2012 – Transforming Your Networking Skills for Business Growth with Michael Forman

0:05Hey there, thoughtful listener. Are you looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, influencers, influencers, and clients? Well, I've had private conversations with over 2 ,000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video you can watch with no opt-in required where I'll share the exact steps necessary to be 100 % inbound in your industry over the next six to eight months with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for over 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high-ticket sales appointments.

0:51Also, don't forget, the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for great guests. Go to upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. I'd love to have you.

1:05With us right now, it's Michael Foreman. Michael, you are a keynote speaker and you help professionals network and communicate for more profitability. I love that. Your website, michaelaforeman.com to our friend that's listening. Just click around in your podcast app and you'll find a direct link, Michael, to your website so we can follow along. Michael, it's great to have you. Thank you. Thank you. It's great to be here. Well, you talk about two things that I am a huge fan of. networking and communication. I would love to kind of get your take on that and kind of your view of the impact that you have in the world.

1:46Well, you know, it depends on who I'm really talking to. When I'm talking to C-suite executives, I give them this understanding of how to network and communicate and where they either bring me in to talk about it or it filters down to their They're salespeople, so they're support people. And on the other hand, I speak directly with the salespeople and teach them. I walk in and I say, how many 20-somethings, how many 30-somethings are there? And they raise their hands and whatnot. And I say, look, the 20-somethings, this is Greek to you. You've never heard of it. The 30-somethings, you heard of it, but you forgot it.

2:26You know, because I really believe that if you network and communicate more efficiently, oh, my God, you're going to increase your profit margin, you know, by the following month. Absolutely. Absolutely. 100 % agree with you. Maybe let's go through maybe some, you know, basic, three basic tenets or two to three basic tenets, the things that you talk about that maybe leaders could do a better job of incorporating in their lives so we can make ourselves more available for those valuable connections. Well, you know, it's really, as three, I promote seven steps to properly network. Yes. Take us through seven steps.

3:12Yes, it really comes from, listen, when you walk up to a networking event, the first thing you have to do is listen. You have to listen for your conversation because not all conversations are for you. Okay, you listen. And if it is, then absolutely inject a little bit. But when you walk up, have eye contact. Don't start looking all over the place. Eye contact is so important. When you're being introduced to somebody, shake their hand, shake their hand firmly, not like a dead fish. You know, you have to shake their hand with authority. OK, and then you move on to, OK, you're part of this conversation.

3:56You inject. Two seconds worth of information. And remember, now you're going as an expert in your field. So what you say, hopefully it will resonate with a few of the people. Say that it does resonate with two of the people. Okay. You're going to build, you're going to begin the rapport building process. Okay. Rapport building. That's so important. And I remember one word. Okay. Form F O R M family, occupation, recreation. and M is like a message that you try to get onto the same level. But you pick any one of those letters and you can deal with anybody on any level. I was a baseball coach for 16 years.

4:48I was an umpire for three years. So when it comes to youth sports, I can talk with anybody. I can talk with anybody. And the whole thing is when you walk up, after you say your two seconds worth or whatever, Stop talking. Stop. You have to listen. You listen to the people. And so, you know, as he's talking, say, look, I'm very interested in what you do. Tell me more about it. And he's going to talk about himself and talk about his job and everything else, because the more that he talks about himself, the more that that barrier tends to come down and you can then have a true one on one conversation.

5:33So, you know, and that goes on. That's the first four steps. There are like three more, but there's the most important thing is after you build that rapport and you have that one-on-one connection, the most important thing is follow up. And everybody loses their head and they don't know how to follow up correctly. And that's what I'm here to tell them. Yeah. Well, as they say, right, fortune is in the follow-up and it is staggering. When I think about events that I've been to, I could tell that I may have been a pretty good introduction for someone. And it is staggering at the lack of follow-up and follow-through that I've seen.

6:20And I'm like, wow, that kind of blows my mind. You know, that it's like, and it's interesting. I think psychologically, you know, it's like they're sad. I would love your take on this. You know, why is it that someone could get so excited about making that connection, but then not follow through? You know, it's like, I feel like they get that, that, that endorphin rush or that, that ego boost. I got one. I landed, you know, I landed when I got a great contact, but then they get home and then, you know, the tyranny of the urgent probably creeps in or, you know, now they're faced with another possibility for rejection and they don't want to ruin what was already quote unquote, a win to their brain.

7:05And so if they're like, well, if I do this again, I might fail and I can't, I can no longer count that as a win, even though, you know, without moving forward or without continuing, it's not a win. It's just, you know, it's true. You can pat yourself on the back, but that's not going to pay the bills. They have that feeling that you are talking about. That's called the thrill of the hunt. Okay. They hunt for this client and everything that has to do with building up the client and all of a sudden, wham, they get the client. But the ledge. Okay. So here, I'm going to give you a few tactics on what to do with follow up.

7:43I've done entire breakout sessions and workshops just on follow up. Okay. Because everybody seems to get there and it falls apart. Okay. So let's say that you had this really great connection with somebody. Well, and you exchange business cards and whatnot. And on the back of his business card or her business card, you write down the date, the name of the function, and something that you spoke about. Okay. Now, I spoke to Josh about his son playing baseball. He got hurt, his ankle twisted, and so on and so forth. So I have that on the back of the business card. So after the evening, I have, let's say, 15 business cards.

8:29So I'm going to go home or go back to the office or whatever the case may be. This is where people fall down. I've had people tell me that they wait until the next morning to send that first email. I say, well, that's great because I'll send it out that evening and I'm going to beat you to the punch. Okay. So you send that first email that night. And it's just very simple. Yes, absolutely. Hey, Josh, I met you either this evening or whatever on such and such date on this event. We spoke about your son. I'm sorry to hear about his ankle. Good to meet you, Michael. Now, I didn't say what I did. I didn't say how I did it or what.

9:16It was just a thank you for meeting him. So now the next morning when people are just writing their first emails, I'm taking out a thank you note, a handwritten thank you note. I wrote, Dear Josh, I met you on such and such date, such and such an event. We spoke about your son. He got hurt. He hurt his ankle, whatever. Listen, I'm looking forward to having a cup of coffee with you, Michael. I didn't put down a day or a time. And I sent it away. Now, I've just increased your ability to receive that return to about 60 or 70%. Because after the email and after, let's say, three days, people are going to say, oh, my God, I got a thank you note.

10:07I have to email him back and thank him for a thank you note. Okay? But let's say that you didn't get a response. Okay? So now here it is, three or four days later, you write him another email. Hey, Josh, how you doing? Remember me, Michael, I met you on such and such date, such and such an affair. We spoke about your son. I asked if I wanted to meet for coffee. I just checked my schedule. I'm clear Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. How's Tuesday? I love it. It's kind of a landing. So when you're going now, that increased your 70 % to about 90%. Now, positive or negative, I'm going to get a response.

10:54Okay, positive or negative, that's all I want is that response. If you don't get a response, then you write really one final email. Say, hey, Josh, I met you at such and such date, time. I spoke about your son. I was available for coffee on Tuesday. That was my best day. How's three o 'clock? And you send that off. Now, more times than not, you're going to get the response. You're going to get that first meeting. But if you don't, that's very simple. You take all the information that you've accrued so far, you put it into your CRM, you put it onto your mailing list, and you do a slow drip campaign because no contact is a bad contact unless they tell you to stop.

11:45Yeah, and honoring that relationship, too, and never violating that trust, I think, is, you know, keep always maintaining that trust. Like, here's one thing, Mike, I want to ask you about, too, because, again, you know, kind of like dating, you know, if you go for a close too early or awkwardly, it's really disappointing. Like, you know, I think we've all had that experience, too, where, you know, maybe I, you know, was engaging with someone and then they kind of started pitching me in a weird way. And I was like, that's kind of disappointing. I thought we had something here. Like, I'm cool about doing business, but can you maybe help with some guidelines, you know, just say kind of later into the relationship here or into the conversation, you know, how to maybe better, I don't know, just more awareness, more self-awareness, more, you know, better skills at testing the water before knowing when to move forward or when not to move forward.

12:45Because again, I'd hate for someone to ruin a relationship because they, or potential future engagement because they maybe pushed or didn't, or asked for things or asked for business in kind of an awkward way. It's really, it's actually, it's rather simple. Listen, you have to listen to the mantra. If they know you, if they like you, if they trust you, they'll do business with you. And you have to do all three before they do business with you. So that trust factor, that's a major factor. So at the networking event, when you're building up the rapport, don't immediately start to say what you do.

13:26Say, you know something, I really like what you do and how you do it. How can I be the best referral source for you? How can I refer you the best way? Now, I haven't told you what I do for a living. I haven't told you where I go or how I do. Yeah. Interested in helping you. And that all of a sudden he said, really? Well, this is how, you know, and that breaks down. And that's where if you've done your job correctly, he's going to ask you for your business card. He's going to ask you about what you do. Okay. That's why you really don't have to involve what you do so much later on. okay so all right so let's fast forward that you made the connection and you're meeting him for or her for coffee so you're going to say hey josh how you doing you know that was some event right we went to we made some good contacts we spoke about your son remember your son he hurt his ankle how's your son and have him talk about himself his family and everything else and the more he talks, the lower that becomes.

14:42And then that becomes a relationship. Because remember, especially in today's day, you're listening, you're not, you have to give in order to receive. Okay, totally. So, so you're listening, and you're pausing after you listen. Why is that so important? because when he's talking to you and you're listening to him, you're not hearing what he says, thinking about the next thing that you're going to ask. You're listening to him, you're pausing, and then you respond to what he says. You're actively listening to him. And when somebody's sitting there intently listening to what you're saying, oh my God, that's so important.

15:29Michael, I'm on your website right now, And I see that you give away an abridged version of your book, Networking Unleashed, Mastering the Art of Networking, Discover the Seven-Step Path to Effective Networking, Designed to Help Everyone Achieve Their Networking Goals. You know, I love this. I'm on your website. It's michaelaforman.com, F-O-R-M-A-N.com. I clicked on download. I'm looking at the PDF right now. And this is great. These are really, really good tips. I didn't mean to steal your thunder by Michael, but what else would you recommend for someone who's enjoyed our conversation and would love to get more of the work that you do?

16:13Well, for one thing, the abridged version is a great step-by-step without all the extra information. I have some good information in the book that I didn't share on the PDF. Okay, so that's really one reason to get the book. But listen, all you have to do is go to michaelaforman.com. There's a contact form down on the bottom. And you can contact me, whether it's for keynote speeches, breakout sessions, workshops, one on one, virtual workshops, and really anything that you need, really the C-suite executives. I'm looking to go into your businesses and talk to your salespeople and support people.

17:02And that's one thing that everybody seems to forget. Yeah, I have salespeople, but who are your support people? Who are the people who answer your phones and talk to the people in your reception? Okay, you need to have everybody on the same page. And you need to have everybody respect everybody that comes in. And I'm talking about respecting the janitor to the CEO. Okay. You have to have the same amount of respect, courtesy. You have to have all of that to be a good person. And if you are a good person and you follow all these steps, there's no doubt that you'll pick up more business. Yeah. Love it.

17:45Again, Michael A. Foreman, that's your website, michaelaforeman.com. Michael, it's been a great conversation. Thank you so much for joining us. Josh, it was an absolute pleasure.

18:23Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful leaders. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this program, if you're looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, and clients, I have had private conversations with over 2 ,000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video that you can watch right now with no opt-in or email required where I'm going to share the exact steps necessary to be 100 % inbound in your industry over the next six to eight months with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for more than 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies.

19:06Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high-ticket sales appointments. Make sure to hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning, that's right, seven days a week, you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed. I promise to bring positivity and inspiration to you for around 15 minutes every single day. Thanks for listening and thank you for being a part of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Movement.