Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E33 An Interview with Dr LaChelle Wieme and Michael A Forman

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Networking Unleashed: S1E33 An Interview with Dr LaChelle Wieme and Michael A Forman · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:06
Hello, and welcome to Networking Unleashed, building
0:10
profitable connections. Welcome back to the show,
0:13
folks. I'm your host, Michael Foreman, and you're
0:16
listening to the podcast where networking is
0:19
more than just awkward handshakes and bad coffee.
0:22
It's an art and a talent. But here's the twist.
0:26
It's an art and talent you can actually learn.
0:29
Yes, even if you're the person hiding in the
0:32
corner at every event pretending to check your
0:35
emails. Networking isn't just a nice skill to
0:39
have, it's a game changer. When you get good
0:42
at it, you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner.
0:45
More connections, more opportunities, more profits.
0:49
It's like unlocking a cheat code for life. So
0:53
whether you're the life of the party or the just
0:55
let me stay at home and text type. We've got
0:58
something for you. So stick around. Let's turn
1:01
those awkward small talk moments into big wins.
1:05
I have an amazing guest today. She has done so
1:10
much for the consulting field. But let me introduce
1:15
Dr. Lachelle Wehme. Did I get that correct? You
1:19
did. All right. That's not bad. Starting out
1:22
on the right foot. Dr. Wehme is... passionate
1:25
about helping people unlock their full potential.
1:29
For over 15 years, she has been connecting with
1:32
audiences and a motivational speaker. And for
1:35
the past six years, she has also been guiding
1:38
individuals and organizations through her coaching
1:41
business and consulting practice. And before
1:45
I butcher it even more, let me turn it over to
1:49
Dr. Weemey. And let me just introduce her because...
1:54
You'll get so much out of it. Doctor, will you
1:57
please take me off this and help me stop rambling
2:00
on? You're doing such a great job. I just got
2:03
to say, I'm so excited to be here. I feel like
2:06
when we are able to find better ways to connect,
2:09
we can create this beautiful life of abundance.
2:11
And let's just be real, Michael, money comes
2:14
from people. And if we're not connecting with
2:19
people, then how are we ever going to have the
2:20
impact and the abundance and the ways to give
2:22
back if we don't make ourselves learn the skill
2:26
of relating to and communicating with other people?
2:29
And so I'm going to give you guys a little bit
2:31
of background because never in a million years,
2:33
20 years ago, would I have ever thought that
2:35
I'd be sitting having these conversations because
2:38
I was 1000 % the awkward girl in the corner comparing
2:43
myself to everybody else. I hated to show up
2:46
at that kind of... of stuff. And here I am putting
2:48
myself out there because I believe so much in
2:50
what it is that I do. And so a little background
2:53
about me. I actually have my formal education
2:55
in anesthesia. I went to college for nursing.
2:58
Then I went on to get my nurse anesthesia degree
3:00
and then onto my doctorate and was literally
3:04
doing all the things that I thought I was supposed
3:07
to do. We shit on ourselves every once in a while,
3:09
right? And I was doing all the things, chasing
3:12
the degrees, chasing all of the titles, became
3:14
a professor. doing all this stuff in order to
3:17
really honestly, if I had to get vulnerable with
3:21
you, prove my worth to myself because I was the
3:25
shy kid. I was the one who was trying to. eventually
3:29
try to make myself good enough. And I felt like
3:32
the more that I did in the professional world,
3:35
the more I was going to get there. And what happened
3:37
to me was honestly divine intervention. I was
3:41
introduced to an opportunity that I could start
3:43
my own online business in 2016. It was something
3:46
that I wasn't even on my radar. And I leaned
3:49
in with curiosity. It completely changed my life
3:52
because I started to recognize that there was
3:54
something out there that I could do that allowed
3:56
me to be challenged and fulfilled and make a
3:58
difference and be the more present mom and wife.
4:01
And in that space, as you guys know, anytime
4:03
you put yourself into sales or entrepreneurship,
4:06
you have to recognize that it's literally a personal
4:09
development with a paycheck, right? And so I
4:12
had to start looking inward, which is how I discovered
4:15
that whole. degree chasing situation was really
4:18
just me trying to be good enough. And I started
4:21
to really hone in on ways that I could get better
4:24
so that I could serve people so I could serve
4:27
my family and love helping other people do the
4:30
same. And I know that when we were chatting before
4:32
we started to interview, you told me a little
4:33
bit about these amazing people that you serve.
4:35
And I'm guessing that a lot of the people that
4:37
are listening, the realtors out there, the mortgage
4:39
people that are out there, this might be a second
4:41
career for you. You might have started out as
4:44
a teacher, like a lot of people, and you're like,
4:45
this isn't for me. I need to do something different.
4:48
A lot of my realtor clients were previous professionals
4:50
and other things before. And I think that when
4:53
we get ourselves into these spaces, it's what
4:55
the heck am I doing here? And how am I supposed
4:59
to introduce myself? And how am I supposed to
5:01
make these connections? And how is this supposed
5:03
to work? I think that the reason that I'm so
5:06
passionate about what I am doing and how I do
5:09
it is because I've been there and I had to figure
5:12
it out myself. And really, my passion is to help
5:15
people, solopreneurs, service -based people,
5:18
really manifest consistent five -figure months
5:21
without overthinking and without burning out.
5:24
And I got to tell you, Michael, that the communication
5:26
and the meeting the people, the who, not how,
5:28
is a huge part of making that happen. And what
5:33
I love to do is I like to find ways that we are
5:37
creating resistance to that flow that can help
5:40
us get there. The butts, I call them. We all
5:42
have big butts and I cannot lie, right? It's
5:45
the things that we create these excuses around
5:47
ourselves of why we can't make that happen or
5:49
what we have going on inside of ourselves that
5:52
are creating this resistance and these roadblocks
5:54
and these butts and help you to recognize them
5:56
and be able to bust through them so that you
5:59
can get to where you want to go faster. It's
6:02
amazing because I can literally feel your passion
6:04
come right through the camera. You're so passionate
6:08
about what you do. And that's great because I
6:10
too am passionate about networking and communication
6:14
itself. So I feel your passion and that's a wonderful
6:18
thing. How did you first discover the power of
6:22
networking in your career? Yeah, so I think that
6:26
I literally was just really coachable. So when
6:28
I started my... journey as an entrepreneur, all
6:31
of this was so different. You guys, I have to
6:34
remind you that I had a career in anesthesia.
6:37
If you've ever had any experience in surgery,
6:40
you know that anesthesia is like paying no attention
6:43
to the man behind the drape. There's like the
6:45
surgery and then there's a surgical drape and
6:47
then anesthesia is in the background, like paying
6:49
attention to all of the monitors and stuff. And
6:52
so I literally could spend an entire eight hour
6:54
shift not talking to anybody. And I was not used
6:58
to this stuff. So I remember going to my very
7:00
first networking event that was told about to
7:04
me by my financial advisor. He's, hey, Lachelle,
7:06
I'm doing this. This might actually help your
7:08
side business. If you want to join me, you're
7:10
welcome to. And I was just. I was introduced
7:14
and I was exposed and I was like, this is interesting.
7:17
These people really have some experience in business.
7:20
I could really learn something from people. But
7:22
gosh, Michael, like I didn't have the confidence
7:26
myself. I didn't know how to introduce myself
7:28
and do my elevator speech. I didn't know if I
7:31
even belonged at that table. I felt awkward.
7:33
Here I was. This was just my side hustle at the
7:35
time. And I felt, gosh, what am I doing here?
7:38
But I made myself show up anyway. And I remember
7:41
just learning by listening and having people
7:45
model for me and signing up for my showcase and
7:49
introducing myself and being so nervous that
7:51
I had memorized the entire thing a couple of
7:54
days before because I didn't want to mess it
7:55
up. And now I can just, yesterday I got home
7:58
and I had to do an impromptu. to talk to somebody
8:02
in California on quantum physics. And I just
8:04
winged it because it's just what I do now. But
8:07
at the time that was so terrifying to me, but
8:10
I started to recognize like how powerful referrals
8:13
are, how powerful just learning from people who
8:16
are already successful in business and what they're
8:18
doing and how they could help me just by watching
8:21
them and asking them questions. And it was a
8:24
game changer for me, honestly. That's fantastic.
8:27
And you learned. practice. Networking is a skill.
8:32
And as every other skill, you have to practice.
8:35
And it's so important. And you get better and
8:39
more comfortable. And you think that, okay, that's
8:42
all right. I've learned enough. And you're like,
8:45
no, you have to practice more. You have to get
8:48
more comfortable so you can expand what you talk
8:50
about. Yes. That's very good. Very point. What's
8:54
the most common misconception people have about
8:58
networking? Oh my gosh. Okay. So I believe that
9:01
is that they think that there are them. And then
9:04
there's me. There are the people, we all know
9:06
them, the gregarious life of the party. They
9:08
show up and everybody's listening and they just
9:11
seem like they have all their stuff together.
9:12
And they seem like all their words come out perfectly.
9:15
And then there's ourselves who we think we are
9:17
in our mind. They're like, oh my gosh, that's
9:19
not me. Right. I am a self -proclaimed introvert.
9:23
And if you were to be more. It's probably I'm
9:26
an extroverted introvert because people are very
9:28
surprised that I'm an introvert because I come
9:31
across as somebody that's very easily articulating
9:34
what I have to say and all the things. But the
9:36
reality is that I had to learn that skill. It's
9:40
possible to learn it. And I had to acknowledge
9:42
the fact that there is not just a them and a
9:44
me. There is a me who gets to start from where
9:48
I am with what I have. And I get to learn those
9:51
skills and that comes through practice, just
9:53
like you said, right? And so oftentimes people
9:55
say, Lachelle, I'm just not that good with people.
9:58
I'm not that good with words. And I tell you
10:00
that if you are an introvert, you actually have
10:04
a leg up. And can I tell you why, Michael? Why
10:06
that's such an important thing? Absolutely. As
10:09
an introvert, you guys, we are not the life of
10:11
the party, but we are really freaking good listeners.
10:15
And when I was able to show up and I just came
10:18
with some very basic questions and then I just
10:22
shut up and listened and I allowed the other
10:24
person to tell me about them. And guess what?
10:28
They felt heard. They felt seen. They felt a
10:31
connection with me because they felt like somebody
10:35
was actually paying attention to them and giving
10:37
them their 100 undivided attention. And they
10:42
made a connection with me that made them want
10:43
to continue to get to know me. I didn't have
10:46
to come with all the fancy words. I didn't have
10:48
to come with all of the expertise. I had to come
10:50
with a few questions and just really good listening
10:53
and making sure that whenever I'm in front of
10:56
somebody, I am giving them my 100 % undivided
11:00
attention so that they feel seen and heard. And
11:04
Brent, when you are somebody who thinks that
11:08
If you're not extroverted, then you don't have
11:10
the leg up. I'm just going to tell you that oftentimes
11:12
extroverted people actually don't realize that
11:15
they're hurting themselves because they don't
11:17
stop talking. They are the ones who have to tell
11:20
everybody everything. They're the ones who find
11:22
themselves interrupting because it's just part
11:24
of habit. And the introverts are the ones that
11:27
are sitting back and they're taking it in and
11:29
they're being thoughtful. So I hear you're saying
11:31
this. And I got to tell you guys, you're going
11:34
to get further on these one -on -one conversations
11:37
because you're listening and you're genuinely
11:40
interested and people are going to start to notice
11:43
that. So stop thinking that you're not cut out
11:45
for it because you are, you actually have a superpower.
11:49
You hit on so many points of basic networking
11:53
skills that I can't even go over it. But what
11:57
you're saying is so... It's so good and so correct
12:02
that because listening is so much more powerful
12:05
than talking. OK, that's first and foremost.
12:08
But you my next question, you pretty much answered
12:12
it just now. OK, so I'm going to ask you anyway.
12:15
Can you give me three tips for effective networking
12:20
at events or conferences? Yeah. So I will tell
12:25
you that my secret sauce, everything that I do
12:28
in my company is this intersection between quantum
12:31
physics, brain science, and scripture. And I
12:34
do that in order to get people fast results.
12:36
That is more ease and flow. Okay. Part of the
12:40
intersection of brain science and quantum physics
12:43
is this law of assumption. It's the acting as
12:46
if it's already here, even before you see evidence
12:50
of it. And so what this means is when you're
12:52
going into this networking event, we've already
12:55
talked about one of my tips, which is just being
12:57
a really active listener. You would let the other
12:59
person feel like they're the most important person
13:01
in the world and they will 100 % not forget you,
13:05
okay? With that aside, what I want you guys to
13:08
do is I want you to show up and I want you to
13:11
act as if you were already the person that is
13:14
five years down the road that has already accomplished
13:17
everything that you set out to do. It is not
13:20
what we do, friend. It is who we are while we
13:23
do it. It's the posture in which we show up.
13:27
So even before I knew what the hell I was doing,
13:30
I had to pretend in my mind that I did. And I
13:34
know that we say fake it till you make it and
13:36
blah, blah, blah. We can make all of these like
13:38
cliches. But in the world of quantum physics
13:41
and brain science, you get to step into this
13:46
person, this future version of yourself. And
13:47
you carry yourself in that way. You articulate
13:49
yourself in that way. And you might get to the
13:51
car and you're like, holy crap. I hope that went
13:54
okay. Or you might be giving yourself a little
13:56
pep talk with affirmations before you walk in
13:58
the door. Nobody needs to know that you're paddling
14:01
like heck underneath the water. But when you
14:03
show up, I want you to say to yourself, I am
14:05
supposed to be here. I belong here. People need
14:10
what I have to give. And I can't wait to serve
14:14
people because I'm here and I am showing up.
14:17
And when you can allow yourself to step into
14:19
that person, when you can allow yourself to pretend
14:23
like you are the confidence person. You will
14:26
start to show up energetically that way, and
14:29
you will start to speak that way, and you will
14:31
start to believe it eventually because our brain
14:34
has things called mirror neurons. And our mirror
14:37
neurons cannot tell the difference between what
14:40
is real and what is imagined. That's why if I
14:42
imagine that I'm jumping out of a plane right
14:45
now, my heart's going to beat a little bit faster
14:47
and my palms are going to get sweaty, right?
14:48
My brain cannot tell the difference between what
14:52
is actually happening and what's going on in
14:54
my imagination. So if you can imagine that you
14:58
are already that person and you can imagine as
15:02
if you are an actor in a play and you get to
15:06
think about what would she say? How would she
15:08
carry herself? How would she introduce herself?
15:11
And you imagine that you were stepping on this
15:13
stage for this event and you are going to play
15:18
the role of a lifetime. How would that be? And
15:22
then this is the thing, your brain. will over
15:25
time with practice, start to associate yourself
15:27
with that person. Now, here's the cool part,
15:30
Michael, is that this can go way beyond you interacting
15:33
with people in networking events, because when
15:35
you start to show up in this way, you're going
15:37
to start to show up in that way for everything.
15:40
You're going to be that person in the morning
15:41
where your alarm goes off. Instead of hitting
15:43
snooze like you have for the last five years,
15:45
you're going to get up and you're going to do
15:46
your affirmations and you're going to do your
15:48
meditation. You're going to pick up the sales
15:52
call and you're going to be confident instead
15:54
of saying, oh, I'm going to call them tomorrow.
15:56
Like that person's on my chicken list. Like I'm
15:58
not going to do it. You're going to start to
16:00
behave like her or him even before you're ready.
16:03
And guess what's going to happen? Those behaviors
16:05
are going to create the results that are going
16:08
to align with that life. And if it means that
16:11
networking and it means communication, it means
16:13
getting in front of people is going to be the
16:15
catalyst. to help you put into action some of
16:18
the things that we're talking about today. Let
16:19
that be. The catalyst is going to change your
16:22
life because all of a sudden you're going to
16:24
start to act as if you were already her or him
16:27
and things are going to start to fall into place.
16:30
That's absolutely great. And for that in -person
16:35
feeling, because you have to pick up the vibe
16:37
of the person and the vibe of the room and everything,
16:40
but you're doing that one -on -one. And that's
16:43
great. But how has... Social media affected the
16:48
way people do networking. I think that it's made
16:52
people two things. I think that people will hide
16:56
behind screens more than we used to. And I would
16:59
admit to that. It's a lot easier to sit in my
17:01
yoga pants than it is for me to get all dressed
17:03
up and go into town, right? But what I've also
17:06
recognized, Michael, is that people are starved
17:09
for real relationships. I actually recently started
17:12
a network. event in my community just in the
17:16
last couple of months here. And people are just
17:19
craving real communication. Even though I offer
17:24
networking events over Zoom, they gravitate towards
17:29
the in -person ones because I feel like we are
17:31
missing out on that stuff. And so it's two parts.
17:35
Sometimes the social media and Zooms and all
17:38
those things can feed our insecurities and keep
17:40
us feel safe. But I also think that we have to
17:44
recognize that there's at some point a way for
17:46
us to step outside of that. As a global business
17:49
coach, I have clients from all over the world,
17:51
right? And that's amazing. And social media is
17:54
a way for me to make that happen. My podcast
17:56
is a way for that to happen. My YouTube channel,
17:58
whatever the case may be, right? That's awesome.
18:00
But I've also recognized that when I do these
18:03
high level luxury in -person retreats around
18:06
the world, I looked in the room and I'm like,
18:09
holy crap, like most of these people are local.
18:12
They're not somebody who just saw me on Instagram.
18:14
They're somebody who's seen me out and about
18:17
or has gotten to know me. And so when you realize
18:20
that the power of your circle in your close proximity
18:23
cannot be diminished. And so get out of your
18:27
stinking house. Don't rely. Yes, I've grown a
18:32
huge business online. That's amazing. But the
18:35
higher ticket people or the long -term clients
18:38
that don't go anywhere are local people. There's
18:42
a mantra for networking. Know you, like you,
18:45
trust you. They'll do business with you. Those
18:48
local people, you've already gained their trust.
18:51
They know you already. So that part has already
18:54
been taken care of. So that will just open them
18:57
up even more to you and you can take care of
19:00
business. So that's very good. But just bringing
19:04
this back a little bit to introverts, okay? Because
19:08
they have a social anxiety about it. And how
19:13
would you advise introverts with those social
19:17
anxieties, their approach to networking? No,
19:21
totally. So again, I'm going to say, again, I'm
19:23
an introvert, guys. So I get you. Every time,
19:26
I'm way better one -on -one. that I am walking
19:30
into a room and I'm just going to be a super
19:32
vulnerable here with you, Michael. Okay. So I'm
19:34
still the person, even though I'm speak on stages
19:36
in front of hundreds of people and thousands
19:38
of people, I still am nervous when I walk into
19:41
a room of 20 people, of five people, of 50 people.
19:46
Because in my mind, the old part of my habits
19:49
come back in and say, gosh, like what if nobody
19:51
talks to me? What if they all know each other
19:53
and whatever? What if I say something stupid?
19:56
And then it's, Lachelle, how many times have
19:58
you done this? It's been fine. And so what I
20:01
wanted to say is that remember that as an introvert
20:05
friend, you have a superpower. You have a superpower
20:09
because you are so good at listening and you're
20:12
so good at making people feel seen and heard.
20:15
So knowing that you have the advantage should
20:18
hopefully give you a little bit of a confidence
20:20
boost, right? Now, I'm not above saying that
20:23
it feels a lot nicer when I can ask a business
20:26
bestie of mine to say, hey, you want to go to
20:27
this thing with me? It's nice to know that I'm
20:29
not walking in alone. So who do you know that's
20:32
also going? Just walk in alone or so that you're
20:35
not walking in alone. But then perhaps you force
20:38
yourself to sit at different tables. Because
20:42
sometimes as introverts, what we do is we handicap
20:44
ourselves and we say, okay, good. I know all
20:47
of these people, I'm going to go sit here. But
20:49
guess what? Those people aren't going to be the
20:50
ones that are going to grow your business. The
20:52
five people over here that you've never met before
20:54
are going to. And so I'm going to ask you, do
20:57
what you need to do to get in the door. And then
21:00
I want you to give yourself a little bit of pep
21:02
talk saying, okay, who do I get to meet today
21:05
that is going to change my business? And I think
21:09
that going back to my goal, networking and doing
21:12
things as an introvert is really no different
21:14
than any of us at any stage in time that need
21:17
to do something or want to do something that
21:19
we just can't get ourselves to do it. And it
21:22
comes back to a couple of things that is universal
21:25
throughout anything. It might be a client of
21:27
mine saying, I just can't post on social media,
21:29
or I can't possibly go live, or, oh, I've been
21:32
wanting to start a podcast, but I can't, I'm
21:34
too scared. None of those things are really that
21:38
different because they require us to have to
21:40
step into something, right? So I would say there's
21:42
a couple of things that can help. Number one
21:44
is I want you to think about why the heck are
21:46
you doing this in the first place? Because if
21:49
you can make it more about something outside
21:51
of you than yourself, if you can make the reward
21:54
bigger than the pain of having to go and do something
21:58
scary, it's going to get you over that hump,
22:01
right? Mel Robbins has this great book, Five
22:03
Second Rule. Five, four, three, two, one, just
22:05
do something brave real quick, right? And so
22:08
there are reasons why I have in my coaching process,
22:12
I take people through the seven reasons that
22:15
we sabotage our success. And you guys aren't
22:19
alone in this space, okay? The other thing that
22:22
I would say is I borrowed this from Tony Robbins.
22:24
There is something called the triad of emotional
22:26
state. So whenever you are feeling like, oh my
22:29
gosh, I can't do something or I don't want to
22:31
do something, try this. There is a triad of three
22:35
things that are going to help you get into action.
22:38
Because remember that if we allow our emotions
22:41
to run the show, oftentimes we're going to choose
22:44
not to do the things that we want to do, right?
22:49
Motion precedes emotion. Motion precedes emotion.
22:53
So what I want you to do is I want you to move
22:55
your body. Physiology is the first thing. So
22:58
maybe that means that instead of sitting there,
23:00
maybe you just take a little walk, take a little
23:02
lap. I've done this all the time when I get up
23:05
on stage, little thing, if you've ever been,
23:07
you know, in a conference where I'm speaking,
23:09
you'll find me in the bathroom a couple minutes
23:11
before literally running in place because I have
23:13
to just get that excess energy out of me and
23:16
it moves my body and shifts my energy state.
23:19
So move, okay? The second thing in the triad
23:22
is focus. What are you focusing on? Are you focusing
23:26
more on the fact that, oh my gosh, I hate being
23:28
here? Are you focusing more on the fact that
23:31
I don't know anybody? Are you focusing more on
23:33
the fact that I don't know who to talk to or
23:35
what to say? Or are you focusing on the fact
23:38
that this is an opportunity for me to meet the
23:41
next person I'm supposed to change their life?
23:43
What are you focusing on? And use your brain
23:46
to shift this. And then the third part of the
23:48
triad is language. How are you speaking to yourself?
23:51
I joke around that I have two voices in my head
23:54
and I'm not mentally ill, I promise. The one
23:57
voice is, I call her Sharon because she's always
24:00
sharing her opinion with me, whether I want it
24:01
or not. So she's the one who's saying like, why
24:03
are you even here? Nobody wants what you have.
24:05
You're awkward anyway, just go home. And then
24:08
the other person's, I call her Katie because
24:10
she's just a cheerleader, right? So she's like,
24:12
you got this girl, just stand a little taller
24:14
and you got your favorite outfit on that makes
24:16
you feel confident. You got this, go do this.
24:18
So you get to decide the language that's going
24:21
on in your head and what you're telling yourself,
24:23
but more importantly, what are you listening
24:24
to? This is a little. whoa, that was deep. But
24:27
I hear Sharon and Katie, but who's hearing them?
24:32
I am not my thoughts. I am the thinker of my
24:34
thoughts. I'm the observer of my thoughts. And
24:37
therefore I get to control that narrative that's
24:40
going on in there. You are not a victim to that.
24:43
You are in control of that. So I'm going to ask
24:45
you, how are you speaking to yourself? And if
24:48
you can combine those three things, it's going
24:50
to force you into action, which is going to be
24:53
the biggest part of the moment and that you need.
24:57
That's great. That's great. I was listening so
24:59
intently because I know of Tony Robbins and the
25:03
pyramid and the triad. So I'm listening to you
25:07
and I'm listening and I'm envisioning him when
25:10
he was talking about it. So it's really crazy.
25:13
You told me so much about. You're networking
25:18
and how you are an introvert, but really an extroverted
25:22
introvert. And you make all these contacts. Yeah.
25:26
How do you structure those contacts? How do you
25:28
follow up with those contacts? Because I've always
25:31
felt that the follow up is probably more important
25:34
than actually meeting the person. So how do you
25:37
follow up with everybody? Yeah. So I do have
25:41
a system. I have a CRM, a client relations manager
25:44
that I put things in and put notes in. I would
25:47
say just find a system that works for you. Some
25:49
people do really well with just having a book
25:51
of business cards. Some people do really well
25:54
with just a simple spreadsheet. Some people do
25:56
really well with a formal CRM. Whatever the case
25:59
may be, let it be a system. I also feel like,
26:02
Michael, I love to connect people. That is one
26:06
of my absolute favorite things to do. And if
26:10
I can, as much as possible, find out what people
26:15
are needing and who I can connect them with,
26:18
that speaks volumes to the kind of person that
26:22
I am and then how I can become a person that
26:25
somebody else wants in their sphere of influence.
26:27
Because clients will either be a client or they'll
26:29
be a connector. And so I love to show them that
26:32
I'm a connector. So if I have some reason that
26:35
I think they would be of value to somebody else,
26:37
I leave a little note. And then when I meet somebody
26:41
one -on -one, a lot of times what I'll do is
26:44
at the end of our conversation, I'll ask them,
26:46
what is the biggest problem you're trying to
26:47
solve right now? And I'm doing it with the intent
26:51
that maybe I know someone that has... the ability
26:56
to help them maybe it's a free resource maybe
26:58
it's a recommendation or referral but i love
27:00
to find a ways to help people and when you do
27:04
that and when you can follow up with people and
27:07
provide some type of a service like that that
27:09
speaks volumes so that's what i would say about
27:11
the follow -ups is that let it let yourself take
27:14
a step further with that right i also feel michael
27:17
that i have to Be mindful that, how can I put
27:23
this? I think that a lot of people in the entrepreneurial
27:26
space can get caught up in the scarcity mindset
27:28
that they need to find more clients and they
27:33
need to make sure that they're talking to everybody.
27:37
And I want you guys to recognize that sometimes
27:39
when we try to do all of that, we do none of
27:42
it well. And so I want you to value yourself
27:45
enough to say, who is worth my time and energy
27:49
also? Because we don't have the luxury of having
27:55
an infinite number of hours in our day, right?
27:59
And so what I've done is I've come up with a
28:01
list of 100 people. Now, this list of 100 people
28:05
are the people that I think would be the most
28:07
amazing clients and the most amazing connectors.
28:13
And what I do is I have a goal that I can meet
28:16
with these people or touch base with these people
28:18
once every two months. So you think about that
28:22
and you're like, okay, so I have a hundred people
28:24
on my list and those people are going to be there
28:27
until. they fall off for some reason. Maybe I
28:30
decide that there's somebody that's a better
28:32
fit or maybe we just didn't click as much as
28:35
I thought we were gonna as we got to know each
28:37
other, right? So if that's the case and somebody
28:39
else is brought into that list of 100, but what
28:41
I do is I'm really fostering that list so that
28:43
I don't feel like I have to keep up with thousands
28:45
of people because I have thousands of people
28:48
that I'm connected with on social media. If I
28:50
think about it that way, it's overwhelming. So
28:52
how can I use my superpower of really good intimate
28:56
one -on -one connection and do the best that
28:58
I can with the right people that I've chosen
29:01
that are, that's supposed to be on this list.
29:03
Okay. So then you think about it. Okay. How many
29:05
days a week do I want to commit to building relationships?
29:09
So maybe that's five, five days a week. Okay.
29:13
So if I have a hundred people, I'm on a podcast
29:16
live right now, so I don't want to do the math,
29:18
but if you think about this, so if you have a
29:20
hundred people and you want to speak to those
29:22
people about every two months. and you want to
29:25
do it five days a week, you figure out how many
29:27
people per day should you contact. And you go
29:31
down that list. And maybe it's something like,
29:34
oh my gosh, I haven't talked to you for a couple
29:36
months. I just wanted to check in. How are things?
29:38
Last time we chatted about this, how far along
29:41
has that come? Or tell me about your progress
29:43
on that. Or hey, I was just thinking about you,
29:46
and I met this other person, and I think you
29:48
guys should totally meet. Or, hey, we haven't
29:51
met for coffee for a while. I would love to catch
29:53
up in person. And so when you make an intentional
29:57
process to be able to build relationships, oftentimes,
30:05
again, people are so caught up in the numbers.
30:07
And I've been in a situation where I felt like
30:09
a number, and that feels crappy. But when I can
30:12
build really solid relationships with people
30:15
that are going to continue to send me people
30:18
are going to continue to connect me with people
30:20
or who are going to just be amazing people for
30:23
me to serve. And I get to do it really well.
30:25
That feels good. Does that make sense? Yeah,
30:29
absolutely. One thing you have to remember when
30:32
you try to when you go to network is that you
30:35
are a problem solver. You are looking out for
30:39
whomever you're speaking to. And one thing that
30:42
I've always used when I'm at a networking table
30:44
and I'm finding out the people and everything
30:46
else, I say, you know what? You've done such
30:49
a good job. I like the way you do business. How
30:52
can I make you more successful? How can I be
30:56
that great referral source for you even before
30:59
they know what I do? You're always looking to
31:03
give, always looking to solve that problem. And
31:05
that's a great way to be, to think. And you're
31:10
so much happier because of it. Yeah, absolutely.
31:13
And something that you just said made me think
31:14
of this. And I'm just going to point this out
31:15
because I think it's powerful. So yesterday I
31:18
led this networking group that I have in my local
31:21
community and we had a little extra time. prompt
31:24
to just said, Hey, I want you to tell us when
31:27
you're introducing yourself, I want you to tell
31:29
us why you got into this industry. Just tell
31:34
us why, why did you become a realtor after you've
31:37
been a teacher for 23 years? Why are you doing
31:40
financial advising? It was unbelievably powerful.
31:44
I've had the financial advisor stand up and she's,
31:46
you know what? I was a single woman. And I left
31:49
my financial advisor's office more confused than
31:53
I was when I got there. And I have made it a
31:56
commitment of mine to educate women specifically
31:58
so they feel empowered to make financial decisions.
32:01
That's why I do what I do. Guess what? Every
32:04
single person in that room thought about the
32:06
woman who's recently divorced, who needs help
32:09
with their finances, who knows that they're going
32:11
to be taken care of by this particular woman.
32:14
So when you're going into these things, ask people,
32:16
tell me, why are you doing this? How did you
32:19
get started in this? And allow for their story.
32:22
It's not just, hi, I'm Bob and I sell insurance.
32:26
I said, I'm Bob. And you know, I got into insurance
32:30
because my son got sick and I realized that nobody
32:34
would insure us. And I decided that I wanted
32:37
to be of service to other families who are in
32:41
this situation. Guess what? Every single family
32:44
that you think of that might have a sick kid,
32:47
you're going to be like, hey, you need to talk
32:48
to my friend Bob here. And you become less of
32:52
a number and you become more of a person who
32:54
has the interest of others at heart because they've
32:57
gotten to know you as a person. And I promise
33:00
you guys, you're going to start to see massive
33:03
changes in your business, in the relationship
33:06
that you have, the referral base that you have
33:09
because you're real. And I mentioned posture
33:12
before. It's not about becoming fake. It's about
33:16
being the best version of you that you can be.
33:20
There's a difference. There's a difference. And
33:22
does that make sense, Michael? Or do you need
33:24
me to go into that? Oh, it makes perfect sense.
33:27
It makes perfect sense. And listen, I profess
33:30
and I go on stages and I talk and I speak about
33:34
in different workshops and keynotes and things
33:36
like that. do everything that you're saying you
33:41
explained it to the nth degree okay i don't go
33:46
into it that much i learned so much just by listening
33:50
to you and you're so well educated and so knowledgeable
33:54
and you are proof that you can have all this
33:59
knowledge but you never stop learning you never
34:02
stop learning and finding out from people, whatever
34:05
little tidbit you can pick up from a person,
34:08
the better. But it sounds like you're doing a
34:11
fantastic job. And I can't thank you enough.
34:15
If anybody would like to get hold of you, what's
34:19
the best way they get hold of you? Yeah, so I
34:21
even though my name is complicated to say sometimes,
34:24
so let's shall we me, I've done it. Simple way
34:28
to find me is just my name. So you guys can find
34:31
me at Lachelle Weemey and all the social media
34:32
channels. So LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, you
34:35
know, to my website at lachelleweemey .com. You
34:39
can find me if you Google my name, my podcast
34:41
will come up as well. I just want you guys to
34:43
know that if there's any part of this communication
34:48
part that you're like, gosh, dang it. I know
34:51
this is all this stuff I know, but I can't get
34:53
myself to do it. I want you to know that I believe
34:57
in you. I believe in you because I was you. And
35:00
I want you to know that you are meant to do amazing
35:03
things, that you are in your perfectly divinely
35:07
appointed place because of the passions that
35:10
you have, the skills that you have, your interest,
35:12
the things that you've gone through in your life
35:15
and had to overcome. Your personality traits
35:18
are all uniquely blended for just a time as this.
35:22
And you get to show up in this space and people
35:25
are literally praying for you specifically to
35:28
help them. And I want you to get out of your
35:31
own thinking way. And I want you to allow yourself
35:34
to show up because at the end of this lifetime,
35:36
I don't want any of us to think back and say,
35:38
I wish I would have tried harder or I wish it
35:41
would have gotten out of my own head. It's time,
35:45
guys. It's time for us to step up and to do all
35:47
the things that we are meant to do in this planet
35:49
and to help each other get there along the way.
35:52
And I know that communication is the best way
35:56
to build relationships and to keep relationships.
35:59
And I'm so grateful, Michael, for your podcast,
36:01
the message that you have, and giving people
36:03
the skills in order to get there. Thank you very
36:07
much. And as I said before, you're a fantastic
36:10
guest. And I look forward to speaking to you
36:14
again. Thank you. Me too. Well, hold on, folks.
36:18
Don't go anywhere. Let me just read a few of
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-U -P -K -I -D -S .org. Well, that's a wrap,
37:37
folks. A huge thank you to our special guests
37:39
for sharing such incredible insights today. And
37:43
of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
37:46
listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
37:49
with us. Remember, networking isn't about being
37:53
perfect. It's about being present. So take what
37:56
you've learned today, get out there and make
37:59
some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this
38:02
episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us
38:05
a review and share it with someone who could
38:07
use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep
38:11
the conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
38:15
Spotify, YouTube or my website. Michael A. Foreman,
38:19
remember, until next time, keep practicing, keep
38:23
connecting, and keep building those relationships.
38:26
This is Michael A. Foreman signing off. Take
38:29
care and happy networking.