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. Now, I have a guest today.
His name is Dr. Michael, I'm sorry, Ayalon? That's
right. All right. And he is an award -winning
speaker, author, social media figure, hazing
prevention expert, host of the Fraternity Footy
podcast, and CEO of Greek University. That is
a mouthful, but I have to tell you. So, Michael,
instead of me butchering your background, why
don't you introduce yourself and just tell us
a little bit more about it? Happy to do it, Michael.
Thank you so much for having me on the show.
Yes, I am Dr. Michael Ailon, and I am the CEO
of Greek University. And I would say the path
that got me to this point was pretty wild. I
was a student at the University of Buffalo in
Buffalo, New York. I had a very good experience
within my fraternity, became chapter president,
and that really contributed to all kinds of leadership
skills and communication skills and even motivational
skills for my team. And I was an entrepreneur
in the New York City and Long Island area for
a number of years, really enjoyed that. And all
of a sudden I got an email from the fraternity
that I joined in college. And they said they
were looking for a new executive director of
the entire national fraternity. And we have 120
chapters all throughout the country and 120 ,000
members. And I looked at that job description.
I said, wow, I can actually making a living.
just doing fraternity work. It sounds like a
dream job. And sure enough, I applied for the
job and I got it. And they were located in the
Nashville, Tennessee area where I went a few
times, had a really good time. And I brought
my wife out there to come and check it out. She
absolutely loved it. And we made the decision
to move to the Nashville area, bring our two
children and start this. in professional fraternity
life. And I have to tell you, I really enjoyed
every moment of it. I went to visit a majority
of our chapters throughout the country. And when
I went to go visit these chapters, I saw the
same thing over and over again on just about
every single college campus. It was either hazing.
sexual assaults, or alcohol and drugs. These
are the three main problems that we see on just
about every single college campus. And after
seeing that on a loop for three years, eventually
I said, you know what? Enough. I have to stop
worrying about just my own organization. And
I have to work with every fraternity, every sorority,
every college campus, regardless if my fraternity
is there or not. Because if you're not a member
of the Greek community, you don't really know
the difference between these organizations anyway.
You just see it as a Greek problem. And if I
wanted my children and future generations to
get that same leadership experience that I had
in college, then I was going to have to fight
really hard to make some adjustments within fraternity
and sorority life to make sure that we sustain
ourselves for the next century. And so I started
just speaking on college campuses myself. Then
some of the college campuses that I would work
on, they'd say, hey, Mike, this was a great presentation
here. But next semester, we want to talk about
mental health. Or next semester, we want to talk
about something else. And so I said, well, that's
great, but that's not really what I talk about.
So I have a whole bunch of friends that I could
recommend to come and speak on your college campus.
And before you know it, the team started getting
larger and larger. And now we're up to 22 speakers
that speak every week on college campuses across
the country. Actually, tomorrow, I'm going to
be heading to High Point University in North
Carolina. That is very exciting. And then next
week, I'll be at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania.
It's just been a really fun adventure and it
just, it really helps that every single day I
get to go to work and make college campuses safer.
It's just very meaningful and impactful work.
You know, I don't even know how to second everything
that you just said, because I believe in that
wholeheartedly and I have such a passion for
it. I think I told you about the local. group
that we have, Revved Up Kids, and what they're
doing within Georgia. And I help them whenever
possible. So it's a very important aspect of
who I am and what I talk about, but it's very
good. Okay, so let me just dive right into this.
How did your background in fraternity and sorority
life shape your approach to networking? I think
you basically covered this, but I'm going to
ask you again. Yeah, it's a great question. And
I think that because I am a member of the fraternity
and sorority community, and because I do take
that oath that I took when I joined the organization
very seriously, we commit to certain values when
we join the organization. And so when we join
the organization, we talk about things like scholarship,
we talk about things like community service,
we talk about things like academics. And so I
live my life that same way today as I did when
I joined the fraternity back in college in terms
of those values. In the approach to networking,
now I'm constantly thinking about things like
community service as an example. And how do we
integrate that into our careers? Because ultimately,
if you want to be a really good leader, you have
to be a servant leader. You have to be giving
back some way to society. Even if you're just
selling widgets. really want to have employees
that are going to go the extra mile for you,
the question is, how are you making the world
a better place with those widgets? And even if
you don't with the widgets itself, perhaps once
a month, you could take your entire team of workers
and go and give back to the community in some
way. Maybe you all go to work at a soup kitchen,
or you all go to paint a fence at a local church
that needs repainting. Whatever it is, at least
you're giving back in some way so that way your
employees feel good. about the work that they're
doing. It's more than just getting their hands
to do particular work. You have to essentially
get and capture their minds and their hearts.
And how do you do that? You do that through community
service. And so when I'm networking, I'm constantly
thinking about, hey, tell me something that's
going on great at your company right now, something
you're really proud of. And I'm always listening
about things like community service and giving
back. in some way, because that's ultimately
how you capture your employees and you make them
really just go the extra mile for you, is to
give back and make each other feel good in terms
of the work that you're doing. So those are the
kind of the ways that I use the fraternity and
sorority experience within the networking atmosphere
is to key in on, hey, what are you doing that's
giving back to your community in some way? And
that foundation all started in the fraternity
and sorority experience. That's great, because
the foundation of networking, because this is
what I go around and talk about, is how can I
give, not receive? And whenever you sit down
with somebody and explain, you're not explaining
what you do, but you're listening to what they
do. And you say, how can I make you more successful?
How can I be a good referral source for you?
Zig Ziglar says it the best, but what goes around
comes around. OK, so if you do that often enough,
it's going to come back around to you. But that
is the foundation of true networking. So hats
off to you, Michael. That's the best way to say
it. OK, how has your work in hazing prevention
influenced your networking strategies? That's
also a really good question. I just recently
completed my doctorate and it's over at MTSU
and the degree is in assessment learning and
student success in higher education. And I wrote
my dissertation on the early warning signs of
hazing in college fraternities and sororities.
So now I actually have 173 pages published on
that work. And so when I'm networking many times,
again, just like you said, it's always about
being a giver. giving people other information
that's going to help them. And ultimately, I
agree with you. I think it's all about karma.
If you just keep freely giving to other people,
eventually that's going to come back around and
it might not actually be the person that you're
helping. It might actually be somebody else.
So I freely give information. So when I'm networking,
I love to hear what are some of the issues that
people in, let's say I'm at a higher ed conference,
right? And I'm meeting a whole bunch. bunch of
people that are in higher ed administrators,
staff, et cetera. I'm always asking them, Hey,
what are some of the things that are keeping
you up at night right now? And you just sit and
listen and you hear what their pain points are.
I'm not necessarily telling them that, Hey, I'm
a hazing prevention expert and I'm forcing it
on them. I'm more about listening to what their
problems are. And then I can make sure that I
get them to the right person. It may or may not
be me. So if they have a problem with, let's
say, mental health, that's not going to be me.
However, I have a bunch of people that I can
refer them to. And so that's really the key in
terms of networking and using all of that experience
within hazing prevention is listening to what
your customers want. What are their pain points?
And then if you can help to solve that pain point,
wonderful. You have a match. If not, refer them
to somebody else. So that way, the next time
they have a problem, they'll come back to you
again. And that might be the time that ultimately
you're going to be able to help them. And also
think about the person you're referring them
to. That person is going to think that you know
everybody because you're sending this lead over
to that speaker. And so they're going to return
the favor somewhere down the road when they have
somebody that needs hazing prevention work. So
I love to share as an example, my dissertation,
because I think that if you're helping people
and they get a lot of value out of it, I freely
do that. I don't charge people for access to
all of that research. I freely give it out. And
ultimately, if they like it, that's wonderful.
If it helps them, that's wonderful. forward it
to their friends that ultimately need this kind
of help and support. And so I just, I really
believe in what you said before, just freely
giving. And ultimately the world is going to
find a way to reward you for that. And I've been
able to build a career from that exact plan.
Exactly. And you hit so many nails on the head
just by what you said, but the crux of it is
you are a problem solver. OK, you promote active
listening and listening isn't hearing. OK, listening
is listening. And you pause after you listen,
because that tells you the person that you were
listening and you're going to respond to what
he said, not the next thing that you have to
say. OK, so you're responding to it and you're
a problem solver. Say, you know what? I may not
be able to help you, but I know somebody who
can. So the fact is that you get somebody within
the same day and have that person call, you are
the person that they can trust. for just about
any of their problems. Yeah. And they come to
me anytime they're having a problem, they're
conditioned to coming to me. And that's a beautiful
thing because now I have over 20 speakers that
I can refer them to that are in -house and I
can get them to the expertise that they want.
Or even if it's not even in my company, I'll
send those leads over to my competitors at times,
because again, I'm only one person and I speak
about hazing prevention, but I can't be on every
single college campus every single day. And so
there are times when I'm booked and I can't be
in two places at the same time. So I really do
have to rely on some of my competitors and I'll
send some of those leads over to them so they
can fill it. And then vice versa, they're able
to send me over some leads when I'm looking for
work. So I really believe in that. I think that
there's enough business out there for everybody.
And ultimately I just freely give. And I tell
you what, we're now in September, we're going
to celebrate our 10th year of being in business.
Greek university. And that is really, I think
the key to our success is not really just promoting
our own speaking services, but really just being
a problem solver and getting our clients to the
right person, whether that's with us or somebody
else. That's great because that just goes with
the fact that you have a servant's heart. Okay.
You're there to assess and you're there to figure
out what their problem is and you're going to
solve it whether you're the answer or not even
like you said the competition and you don't think
of it as competition no you just think of it
as helping the person Correct. I look at just
helping my client first and foremost. It's all
about serving the client and making sure that
they're happy. Sometimes that's with us. And
obviously, that's a wonderful thing. We want
our company to grow. We want to add new employees.
But sometimes it's not. You also have to be realistic
about what their needs are and who would be the
best person to help them expertly. And I think
our clients remember that. They know that I'm
going to help them and I'm going to get them
to the right place, whether that's with me or
not. They appreciate that. They appreciate the
honesty. And then that way they come to me for
every single opportunity. And that's a really
good thing long -term over a 10 -year period.
That's a really good thing. That's what I try
to tell people, that if you do this enough, it's
going to come around, it's going to come back
to you. But don't think of it as part of your
thing that you say. You know, you have to truly
believe it. And if you do it and you believe
it, that's what will come around to you. Yes.
Okay, so what role has networking played into
your entrepreneurial ventures? Oh boy, it's a
huge part of being a successful entrepreneur.
It's funny because in college, they don't really
teach you how to be an entrepreneur. I was an
accounting major in the business school, and
you would think that they would be teaching networking,
but they really don't. Ultimately, the key to
business, and I learned this in being an accountant
for my first job, it was a networking company
on Long Island, and immediately he showed us
a CRM. And I'm like, a CRM? What the heck is
a CRM? I have nobody in college ever. taught
me once what a CRM was. And it's really this
customer relationship management database. And
that's just a database essentially of all of
your clients. And in there, we're able to put
in all of our contacts and you're able to keep
notes on all of the conversations that you have
with your clients. And the system will actually
remind you when it's time to send them an email,
or it's time to give them a call, or it's time
to go and visit their office as an example. Every
single day when I wake up, it actually tells
me what are the things that I need to work on
today. It's a wonderful thing to stay organized
and to actually reach your customer when they
actually need you. I would say that ultimately,
that's one of the biggest lessons that I learned
in being an entrepreneur is if you want to be
successful as an entrepreneur, you better have
some CRM package, some database that you're able
to track these hundreds or thousands of clients
that you have and be able to to reach out to
them at the right time. Ultimately, it's a big
sales funnel. You have all of these clients that
are out there and they're all going to close
deals for you at various points throughout the
year. Some might be in January, some might be
in February, some might be in March, et cetera.
So you have to know exactly when they are needing
your service and reach out to them at exactly
the right time. The only way to do that in a
way that stays organized without your head exploding
from just too many clients. and too much to remember
is having that CRM package. So that's really
the key to my success is having that CRM package
and ultimately going and networking at the various
conferences where my clients are at. So that
way I'm always staying on top of my clients in
terms of what's going on in their world. I'll
take notes on the back of their business card
when I see them. So that way it tells me, okay,
this is what's going on. This is what they're
looking to get over the next year. This is when
they're planning. on executing a contract, all
of those things. And then I'll go back home and
then update my database with everything that
I found out in that networking session at that
conference. And also sometimes it alerts you
to new people in the industry. Sometimes people
leave the industry and they leave one of your
clients and a new person comes in. So networking
allows you to meet them in person and have that
handshake. So that way, the next time you call
on them, we can talk about when I saw them at
the conference and we ended up bumping into each
other. at the bar downstairs after the sessions
let out. So when you remember all of those things
and you remember those conversations, of course,
I'm typing all of that into my CRM package, then
immediately it brings that customer to life and
they remember that networking meeting that you
had, what you talked about, and then we start
getting right into what their needs are going
forward over the next year. So that's a little
bit of a synopsis in terms of how I network with
my clients and the tools. that I need, a CRM
package to make all of that happen. Michael,
it's like I kept on feeding you cards to touch
on certain points of networking and you hit them
all. You hit them all. And everything that you
said, including the follow -up and that writing
on the back of the card is something that I strongly
suggest. I suggest writing the date, the name
of the function and something you spoke about.
And you carry that with you until you put it
to your CRM. Using a CRM is something that I
go around to the high schools and the colleges.
And I tell them, saying that you need to start
this now. Because if you start it once you graduate
and you're looking, you know what? It's a little
too late. So you have to do it now. And it's
the follow -up. It's so important what you said
with the follow -up. Because I think it's more
important than meeting the person directly. Because
the follow -up, and I have a secret sauce for
follow -up so that it really works, but it does.
And everything that you said is so on point that,
you know, anybody that's listening, you have
to listen to Michael because he knows what he's
talking about. Okay, so what is your top tip
for building meaningful connections in professional
settings? Oh boy. Again, if you want to have
meaningful connections with clients in professional
settings, it goes way beyond just a business
card. Okay. Most business cards, I got to tell
you, they end up in the trash. Okay. That is
the God's honest truth. And I hate to say that,
especially to college students, because they
think that just handing out a bunch of. business
cards is networking. It's really not. The key
to getting results is building relationships.
That is the key. And that's got to, you can't
microwave a relationship. You can't have a relationship
and fully develop that in 30 seconds over, let's
say a meeting at a conference. It's just not
going to happen. You have to. really nurture
that relationship over time. And so what does
that mean? That means that you need to be regularly
checking in and providing value to those. potential
new customers. And that means reaching out to
them on a regular basis. And that could mean
a whole bunch of various things. For example,
I send out a newsletter to all of the contacts
in my CRM. Why am I sending out a monthly newsletter?
By the way, if you look at how often that newsletter
is opened up, Typically, out of all of the newsletters
that I send out, about 70%, 7 -0, 70 % of those
email newsletters get opened up. That is a ridiculously
high open rate for emails today. And why is that?
Because I'm always providing value in those newsletters.
You really have to look at that newsletter and
figure out what is the value to the customer
for opening this up and reading it. There has
to be some content that is of value to them in
some way. So make sure you're delivering that
value and make sure that you're sending out this
newsletter on a regular basis. It can't be like
once a year because then they're forgetting about
you. It's got to be on a regular basis. I send
it out once a month. I know others in business
that are very successful. They'll send out their
newsletters once a week. You really have to figure
out what works for your clients. However, I would
say that make sure you're really giving a lot
of value and make sure that you're staying consistent
in terms of sending that out. Why is that consistency
so important? Because I want to create top. of
the mind awareness in the minds of all of my
potential customers. So that means that if an
opportunity opens up and let's say they just
received the newsletter from me three days ago,
then immediately when the opportunity comes up
and they say, wow, we need a speaker on our college
campus, I want them to instantly think of Dr.
Mike Ailan at Greek University. I'm building
that top of the mind awareness. So that way,
when the opportunity comes up, they say to themselves,
I have to send this lead. to Mike. That's what
I'm trying to build. And so that's why it's important
for you to stay consistent and always be delivering
value. And you have to nurture that relationship
over time. Again, you can't microwave relationships.
This is something that you build long -term over
a long period of time and really start talking
to your clients about little things. As an example,
I found out one of my potential clients loves
the New York Yankees. And I happen to be a big
Yankees fan. Aaron Judge is having a phenomenal
start to the season. The Yanks. are rolling at
six and three. They're looking really good this
season. So immediately I'm sending an email to
my potential client saying, hey, did you see
the Yankee game last night? Aaron Judge is just
on fire. And it's these little things. And I
put that all into the CRM package, of course,
that he's a Yankee fan. So immediately when I'm
reaching out to him, we're talking about Yankees
and things that we can instantly bond on. And
then we can start talking about whatever opportunities
exist. But those are the types of things that
really take you to the next level is when you
know their favorite sports team, when you call
them to wish them a happy birthday, when you
know their wife's name and what's going on with
her. All of these little things add up. And the
key is really having that CRM database fully
populated with all this information. So that
way, when you're calling them, you're reviewing,
OK, they have a Siberian cat named Klondike.
Their birthday is coming up in a month. They
love Italian food. They're a big New York Yankees
fan. So you're right. through this list and you
know exactly what to hit on. And they're saying,
my God, Michael, how do you remember all of this
stuff? Your memory is insane. And I'm like, I
just have a really good CRM package and I took
great notes. So that's a little bit how it's
done. Yeah. It's so important in what you hit
upon was the difference really between the relationships
and just a customer. Okay. And really ever since
the pandemic, kids today. They forgot how to
communicate with one another. They lost networking
completely because they think everything is through
Zoom or the cell phone. So you have to take that
out of their minds. And I have to tell you something.
I was in the mortgage industry 100 years ago,
and I used to go to networking events. I used
to come home with a shoebox filled with business
cards because that was the way that everybody
did it. And that was 100 % wrong. And now if
I go to a three or four hour networking event,
I come back with about 20 business cards because
those are people that I created that relationship
with. They're not just, they might be a customer,
they might not be. They're nice to look at, talk
to, anything like that. But the relationship
building is so very important. And for anybody
listening. Please, that's what you should take
away from this is that you need to build those
relationships, not just customer back and forth.
Okay, so can you share a challenge you faced
and how you overcame it? Oh boy, business as
an entrepreneur, there's challenges all over
the place. I don't even know where to start,
but there's constantly challenges. And the question
is, are you able to overcome them? And my suggestion
is that if you want to overcome challenges, find
somebody that you can network with that has been
there and has done. That is really the key to
success is there's a whole bunch of people out
there on LinkedIn, et cetera, that you can reach
out to that are in your dream position or maybe
even a competitor. or somebody who's just in
your business who's encountered that problem
that you've encountered before, call them up
and ask for advice. That's another really good
networking tip is ask people for advice. They
love to be put in that situation because you're
coming to them and now you're viewing them as
an authority in that industry. And they love
that. They love to show off what their skills
are. And especially if you're a college student.
People love to talk about themselves and they
love to talk about how successful they are. So
get 15 minutes with somebody who works at the
company that you want to work at or holds the
dream position that you're angling for and ask
them for 15 minutes to figure out how they got
there. So the key is really just to find other
people in your niche that have been there, that
have done that, that can advise you and they
can steer you in the right direction. And the
problems, they're inevitable. Every entrepreneur
out there is going to have problems along the
way. I remember when I first got started as a
speaker and new in business at Greek University,
and it was just me. We didn't have dozens of
speakers that were standing behind me ready to
help. And the first six months were absolutely
brutal because typically there's a six month
lead time before you can actually start getting
speaking engagements because a lot of people
plan six months in advance. So here I am needing
to have immediate revenue and there was none
because nobody was going to hire me to speak
next week. They just didn't operate that way.
Everyone had a six to a year, six months to a
year in terms of when they're planning out their
next big event. And so I remember just struggling.
And the problem was there was absolutely no revenue.
That was the number one problem. And so I remember
just reaching out to another speaker in the industry,
explaining the situation. And immediately they
ended up helping me with a local engagements,
probably not the best in terms of return on investment.
However, it did get me a whole bunch of things.
Like it got me photos that I could put onto the
website. It got me video reels. So that way I
can start building up my portfolio of videos.
It started getting me testimonials. So now if
you looked on my LinkedIn account, I have over
80 testimonials on LinkedIn right now. And all
of that started in that first six month phase
when I had absolutely no revenue coming in. So
you can take a problem such as no revenue. I
have no money to put food on the table. That's
a big problem. However, you can use that constructively
to start getting photos and video for your website,
testimonials from others who have heard you speak.
So that way, when the revenue does come pouring
in six months from now, then you have all of
those assets that you need in order to keep this
engine going. And that started in that first
six month period. So Was it tight the first six
months? Absolutely. It was really tight. But
luckily, I did all of those little things and
got some great advice from another speaker in
the industry to help me to get going and to at
least get all those assets in place. So that
way, when the speaking engagements did start
rolling in six months, seven months, eight months
in, then I was prepared and ready to hit the
ground running. Problems will happen all the
time. I would just encourage you to reach out
to others in your industry. They will help you.
Most people want to be helpful to others. Absolutely.
People love to talk about themselves. They love
to give you the advice that they've been through.
So you're absolutely right. Reach out to them
because they will be more than happy to give
you what they know. They'll talk about it. And
the fact of speaking without getting paid for
it, I must have spoken at 50 different venues.
before I started charging. But that helped me
get my repetition in, hone in my skill, my craft.
And it also taught me things about networking
that I didn't even know. So all of that comes
into play. So it's very good. But listen, the
people that you reach out to, they're willing
to give. Very rarely will you find somebody like,
no, I'm not interested. They'll always give you
15, 20 minutes at a time, which will turn out
to be a half an hour because the first 15 minutes,
they're going to talk about themselves. So that's
all right. But either way, that's exactly what
you have to do. Okay. So how did you balance,
I'm sorry, how do you balance online and offline
networking in today's digital age? Oh boy, you
have to do a little bit of both. I think there
are conferences that are happening in your niche.
You have to look at that as a calendar and figure
out which ones are you going to get some good
return on investment on and then plan out your
year. So I usually look at it every summer just
because I'm usually going by the academic calendar
for colleges. And every summer I'll look at that
and say, okay, the first conference we have is
going to be in December. Then we have a bunch
that are going on in February. So those are going
to be my in -person. networking attempts. And
I'll map that out every single year. And I will
allocate how much money that I need in order
to be an exhibitor at those in -person conferences
and be a speaker at those in -person conferences
and also sponsor some of those in -person conferences.
So I'm basically, when I do those in -person
networking events, I'm hitting them from all
different directions. Yes, they are going to
see me and meet me and shake my hand at the exhibit
hall and at the various sessions. Maybe they
sit in on one of my sessions. where I'm speaking
and they get a chance to see me in action, which
is wonderful. But I'm also hitting them at a
whole bunch of different ways. They're also seeing
my logo being advertised all over the conference.
So that might mean in the app that they're using
for the conference, they'll actually see my logo
there. They might see my logo in a banner that's
actually up on the wall. They might see me all
different ways throughout that conference where
I'm sponsoring, et cetera. And that really helps
to kind of drive home. that message and really
sink in the brand. So that way, again, building
that top of the mind awareness about my company.
So now I have all my in -person networking events
all scheduled for the entire year. And then it
just becomes, okay, for the rest of the time,
what am I going to do? How am I going to network
online? And so that networking online looks,
it can take all different forms and shapes. Yes,
I am constantly emailing my clients. I am constantly
sending videos to my clients. I'm constantly
calling my clients. I'm constantly sending them
email newsletters once a month to my clients.
I also have written six books. So the books act
as a brochure. So that way they actually learn
about our services and our various speakers.
I have a published dissertation. So in my signature
on my email, I'm actually including a link to
my published dissertation. So they see me as
an authority within fraternity and sorority life.
specifically around hazing prevention. So there's
all kinds of online networking going on. Also,
we do all kinds of webinars that we offer for
free to our clients on Zoom. So that way they
can actually network with us, see our various
speakers and engage with us even when those physical
conferences are not happening. So you really
have to figure out how can I provide value and
providing value looks a whole bunch of different
ways. The other key to my success is also social
media. So we have a huge social media following
on TikTok and on Instagram. Instagram Reels is
very hot. TikTok is very hot for our target clients,
which are college students. So I've been able
to build out a huge following on those social
media platforms. And I'd highly encourage it,
especially if you have a younger client demographic
like college students, that's exactly where they're
hanging out. So you have to figure out for your
business, where are my ideal clients hanging
out? So that way I can build a following in that
area. And I tell you what, that TikTok algorithm,
it's going to be very interesting to see what
happens in terms of the sale of TikTok and if
they're able to pull that off. But the algorithm
is so good that whatever topic you are engaged
in as a business, you can create a TikTok account
and have a ton of targeted followers within a
week if you are doing the... videos right. I
would highly suggest looking into some of that
online networking that happens on social media,
because that's a great place to engage your target
customers. Absolutely. Absolutely. I would say
I couldn't have said it better myself, but you
did. Thank you. Again, you hit so many points
that I wanted to go over with you, but you said
them so well. but especially going over the social
media and seeing where your target market is.
You should really, anybody listening, listen
to Michael because he knows what he's talking
about. Also, I love to say for the kids that
are listening about social media, here's my thing.
I always say it. Don't post anything on social
media. You wouldn't show your grandmother. Right.
So that's just because all the employers, everything
that I talk about is the employers and how they
are looking and searching social media for their
employees. And if they don't like something,
they're going to call you in and say, what about
this? What about that? So rather than go through
all that, just don't post that or delete off
the things you don't want people to see, but
just adhere to those. OK, so. How do you ensure
ethical practices in networking, especially given
your background in hazing prevention? Wow. Ethical
practices. I think it's really about just getting
to know your clients. We want to make sure that
everybody that we work with, whether it be our
clients or our employees, we obviously ethics
are incredibly important because we're all fraternity
and sorority members for the most part. And that
means that there are certain values that we treasure
and things like giving back to our community
and truth and honesty. And all of those things
are incredibly important to us. And before I
get in. It could be a client. It could be an
employee. I really do want to make sure that
they share our values. And the one way that I
do that is a lot of times through an interview
on the Fraternity Foodie podcast, to be honest
with you. We end up getting a ton of clients
through that podcast. We end up getting a ton
of speakers through that podcast. That's really
the way that I figure out, is this somebody that
I want to do business with? And through a 30
minute conversation, I can very quickly find
out what are the values of this particular person?
And is it a match? Because not everybody is going
to be a match for your corporate culture. So
I think everybody who's listening right now,
I really want you to think about what is your
corporate culture? If you're just a person, an
individual, what are your values? What's important
to you? And then before you do business with
anybody, make sure that person shares those common
beliefs. Because if not, this could be really
a disaster. Imagine if we brought in a speaker
that didn't share. our values, that would be
very problematic. You can instantly tear down
an entire company that's been around for 10 years
based on social media, really bad social media
posts that goes around the world in about 10
seconds. So you have to be really careful that
anybody that you either bring into your company
or even potentially a client, you want to make
sure that there's a match in terms of those values.
And that usually starts with a conversation that
could be on a podcast as an example. That's a
really... good place. That's where we get all
of our new speakers is on the podcast. We invite
them on and we have a conversation to see if
this is a good fit. Or if it's with a client,
just have a phone call or a Zoom session with
them to make sure, say, hey, listen, this is
what my company is all about. This is what our
values are. Is that something that's important
to you as well? And if the answer is yes, great,
then we can move forward. If not, that's okay
too. Again, maybe I can send them to someplace
else, maybe a competitor or somebody else that
and service them a little bit better. But for
me, I'm really into relationships. I'm not into
just doing one time speaking engagement and then
never seeing them again. I'm into building relationships
with people that share my values. And so in order
to do that, you really have to have that conversation
on the front end, make sure that there's a match
and then continue that relationship over a long
period of time. But it really does start with
that front end work to make sure that there's
a match before it's too late. Very good. I learned
being a restaurant owner, I learned something
very fast. If you have really good food, they
will go out and tell a friend, hey, you have
to go try. If you have really bad food, they'll
go out and tell 10 people not to go. So you really
have to be careful. So what you say is so accurate
and so true. Okay, so what's your approach? to
creating mutual value in networking relationships.
You really, I think you're, the question is really
great. You're setting it up really well because
the key to great relationships is that mutual
value. And so you constantly want to think about
when you're talking to a potential client, start
asking them, hey, what does the perfect presentation
look like? What are, as a speaker, What message
do you want the audience to leave with in order
to say that this was successful? And so once
you really understand that, then you can deliver
on that and then show them, let's say, survey
results that proves that you actually got that
result. So every time I go out and speak, I instantly
make sure that the last slide is a QR code that
all of the people in the audience can actually
scan and give me feedback to say, did I hit the
mark? Did I meet the client's needs? And if the
answer is yes, wonderful, then let me share that
with my clients so that way they can see that
I actually met their needs. And then I need something
in return, right? What do I need in return? I
need a testimonial from that client in order
to attract more clients. And they're more than
happy to do that if I can prove to them that
I met their needs. So really the key is making
sure that you're meeting all of their needs,
getting very clear on what success looks like.
And then if you hit, it, then wonderful. Now
is your time to be able to get something in return,
which could be a testimonial. It could be a referral
to another client, but you have to make sure
that you're hitting their needs first. So that
way their needs are satisfied. And then you can
ask for something in return. You don't want to
be thinking about just your needs. Initially,
it's always about the client. It's always about
what do they need. And I will tell you nine times
out of 10, if their needs are met and they are
happy with the service that you provided, I promise
you they will come and deliver whatever it is
that you need in order to get to the next level
for your business, whether that be a testimonial
or referral or what have you. They will be more
than happy to do it nine times out of 10. That's
really the way that I am able to make sure that
everybody's needs are met is just going all out
to make sure I understand what their needs are.
I deliver on that, show them proof that I've
actually reached their goal, and then they're
more than happy to help me and my business. in
return. Absolutely. Absolutely. There is a company
called Talkadot and they have a QR code and they
have all those analytics for you. I've, I started
with Talkadot, but I created my own on a Google
worksheet. So I have my own QR code that goes
right to my own Google worksheet. And it tells
me almost the same as the Talkadot information.
And from there, I can talk to my customer, my
client about how much they liked it, how much
they liked it, how much they didn't like it,
everything like that to serve them that much
better. Okay. So I'm doing everything to serve
my customer better, my client better. But you
got to ask, you got to get that proof. You have
to ask for those surveys and for those results
to make sure that you're actually hitting the
mark. I think that's one area that if I had a
do -over in terms of my business, I would have
started that practice of the QR codes and getting
surveys from all the students much earlier because
I think it would have helped the business grow
at a faster rate. In the beginning, as a speaker,
you're like, man, I killed it. And you know that
you did because you're getting good feedback
when you get off stage. But how does the client
know that? You can't just say, I killed it. Okay,
but that's subjective. Right. That's one person's
opinion. How do you prove that? So you really
want to collect data on your product or service
that proves that you're actually hitting the
mark. And that's something that I wish I would
have implemented earlier. But I tell you what,
now that it's implemented, we've just grown by
leaps and bounds. Absolutely. Absolutely. Let's
go. Listen, you've proven you are a success and
I'm sure you had a lot of bumps in the roads
getting there. So let's concentrate a little
bit on the mistakes. What's a common networking
mistake that you've observed and how can my listeners
avoid it? Yeah. Don't always try to sell. Sometimes
I overhear some of these networking interactions
and it's just painfully obvious to me that one
person is trying to sell a particular solution
to the other person. And it's almost painful.
Just be present. Just be in the moment and listen.
Instead of constantly selling, I need you to
develop your listening skills. That is incredibly
important if you want to be successful. You got
to listen to what the client needs. One particular
occasion, I remember going to a conference and
this one particular speaker that worked for a
competitor was really trying to push their services,
but it was painful because you could almost hear
the client on the other end saying, that's not
one of my needs. We don't have a need for that
particular type of speaking engagement. That's
not an issue on our campus. And you have to understand
all of your clients are going to be different.
They have different needs. They don't all have
the same exact need. So you've got to ask the
question, like, how are things going? Talk to
me about a problem that you're encountering that
you don't know how to solve. And really just
be a listening board as opposed to trying to
sell your particular solution. It's a really
big turnoff when somebody feels that somebody
is forcing themselves on you when, meanwhile,
they're not listening to the fact that that's
not a problem for you. I would say be a better
listener and that's how you can avoid those types
of situations. That's right. That's right. Don't
try. That's what we both said from the beginning.
Look to give, not receive. They shouldn't even
know what you do until three quarters of the
way through the conversation. So that should
alleviate all of those problems. But listen,
you can't tell them, you can't tell everybody,
look, don't sell because they feel that's what
they're there for. But you know that you can
get more with honey than vinegar. So that's where
you can look at it. So bring in this first full
circle about the future of networking. How do
you see networking evolving in the next five
to 10 years, particularly in your fields of expertise?
I do think that while I absolutely love the in
-person networking, there's really no substitute
for it. And I love going. I do think that because
of the various economics of in -person networking
and some of these conferences, I do think that
the size of some of these conferences are going
to start to go down slightly. We're seeing a
lot of economic troubles right now in politics.
And I think ultimately that's going to mean that
there's going to be lower budgets within the
next couple of years. to send people to these
physical networking events. I think budgets are
going to be cut, at least in higher ed, I'll
tell you that. There's going to be some budgets
that are going to be cut over the next couple
of years. So what does that mean for you if you
have a business that let's say caters to higher
ed? That means that you really need to focus
on that online networking piece that we talked
about earlier. How are you going to network online
so that way your customers are regularly seeing
your content? And that could be on social media.
So as an example, I publish a piece of social
media every single day, and you can publish that
same video on various platforms. You can publish
that on TikTok. You can publish that on Instagram
Reels. You can publish that on YouTube. You can
publish that on LinkedIn as a video. So you can
use that same piece of content, but just put
it out on every single social media platform
out there. So that way, again, you're building
that top of the mind awareness with your clients.
The email newsletter, I think, is going to be
really good. I think that more and more people
are now going to texts in terms of their messages.
So at least with the college students, a lot
of them are not even opening their emails and
they really are focusing on the phone, on their
smartphone. So the question is, how can we get
messages on texts to our clients? Because they're
actually reading that much faster than they're
reading emails. So I think that in terms of networking,
it's going to really, over the next couple of
years, especially within the higher ed niche,
I do think that we're going to go a lot more
to online networking opportunities. So really
start thinking about where you're networking
online, where your customers are hanging out
online. So that way you can build your business
there. Because I think over the next couple of
years, I see a lot of problems ahead in terms
of budgets within higher ed that are just not
going to allow as much of the in -person networking
as much as we would like. And so that might be
a little bit of a longer term play. I don't think
that online network or in -person networking
is going to go away. I still think it's going
to be. a thing. However, just keep in mind that
budgets are going to be cut. And that might mean
that there's going to be lower numbers of clients
at some of the regular places that you go in
order to network in person. Oh, that's great.
I can probably talk to you for another two hours
about all of this, but unfortunately we're even
a little past our time. So if somebody wants
to get hold of you for any number of reasons,
how can they do it? They can get ahold of me
just about anywhere. So anywhere on social media,
it's at Greek University. So feel free to check
us out there. You can connect with me on LinkedIn.
My name is Dr. Michael and the last name is Aylan.
That's spelled A -Y -A -L -O -N. I'd love to
connect with you on LinkedIn. So please follow
us there. If you want to send me an email, the
email address is. bookings, B -O -O -K -I -N
-G -S, at greekuniversity .org. And I'm also
an author as well. So we've published the From
Letters to Leaders book series for college students.
So you can also see those on Amazon as well.
So there's a whole bunch of different ways. But
of course, the website is always the perfect
place. That's just greekuniversity .org. And
I appreciate the time, Michael. Michael, thank
you very much for coming on the podcast. And
I hope to talk with you soon. Sounds good. Thanks
for having me. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go
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-U -P -K -I -D -S .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. Michael A. Foreman,
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.