Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Katherine Kirchner and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Katherine Kirchner and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:16
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
0:19
Connections, the show where conversations become
0:22
opportunities and relationships become results.
0:26
I'm your host, Michael Foreman. A lot of people
0:29
think networking is about meeting more people,
0:32
but the real power of networking isn't the number
0:36
of contacts you collect, it's the strength of
0:39
the partnerships you build. My guest today understands
0:42
that better than most. She's built... her success
0:46
on creating strong partnerships and developing
0:49
real rapport with customers. Relationships built
0:53
on trust, consistency, and mutual value. In this
0:57
episode, we're going to explore how trust forms
1:00
in those first conversations, why authentic rapport
1:03
matters more than clever sales tactics, and how
1:07
the strongest business opportunities often come
1:11
from partnerships that start with genuine connection.
1:15
If you want your networking to lead to meaningful
1:18
collaboration, loyal customers, and long -term
1:22
growth, you're in the right place. Let's get
1:25
into it. I'd like to welcome to the podcast today,
1:28
Catherine. Catherine, I am very interested in
1:31
what you have to talk about because I go on stages,
1:34
I do workshops, talking about the same thing.
1:38
So I'm hoping to pick up some good pointers.
1:40
Great. Welcome to the podcast. And why don't
1:44
you give us like the Cliff Notes version of how
1:46
you got where you are today? Yeah, so it's interesting.
1:51
I've been in the telecommunications industry
1:53
for a long time. It certainly wasn't the original
1:55
plan that I had. I originally was going to go
1:58
into music and major in that. And then through
2:00
starting that process really came to the conclusion
2:03
that probably wasn't the best. best path. And
2:06
at the time, there was a lot of opportunity in
2:08
telecommunications. And so I said, I'm going
2:11
to go do that. Seems interesting. And I have
2:13
taken a series of twists and turns and different
2:15
moves within the industry and even outside of
2:18
the industry to bring together a number of different
2:21
skills across various parts of organizations,
2:25
whether it's in sales or on the technical side,
2:28
engineering, operations, customer service. A
2:31
lot of side movement, things like that. But I
2:33
think ultimately landed at Zayo in the role that
2:37
I'm in now over service assurance, which really
2:39
touches every part of the organization. And I
2:42
think some of those decisions around and networking
2:45
and relationships I built during that whole process,
2:48
I think have been pivotal in being able to perform
2:51
and support the role in the way that I need to,
2:53
because I've experienced all those different
2:55
groups and functions that ultimately I support
2:59
today. That's how I got here. I spent most of
3:02
my career at Comcast and then I've had a number
3:05
of roles since then. I retired and did that for
3:09
about two months and said, hey, I'm probably
3:11
not quite ready for that. I think I still have
3:13
a lot to offer and have been fortunate to be
3:15
able to land with Zayo and the role that I have
3:19
today to keep doing what I love doing. I love
3:22
technology and working with people. You're passionate
3:26
about it, and that is really 90 % of it. If you're
3:29
passionate about what you're doing, you just
3:32
enjoy doing it. So I can feel your passion come
3:35
through the computer, actually. Okay, so I've
3:39
got a few questions. You've built strong partnerships
3:43
throughout your career. What's the difference
3:46
between meeting someone and actually forming
3:49
a partnership that produces results? I think
3:54
it's just really building that relationship to
3:57
be more than just an introduction, if you will.
4:00
And what's interesting, particularly in this
4:02
industry, is it's a very small industry. You
4:05
encounter a lot of the same people. You work
4:08
with a lot of the same partners. And you do what
4:12
you can to not just build the relationship, but
4:15
provide support and help, you know, when they
4:17
need it. And then I always feel like that returns.
4:21
to you at the same level or even better sometimes.
4:24
And so what you find in this industry particularly
4:27
is that you have common clients or you have common
4:31
challenges and building beyond just meeting someone
4:35
to share contact information, talk about. things
4:39
that are shared issues or problems to solve.
4:43
And then all of a sudden, you just naturally
4:45
build this relationship where you're helping
4:47
each other out. And those relationships matter
4:49
and come back in spades if you're helping folks.
4:54
And then you just find that you learn from those
4:56
experiences and those relationships tend to last
5:00
and you end up crossing paths again. You should
5:02
always assume that you might. And I've found
5:04
that many times you do. There are folks here
5:08
at Zayo that I worked with years ago for a company
5:13
that they acquired when it was still that company.
5:16
Or I now work with companies that I've worked
5:19
for that are now my clients that used to be.
5:23
I used to be the client. So those relationships
5:26
can be invaluable because already you've established
5:30
or you have a trust with folks that you're working
5:33
with that sometimes can take time to build. And
5:38
so that to me is the biggest thing that I found
5:41
is just those relationships matter and that trust
5:44
that you build lasts and people remember that.
5:48
And it makes it just so much easier. And a little
5:52
bit more seamless if you're settling into a new
5:54
role or you're trying to build and establish
5:56
a relationship with a client and those folks
5:58
that maybe are there from your past or whatnot,
6:02
just really are invaluable. You had a few really
6:08
important points that I just want to reemphasize.
6:12
Trust is the number one factor. Nobody will do
6:15
business with you unless they trust you. And
6:18
when you first talk with somebody, you have like
6:21
a wall between the two of you. And the more they
6:24
talk about themselves and what they do and everything
6:27
else, that wall is coming down. That trust factor
6:30
is going up. And not until does that switch happen
6:33
when they can start actually listening to you.
6:37
But what you said was when you go out, when you
6:40
try to help them, when you try, because in networking.
6:44
It's called having a servant's heart. You go
6:47
out there and try to help everybody without the
6:50
thought of selling something. So you're out there
6:53
trying to help them because it will come back
6:55
to you in spades. So it's very important. So
6:59
I just wanted to bring out those two features
7:01
that you just spoke about, that they are very
7:03
important. Yes. What signals in an early conversation
7:09
tell you whether someone is worth building a
7:12
long -term relationship? with? That's a really
7:16
great question. I think sometimes it just takes
7:23
really reading the room and the person and the
7:27
tone of the meeting or the tone of the discussion
7:29
or the approach. It's interesting. If you really
7:35
understand the intent of the introduction and
7:38
meeting the person in the first place, sometimes
7:40
that can help you. navigate the conversation,
7:46
develop the conversation, and take it to a place
7:50
that builds the trust and helps you from a relationship
7:52
perspective. Now, if you're going into the conversation
7:55
and there is a clear, let's say, an agenda or
7:59
definitely something that you can read is an
8:02
outcome that the other person has that they want
8:06
to get out of the introduction, sometimes it's
8:10
important to recognize that. And build a relationship
8:13
from that to, I think, navigate into really building
8:19
the relationship for longer term strength among
8:23
the two parties, right? If you go into it and
8:26
you say, oh, I can clearly see this person has
8:27
an agenda and you just almost, I don't want to
8:30
say blow it off, but don't really come in there
8:33
and acknowledge that and have that conversation
8:36
or make sure that's understood and it's a discussion
8:39
point. Then you can come off as not really being
8:43
interested or genuine or only having your own
8:45
agenda. So it's really not to say that you're
8:48
not going to go into this conversation and you're
8:50
always going to be able to get past that. But
8:52
it's important to know what that is. What does
8:55
the other person want to get out of the conversation?
8:57
And what do you want to get out of it? Sometimes
9:00
it's just the approach and how they start the
9:03
conversation. So look for those tones of, am
9:07
I being brought into this conversation? Because
9:10
there's a there's an opportunity that I want
9:13
to talk to me about because I need to listen
9:15
to that and I need to understand and be open
9:17
to what it is that they're providing or what
9:20
they want to speak to me about. Be respectful
9:22
of that and truly be interested. And then it's
9:25
and then how do I then bring in. what I would
9:29
like to discuss or how I would like to build
9:31
this relationship. It's building really immediately
9:34
trying to understand what their point of view
9:37
is, or maybe what they want to get out of the
9:39
conversation so that you can build the relationship
9:41
and the trust and truly show the interest in
9:45
that you respect what they're trying to do. Yeah,
9:49
I can spot somebody a mile away that is walking
9:55
up to me that wants to sell something. If they
9:57
walk up to you and they, If the first two sentences
10:00
of their conversation is something about something
10:02
that they're selling, I almost immediately close
10:05
off that section of my brain. I look, I want
10:08
to be respectful because I never know when he's
10:11
going to come into fruition again, but I'm going
10:14
to end the conversation. So I have to weed that
10:17
out because if I'm going to a networking event
10:19
and I only have three or four hours, I have to
10:23
really. Figure out what my time should be. I
10:26
used to be in a mortgage business. I used to
10:30
go to these events all the time and have a shoebox
10:33
filled with business cards and say, look how
10:35
good I did. But that was pre -pandemic. Post
10:39
-pandemic, I looked more for the relationships.
10:42
And I think if I take more than 15 cards, that's
10:46
a lot. Yeah. I truly built up something. Yeah.
10:50
And I think too, one thing that's important in
10:52
those, because I've experienced that myself,
10:54
is if it is something that they're trying to
10:57
sell and it's not something that you're interested
10:59
in or that would actually fill a need for you,
11:02
then I think that open transparency is important,
11:06
right? I've found that if somebody brings something
11:09
to me and maybe it's something that could be
11:11
an application I might want to look at in the
11:12
future, or maybe it's just not something that
11:15
we would need because maybe... The business that
11:18
we have isn't understood necessarily that it
11:20
wouldn't actually be a solution. I'm just pretty
11:22
transparent about that to say, hey, that's really
11:25
that's really an interesting proposition. It's
11:28
definitely something we could look at maybe in
11:30
the future, but probably not right now or maybe
11:32
a year away from it or flat out. It's probably
11:35
isn't something that we would necessarily leverage.
11:38
And here's why, because we do this, that and
11:41
the other thing. You've listened, you've provided
11:44
transparency and reasoning so that whoever's
11:48
presenting to you, it understands it's not just,
11:51
I just don't want to listen to a sales pitch.
11:53
It's truly, this is something that, yes, we absolutely
11:58
need. We're probably nine to 12 months away from
12:00
it. I'd love to talk to you about it again at
12:03
the right time. Yeah, it's just not something
12:07
that we need or we've already got it solved for.
12:09
We've already committed to this other. I think
12:11
that transparency, even in those conversations,
12:13
really does help because I think nobody wants
12:16
to waste their own time or to try to pursue something
12:19
that isn't ever going to be a reality. I just
12:22
assume tell them. And then you've built a relationship
12:25
because who knows down the road, I might say.
12:28
I need that. Or I go take another role and all
12:31
of a sudden I do. And I want to be able to call
12:33
that person up. And this has happened to me in
12:35
other roles. And they're happy to help me because
12:39
I was honest with them and treated them with
12:43
respect and transparency. Absolutely. And by
12:47
you being transparent right up front, you let
12:51
the other person know either A, you're interested,
12:54
B, you're not interested, or C, you might be
12:57
interested in the future. And if the other person
13:00
is worth his salt or her salt, she'll take your
13:04
information, put it into their database for a
13:07
year from then and check in with you. If they're
13:12
going to put you into a drip campaign, I'm going
13:15
into a marketing hat now. But if they put you
13:18
into a drip campaign and just ask you every other
13:21
month or so, hey, this is Mike. I just want to
13:24
know if I can help you with anything. And just
13:26
very casual so that you don't block me, block
13:30
my emails. You still receive my emails. And it's
13:33
a just in case type thing. Yes, absolutely. Many
13:38
professionals rush the relationship. and move
13:42
too quickly towards business. Why does trust
13:45
usually develop before opportunity? I think it's
13:55
getting comfortable that the person that you're
13:58
working with, it's mutual trust, right? Because
14:01
particularly even when you're in a sales conversation,
14:04
is there a real effort there to understand? the
14:08
business and how, and to come to the conversation
14:11
with a solution versus just, I'm going to go
14:14
try to sell this thing. I think what helps really
14:16
build the trust and why it's important and usually
14:19
drives to the opportunity is not trying to take
14:23
a one size fits all approach, particularly if
14:26
you're going into a complex business or something
14:28
like that. Like I can tell you, I've worked for
14:31
telecommunications companies for a number of
14:33
years and no two are really the same. Like the
14:35
needs I would have maybe had at, Comcast and
14:38
a highly consumer business with a large scale
14:42
might be different than I might have at a startup.
14:45
I might need the same solution, but I might need
14:49
a different version of it or some customization
14:53
that doesn't just easily fit in the out of the
14:56
box. Somebody coming in and talking to me and
14:59
truly understanding and have done their homework
15:01
a little bit on my business certainly helps just
15:06
right from the get -go. Like they come into the
15:08
conversation and they seem to know a lot about
15:10
what we're trying to do. So that I appreciate.
15:14
And then I appreciate that if they don't have
15:16
all the answers, really just talking to me a
15:19
little bit about what are some of the challenges
15:20
that we face and then helping me understand how
15:24
maybe that you've solved that in the past. And
15:26
then being just transparent about, hey, I think
15:30
we have a solution. I'd love to talk to you about
15:33
it. Or I don't know that I have this exact solution.
15:37
We have this solution for smaller sale clients
15:39
that we can custom develop. Really trying to
15:42
gain that understanding before coming into the
15:45
hard push to sell. Because in some cases, if
15:49
they're very like businesses and they have similar
15:50
scale and similar product sets and things like
15:52
that, similar networks and all of that, that
15:54
can be... Yeah, generally, it's a little bit
15:57
more straightforward. In a company like ours,
16:00
as an example, we cater to a completely different
16:02
customer base. We have numerous equipment types.
16:05
We sell a variety of products from enterprise
16:10
all the way up to carrier services. And we don't
16:15
necessarily have the same organizational makeup
16:17
in how we do our processes because of different
16:20
requirements and really getting to understand.
16:24
the business and what problems we're trying to
16:26
solve before trying to come in with a solution.
16:28
Because then it can come across as, no, I don't
16:31
really care what your problems are. I just have
16:33
a solution and I want to sell it. Building that
16:36
rapport and getting to know the person and what
16:39
they're trying to solve is super critical. Absolutely.
16:43
Again, you hit so many points with your answer.
16:48
They were all 100 % correct. When I do workshops,
16:52
I go into companies like Zayo or something else,
16:55
and I do a workshop and I teach them all about
16:58
how to truly network, how to network where they
17:01
make conversations turn into clients. You know,
17:05
everything that you just said, everything we
17:08
have to go in and you, first of all, listen instead
17:10
of talk. If you talk more than 30 % of the conversation,
17:15
you lost, right? You have to build. way back
17:18
in the beginning of this podcast, we said trust
17:21
was the most important factor. And so you have
17:25
to be able to, I have to be able to trust you.
17:27
And the only way I'm going to do that is by you
17:30
asking questions, finding out about me, all this
17:33
kind of stuff. If you didn't take the time to
17:35
find out about me, I don't know how important
17:39
it is. So I leave it like that. Okay. When establishing
17:44
rapport with customers or partners, what behaviors
17:47
quietly build credibility without saying a word?
17:54
I think the biggest one is the listening element.
17:57
I think being your natural self and coming across
18:01
authentic, obviously you're saying things at
18:03
that point in time, but you're truly showing
18:05
that, hey, I'm going to start this off and I
18:07
have a true interest in really building a relationship
18:09
and potentially a partnership with you. That
18:13
listening part is really important because if
18:16
you're thinking about the sale, let's say, and
18:20
how to get that over the goal line, and you're
18:23
not really listening to what it is that the client,
18:28
potential client, is trying to solve, you'll
18:31
miss the mark. And that to me is the number one
18:34
thing is listening and being methodical about
18:37
the approach. And then once you've listened,
18:39
then obviously answer and say, and ask more questions
18:42
or, and I think while you're, the listening has
18:46
to be authentic too. There's body language, right?
18:49
You say, I'm going to stop and I'm going to listen.
18:50
I'm not going to say a word, but you can also
18:53
tell if somebody is really listening or not.
18:55
There's those nonverbal cues. Are you engaged
18:59
in the conversation when you're listening? Are
19:01
you acknowledging? Because I can, I think most
19:04
people can. I can tell when somebody is truly
19:05
listening and when they're not. And that's the
19:08
big thing that I would say is genuinely be interested
19:12
and listen. Because if you're not generally interested
19:16
and you're really not listening, maybe you're
19:20
hearing things, but you're not listening. You're
19:22
formulating how you're going to respond and you're
19:24
not really in tune. with the conversation and
19:28
truly listening to what the person has to say.
19:33
Absolutely. And just as important as the listening,
19:36
there's a pause at the end of the listening.
19:39
So if you're listening intently, you shouldn't
19:42
be thinking about the next thing that you want
19:44
to say. You have to listen to the person that's
19:47
speaking, digest it, pause, and then... reiterate
19:52
some of what they had said back to them. Say,
19:54
if I understand you correctly, why is that? So
19:58
you get a lot more out of it when you listen,
20:02
when you correctly listen. And the difference
20:07
between listening and hearing, right? Because
20:09
you can hear it, but you're not going to listen.
20:11
Okay, perfect. What mistakes do people make when
20:15
they try to force a partnership instead of letting
20:18
it develop naturally? I think what happens when
20:21
you try to do that is it can result in, and I've
20:26
had this happen, maybe there wasn't, there was
20:31
such a rush to get to a partnership through some
20:37
means, whether it was a sale or us, me signing
20:41
on and saying, yes, I'll agree. I want to move
20:43
forward with this solution that you're providing
20:45
or whatnot. I think. And again, it goes back
20:49
to the listening and the really exploratory work
20:51
around what is it that they're really trying
20:54
to solve? Because if I don't understand that
20:57
and it somehow gets glossed over in the process
21:01
and then all of a sudden somebody says, yep,
21:02
it sounds good. I'm going to take it. And then
21:04
all of a sudden it doesn't meet the expectations.
21:07
Maybe it's a service you bought and it's not
21:10
performing the way it came across in the pitch.
21:13
And maybe that's not because it's a bad product.
21:16
It's just you didn't take the time to really
21:18
understand the true need and what some of the
21:21
real gaps were that needed to be solved in order
21:25
to be able to make sure you sold the right thing
21:27
or you set the right expectations. And then all
21:30
of a sudden it gets deployed and it's not meeting
21:33
your needs or it's not meeting expectations because
21:37
the true exploratory work and transparency didn't
21:41
take place. That can be a rush to to sale, right?
21:46
Whether that's when you're using somebody for
21:49
adding supplementary resources and capabilities
21:52
or it's a tool or software or any of that, it
21:57
can be it. That is one of the first things that
22:01
can really just take if you had trust, it's gone
22:03
because you're like. You felt like that they
22:07
understood what you wanted. You get in there
22:09
and maybe the details weren't known. And then
22:12
I think the other thing that can happen is once
22:14
you even if you get to that point, maybe it doesn't
22:16
mean that, OK, maybe we didn't take enough time
22:18
up front to really understand the needs, documents,
22:21
gaps, whatever. But now that we know, then how
22:26
quickly can you react to that and solve it? I
22:28
think that's the next thing, because. To me,
22:31
it doesn't mean, yeah, maybe it wasn't the wrong
22:33
decision. It's just maybe we rushed into it a
22:36
little bit and there were some things that we
22:37
didn't anticipate. And then how do we recover
22:40
from that quickly? And you get the confidence
22:42
and the trust that it's recognized and there's
22:46
a path forward to resolve whatever the gap is.
22:50
Because I've experienced that. And then you usually
22:53
come out of it on the other end and say, yeah,
22:55
we had a couple of bumps in the road because
22:56
we didn't fully understand the requirements up
22:58
front. But there was definitely a commitment
23:01
and an understanding from this partner of what
23:04
that was, and they resolved it quickly. And just
23:07
that alone can build up trust sometimes more
23:12
than you even had before when you've got somebody
23:14
who, one, acknowledges the issue, two, puts a
23:18
plan in place to go solve it and then actually
23:20
executes on that and turns it around, right?
23:23
Sometimes that can be harder than the initial.
23:28
hey, I just made the initial sale, right? The
23:30
harder part is how do you maintain that trust
23:33
and build it even more over time so that when
23:35
the time comes for another solution or a new
23:38
solution, they're going to come right back to
23:40
you because you built that trust. And I think
23:44
most clients, I certainly know, and I think many
23:46
do, that sometimes things aren't going to be
23:48
perfect and that there are going to be problems
23:51
from time to time. But how you recover from those
23:54
with full transparency and actually execution
23:56
are going to build more trust than I would say
23:59
even the initial relationship at times, depending
24:01
on the scenario. Yeah, absolutely. It's no solution
24:06
is perfect. So you're going to give the solution
24:09
and you're going to have bumps in the road. And
24:11
it's how you recover from those bumps in the
24:14
road is whether or not that they're going to
24:16
trust you or not. So if you come out and you
24:19
say, OK, look, we have these bumps in the road,
24:21
we're going to solve them. and you solve the
24:23
problem, all of a sudden things are working well,
24:25
they're like, oh my God, you're a genius. And
24:28
they will trust you. So it all goes along with
24:31
that. And usually when there's bumps in the road,
24:34
it doesn't all get finished. After the first
24:38
round, those bumps in the road that all of a
24:40
sudden that creates other bumps in the road.
24:42
So you have to fix those, which create other
24:44
bumps in the road and you fix those. But if you
24:47
go through, if you're honest, you're upfront
24:49
and you're transparent and you fix all those
24:51
bumps in the road, then that's the trust. Then
24:55
they'll pull you back a thousand times. Yeah.
24:58
Okay. What does listening, here we go. What does
25:02
listening play in building trust, especially
25:05
when meeting someone for the first time? I think
25:09
listening just shows that you're genuinely interested
25:12
in getting to know that person, what they have
25:15
to offer, how they can help you. Not just how
25:18
they can help you, but then you truly want to
25:21
understand and listen so that you know how that
25:24
you can help them or how that relationship. would
25:28
be meaningful to them versus just talking. I
25:32
always appreciate that when I get into those
25:34
conversations because it is truly somebody that
25:37
wants to build a relationship with you because
25:40
they think that's important. I run into those
25:42
things. What's even, I think, resonates with
25:45
me sometimes is people just want to build a relationship
25:49
with me because maybe they're linked in with
25:51
other folks that I know. They think that, hey,
25:56
maybe there's some way that I can help this person
25:58
down the road or vice versa. Like in our industry,
26:03
we work with our competitors sometimes. We sell
26:08
competing services and we compete with each other,
26:10
but then we're also partners. And I don't want
26:13
to be building the relationship just because
26:15
it's, hey, on the partner side, I need this help.
26:20
So that's why I want to build the relationship.
26:22
I also know that I'm going to have to help them
26:24
at some point in time. And we're going to have
26:27
situations where that relationship is going to
26:29
be really important. So I'll go after the relationship
26:32
to say, hey, we seem to be crossing paths. We
26:36
work really closely together. We partner together
26:38
sometimes and have mutual clients. Sometimes
26:41
we compete with each other. But at the end of
26:43
the day, for those moments when we need to work
26:46
together for the collective good. of our client,
26:50
our mutual client. I want to make sure I have
26:52
this relationship in place and we trust each
26:54
other. Even though we might compete sometimes,
26:57
we trust each other to be and we have the shared
27:00
goal of making sure our mutual client is cared
27:02
for. Absolutely. Absolutely. What separates a
27:08
reliable partner from someone who simply shows
27:11
up for the opportunity? I definitely think it's
27:17
the trust that continues to get established over
27:20
time and proven with providing that good service.
27:23
I think what I find is that sometimes you can
27:28
work with partners. Once the initial sale is
27:32
made, there's not a great handoff, and then you
27:36
don't ever hear from them again until it's time
27:38
to buy something else. And I think one of the
27:41
things that... I think we do a great job of here
27:44
is that we don't take that approach necessarily.
27:50
And I think companies that don't, where the folks
27:52
that are selling to you maintain a relationship
27:56
and are checking in and obviously making sure
28:01
that you're connected with the right folks within
28:02
their organization for day -to -day support.
28:06
Like I get pulled into what I think is great
28:08
about our folks is that they don't. sell and
28:11
say yep see you later I'm off to the next client
28:14
they maintain those relationships and they they
28:17
introduce me to customers as somebody that can
28:20
help you know that they're always available to
28:22
help but I'm also there and it's a very nice
28:26
kind of natural handoff and partnership that
28:30
we can come then together into the client and
28:33
say, you have a team here. Your salesperson is
28:36
always going to be available anytime you need
28:38
anything. They're certainly going to be able
28:39
to help you if you're not getting what you need.
28:42
But by all means, here's a team of people that
28:44
we work very closely together with that are available
28:48
to you. And they help build that relationship
28:53
for me with clients, especially as we're bringing
28:55
on new ones. And I think that type of approach
28:59
makes such a difference for clients because the
29:01
clients know then that you care that, hey, I've
29:03
sold this and I'm going to be available and we'll
29:05
certainly talk about any future opportunities
29:07
as they come up or I'll check in periodically.
29:10
But I want to make sure that who's available
29:12
to you. all the time to be able to help support
29:15
you from a service assurance perspective as an
29:17
example. And there's nothing I appreciate more
29:20
than our sales folks doing that. And I think
29:23
our clients appreciate those introductions as
29:25
well. So they know that it's, yeah, I don't really
29:27
care what happens now. I sold it. And first time
29:30
they have an issue, they're on their own type
29:32
of thing. I don't, I'm not. I've worked with
29:35
a lot of sales professionals and I would tell
29:38
you, I think we do a really good job of that
29:40
here, of making sure that the clients, it's very
29:44
clearly understood who else they have to support
29:47
them in the organization and they don't just
29:49
ghost the clients. I'm not saying that happens
29:51
with frequency everywhere, but I have seen that
29:53
happen. Not here, obviously. But I think that's
29:56
one of the things that we do really well is we've
29:57
got such a good relationship internally to support
30:01
that customer from sale to... service and everybody
30:05
being tightly aligned. That's perfect. For me,
30:09
that's the way to do business, because that's
30:12
the way you succeed. And that's the way you get
30:14
more business because of your referral base,
30:17
because that's gold. Your referral base is gold.
30:20
Okay, let's bring this podcast full circle. If
30:24
someone listening today wants to build a network
30:27
that consistently leads to partnerships and referrals,
30:31
What one relationship building habit should they
30:36
start practicing immediately? I think the big
30:43
one is really identifying the need and listening.
30:49
And as it relates to trying to find those opportunities,
30:53
look across your current network. Really take
30:57
a step back because I have to do this every once
30:59
in a while. I have a lot of people in my network.
31:01
There's people that I don't necessarily have
31:04
regular contact with. And then there's just folks
31:06
that I do stay in contact with. I think really
31:10
leveraging your current network and understanding
31:12
where they can help you is certainly a big, important
31:16
piece. And then I think the other thing is as
31:19
you're doing that. really identifying those opportunities
31:23
that those folks can help you with. And then
31:25
when you're presented with those opportunities
31:27
or you make those connections, starting with
31:30
that trust element and truly listening and bringing
31:34
those relationships in to help you build more,
31:38
right? Because I think if you're trying to build
31:42
a relationship or network with a client or somebody
31:46
that doesn't know you, but they know one of your
31:49
folks that you're already networked with and
31:51
you have a strong relationship with and they
31:53
have a trusted relationship with that person,
31:55
immediately they could say, you know, I know
31:59
this person, I trust this person. And if this
32:03
is somebody that they've worked with and they
32:05
trust, I'm going to give it a shot and I'm going
32:08
to open up the door to a conversation because
32:11
of the reputation and the relationships they
32:15
have with people in your network. I hope that
32:17
answered the question. Yeah, no, really, in spades
32:21
it did. Wonderful answer. Listen, you are a great
32:24
podcast guest. I think I can talk to you about
32:27
for another hour, but due to time constraints.
32:31
Catherine, if somebody wanted to contact you
32:34
about either getting help from Zayo or just to
32:37
say hello, how could they contact you? I think
32:41
a really great way is through LinkedIn. I'm out
32:43
on LinkedIn and I get a lot of outreach through
32:46
that avenue. I think the other way, too, you
32:49
can certainly can go to our website. There's
32:51
ways to contact us and you can get a hold of
32:53
me through that avenue. I think both of those
32:56
ways are great. And I look forward to hearing
32:58
from folks. I love to connect with folks. Always
33:00
happy to help or share information. That's great.
33:04
Great. Thank you. This conversation is a great
33:07
reminder. That successful networking isn't about
33:10
impressing people. It's about understanding them.
33:14
When you focus on building trust and creating
33:16
value in your relationships, partnerships naturally
33:20
show. Here's a simple action for you this week.
33:24
Reach out to one person in your network and reconnect.
33:27
Not to ask for anything, but to strengthen the
33:30
relationship. Those small moments of consistency
33:33
often lead to the biggest opportunities later.
33:37
If you found value in today's episode, make sure
33:40
you like, follow, and subscribe to Networking
33:42
Unleashed, building profitable connections so
33:44
you continue getting the best insights on networking
33:47
and communication. And share this episode with
33:50
someone who's serious about building stronger
33:53
professional relationships. If you'd help improving
33:56
how you communicate and build meaningful partnerships,
33:59
visit Michael A. Foreman to learn how I work
34:02
with professionals, teams, and organizations.
34:06
next time, focus on trust, strengthen your partnerships,
34:10
and build connections that truly move business
34:13
forward. Catherine, thank you so much for coming
34:16
on the podcast. Thank you. I appreciate the time.
34:21
Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's
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No matter where you're moving, Henry has the
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at 561 -427 -4888. A huge thank you to our guests
35:18
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35:21
a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners,
35:25
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35:28
If you're interested in my digital courses, being
35:31
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35:34
just go to Michael and fill out the request form.
35:38
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
35:41
It's about being present. So take what you've
35:44
learned today, get out there and make some meaningful
35:47
connections. If you've enjoyed this episode,
35:50
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35:53
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35:56
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35:59
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36:07
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