.079 I was not waiting for the thing which happened. 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:33.759 He turned to me. He asked the waiter. It was 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:36.299 around 8 a .m. or something like that. He asked 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:39.759 the waiter, bring us, please, champagne. I asked 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:42.660 him, Chandon, what are you doing? He said, we 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:45.880 will celebrate the best day of your life because 00:21:45.880 --> 00:21:50.460 let them do this at the stage of MVP, at the 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:53.599 stage of demo, when you're just starting. Neither 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:57.819 they will do it two years after. You should be 00:21:57.819 --> 00:22:00.680 very happy that it happened today. You know, 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:05.299 it turned everything. I became very happy that 00:22:05.299 --> 00:22:08.079 I have heard these great words from his mouth. 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:11.140 And for sure, I felt terrible. But at the time, 00:22:11.140 --> 00:22:15.880 it was more than okay. And he said very, very 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:19.259 proper words for the situation. And even now, 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:21.779 when I'm facing the negative experience, I'm 00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:25.299 saying better to happen today, neither in one 00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:27.539 year or two years or something like that later. 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:33.480 Okay. All right. I was going to ask you if you 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:40.059 had an aha moment or a story that turned you 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:43.440 into a success, but I think that kind of answered 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.180 both those questions. So it's very interesting 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:49.970 the way you put that. Give me one simple mindset 00:22:49.970 --> 00:22:53.869 shift or an action step that someone can take 00:22:53.869 --> 00:22:58.589 today to make networking more enjoyable and effective. 00:23:02.490 --> 00:23:10.230 Action step. Before I answer the question, let 00:23:10.230 --> 00:23:16.609 me tell you four things which each networker 00:23:16.609 --> 00:23:21.799 should have. in common okay i think the first 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:26.039 one you should be sociable you should be sociable 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:29.980 to sell well you need to be the one person who 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:34.339 is actively connects with everybody and people 00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:38.119 should feel comfortable in conversation with 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:42.500 you you should be well dressed smiling as i said 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:47.319 before you should know your language and so on. 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:53.160 Another one thing is curiosity. You cannot copy 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:55.900 curiosity. Curiosity should come from your heart. 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:59.099 It's your mindset. You should be curious about 00:23:59.099 --> 00:24:02.819 the project, about these people, who are them, 00:24:02.980 --> 00:24:05.740 from where are them, why they wear these clothes, 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:10.740 who is accompanying them, and so on. And the 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:14.630 curiosity should come from the heart. You should 00:24:14.630 --> 00:24:17.730 be very energetic. It should be like a fountain 00:24:17.730 --> 00:24:21.450 from you, the energy. It's the key success for 00:24:21.450 --> 00:24:27.430 negotiation, for business development, for expanding 00:24:27.430 --> 00:24:29.470 your business, expanding your relationships, 00:24:29.589 --> 00:24:36.069 and so on. And one of the key things, it's number 00:24:36.069 --> 00:24:39.930 four for me, is self -confidence. You should 00:24:39.930 --> 00:24:43.170 know what are you... talking about you should 00:24:43.170 --> 00:24:47.509 be very insured and you should have a very great 00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:51.849 expertise before you go to negotiation one of 00:24:51.849 --> 00:24:56.430 my friends says you live your life the quality 00:24:56.430 --> 00:25:00.589 of your life depends on how you negotiate and 00:25:00.589 --> 00:25:04.109 this is very important because negotiations they 00:25:04.109 --> 00:25:08.750 are everywhere in business with your family in 00:25:08.750 --> 00:25:14.440 shop And the most hardest negotiations are against 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:18.720 yourself. This is the toughest thing, honestly. 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:22.440 I want to wake up at 6 a .m. No, I don't want. 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:25.440 I'm going to sleep very late. No. And you negotiate 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:29.140 with yourself to find out how to get what you 00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:31.319 want. That's the point. And answering the question, 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:34.680 what kind of actions should be taken from today? 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:39.089 As I mentioned before. 80 % of success in negotiations 00:25:39.089 --> 00:25:42.650 and business development and so on, it's all 00:25:42.650 --> 00:25:45.829 about the preparation. And our preparation depends 00:25:45.829 --> 00:25:52.789 on our knowledge. And first thing, choose three 00:25:52.789 --> 00:25:57.349 books to improve your negotiation skills and 00:25:57.349 --> 00:26:00.369 finish them before 1st of June or maybe three 00:26:00.369 --> 00:26:03.849 months after. I don't know, guys, when you're 00:26:03.849 --> 00:26:06.690 going to listen to this podcast. But let's set 00:26:06.690 --> 00:26:09.349 up a target in the next three months with three 00:26:09.349 --> 00:26:12.549 books about the negotiations. And you will get 00:26:12.549 --> 00:26:14.849 more knowledge, you will get more experience, 00:26:15.109 --> 00:26:18.210 more techniques, and you can use them immediately 00:26:18.210 --> 00:26:23.750 on the very next day. Good. Let me ask you a 00:26:23.750 --> 00:26:26.150 question. From everything that you've told me, 00:26:26.210 --> 00:26:30.710 told my listeners, what's your favorite networking, 00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:34.650 I'd say, tactic? What's your favorite networking 00:26:34.650 --> 00:26:46.250 way that you always choose? Very good question. 00:26:46.329 --> 00:26:48.710 Very good question. The best tactics when I feel 00:26:48.710 --> 00:26:52.769 extremely cool is when you're going to some kind 00:26:52.769 --> 00:26:57.670 of event. Who will be attending? The list. You 00:26:57.670 --> 00:27:01.940 choose two or three personas with whom. You have 00:27:01.940 --> 00:27:06.240 to establish connection. And then you create 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:10.779 a magic. You open Google. You start to Google 00:27:10.779 --> 00:27:16.000 this person. You start to look into his social 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:19.279 media and so on. Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:23.339 It doesn't matter. And you find key discussion 00:27:23.339 --> 00:27:29.640 points. For example, dog. Or, for example, the 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:32.539 last place they visited in Europe, for example. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:37.299 Or maybe they like cars, watches, and so on. 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:41.759 Just study what do these people like. And when 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:45.599 you have an opportunity to meet them, use this 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:49.539 weapon. Just tell him, oh, I was late because 00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:53.759 I was walking around with my dog, which is called 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:58.480 La La La. And suddenly he has the same dog. And 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:02.039 you have a topic in discussion in common. Or 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:05.440 maybe I have heard you were visiting Zurich last 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:09.720 month. And I'm going there in the next couple 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:11.740 of months. What restaurant do you suggest me 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.519 to visit there? Is it a good starting point? 00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:21.519 I think yes. So find the list of attendees. Choose 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:25.279 your target. Spend 10 minutes in social media 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:28.759 to find out the things in common and start the 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:34.259 dialogue with this point. It's a magic. Outstanding. 00:28:34.920 --> 00:28:38.279 Outstanding. Dima, this has been great. The time 00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:43.279 flew right by. Listen, how can anybody get in 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:46.579 contact with you, either for coaching, for it 00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:49.940 to be a client, or just to get hold of you? What's 00:28:49.940 --> 00:28:52.970 the best way to get hold of you? You can write 00:28:52.970 --> 00:28:55.869 me directly in LinkedIn. This is the best way, 00:28:55.930 --> 00:29:01.049 I think. Or Google Dima Roketa, or just print 00:29:01.049 --> 00:29:05.210 into LinkedIn. I answer all messages there, all 00:29:05.210 --> 00:29:08.470 messages. Yes, there could be some delay because 00:29:08.470 --> 00:29:10.569 of the traveling or something like that, but 00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:13.690 be sure that in a couple of days, I will answer. 00:29:13.789 --> 00:29:16.789 I would be very happy to help. with the negotiations, 00:29:17.009 --> 00:29:20.369 to help with the business development, and for 00:29:20.369 --> 00:29:23.130 sure with the reputation management. You asked 00:29:23.130 --> 00:29:27.309 me what we can suggest to do the next action 00:29:27.309 --> 00:29:30.630 for our listeners in terms of negotiations. But 00:29:30.630 --> 00:29:33.430 I want to suggest one action for your listeners. 00:29:33.890 --> 00:29:38.049 Try to Google yourself right now. What do Google 00:29:38.049 --> 00:29:42.309 says about you? Many of you will find a lot of 00:29:42.309 --> 00:29:46.539 interesting things. And it's not a fairy tale 00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:51.440 and it's not magic, but you can change what Google 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:54.700 says about you. You can change what YouTube says 00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:58.539 about you. And the instruments, the tools, they 00:29:58.539 --> 00:30:01.119 are very easy to implement and very easy to do. 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:05.779 If you want to do something with Google search 00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:08.880 results, just ping me on LinkedIn and I will 00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:11.150 help you. I will send you some tools and some 00:30:11.150 --> 00:30:13.750 instruments. You can do it by yourself because 00:30:13.750 --> 00:30:16.369 we are working with big companies, big personas, 00:30:16.450 --> 00:30:19.210 but I would be very happy to share absolutely 00:30:19.210 --> 00:30:22.509 for free some kind of checklist or maybe some 00:30:22.509 --> 00:30:26.329 kind of instructions of how you can do by yourself 00:30:26.329 --> 00:30:32.339 Google result page about your name. It's great. 00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:35.640 Dima, thank you so very much. You're a great 00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:38.880 guest. And I look forward to speaking with you 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:42.119 in the future. Thank you so much. I appreciate 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:46.940 you having me on this podcast. Time has finished. 00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:50.779 And I was thinking that it passed two minutes 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:53.440 or three minutes or something like that. We hadn't 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:57.940 even started yet. Thank you so much. You're welcome. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:01.480 I'll talk to you soon. Well, hold on, folks. 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:04.200 Don't go anywhere. Let me just read a few of 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:07.140 our sponsors that we have. Struggling to read 00:31:07.140 --> 00:31:10.839 success? Maybe it's time to quit. In Quit Your 00:31:10.839 --> 00:31:14.720 Way to Success by Rodney Davis, this reveals 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:18.160 27 steps to breaking bad habits that hold you 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:21.759 back. This powerful book helps you rewire your 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:24.940 mindset, take control of your actions, and turn 00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:28.079 setbacks into stepping stones. With real -life 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:31.299 examples, motivational quotes, and actionable 00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:34.460 lessons, especially for sales professionals. 00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:37.079 You'll gain the tools to quit, what's stopping 00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:39.960 you, and start winning. 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And 00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:29.480 of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing 00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:32.400 listeners, for tuning in and spending your time 00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:36.299 with us. Remember, networking isn't about being 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:39.640 perfect. It's about being present. So take what 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:42.220 you've learned today, get out there and make 00:32:42.220 --> 00:32:45.230 some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this 00:32:45.230 --> 00:32:48.190 episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us 00:32:48.190 --> 00:32:50.809 a review, and share it with someone who could 00:32:50.809 --> 00:32:54.109 use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep 00:32:54.109 --> 00:32:57.829 the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, 00:32:57.970 --> 00:33:02.529 Spotify, YouTube, or my website, michaelaforman. 00:33:02.690 --> 00:33:06.589 Remember, until next time, keep practicing, keep 00:33:06.589 --> 00:33:09.130 connecting, and keep building those relationships. 00:33:09.869 --> 00:33:12.730 This is Michael A. Foreman signing off. Take 00:33:12.730 --> 00:33:14.349 care and happy networking.