WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.019 I want to ask a rhetorical question. How many 00:00:04.019 --> 00:00:07.620 have you gone to a meeting, gone to a networking 00:00:07.620 --> 00:00:10.900 event, have a one -to -one meeting, and said, 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:15.919 oh my God, this was great. I made so many contacts. 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:19.500 And then afterwards you realize you haven't gotten 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.760 any business out of it. Right? It happens to 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:26.940 everybody. It happens to everybody. And I'm here 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:31.539 to tell you it's not what you have to sell, services, 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.679 product, anything else, but it's the way that 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:37.179 you're doing it. And that's what's holding you 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:40.659 back. Right? So the first thing is that you are 00:00:40.659 --> 00:00:44.060 a problem solver. You have to find out what their 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:47.000 problem is because you have to have an answer. 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:51.399 Is that the end of it? No. That's not the end 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:54.140 of it. Because you have to figure out. Where 00:00:54.140 --> 00:00:58.200 they're going to next, that's when you're going 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:02.679 to beat out all the competition. It's incredible. 00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:06.859 But you're saying, why does everybody network? 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:11.920 Network, I believe, is the lifeblood of all business. 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:16.760 Without networking, you're not going to get anywhere. 00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:21.599 Right? So that's your ultimate goal. Now, look 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:23.790 on the screens. Because these are the points 00:01:23.790 --> 00:01:29.129 that I want to drive home for you today. Now, 00:01:29.209 --> 00:01:32.750 first of all, take every opportunity to meet 00:01:32.750 --> 00:01:35.870 new people. And you have to focus on the areas 00:01:35.870 --> 00:01:39.670 that you can help. You have to go alone to networking 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:44.109 events. That's for extroverts. If you're introverts, 00:01:44.709 --> 00:01:47.150 there's a slight twist to it, but I'll go into 00:01:47.150 --> 00:01:50.569 that afterwards. And, of course, don't forget 00:01:50.569 --> 00:01:54.840 business cards. I can't tell you how many times 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:57.439 I've gone to a networking event and they say, 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:00.739 I'm sorry, I don't have my business cards. Can 00:02:00.739 --> 00:02:03.359 I write your number down or something? You did, 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.299 but you're going to lose them without a doubt. 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:08.599 Now here's the most important thing about networking. 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:11.039 The most important. If you remember anything, 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:15.340 remember this. It's the follow -up. Not only 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:20.139 follow -up, but follow -up correctly. Right? 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:23.120 Because there is a way. After a networking event, 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:26.280 I've done this many times. I've gone to somebody 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:29.159 else. Once you walk around, say, oh, tell me 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:32.219 about what you do. Oh, that's great. How do you 00:02:32.219 --> 00:02:34.379 follow up with them? Oh, I'm going to send them 00:02:34.379 --> 00:02:36.699 an email tomorrow or the next day. I'm going 00:02:36.699 --> 00:02:38.560 to follow up next week just to make sure I have 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:42.020 them. I said, okay. And in my brain, I'm going, 00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:45.780 you lost. Because I'll get to them before you. 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:51.080 There is a way to follow up. And that. is the 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:56.360 most important thing that you can do. Now, here's 00:02:56.360 --> 00:03:02.780 the funny line. People hate to be sold to. They 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:07.280 hate to be sold to, but they love to buy. What 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:11.620 does that tell you as an individual? That means, 00:03:11.699 --> 00:03:14.960 okay, so you want what I have to sell. I service 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:18.840 my product, whatever, okay? You don't want to 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.900 hear from me that I'm going to sell to you. Because 00:03:21.900 --> 00:03:24.379 that's a problem. Right? So that's a big problem. 00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:28.400 Here. Confidence. Confidence is so... How many 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:30.479 times have you walked up to somebody and they're 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:34.080 looking all over? They're not looking at you 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:37.080 in the eyes. Right? They're like standing halfway 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:41.580 and not squared up to you. You don't even want 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:43.080 to see them. You don't want to speak to them. 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:46.460 You want to move on to the next person. Square 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:52.129 your body. A friendly facial expression. Now, 00:03:52.150 --> 00:03:55.430 for some of you, that may be difficult. But, 00:03:55.469 --> 00:03:59.669 a friendly facial expression. Hands in plain 00:03:59.669 --> 00:04:03.770 sight. So, I love this. The Roof Max commercials. 00:04:04.629 --> 00:04:06.430 Right? Have you ever seen Roof Max commercials? 00:04:07.069 --> 00:04:09.090 Watch them. I watch them. I watch the person 00:04:09.090 --> 00:04:12.150 who's talking. He takes his hands and puts them 00:04:12.150 --> 00:04:13.650 down here and goes, as he's talking, because 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:16.009 he's not doing his hands. Right? It's called 00:04:16.009 --> 00:04:19.029 the middle steeple. everybody see that don't 00:04:19.029 --> 00:04:23.910 do it don't do it it's the worst thing listen 00:04:23.910 --> 00:04:26.810 i come from a jewish background my wife's italian 00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:31.170 and the hands are always going we talk with our 00:04:31.170 --> 00:04:35.009 hands don't stop don't when you walk up to somebody 00:04:35.009 --> 00:04:38.149 you want and you meet somebody you play hi how 00:04:38.149 --> 00:04:43.110 are you no be yourself and most importantly i 00:04:43.110 --> 00:04:46.519 have a few clients that have a dialect you have 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:49.759 to enunciate. Because if they can't understand 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.899 what you're saying, then you're lost right out 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:57.639 of the game. So, what do you do when you walk 00:04:57.639 --> 00:05:01.439 up to somebody and you want to meet them, whatever? 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:05.779 First things first, you're going to listen. You're 00:05:05.779 --> 00:05:08.639 going to listen to them. This doesn't mean that 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:10.199 you're going to look at them, somebody just walked 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:12.040 by that you really want to talk to, and your 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:17.050 eyes aren't following them. Eye contact. Right? 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:19.589 So you're going to listen to them. And after 00:05:19.589 --> 00:05:21.410 they finish, this is the most important part 00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:26.110 about listening. Pause. You're going to pause, 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:28.370 and then you're going to say something back to 00:05:28.370 --> 00:05:31.529 what they said. Because what does that tell them? 00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:34.430 It tells them that you were listening to them. 00:05:34.949 --> 00:05:37.649 And that is the most important thing. You want 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:41.250 to make sure that you were listening to them. 00:05:41.930 --> 00:05:46.279 All right. So now what do you do? When you are 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:49.759 in a networking event, you walk in. Now, first 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:52.300 of all, when you're at a networking event, they 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:54.839 always have pieces of paper about booths and 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:56.540 things like that. Always have a little bit of 00:05:56.540 --> 00:05:59.319 a plan where you want to go. But before that, 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:03.800 you always have a mass of people. You're like, 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:07.360 okay, what do I do? You pick a table. You walk 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:13.000 up to the table. Don't talk. Don't say anything. 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:17.300 Listen. Listen for the conversation to come around 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:20.459 to you. Is this a conversation that I want to 00:06:20.459 --> 00:06:24.360 be a part of? It's not. I haven't said it yet. 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:27.920 I pull out the bow. I go to the next table. I 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:33.180 go up and I listen. Okay, this conversation is 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:35.899 something that I want to respond with. When a 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:39.819 conversation comes around to me, I say something 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:43.560 intelligent. Right? Because I'm supposed to be 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:48.259 the expert in my field. So whatever I say, better 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:51.560 be in touch. You're waiting to see who responds. 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:56.439 Right? Okay. Five people at the table. Two people 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.860 responded. Okay. Those people asked me a question. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:05.500 Okay. That means hook. I got them. Don't say 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:09.259 nothing worse. But, okay. So you got them. So 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:11.740 now, okay, you're having them talk. And you have 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.660 them talk, you're talking to them, but they're 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:17.139 asking them questions. And I use something called 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:20.939 form. I'll go into that later on. Family, occupation, 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:24.439 recreation, and a message. And I'll go into that 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:28.139 a little bit further. But you're going to talk 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:29.939 with them. You're going to have them talk about 00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:32.500 themselves, ask about the family, about the mother, 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.550 father, sister, brother, son, daughter. Okay, 00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:38.610 youth sports, I was a baseball coach for 16 years. 00:07:39.569 --> 00:07:43.149 I'll talk about anybody with youth sports, right? 00:07:43.209 --> 00:07:46.470 I get to them on that level, and all of a sudden, 00:07:46.610 --> 00:07:51.730 know you, like you, trust you, they'll do business 00:07:51.730 --> 00:07:56.430 with you. If they know you, well, I now know 00:07:56.430 --> 00:08:00.069 all of you, that's great. They like you, I'm 00:08:00.069 --> 00:08:02.370 sure that everybody in this room isn't going 00:08:02.370 --> 00:08:04.290 to like me. But that's what I'll have to live 00:08:04.290 --> 00:08:07.100 with that. know you, like you. But here's the 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:11.399 big fact. Trust. Nobody will do business with 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:15.000 you unless they trust you. And that trust, I 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.540 could do a whole hour just on trust. The trust 00:08:18.540 --> 00:08:21.220 factor is so important that because what you're 00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:23.480 doing is there's a wall between you and the person 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:27.339 and you're trying to tear down that wall but 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:30.420 trying to build up that trust factor. Right? 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:33.450 Yes. Sorry, I thought you were going to go to 00:08:33.450 --> 00:08:35.470 the next slide. I had a question on this. Can 00:08:35.470 --> 00:08:37.889 I ask a question? So when you said walk up to 00:08:37.889 --> 00:08:42.129 the tables, quietly observe, right? If you walked 00:08:42.129 --> 00:08:45.009 away, is that a connection with that conversation 00:08:45.009 --> 00:08:46.990 that you said? You're first finding out whether 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:49.690 or not the conversation is for you. If it's for 00:08:49.690 --> 00:08:52.129 you, then you have that connection. If it's not, 00:08:52.289 --> 00:08:54.490 then you walk away. So the question is, when 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:56.669 you walk away, are you giving the impression 00:08:56.669 --> 00:09:00.070 of disrespect? No, I'm not telling anything. 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:19.879 You always find that common ground, right? That's 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:21.279 what you're looking for. You're looking for a 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:24.000 common ground. And if you find it, that's wonderful. 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:27.139 If not, then again, you move on. But it's really 00:09:27.139 --> 00:09:31.330 a pretty simple process. Okay, form. Family, 00:09:31.490 --> 00:09:34.809 occupation, recreation, and a message. Like I 00:09:34.809 --> 00:09:38.830 said, a good wife, sister, brother, son, daughter, 00:09:39.070 --> 00:09:43.289 whatever. Get them on that whatever. You can 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:45.610 just find out about their occupation. Oh, they're 00:09:45.610 --> 00:09:48.669 a doctor? What kind of doctor? Okay, are they 00:09:48.669 --> 00:09:50.950 other in sports? Oh, okay, they're a musician? 00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:54.490 Whatever. You talk to them on that level, and 00:09:54.490 --> 00:09:57.090 you'll see they will stay there and talk about 00:09:57.090 --> 00:10:01.659 it. Why? Why? Because people love to talk about 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:05.580 themselves. They will talk to you for an hour 00:10:05.580 --> 00:10:09.340 as long as you are seen interested. So you're 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:11.620 going to keep that talking. And they're going 00:10:11.620 --> 00:10:13.820 to talk and talk and finally it's going to come 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:17.679 around to what they do for a living. And they're 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:20.159 going to tell you. And they're going to tell 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.440 you again. And you're going to sit there and 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.679 you're going to listen. You're going to repeat 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:27.379 back and you're going to pause. And then you 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:29.259 come out with a line and you say, you know what? 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:33.740 I like you. I like the way you do business and 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:37.159 how you're doing it. How can I make you more 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:42.600 successful? How can I make you, how can I be 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:45.860 a good referral source for you? This is what's 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:48.519 called having a servant's heart. When you walk 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:52.299 into a networking event, you look to give, not 00:10:52.299 --> 00:10:55.789 to receive. And as long as you look to give, 00:10:55.830 --> 00:10:57.590 that takes all the pressure off your shoulders. 00:10:58.289 --> 00:11:00.789 All of a sudden, you're not nervous anymore. 00:11:01.330 --> 00:11:03.750 All of a sudden, you're looking to help somebody. 00:11:05.149 --> 00:11:09.309 So it goes a long way. Okay. You have to build 00:11:09.309 --> 00:11:12.269 a rapport with the person. Right? Build rapport. 00:11:13.490 --> 00:11:15.909 What do you have in common? You have to ask questions. 00:11:15.909 --> 00:11:18.789 Questions are a great way of trying to build 00:11:18.789 --> 00:11:21.289 rapport. Because you're asking questions about 00:11:21.289 --> 00:11:24.879 them. When you walk into an office, if you have 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:28.139 a one -to -one meeting, right, you have anywhere 00:11:28.139 --> 00:11:32.519 between five seconds and almost a minute to look 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:35.919 on the walls, look on the desk, right? Is there 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.399 music on the walls? Is there art? Is there some 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:43.320 sort of sports paraphernalia? I want you to look 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:47.799 at the pictures that he has on the desk. Are 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:52.659 the pictures on the rear desk facing out? Or 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:57.600 are they on his desk facing in? And you say, 00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:01.059 what's the difference? Big difference. The ones 00:12:01.059 --> 00:12:06.019 on the rear, in the rear, facing out, they almost 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:09.200 want you to ask about them. Ask about those pictures. 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:13.039 And if the pictures are on the front desk, towards 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:17.460 him or her, off limits. They don't want to talk 00:12:17.460 --> 00:12:20.850 about it. So those little nuances, little things 00:12:20.850 --> 00:12:23.429 that you can do, that you can pick up on, that 00:12:23.429 --> 00:12:28.090 can go a long way. Here's the mantra. Know you, 00:12:28.190 --> 00:12:32.269 like you, trust you. They want to do business 00:12:32.269 --> 00:12:35.830 with you. You're not going to get to that last 00:12:35.830 --> 00:12:40.629 part unless you have the first three. Because 00:12:40.629 --> 00:12:42.789 if the person doesn't know you, they're not going 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:44.730 to do business with you. I'm talking about somebody 00:12:44.730 --> 00:12:48.669 that's not online. Oh, sorry to interject. but 00:12:48.669 --> 00:12:53.090 i think this relates even to zoom calls absolutely 00:12:53.090 --> 00:12:55.610 because we often have the virtual backgrounds 00:12:55.610 --> 00:12:59.750 yes and i regularly use that and i've noticed 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:03.250 that if i don't start the conversation about 00:13:03.250 --> 00:13:07.470 that it can be awkward on the call you have to 00:13:07.470 --> 00:13:09.789 remember with the zoom call a perfect question 00:13:09.789 --> 00:13:13.090 zoom call there's a person on the other side 00:13:13.090 --> 00:13:18.960 of that camera everybody thinks it's zoomed knows 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:21.440 about the person who's half -dressed and in her 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:27.080 underwear, okay? Barring that, you can just get 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:30.940 to know the person behind the camera. And that 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:33.519 means, like I said, I do a lot of podcasting. 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:38.220 And I always try to get to know the person before 00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:41.360 the podcast because that will give me other questions. 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:47.539 Now... introvert versus extrovert. I've told 00:13:47.539 --> 00:13:50.720 you so far, you walk up to the table, you wait 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:53.519 for the conversation, you listen for it, and 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:55.720 hopefully when the conversation comes around 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:57.279 to you, you're going to say something intelligent. 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:01.659 Okay, that's great. All for extroverts. What 00:14:01.659 --> 00:14:04.700 about introvert? Because an introvert, when you 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:07.259 walk into that networking event, it's like hitting 00:14:07.259 --> 00:14:10.679 a wall. Oh my God, there's so many people here. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.960 And then all of a sudden, what do they do? They 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:22.009 grab a train. Okay, so with an introvert, you 00:14:22.009 --> 00:14:24.029 still go to this networking event. By the way, 00:14:24.029 --> 00:14:26.789 I say go to a networking event at least once 00:14:26.789 --> 00:14:32.649 per week. Okay, so you're going to walk in with 00:14:32.649 --> 00:14:37.649 somebody that you know. Not necessarily somebody 00:14:37.649 --> 00:14:41.230 you work with, but somebody that you know, knows 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:44.360 you, knows all about you and what you do. Because 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:48.320 when you walk up to that table and you finally 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:50.519 say, okay, you know something? That conversation 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:53.500 is something that I want to be a part of. That 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:56.299 person says, oh, you know something? Michael 00:14:56.299 --> 00:14:58.480 knows all about that. Michael, why don't you 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.080 share that with us? So that's a little introduction. 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.919 So now all of a sudden, you're not feeling so 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:10.000 away. Now, I'm not saying that if you're introverted, 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:12.679 you're going to do this the first networking 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:16.289 event. And all of a sudden, it's going to work. 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:19.809 And you're never going to, you're an extrovert. 00:15:20.649 --> 00:15:23.549 No. The first time you go to a networking meeting, 00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:26.090 by the way, you're going to suck. It's horrible. 00:15:26.809 --> 00:15:28.990 Right? But you learn from it. Go to the second 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:30.909 meeting. You're going to suck. But you're going 00:15:30.909 --> 00:15:34.409 to suck less. Go to the third meeting. You're 00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:35.850 going to still suck, but still keep it less. 00:15:37.009 --> 00:15:39.669 Okay. But by the fifth time, the sixth time, 00:15:39.809 --> 00:15:41.730 you go to a networking meeting, all of a sudden 00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:45.590 you realize. You're going to enjoy it. Wow, I'm 00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:47.629 meeting all these people. I'm learning about 00:15:47.629 --> 00:15:52.429 all these businesses. This is great. So that's 00:15:52.429 --> 00:15:56.049 the main difference. So now, what do you do? 00:15:57.649 --> 00:16:01.250 Follow up, follow up, follow up. Okay. Follow 00:16:01.250 --> 00:16:05.029 up immediately. I have a secret sauce when it 00:16:05.029 --> 00:16:08.509 comes to follow up. And by the way, it's 98 % 00:16:08.509 --> 00:16:14.169 it works. Now, I'll go into that labor law. You 00:16:14.169 --> 00:16:15.669 take notes on the back of a business card. Those 00:16:15.669 --> 00:16:17.610 business cards aren't there just for you to hand 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:21.330 out. When you, after you say that to the person, 00:16:21.409 --> 00:16:23.950 I want to make you more successful, then yada, 00:16:23.950 --> 00:16:26.690 yada, yada. You turn that business card over. 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:30.629 You write down the date, the name of the function, 00:16:30.850 --> 00:16:34.169 and something you spoke about. Because that will 00:16:34.169 --> 00:16:37.750 come in handy when you follow up and you put 00:16:37.750 --> 00:16:40.450 it into your CRM and so forth. I want you to 00:16:40.450 --> 00:16:43.429 connect with them. on linkedin facebook instagram 00:16:43.429 --> 00:16:47.470 and twitter when i say connect just look them 00:16:47.470 --> 00:16:51.649 up reach out and connect now it doesn't mean 00:16:51.649 --> 00:16:54.470 that you're going to connect with them and turn 00:16:54.470 --> 00:16:57.610 around and try to sell them you have to create 00:16:57.610 --> 00:17:02.830 value that value is so important and here we 00:17:02.830 --> 00:17:06.569 come to it the thank you card the hand written 00:17:06.569 --> 00:17:10.720 thank you card that's right It's a handwritten 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:12.779 thank you card. And I'll go over one more to 00:17:12.779 --> 00:17:15.079 write that. But that is so important. Can you 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:18.980 imagine being the person that receives a thank 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:22.819 you card? All of a sudden, it's not an invoice. 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:27.500 It's not some hokey ad. It's not anything. But 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:29.180 it's somebody reaching out to you and saying, 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:32.940 thank you for your time. It goes such a long 00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:37.529 way. And you stay top of mind. So now. Can I 00:17:37.529 --> 00:17:39.250 say something about the business cards real quick? 00:17:39.309 --> 00:17:41.930 Sure. So there are a lot of people that emanate 00:17:41.930 --> 00:17:43.769 the business cards. When you try to write on 00:17:43.769 --> 00:17:45.869 them, it's almost impossible. Yep, that's why 00:17:45.869 --> 00:17:49.130 you have a phone. Yeah, okay. I always lose it. 00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:53.069 You won't. If you have to, just take notes in 00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:55.089 the phone. Right after the conversation, you 00:17:55.089 --> 00:17:56.910 go to your note taking and you just write notes 00:17:56.910 --> 00:17:59.509 in it. Very important. Okay, so now what's the 00:17:59.509 --> 00:18:02.109 secret sauce? What's the follow -up system that 00:18:02.109 --> 00:18:07.069 I follow? After the networking event. You're 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:08.769 going to go home or back to the office, whatever 00:18:08.769 --> 00:18:11.410 the case may be, and you're going to immediately 00:18:11.410 --> 00:18:16.089 send a thank you email. Thank you for your time. 00:18:16.809 --> 00:18:19.049 Don, it was great meeting with you. Thank you 00:18:19.049 --> 00:18:21.410 for your time. I hope to do this with you soon. 00:18:21.589 --> 00:18:26.170 Bye. That's it. Easy peasy. The next morning, 00:18:26.369 --> 00:18:29.970 the very next morning, you write that handwritten 00:18:29.970 --> 00:18:33.410 thank you. You write almost the same thing. Hey, 00:18:33.529 --> 00:18:36.420 Don, this is Michael. I met you on such and such 00:18:36.420 --> 00:18:40.460 date at an event. We spoke about X, Y, Z. Remember 00:18:40.460 --> 00:18:43.319 me? I want to thank you for your time. Have a 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:46.940 great time. Have a great day. Bye. You're going 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:48.680 to wait about three or four days because the 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:52.180 mail is from snail mail, right? You're going 00:18:52.180 --> 00:18:54.980 to wait. Now, if they haven't sent you an email 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:59.259 back yet, which is 50 -50, you're going to send 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:03.720 them an email. Hey, Don. This is Mike. I met 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:05.680 you on such and such an event. We spoke about 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:09.259 XYZ. Notice I say that in the beginning of every 00:19:09.259 --> 00:19:12.460 correspondence. I'm going to do that in every 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:17.720 correspondence until he answers me. Hey, I was 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:20.079 just looking at my calendar. I see Tuesday and 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:21.680 Wednesday of next week are pretty well open. 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:25.119 Would one of those days work best for you? Okay. 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:29.220 I'll wait another three days. Three days. This 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:32.799 is a magic number, by the way. Three days. Still 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.119 haven't returned that email yet. Hey Don, this 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:39.240 is Michael. I met you on such and such date, 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:41.759 such and such event. We spoke about exploits. 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:43.880 Listen, I said Tuesday and Wednesday of next 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:46.680 week were open. Tuesday's kind of full. How's 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:51.599 Wednesday? Wait another three days? Because he's 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:57.869 a horrible person. Okay? So, last time. Hey Don, 00:19:58.069 --> 00:20:00.269 this is Mike. I met you on such and such day, 00:20:00.309 --> 00:20:02.470 such and such an event. We spoke about X, Y, 00:20:02.490 --> 00:20:04.609 Z. I said Tuesday and Wednesday were kind of 00:20:04.609 --> 00:20:06.910 full. They seem to be filling up rather quickly. 00:20:07.410 --> 00:20:09.730 How's the following week? Or what is good for 00:20:09.730 --> 00:20:14.789 you? And just leave it there. So if he hasn't 00:20:14.789 --> 00:20:17.849 answered me by this time, he probably isn't. 00:20:18.289 --> 00:20:21.289 Okay? If I did something somewhere or just he 00:20:21.289 --> 00:20:24.869 doesn't want to talk to me. Okay. Do I take all 00:20:24.869 --> 00:20:28.319 that stuff and throw it away? No. I have a CRM. 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:32.359 Everybody have a CRM or know what it is? Customer 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:36.160 Relationship Management Tool? Okay. Take all 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:38.920 of it, put it in there, every touch point that 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:42.380 you have. By the way, it takes between 8 and 00:20:42.380 --> 00:20:47.420 15 touch points before somebody would buy from 00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:50.759 you. So you have to reach out to them at least 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:55.059 8 times before they even think about talking 00:20:55.059 --> 00:21:01.119 to you. Okay. So, now, let's expand the business 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:04.299 a little bit. LinkedIn, I always put for business, 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:07.920 I have X amount of thousands of contacts. Business 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:10.480 is business. That's where I do all my advertising 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:14.119 and everything else. The Instagram is more for 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:17.319 reels, more for those short, quick, little advertisement 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:23.180 reels. 15 seconds. 15, 20 seconds. I use a certain 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:25.880 program for my podcast, I split it into pieces, 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:29.299 and I post it on Instagram just so they can see 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:33.160 it. And of course, I do a full video on YouTube. 00:21:34.059 --> 00:21:39.119 Now, I did a little investigative work. Where 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:45.319 is the best place where your advertising dollar 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:48.400 really works? What is most commonly used? What 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.059 is the most, the biggest platform that you can 00:21:51.059 --> 00:21:55.140 think of? That somebody would see it with yourself. 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:58.079 It wasn't what I was thinking of. I had to change 00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:02.099 my whole philosophy, by the way. No, it doesn't. 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:07.740 No, it doesn't. YouTube. YouTube is number one. 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:13.039 It's number one. And Instagram is like halfway 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.450 down. But Instagram, it wasn't the second one. 00:22:17.950 --> 00:22:21.730 Facebook. I always said that Facebook was for 00:22:21.730 --> 00:22:25.390 family. It was to reach out and touch somebody. 00:22:26.569 --> 00:22:32.509 No advertising. So YouTube, Facebook, Instagram 00:22:32.509 --> 00:22:35.329 is the third one down, and then all the TikTok 00:22:35.329 --> 00:22:37.650 and everything else is down there below. Now, 00:22:37.670 --> 00:22:40.410 TikTok might be on the rise, but it's not there 00:22:40.410 --> 00:22:43.109 yet. So regardless of what people are saying 00:22:43.109 --> 00:22:47.430 to you, I'm telling you, YouTube, Facebook, and 00:22:47.430 --> 00:22:51.069 Instagram. Now, if you want to network, go to 00:22:51.069 --> 00:22:54.589 meetupgatherings .meetup .com, right? You can 00:22:54.589 --> 00:22:57.690 find different little things. Just go out there 00:22:57.690 --> 00:22:59.910 and network. You want to get your look, what 00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:01.990 you're wearing. You want to get your face out 00:23:01.990 --> 00:23:04.690 there. You want people to say, when you walk 00:23:04.690 --> 00:23:07.309 into a room, I know that person. I don't know 00:23:07.309 --> 00:23:10.349 what they do, but I know that person. Not bad. 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:17.750 Okay. So, Networking is a skill and a talent. 00:23:19.069 --> 00:23:22.789 A skill and talent. So what does that mean? Practice, 00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:25.650 practice. You're going to suck the first time, 00:23:25.710 --> 00:23:28.630 the second time, the third time. But you're practicing. 00:23:29.049 --> 00:23:33.170 That's what goes on. Now you're focusing on relationships. 00:23:33.769 --> 00:23:37.529 I used the pandemic as a line in the sand. Pre 00:23:37.529 --> 00:23:44.000 -pandemic, it was basically transactional. Your 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:46.380 networking was transactional. Post -pandemic, 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:50.539 it's relational. I used to be in a mortgage company. 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:54.359 I'd go to a networking event. I'd come home with 00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:57.900 a shoebox filled with business cards. Look how 00:23:57.900 --> 00:24:02.259 good I did. No, I did horrible. Why? Because 00:24:02.259 --> 00:24:05.299 I couldn't remember anybody. Now, when I go to 00:24:05.299 --> 00:24:07.700 a three or four hour event, I come back with 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:11.839 about 15 business cards. Because all of that, 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:15.519 I'll be able to... Follow it properly. And that 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.339 is so important. So keep in touch with them. 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:22.700 Remember to write, guess what? The handwritten 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:26.539 thank you notes. All of my students that I coach, 00:24:26.779 --> 00:24:30.319 I have them write a handwritten thank you note 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:34.240 and send it to me. In my briefcase, I have thank 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:38.200 you notes. I have 50 thank you notes. You can 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:39.960 have the old ones that are just, you can just 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:42.809 buy them. But I have mine printed. My logo, they're 00:24:42.809 --> 00:24:46.190 nice and everything else. One step above. You 00:24:46.190 --> 00:24:50.690 don't have to do that. But that's what you do. 00:24:51.069 --> 00:24:55.890 Now, I'm going to tell you a few things. You 00:24:55.890 --> 00:24:57.690 want to get your brand out there. You want to 00:24:57.690 --> 00:25:03.170 get your name out there. AI is a buzzword. Everybody's 00:25:03.170 --> 00:25:05.809 using AI. It's all my God's who replace all these 00:25:05.809 --> 00:25:10.289 jobs and everything else. Well, AI will not replace 00:25:10.289 --> 00:25:16.819 certain jobs. But if you use AI as a tool, that 00:25:16.819 --> 00:25:22.299 will take you boundless places. Now, how else 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:25.660 can you network out there? You write articles. 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:28.400 I write articles twice a week for a magazine. 00:25:28.900 --> 00:25:32.380 All about networking and things like that. Podcasting. 00:25:32.380 --> 00:25:35.000 It's a great way to get your word out there. 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:37.019 But what are you doing? You're getting other 00:25:37.019 --> 00:25:40.380 people to come on. Talk about them and you interact 00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:44.519 and interject what you want to say about networking. 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:49.240 And digital courses, I have to be good enough. 00:25:49.299 --> 00:25:52.900 On my website, you can see I have about eight 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:55.039 digital courses. It took me a long time to do. 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:58.559 But it has everything from sales to networking 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:01.900 and so on and so forth. You can do that. If you 00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:04.900 have a website, there's another website you do 00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:07.720 to create the courses. And then what you do is 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:10.420 you sell them on your site or other places. If 00:26:10.420 --> 00:26:13.420 you want to get the word out, create a digital 00:26:13.420 --> 00:26:16.180 course. I don't care if it's a local course. 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:20.039 You sell it for $7, sell it for $5. It doesn't 00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:22.599 make a difference. But you're doing it and you're 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:29.079 getting your name out there. Okay, so we'll circle 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:32.019 back to the beginning. Take every opportunity 00:26:32.019 --> 00:26:34.319 to meet new people. Where do you meet new people? 00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:39.289 Kohl's. The supermarket? Are you networking? 00:26:40.390 --> 00:26:43.609 Yeah, you are. How many times have you been in 00:26:43.609 --> 00:26:45.690 line and you've heard the conversation behind 00:26:45.690 --> 00:26:48.730 you? And you're like, I really know about that. 00:26:48.789 --> 00:26:52.890 I really want to turn around. Say it. Say it 00:26:52.890 --> 00:26:56.430 to your second and turn around. Okay? If they 00:26:56.430 --> 00:26:59.190 are interested, they'll say, what do you mean 00:26:59.190 --> 00:27:03.789 by that? Okay. How about if you focus on how 00:27:03.789 --> 00:27:08.029 you can help somebody? servant's heart. Having 00:27:08.029 --> 00:27:11.930 a servant's heart. How can you help? You're going 00:27:11.930 --> 00:27:16.450 alone except for an introvert. Don't forget your 00:27:16.450 --> 00:27:21.170 business cards and you have to follow up properly. 00:27:21.410 --> 00:27:25.710 Let me tell you now, if you don't follow up properly, 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:27.549 your mind will not even have gone to the event 00:27:27.549 --> 00:27:32.599 in the first place. When do I follow up? Well, 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:35.440 following up is one thing. Following up correctly 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:41.720 is different. And remember, people hate to be 00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:45.799 sold to you, but they love to buy. So no matter 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:48.039 what you're selling, no matter what service you 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:52.059 have, they want to buy from you. But if you go 00:27:52.059 --> 00:28:02.240 in there to try to sell them, you lost. insights 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:05.420 today. And of course, a big shout out to you, 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:09.099 our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending 00:28:09.099 --> 00:28:11.759 your time with us. If you're interested in my 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:15.079 digital courses, being coached or having me come 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:18.519 and talk to your company, just go to Michael 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:22.059 and fill out the request form. Remember, networking 00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:25.420 isn't about being perfect. It's about being present. 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:28.559 So take what you've learned today, get out there 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:31.710 and make some meaningful connections. If you've 00:28:31.710 --> 00:28:34.470 enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to 00:28:34.470 --> 00:28:37.650 subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with 00:28:37.650 --> 00:28:39.950 someone who could use a little networking inspiration. 00:28:40.710 --> 00:28:43.869 Let's keep the conversation going. You can find 00:28:43.869 --> 00:28:48.210 me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my 00:28:48.210 --> 00:28:52.069 website, foreman .com slash podcasts.