If you struggle with networking with people, then you must read this blog. Helpful insight for you.

Let’s talk about networking with people today.  Networking is like building a support system.  One of the ways to get successful and to move forward is to have a support system.  If you don’t have a support system then it’s time to network and build one. 

 

I would like to share an example with you before moving forward so that you can visualize this.  If a total stranger walked up to you and said, ‘’Hey I want you to give me something and I’m going to absolutely give you nothing in return and I want you to be happy about it,’’ how would you react to that?  This sounds similar to a robbery.  Wouldn’t it seem odd to you?

 

Here is a very important thing to keep in mind when you’re networking.  Don’t be a parasite.  What is a parasite?  A parasite is someone who just wants to take, take and take.  They are only concerned about what they can gain from it.  It’s best to have the mindset that you’re going to be open to making it a win-win situation.  At least ask someone how they are doing and be genuine about it.  It’s important to build relationships with people when you network.

 

When I network, I genuinely care about people.  Networking is easy for me because of that.  If you’re someone who struggles with networking or struggles with how to approach people that’s understandable and I’m here to help.  If you think that your people and relationship skills need work, that’s understandable as well.  The main key to keep in mind is that you want situations to be a win-win situation.

 

If you just met someone for the first time and you’re getting to know them, then you are going to take your time and go through the getting to know them phase.  For some people, this time may take longer than other times.  It’s no different from that when you’re networking.  Networking can be viewed as taking the time to get to know someone and keep in touch.  That doesn’t mean that you have to talk to that person every day but you can keep in touch from time to time. 

 

Let’s say that you met someone in your industry, maybe you can touch basis once a month or once every two months.  It will vary depending on how receptive the person is to you.  It can be as simple as hoping they are well or asking how they are doing.  It’s important to be genuine about it when you have a conversation.  People feed off of each other’s energy and someone will know if you’re faking it. 

 

I genuinely keep in touch with people and ask how they are doing and truly mean it.  Listen up, this is called ‘’being a decent human being.’’  If you are a decent human being, it’s going to be easy for you to network because people won’t see you as a cold stranger that’s just trying to rob them. 

 

Every connection is important and should be treated preciously.  You never know who knows who.  If someone comes across to me in a bad or negative way, I usually don’t talk bad about them.  If you were to look at all of my videos, podcasts, socials, and website, you won’t catch me talking bad about someone.  That’s just not my style.  Now I might give a scenario for the purpose of teaching, but it’s not for the purpose of blasting people.  That’s just not my personality.

 

When it comes to networking, here’s how you can meet people.  Look up associations, organizations and people in your industry.  For example, I’m in the music business and a songwriter under BMI and my publishing company is registered to both BMI and ASCAP.  Those two organizations have workshops, meetings and different events.  Over the years, that’s how I met people.  And from time to time after meeting people, I send them how are you messages.  This is called being a decent human being. 

 

There is great technology at your disposal that will help you keep track of these things.  You have to allow people to warm up to you over time.  Some people will connect with you and some won’t.  You can’t expect people to treat you like their bestie overnight.     

 

For those of you who struggle with networking, here’s something that may help you.  Look up random general stuff.  It can be the news or other sources.  The purpose of this is to see what is at the top of people’s minds nationally.  It doesn’t have to be anything controversial but a topic that the majority of the population would have at least heard of.  Nine times out of ten, that will give you something potentially to talk about. 

 

You have to keep in mind, when you’re networking people may be just as nervous as you.  Allow them time to get to know you and just be a genuine person. 

 

Here is another thing that can help you if you’re struggling with networking and this may sound a little crazy.  Take improv acting classes.  You don’t have to be an actor.  Here is why improv classes are awesome.  They will help to teach you how to be on the spot with people.  Improv teaches you to think on your feet.  When you have conversations with people you’re going to have to think on your feet. 

 

There also other things that you can do as well.  You can go online and have conversations with people.  This will serve as great practice to help you improve your networking skills.  There are websites where you can meet people.  Some of the sites are LinkedIn, meetup.com and other similar places.  You also can also take a chance with social media.  You need time to practice. 

 

Networking is as skill.  I had a meeting with Mike Smith recently and he’s a global president of a record company.  One of the things mentioned in the meeting, he said that networking is a skill.  I agreed with him whole heartedly.  I was telling him that I was sharing these things with people on my podcast and videos.  This is an important thing for people to understand. 

 

The reason why that conversation was such a big deal is because that was the fourth time that that topic came up from different people.  That pointed out to me that this is an issue and I want to write a book about it because it’s not enough time to cover it here. 

 

The takeaway for you today is that you can network.  You can absolutely do it.  You can teach yourself how to network.  You can learn it.  It starts with one connection at a time.  Organize your contacts.  If you don’t have them all on a list, then organize them on a list.  Don’t just have contacts in your phone.  Phones can get lost or broken.  Make sure they are backed up. 

 

I love Gmail and I will tell you why.  They have a wonderful tool called scheduling messages.  Even if you have a web domain, Gmail can be an email provider.  

 

It’s a wonderful tool on Gmail because you can use Gmail rather you have Gmail or rather you have an email through your domain that uses Gmail as a server.  If you think you’re too busy, then block out an hour or 30 minutes in a month and schedule emails. 

 

You have to remember, people are not their titles.  They are human beings.  Keep in mind the analogy that I told you at the beginning about a stranger coming up to you demanding something and offering nothing. 

 

This is the beginning of networking.  Here is my challenge for you today.  If you already have people that you know, make it a point from time to time to reach out and ask them how they are doing.  Say hello.  Some may be warm to you and some may not.  They may not be used to you doing that, but start doing it from time to time.  It could be twice a year or whatever time.  You have to determine what time is good for you, but that’s the first challenge for you today.

 

The second challenge for you is to sharpen your networking skills.  Practice networking.  Getting to know people doesn’t have to be forceful.  Just find some common interests and do it.  There are plenty of places that you can do it.  Now if it’s just some random person on social media, that can be a little bit more tough because they are there to be entertained.   It still doesn’t mean that you can’t try. 

 

Here’s another piece of advice as to how you can find people to network with.  When you’re looking up someone in your industry, see if they have a website and subscribe to their email list.  If you’re on people’s newsletters, eventually they might have a workshop or give you some good information about what’s coming up.  I will tell you another little secret.  Most of the time, you can hit reply to the email and it will reach them.  That’s an opportunity to be a decent human being.  Tell them how they are helpful to you and again be genuine about it.  People can tell if you are not being sincere with them. 

 

I’m not suggesting that you stalk anyone, but if you are networking, check out people’s social media and see if they have an interest posted.  Maybe they have a dog and you have a dog and you can say something nice about the dog.  I’m just giving examples.   

 

Be friendly but don’t be pushy.  People will let you know what temperature they want the conversation to go. You can tell by the response.  If someone’s responding to you in an engaging way and it shows that it’s left open, then it’s ok to respond back.  But if they are responding in a way to where they have closed the conversation, leave the conversation alone in that moment.  Trust me you will know when this happens.  If this happens, then you may want to give it breathing room before reaching out again.

 

I would recommend also that you stay away from controversial topics.  But again, it’s going to depend on who you’re talking and what’s going on.  It just appears that people tend to argue about politics and religion.  Those are some of the top two things that people disagree about.  I tend to stay away from those topics in general.

 

Networking does not have to be hard.  The reason why it’s important to share this with you today is because networking is a part of your support system.  It gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded people and people that you can associate with.  Essentially networking builds a support system. 

 

If you want to build a support system, then be a support system.  How do you be a support system?  By being a genuine human being that actually cares about people and to not go into situations looking at what you can gain from it.  Approach situations with the mindset of how you can exchange.  That’s it.  It’s not scary.  And again, sign up to people’s email list and attend workshops.  There are a lot of virtual things happening if you don’t want to go in person.   

 

Here is another topic in the networking conversation for you, masterminds.  I love masterminds.  For those of you who may not know what it is, masterminds are when people collaborate, come together and exchange ideas.  They talk and can share their experiences, what they’ve learned and if anything positive has happened to them.  I attend masterminds every month.  Although I’m busy, I make the time.  I usually go to three different masterminds monthly and they are all different.  Sometimes I talk and sometimes I don’t.  It just depends on the meeting.  If I have something to share, I definitely won’t hold back. 

 

There are other types of meetings going on as well such as zoom sessions and other virtual meetings where people are interacting and engaging.  There is absolutely no excuse not to network, especially in today’s age with all the technology that we have.  I’ve given you some great ideas today.  The only thing that you have to do now is apply it.  You never know who knows who.

 

Do you ever wonder how people get connected?  How do they have connections?  It’s very simple.  Follow these concepts and eventually you will get those connections too.   You have to put your time in and give people time to get to know you.  That’s what you have to do.

 

I’m a member of plenty of associations and organizations.  I definitely take advantage of the meetings that they offer.  It’s a fantastic way of meeting people.  There are also different groups out that such as Facebook, discord and other groups.   

 

I want you to challenge yourself to get better at network.  We all can always improve.  Although I consider myself a great networking, I still learn all the time on how to be even better.  Even while I’m sharing this information with you, I’m in the same boat as far as learning.

 

One of the biggest things that I’ve learned is that you have to be organized enough to stay on top of networking.  Once you start getting to know a lot of people, it can be very easy to neglect people.  You don’t want to just contact people when you need something.  Say hi sometimes and see how they are doing.  Remember the word I’ve used three times now, be a decent human being.

 

I won’t name drop but I’ve met some very well-known people over the years using this same concept.  It was serendipitous.  They are normal people just like everyone else.  We all bleed.  We all go through pain.  We all get headaches sometimes.  Everyone has something.  Keep in mind, those are normal people behind their brands.  People are so caught up titles and who’s who, that they can forget that people are human beings.   

 

I consider myself just an average Joe although a lot of people call me smart.  I don’t walk around proclaiming myself as a genius.  It’s just that the things that I know, I know well and the things that I don’t know, I’m willing to learn.  I will be the first to admit that I don’t everything, but one thing that I know for certain, if you want to be great at networking, you have to be great at being a genuine person.  If you are not a naturally genuine person, then learn it.  Thank you for reading this today. 

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