Hello, and welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building
Profitable Connections. Welcome back to the show,
folks. I'm your host, Michael Foreman, and you're
listening to the podcast where networking is
more than just awkward handshakes and bad coffee.
It's an art and a talent. But here's the twist.
It's an art and talent you can actually learn.
Yes, even if you're the person hiding in the
corner at every event pretending to check emails.
Networking isn't just a nice skill to have. It's
a game changer. When you get good at it, you'll
wonder why you didn't start sooner. More connections,
more opportunities, more profits. It's like unlocking
a cheat code for life. So whether you're the
life of the party or the just let me stay at
home and text type, we've got something for you.
So stick around and let's turn those awkward
small talk moments into big wins. Now, my guest
today, Ann Carden, really has an extensive background.
And I'm just going to give you a taste of her
background, but I'm going to introduce her and
let her finish. Ann is a top business growth
expert, marketing and sales strategist, and consultant.
She's the CEO of A. Cardin, Inc. and the expert
in attraction marketing, media agency, and the
brand. So before I butcher that background even
more, okay, Anne, first of all, welcome to the
show. And why don't you just introduce yourself?
Thank you, Michael. Yes. So I am the CEO of Expert
in You Marketing and Media Agency. And it is
really around helping people build solid personal
brands, step into the expert spotlight and get
more. from what they are out there doing. So
if they're out there networking, really help
them build up that powerful brand to be seen
as the go -to person that people want to connect
with, people want to be in their presence. And
yeah, that is what I do. That's great. That's
great. That falls right in line with the whole
feeling of this podcast. What's your top strategy
for turning casual connections into valuable
business relationships? Yeah, so it really starts
with understanding what the other person, like
making it about the other person. So one of the
things that people, I networked for years and
years building multiple businesses. And one of
the things that a mistake that people make is
when they meet someone, they instantly hand their
business card or they want to make it all about
them and they want to start talking about what
they do instead. My favorite thing is tell me
about yourself. Tell me what you're all about.
Tell me what you do and making that connection
with people. Everybody likes to talk about themselves,
right? The other thing is it really opens up
opportunities. If you're a better listener, then
you do more talking. You will hear opportunities
where you can help people in multiple ways. You
hit on about eight different points that I always
talk about regarding networking, because networking
is something that you don't receive. Every time
you go to a networking event or you meet somebody,
you look to give. How can I give? How can I be
a good referral source for the people? And as
long as you have that in mind, you'll succeed.
But being that active listener. That is such
an important part of things. How has networking
contributed to success as a business growth expert?
First of all, I built all of my businesses through
networking and building partnerships, relationships.
It got me on stages. It gave me speaking opportunities.
So it was the foundation for practically every
business I started. You have to get out there
and let people hear about you and see about you.
And I've been doing this for about 34 years in
business. I've been an entrepreneur for about
34 years. So we have other opportunities. Now
we can network online. We can network offline.
I love to merge those two worlds. I love to teach
people how to do that, a hybrid model where they
are doing both. But before really the internet
or before it was mainstream for all of us. We
didn't have any options except to get out there
and meet and greet and get connected with people
in that way. Yeah, I always say that when you
meet the person, you feel the vibe of the person.
Oh, yeah. The vibe of the room. And it's so telling.
I've been in networking situations where I've
walked out of the room because I didn't like
the vibe of the room. I didn't like the direction
where they were going. You can't really do that
on Zoom. You can't just turn your computer off.
Oops, we're having technical problems. Sorry
about that. Okay. Can you share a memorable story
of how networking led to a significant breakthrough
in your career? Oh, my goodness. I just think
about. So many stages that I got on came from
networking opportunities where I would just let
people know, hey, I'm looking for more speaking
engagements. I'm looking for this or building
relationships with people, but also strategic
partnerships. I've been able to build amazing
partnerships and teams. even hired employees
as a result of networking. I could go on and
on, really. It was the foundation for starting,
again, for starting businesses and getting those
businesses going. Now most of my networking is
online. I don't do much offline anymore. But
even when I go out and speak, I'm still networking
with people that are in the audience. I'm one
of those speakers that I'll show up and I'll
hang out and I visit with people. And I still
love that person -to -person connection. Yeah,
that's the way to go. I speak on stages as well.
I do workshops and breakout sessions and everything.
But there's nothing like the before and after
the talk. You get to see the people, you get
to see the way they're responding to you, but
you get to really see what they're feeling. And
I think that is so much better than Zoom. Okay,
so on that, what's a common networking mistake?
professionals make and how could they avoid,
how could you avoid them? I think one of the
mistakes I see is people are not strategic in
their networking. And if you don't have a strategy
really with any kind of marketing and really
that's what networking is, right? You're marketing
your business. You're out there. Yes, you're
building relationships, but it's all to grow
your business or to build your business. And
so if you're not strategic with what you're doing,
you can burn up a lot of time. And before I really
learned that. I would network and network and
it wouldn't go anywhere. And part of the problem
with that is because I didn't really have a great
strategy behind I was doing. So I was in the
wrong rooms with the wrong people who didn't
either know people that could become. part of
my business or they weren't my people. And having
a strategy behind what you're doing can save
you a lot of time and energy. And at the end
of the day, we still only have so much time and
time is our most valuable resource. So I feel
like that's the biggest mistake people make.
And when I work with my clients. I'm helping
them develop that strategy for their networking
so that they're getting the most really bang
for their buck, so to speak, and the most out
of their time, the most return on their investment.
You need to have that strategy because if you
go in there willy nilly, you're just not going
to say you're going to flounder and you're not
going to know a direction for you to go. And
it'll hurt you more than help you. And yes, you're
right. Time is. The only thing you can't get
back once you've spent it, you spent it. If you
spent it wrong, then you don't know what you're
doing. You're confused. But that's very good.
How can you balance the online networking and
the non -online networking? Yeah, I think one
of the things that I used to teach when I was
doing a lot of networking and I was the education
person in our group, in the networking group
that I was in, one of the things that I would
teach is that you want to bring really the offline
world into the online world. So for example,
you go out and you meet people offline and you
get their business card and what typically happens,
you put their business card aside, you might
call them, you might not. But one way to speed
the know and trust and really build that relationship
even faster is to bring that into the online
world. So for example, reach out to them on LinkedIn,
reach out to them on Facebook, ask people when
you're talking to them, hey, are you on social
media? What platforms are you on? And then connect
with them on those platforms and start conversations
there. So one of the things that I see that we
have available now that we didn't always have
is the online resources. and tools like Zoom
and some of the social media platforms that we
have. So you can really carry that conversation
on without having to go out and meet people face
-to -face. You and I are doing it right now.
I have a podcast. I do the same thing. And so
utilizing those tools, we don't have to be running
around anymore the way we used to have to do
that. So it's great to have that one -to -one
face -to -face or... have that opportunity, but
speed that up and save your time, really leverage
your time in the meantime. And it used to be,
they would say, okay, stack one -to -one. So
you go out, you network and you stack block time
and stack those one -to -ones. That's one way
to do it. But another way to do it is you can
actually bring those conversations and those
meetings online now, once you've meet that person
face -to -face. So I think a lot of people aren't
doing that enough. And I think, again, we don't
get time back. We can always make more money.
We will never make more time. And so I guard
my time and I'm very, and I don't, like for me,
I didn't live close to a lot of the networking
things that I went to. So there was an hour drive
there, an hour drive back. All of that is time
you'll never get back. So I'm so thankful for
the resources we have now that, but merge those
two worlds. So take that meeting. or that relationship
that you've started to build and build on it
online. So that was probably a long -winded answer,
but. No, but it was very, you explained it perfectly
where you can meld the two together, but you
just touched on a fact of the follow -up. And
to me, the follow -up is almost, if not more
important than the actual meeting of the person
themselves. What system do you have in place
for a follow -up and how do you do it? Yeah,
so one of the things you have to realize too
is that you can't follow up with, everyone may
not be someone to follow up with. So again, really
having that strategy. So if you meet people in
networking, because you'll probably meet a variety
of people, really pick and choose the people
that you see. OK, I need we want to further this
relationship. We want to build on this. It doesn't
mean you discard the others, but you don't maybe
necessarily set up meetings with them or you
don't necessarily really build on that relationship.
It becomes more of an acquaintance at that point,
because let's say you go to a networking event,
Michael, and there's 40 or 50 people in the room
and maybe you meet. Maybe you get 30 or 40 of
those business cards. You still, everyone's not
going to be the right person. And so again, just
really understanding who you're looking for,
whether that's someone to partner with, someone
that could become a client, someone that you
see a connection there where you can build on
that and help each other out, refer to each other.
So just really know what you're trying to do
and leverage your time that way. Yeah, as far
as systems. Just have a database, have a CRM
system. If you're talking about an actual tool
that you can keep, stay top of mind with people,
you can continue to email them, check with them.
Again, I love to use social media to connect
with people and I like to follow up that way.
Yeah, I use the CRM, but those business cards
that you collect, I figure a networking event,
it's three or four hours. And if you get 15 or
20, relationship type, those business cards from
those people, then you can start with that. The
other people, they're ancillary and you can put
them into your drip campaigns and just keep your
name in front of them. But you follow up with
those 15 or 20. And I have a secret sauce. There's
a way to follow up in which they're bound to
answer you positively or negatively. Either way,
but you have an answer. So that's very good.
How do you measure ROI when it comes to networking
efforts? Results. It's actually pretty easy.
Did I get business from it? Is it growing my
business? Am I getting referrals? Am I able to
give back to other people? It's great to give,
but you're still there at some point to get back,
right? You still have to get an ROI or you're
not going to do it for very long. And so to me,
it's just really easy to see how your business
is growing. And if it's not growing, you might
have to make a shift in your strategy. You might
have to make a shift in where you're networking.
Michael, as I work with clients and I'm helping
them build their business, one of the things
I see is often people will stay in the same networking
group for years. And I don't find that to be
valuable. Because once you've really built those
relationships with people, you can stay with
those people. You can be connected to them. You
can still follow up with them. But to keep yourself
in the same circle isn't going to grow or expand
you. And I think a lot of people make that mistake
and they do it because it's comfortable. Oh,
I built friends here and I like it here. But
yet they don't get business there. They're not
nothing's growing. And so it becomes to me, it
becomes more social than it does as a business
growth strategy. And networking is, it's a business
growth strategy. You have to treat it that way.
And again, you have to leverage your time, but
it's easy to see if you're paying attention to
your business, it's easy to see what kind of
an ROI you get. How do you feel about like a
B &I group? I was in BNI for years and it's a
great strategy for, I think, certain industries.
It's really great for, I think for other industries,
it's a great starting strategy. And it really
just comes down to, is it the right place for
you? Are you going to be in front of the right
people? And then having a strategy going in.
So if you're in a room full of people that. really
couldn't refer you business or wouldn't become,
they couldn't become a client, which a BNI is
more versatile. So you have a wider variety of
people in there, but really again, be strategic
about what you're doing. But yeah, I think BNI
is a fantastic opportunity. There are so many
good networks out there and it's really finding
the right ones for you. But I, the thing I love
about BNI is things are tracked that you do.
have to pay attention to what's going on and
you're easy. It's really easy to track numbers
and things like that because those things have
to be reported. But no, it's a great strategy.
I recommend it to a lot of people, especially
if they're just getting started in business.
Yeah, I've been part of BNI. I've also created
my own networking groups, one in New York, one
in Jersey, about 30 businesses in each. And it
has, it grew to. It was a great thing. We met
every week. I then moved. I had to stop it. But
there's nothing like the networking, the feeling
of networking and the attitude of the people
that you're networking with to give you that
good feeling. And I love that you created your
own because that would be one of the strategies
I now teach people is build your own stage. Yeah,
then you get to pull in who you want. That's
true. But I felt that the more because I talked
in the beginning, we went around the table, of
course, and everybody gave their little speech.
But I felt that because I brought something to
the table each week, something new about networking.
I was teaching them about networking, but I was
teaching myself as well. So I was always learning.
And that's my key to success. is I'm constantly
learning. Can you share some tips for introverts
who struggle with networking? Get over it? No.
I'm sorry. Get over it. No, here's the thing.
If you're going to build a business, you have
to put yourself out there and you just really
have to do it. You have to start. You have to
do it. It really is hard for introverts to do
that, but it's a skill set you can learn. Just
like anything else, just like sales or anything
else, you can learn to do it. And you just have
to start. It's like starting a business. You
just have to start. You're going to learn as
you go. You're going to learn once you start
doing it. And it's not something you can sit
there and you can give people tips and ideas,
but until they actually step in and do it, they're
not going to get comfortable with it. You can't
talk to somebody about how to ride a bicycle,
right? You can give them tips on how to do it,
but until they actually get on the bike and pedal
and try to keep it up and all of that, they're
not going to really be able to ride the bicycle.
And so it's the same thing. That's great. That's
a good analogy, by the way. How has your approach
to networking evolved throughout your career
as a consultant? I, again, I think when I first
started, I don't think I know when I first started,
I didn't have a strategy behind what I was doing.
So I was just out there trying to meet people
and I didn't really have a great pitch, so to
speak, or a great, an elevator pitch, whatever
you want to call it. I didn't really, there wasn't
that clarity around how to do it and really make
it as effective as I could. And so I just had
to learn those things. along the way. And when
I realized, wow, once you actually put a really
great strategy behind networking, it's super
powerful because then you're looking at, okay,
what rooms do I need to be in? Where are my people?
Where are the people that I can help them? They
can help me. And you start thinking differently
about what you're doing and you really quit wasting
time. You become more efficient with the time
that you are spending. So over time that all
evolved and It just became where I'm, it was
just much more of a growth strategy than more
of a time killer. I think when you're first starting,
if you don't have that strategy, it's more of
a time killer and you're just getting your feet
wet and you're getting out there and you're meeting
people and that's great, but you don't often
see an ROI for that. As you get better and more
efficient, then you start to see ways that you
can really leverage it and be more strategic.
And then it really does start growing your business.
And that's great. And I can tell that we can
probably go on for another three hours and talk
about strategies and consulting and everything
else. But if somebody wanted to get hold of you,
either to be coached or to get some insights
on business or consulting or anything, what's
the best way for them to get hold of you? Yes,
you can go to my website at annelcarden .com.
And I have. free resources on there. You can
book a call if you want some help in your business
or in your marketing. I work in both of those
areas and you can find me anywhere on social.
And I've got a big YouTube channel as well, where
I talk about a lot of these things. That's great.
And I want to thank you again for coming on.
You're a great guest. Thank you. Thank you. It
was my pleasure. Well, hold on, folks. Don't
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-E -V -V -E -D -U -P -K -I -D -S dot org. Well,
that's a wrap, folks. A huge thank you to our
special guests for sharing such incredible insights
today. And of course, a big shout out to you,
our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending
your time with us. Remember, networking isn't
about being perfect. It's about being present.
So take what you've learned today, get out there
and make some meaningful connections. If you
enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe,
leave us a review, and share it with someone
who could use a little networking inspiration.
Let's keep the conversation going. You can find
me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or my website,
michaelaforman .remember. Until next time, keep
practicing, keep connecting, and keep building
those relationships. This is Michael A. Foreman
signing off. Take care and happy networking.