Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E87 An Interview with Deana Lindo and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E87 An Interview with Deana Lindo and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:17
Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building
0:20
Profitable Connections, the podcast where we
0:23
turn relationships into revenue and conversations
0:26
into catalysts for growth. Today's guest is someone
0:31
who embodies the power of the pivot and value
0:34
of smart connection. She's a real estate professional
0:38
who's just not embracing AI. She's using it to
0:42
serve her clients more meaningfully. She's navigated
0:46
major career shifts, uncovered the hidden cost
0:50
of burnout, and now helps others to do the same
0:54
with purpose and precision. In this conversation,
0:58
we'll unpack how to leverage AI for client connection,
1:02
how to build the kind of network that supports
1:05
transformation, and how to recognize when your
1:09
relationships or your routines are pushing you
1:12
towards burnout. Whether you're shifting industries,
1:15
sharpening your communication game, or simply
1:18
looking to build smarter, stronger connections,
1:21
this episode is for you. Now, I'd like to welcome
1:25
Deanna to all of my listeners, both of them.
1:29
No, I'm only kidding. I'd like to welcome you
1:32
to the podcast. How are you, Deanna? I'm fantastic,
1:36
Michael. How are you? I'm doing just fine. Why
1:40
don't you give us a little bit about your background?
1:43
Sure. I am a corporate professional turned real
1:47
estate broker, investor, and consultant. I currently
1:52
reside in the Metro Atlanta area and my big passion.
1:57
around real estate really stems from my servant's
2:01
heart and building community. Real estate really
2:04
allows me to do exactly that. I'm passionate
2:07
about education. I'm passionate about just making
2:10
sure folks achieve the goals that they want to
2:12
achieve in real estate. So I'm super excited
2:15
to be here with you, Michael, and looking forward
2:17
to the conversation. That's great. And you said
2:20
something just in telling me what your background
2:24
is that you're approaching all this with a servant's
2:26
heart. Absolutely. That is the mainstay of networking
2:30
today. It's going into networking with a servant's
2:34
heart. And I'm sure we're going to get into that
2:36
later on. But let's dive into the questions.
2:39
Let's talk a little real estate. Sure. How can
2:42
real estate professionals use AI not just to
2:46
find leads, but to build deeper, more authentic
2:49
relationships with clients and referral partners?
2:53
Yes, that's a great question. And I love that
2:55
question because AI is this new beast of technology
2:59
that's out there right now that everybody is
3:01
scrambling and trying to figure out how to best
3:04
use it in their business, but at the same time,
3:06
still be as authentic and real as we can. See
3:10
AI as being a resource and not necessarily the
3:14
source or the voice. of my communication with
3:17
my client and the broader community. How I'm
3:20
using AI today in my business is to, I have different
3:24
ideas around content. I use social media a lot.
3:27
I post a lot of videos and a lot of my videos
3:29
are educating the community around all things
3:33
real estate and some other lifestyle things too.
3:35
But I use AI to really help me expand upon the
3:39
ideas that I have in my head and how best to
3:43
craft the language so that I'm able to communicate
3:46
those ideas most effectively to the community.
3:50
So that's just one simple way how I'm using AI
3:53
to support my clients, build, like you said,
3:56
those deeper relationships, as well as attract
3:59
more people to me who find value in what I'm
4:03
putting out there in social media. So what you're
4:06
saying is that you use AI as a tool, as one of
4:10
your resources. It's not the... all knowing,
4:15
let me just replace everybody AI, a tool that
4:19
you use, and you use it quite effectively, I
4:22
might add. Thank you. So let's just say, let's
4:26
just move this to, you mentioned social media,
4:29
but how can professionals cut through the clutter
4:33
to build meaningful networks, especially when
4:37
pivoting into a new industry or role? Oh, that's
4:42
a great question, too. I would say I'll just
4:44
use my own personal story and example. I was
4:46
in corporate for 25 plus years. I worked for
4:50
a lot of different organizations, a lot of Fortune
4:52
500 organizations, and I kind of shifted and
4:55
pivoted out of that world. into now in real estate
4:59
as a entrepreneur, I've always wanted to own
5:03
my own business and kind of do my own thing independently.
5:06
But for me, that pivot was surrounding myself
5:09
with people who were already in the space where
5:13
I wanted to be. So making sure that I was strategic
5:16
and intentional about visiting different networking
5:19
groups, attending different masterminds, attending
5:22
different webinars and classes where those people
5:27
were already, and then just making sure I gleaned
5:30
as much knowledge from them, as much knowledge
5:34
from the different masterminds, and as much knowledge
5:36
from the workshops and the environment that I
5:38
was in to really determine whether this pivot
5:41
in this direction was really the right pivot
5:43
for me, but also just learning from the people
5:45
in the room. So I would say you got to put yourself
5:47
in the rooms where you want to really be, network,
5:51
and grow. You said something which sparked a
5:56
lot of interest for me. You mentioned strategic
5:59
networking. Yes. Now, can you explain what strategic
6:04
networking is as opposed to what the norm would
6:07
be? So the normal, when people go out and network,
6:10
the normal thing folks, the normal thing that
6:13
most people do is they will attend a networking
6:16
event. They might get invited. They might see
6:18
it on Eventbrite and they will go and attend.
6:20
They'll bring their business cards and they're
6:22
just meeting people and handing out business
6:25
cards and just giving people their maybe 10 or
6:27
20 second sales pitch, trying to essentially
6:29
sell to them. What strategic networking is. is
6:34
you want to select, you want to be selective
6:36
and intentional about the networking events that
6:39
you do attend. When you get there, have a plan
6:42
and a strategy already in your head. If you,
6:45
I would say for me in real estate, I want to
6:48
connect with mortgage brokers. I want to connect
6:50
with other agents. I want to connect with referral
6:54
partners, like maybe family attorneys, divorce
6:56
attorneys. So if I meet somebody, in the room
7:00
that kind of fit in those particular pockets
7:03
and industries i'm really being intentional about
7:06
making sure i introduce myself i'm getting their
7:09
contact information them getting mine but then
7:12
once we are Once we've left the networking event,
7:16
maybe the next day or two days after, I'll reach
7:20
out to them and say something like, hey, it was
7:22
great meeting you at such and such event. I'd
7:25
love to connect over coffee to see, number one,
7:28
I want to learn more about your business and
7:30
potentially see if there might be a synergy opportunity
7:32
for us to help each other build and grow. That
7:35
is strategic networking. that is building relationships,
7:40
but it's also you are going into that coffee
7:44
meetup, Zoom meeting or lunch with a mindset
7:47
of understanding their business, seeing how you
7:50
can best help them. And naturally, people are
7:53
going to ask you about your business. They're
7:55
going to ask you how they can help you. So it
7:57
is definitely a give and take. It is not a...
8:00
hey, here's everything that I do and here's what
8:03
I can do for you. That is not networking. You
8:05
have to be strategic from the time you select
8:07
exactly what you're going to, where you're going
8:09
to go, who you want to meet when you get there,
8:12
and then what you're going to do post attending
8:15
the networking event. So in other words, you
8:18
don't go willy -nilly. No. You never prepare
8:21
for a networking meeting. You just go and just
8:24
see what happens. Is that just the way it is?
8:27
No, you don't do that at all. Okay. All right.
8:29
I'm just making sure. I'm just making sure. Okay.
8:32
What role did your network play in helping you
8:36
pivot successfully? And what advice would you
8:39
give someone who is afraid to ask for help when
8:43
shifting careers or industries? Oh, my goodness.
8:47
So we currently live in Metro Atlanta, my family
8:50
and I. But before that, we lived in North Carolina
8:52
for about five or so years. I made the decision
8:55
to pivot into real estate before we moved here
8:59
to Atlanta. When we were selling our house in
9:02
North Carolina, our real estate agent, she was
9:05
amazing. I was asking her all kinds of questions
9:07
before I got into this space. One of my former
9:10
colleagues at Lowe's had also left corporate
9:14
and started her own real estate business. So
9:16
I reached out to her. There was another colleague
9:17
of ours at Lowe's that did the same thing. So
9:20
I did my research. I did my research. And then
9:23
when I got here to Atlanta, I did my research
9:27
on the market here in Atlanta. I did my research
9:30
on the different other brokerages here. I did
9:33
my research on the different best schools that
9:35
I need to attend here, cost and all of that.
9:38
So I did my research and I talked to people who
9:41
are already in the space where I was seeking
9:42
to be and then determined from there what my
9:46
next step would be. To your second question,
9:49
to those folks who, have an issue and or are
9:53
hesitant or have a hard time asking for help.
9:55
That used to be me. That used to be me. What
9:59
I would tell you is that you can't really do
10:01
it all by yourself. You really can't. You need
10:04
support around you. You need good mentors. You
10:09
need peers who are in the same boat as you supporting
10:13
you helping you grow you need to involve yourself
10:16
in masterminds you'll learn a lot that way so
10:19
you cannot do it all by yourself i would highly
10:22
encourage folks who struggle with that um take
10:25
baby steps maybe start reaching out to peers
10:27
hey how are you doing this or is this working
10:30
for you or i'm doing this Do you know about anything
10:34
that could maybe make that easier, more efficient,
10:37
more cost effective for me? Right. Just simply
10:40
asking questions. Those are baby steps. Just
10:43
ask questions just to understand and then figure
10:47
out if that information is going to be effective
10:49
for you and helping you in my case, build your
10:52
business, grow your business, expand your business,
10:55
things like that. You got to ask for help. We
10:57
can't do it alone. I went to the school of hard
11:00
knocks. I learned how to do everything wrong
11:03
before I learned how to do it correctly. By you
11:07
asking your confidants, your cohorts in crime,
11:11
you're asking the ways that they did it. They
11:14
may have done it the wrong way and say, look,
11:16
I did it that way, but I did it wrong. I made
11:20
a mistake. I should have done this. So you've
11:23
jumped at that. module already. And you are already
11:27
saying, okay, look, she did it that way. I don't
11:30
have to do it that way. I could do it this way.
11:33
And you can get ahead that much faster. But I'm
11:36
glad that you said education is such a big part.
11:39
The masterminds are such a big part. And most
11:42
of all, it's you hiring a mentor or somebody
11:46
that will help you along with the travel that
11:50
you're taking who's already been through it.
11:52
They've already been through it. So they can
11:54
see. Yeah. Okay. Very good. Very good. What should
11:59
professionals be doing right now to future -proof
12:03
their networking strategies using AI tools? Future
12:08
-proof their networking strategies using AI tools.
12:13
I would say, number one, learn how to use AI.
12:19
There are so many platforms out there and it
12:22
can be overwhelming. I have taken it upon myself
12:26
to take a class on AI, just really trying to
12:31
upskill that area, that technology platform for
12:34
myself. And I think that's the first step. And
12:37
then once you determine how you can really effectively
12:40
use AI, because there's so many ways that you
12:43
can use it, just really figuring out what's the
12:47
best. way and most effective way to use it in
12:50
your business, because it's going to be different
12:52
for everybody. If I think about real estate,
12:55
I'm not going to probably use AI to show up at
13:00
my listing appointments and pitch the seller
13:04
in working with me as their listing agent. No,
13:08
that's not going to fly a robot or a piece of
13:11
technology. cannot do that. But what I will use
13:15
AI for is helping me craft a more attractive,
13:19
effective listing description for a seller's
13:23
property that's going to draw more eyes to it,
13:26
that's going to make it more dynamic, that's
13:28
going to make it more compelling and appealing
13:30
to an agent or a prospective buyer that's maybe
13:35
searching on Zillow for different properties.
13:38
I want a listing description that is going to
13:40
pop. I would say business professionals should
13:43
definitely learn AI. That's number one. Number
13:46
two, understand the depth and breadth of it and
13:50
how you can use it either in your business or
13:52
in your, even your job role. And then figuring
13:56
out from there how to really use it effectively
13:59
because it's not a one size fits all. And you
14:02
don't want it to essentially become you or be
14:04
your voice. You want to still be authentic and
14:07
real in how you use it. Absolutely. And there's
14:11
an expression, garbage in, garbage out, right?
14:14
So you have to learn the proper prompts that
14:19
you have to use when asking, let's say, chat
14:22
GPT. There's a thousand others. I'm just using
14:24
chat GPT because that's well known. But you have
14:28
to, if you just say something and you just put
14:30
something in and say, okay, make it better. You
14:33
know, it'll make it more professional, more better.
14:35
You have to change that prompt so it's more definitive
14:38
what you're looking for. And so that's what learning
14:42
AI is all about. It's all about getting exactly
14:46
what you're looking for. It may take you four
14:48
or five different prompts to find out what you're
14:51
looking for, but you'll eventually get it. And
14:54
the more you do it, the more it will learn and
14:57
the better you'll be at it. Let me add also one
15:00
more thing. I did a video on this a month or
15:02
so ago. One thing I will caution, not only those
15:06
entrepreneurs, business professionals, just professionals
15:09
in general, when you are using AI and you are
15:13
putting prompts and information in AI. Definitely
15:17
be cautious about putting any personal, private,
15:21
company trade secrets, proprietary information,
15:24
maybe some ideas and things that you're working
15:27
on that is not ready for public view and or consumption.
15:30
Do not put those in AI. That's a great way to
15:34
also be strategic in how you use it. You want
15:37
to use it, like we said at the top, you want
15:39
to use it as a tool and a resource that's going
15:41
to enhance what you're already trying to convey
15:44
and or communicate. So it's very important to
15:47
not put private or personal information, business
15:49
trade secrets, any new ideas that you are working
15:52
on that you're not ready to have the public see
15:55
and or consume. Just be cautious about putting
15:58
that in there because those conversations aren't
16:01
private. They are public. That's true. And they're
16:04
going everywhere. They're going everywhere. They're
16:07
going everywhere. And the information is being
16:08
tracked. One thing you said that really resonated
16:12
with me was when you get your prospective client,
16:16
In the home, there's no more chat GPT. There's
16:19
no more AI. It's just you. That's right. If you
16:24
had all these intelligent things that you said
16:26
to them through an email, that's one thing. But
16:29
once you get there, you can't... That's correct.
16:32
Okay, so it will not replace the agent. The agent
16:37
must be worth their salt, which I'm sure you
16:40
are. You're halfway there. Okay, let's talk about
16:43
burnout. What are the networking red flags that
16:47
signal you're headed towards burnout, like draining
16:52
connections or relationships that no longer serve
16:56
you? I would say for me, one of the key, the
17:01
biggest key indicators for me when I was really
17:04
feeling burnt out, I just didn't have any energy.
17:07
I was just exhausted all the time. Didn't want
17:11
to go nowhere. Didn't want to work a full day
17:14
at work and then go to a networking event in
17:16
the evening. Just exhausted. Just exhausted.
17:19
You were going to say something, Michael? Yeah.
17:21
So how'd you get out of that? How'd you get your
17:24
energy to go on with your ambitions? Yeah. For
17:30
me, I tend to overwhelm myself. And what I mean
17:33
by that is I have just too many things going
17:35
on at once. Too many things going on at once.
17:38
I had to really learn very quickly to say no
17:42
to things that, like you said, didn't really
17:44
serve me. I had to really, really get strict
17:48
with my time. And I had to prioritize that long
17:53
list of things that I had to do. I had to prioritize
17:56
it and really break it up. So identify maybe
17:59
those top three to five things that I... Absolutely
18:02
had to get done and do that every single day
18:04
so that I don't feel overwhelmed. And so that
18:08
I do have enough energy at the end of the day
18:10
to go to a networking event in the evening or
18:13
meet up with somebody for coffee in the morning
18:15
or jump on the Zoom during the lunch hour. So
18:19
that's what worked for me. Prioritizing, figuring
18:22
out what top three to five things I needed to
18:24
get done every day. Saying no. And just... Just
18:30
making those decisions and how I best facilitated
18:33
the most efficient use of my time. Those things
18:36
help me. Exactly, exactly. You have to develop
18:40
a routine, okay? A routine that you're going
18:43
to stick to. Now, I'm going to date myself when
18:46
I say this, but in the days of the day timer,
18:49
okay? If you remember the day time, the planner,
18:52
I would take a little corner. Of the book? Absolutely.
18:55
And you write down the things you had to do.
18:57
You crossed out the things that you did, but
18:59
the things you didn't do, you put onto the next
19:01
day as the top two or three, and you hit those
19:05
first. So you move to today. You have to, I'm
19:09
heavily involved with the CRM, okay? So I look
19:15
at my tasks every morning. And I see what I have
19:19
to do. Then I have an hour and a half of what
19:21
I have to do. Prospecting, everything is broken
19:24
up, but I have a routine. I do the same thing
19:27
four or five days out of the week. Besides all
19:31
my social media posting and podcasting and things
19:34
like that, it's just a matter of getting routine.
19:37
When I got it into a routine, a lot of the pressure
19:41
came off my shoulders. Like, I don't have to
19:44
think about it. I know I just have to do this.
19:47
So I think that will really help anybody who's
19:50
listening is to develop some type of routine.
19:54
Yeah. The concept of time blocking really helps
19:57
support that. Yeah, it does. And I block out
20:00
an hour and a half every day from 1130 to one
20:04
every day. What's that? That's my can eat. with
20:09
my wife, have a sandwich or whatever. And I can
20:12
just go over emails and do what I have to do.
20:14
That is my time. And I block it out every day.
20:19
So that's not the thing. And you have to be strict
20:22
about it too. I have to be. I wish I was better
20:25
at it, but I'm working on it. Okay. So can you
20:30
share a time when a single networking connection
20:34
changed your trajectory? and what others can
20:38
learn from you from how you showed up at that
20:41
moment. A time where a single network connection
20:45
changed my trajectory. Besides meeting me. I
20:50
was going to say, meeting you has been definitely
20:53
a bonus in my life. Okay, thank you. I didn't
20:57
really think about this when I've met so many
21:00
people. What major, did you get a major transaction
21:06
out of a networking event out of meeting somebody?
21:10
Okay. Tell me a little bit about that. About
21:13
five years ago, I met a gentleman who was a member
21:18
of BNI, which stands for Business Networking
21:20
International. They are a global closed networking
21:24
for all organization. I met him at another networking
21:28
event. He invited me to his BNI group. And I
21:32
had just started in real estate. This was back
21:34
in 2019, maybe even 2020. I just started in real
21:37
estate and I was looking to grow my business.
21:41
I wanted to grow my business organically through
21:43
qualified referrals. So he invited me to his
21:45
meeting and that's exactly what BNI does. They
21:48
teach you how to network strategically and they
21:51
teach you how to identify your client profile,
21:55
identify who would be a great qualified referral
21:58
for you, so on and so forth. Fast forward, maybe
22:01
a year after, not even a year, maybe six months
22:03
after attending that meeting, here I am now forming
22:06
my own BNI group. And so fast forward five years,
22:11
here I am now almost six years in real estate
22:14
here in Metro Atlanta, doing top producing agent,
22:17
doing very well. And 99 % of my business is almost
22:21
100 % referrals. And it's just from that one
22:25
connection. with that gentleman who invited me
22:28
to his BNI group, my real estate business and
22:34
my development as a entrepreneur, I can attribute
22:39
that one connection at that networking event
22:41
to really where I am today. Wow, that's perfect.
22:46
That was absolutely perfect. Very good. And congratulations
22:52
to that person who introduced you into the proper
22:57
ways of networking because you wouldn't be where
23:01
you are today without it. I was still doing networking
23:05
wrong. If I was not, if I was not a part of BNI.
23:11
It's still going willy -nilly with no prepare.
23:13
Okay. Okay. So what kind of network do professional
23:18
women really need to avoid isolation and stay
23:22
energized, especially when juggling multiple
23:25
roles? Ooh, gosh, this is a tough one. I specifically
23:32
said women and juggling multiple roles because
23:35
everybody knows that guys can't do that. True.
23:39
Not true, but I understand what you're saying.
23:42
I would say this is how I do it. I'm a wife.
23:45
I'm a mom of two, a young adult and a soon to
23:49
be young adult or soon to be an adult. And I
23:53
have things that I want to do for myself. Right.
23:56
But then I also have my clients. I have my business.
23:58
I have other referral partners. I do things like
24:01
this on podcasts. spread a bit thin. And I think
24:05
it just goes back to understanding why you're
24:08
doing the things that you're doing. You really
24:09
getting intentional about how you spend your
24:13
time. There's only 24 hours in a day and there's
24:15
only one of you. And you have all these hats
24:18
that you are wearing. I did a video on something
24:22
similar to this about a month or so ago. And
24:24
I talked about the importance of doing at least
24:29
one thing every day for yourself. I live by that.
24:33
I normally do two things every day for myself
24:35
because I'm a bit of an overachiever. But I challenged
24:39
everybody in this video, do at least one thing
24:42
for yourself. And you'll be amazed at how long
24:45
that, how far that can go. And us as women, you're
24:50
right. We wear a lot of different hats. We have
24:52
a lot of people leaning on and relying on us.
24:56
And sometimes we forget, a lot of times we forget.
25:00
to prioritize ourselves, our own health and wellness,
25:03
our own happiness, our own sanity, right? Our
25:07
own friendships, our own hobbies and things that
25:10
we like to do. And I would say to the folks that
25:13
are listening, do at least one thing every day
25:15
for yourself. Take that time, whether it's five
25:18
minutes, an hour, 30 minutes, do at least one
25:22
thing. If that's just... sitting in your car
25:25
for 30 minutes, laying in your bed for 30 minutes
25:28
before you get out of bed, whatever that is,
25:30
whatever your thing is. For me, it's going and
25:33
working out. And then the other thing I do almost
25:35
every day is going and walking every day, 20
25:38
minutes outside. Highly encourage people to just
25:42
do that. Just do that one thing. It goes a long
25:45
way. It really does. It does. It does. Very good.
25:48
And I agree with that because my wife does almost
25:51
exactly that. Perfect. What's the difference
25:55
between growing your contacts and growing your
25:58
community? How do you shift from transactional
26:03
to transformational networking? The difference
26:07
between growing your contacts and growing your
26:10
community, community is all about relationship
26:13
building. You might grab somebody's contact information
26:19
at a networking event. They may give you their
26:21
card. And you may not have, they may be in a
26:25
completely different industry. It is highly unlikely
26:28
that your paths may even cross again or highly
26:32
unlikely that you could add value to their business
26:36
and vice versa, but you take their contact information,
26:39
right? That and growing your contacts. Another
26:41
way to grow your contacts is through social media.
26:44
People follow you, they connect with you, things
26:46
like that, but you don't really know them, know
26:48
them. I feel like community is when you really,
26:52
know the people that you're surrounded by. There
26:56
are relationships there, deep relationships,
26:59
deep friendships there. To me, that's really
27:02
building community. And or you may not necessarily
27:05
have a deep relationship with that person, but
27:09
you have something in common, something in common
27:13
that really brings all of you together. To me,
27:16
that's community versus contacts. I've had another
27:21
question for me. Absolutely. Before the pandemic,
27:26
I was in the mortgage business and I was going
27:30
to networking events. I would come home with
27:32
a shoebox filled with business cards and say,
27:35
look how good I did. And obviously I didn't do
27:39
well at all, right? Now, when I coach students
27:43
or I coach other professionals about how to go
27:47
and network with a three or four hour event,
27:49
I say, don't come back with more than 15 or 20
27:52
business cards, because you can't follow up with
27:56
that properly. That's right. I have a whole secret
27:59
sauce for follow ups. But if you don't follow
28:03
up correctly, you might as well not even have
28:05
met them in the first place. Because it's just
28:08
it's going to fall through. Because the follow
28:10
up is so very important. If you don't follow
28:13
up enough, if you follow up too much, if you
28:16
don't say the right thing, it's really what you
28:18
do. It's a mindset. But The follow -up is so
28:21
much more important. Okay. What's one AI tool,
28:25
one question to ask at a networking event, and
28:29
one follow -up strategy you swear by? I love
28:35
ChatGPT. I use it almost every day. I primarily
28:41
use it to help me build out content ideas that
28:45
I have in my head for my social media posts.
28:47
And then one question that I ask, I typically
28:50
ask at all networking events is I'll ask people,
28:53
hey, how did you find out about this networking
28:56
event? And or I will ask them, where else do
28:59
you network? That's probably the one question
29:02
I ask the most. Where else do you network? Because
29:04
I'm also, again, trying to be strategic in where
29:09
I go next, what networking events I attend. And
29:13
you had a third question for me. No, it's just
29:16
one follow -up strategy and one that you swear
29:20
by. Okay. Follow -up strategy for me, let's say,
29:23
Michael, I got your card, and let's say you were
29:25
still in the mortgage business, right? I would
29:27
reach out to you either via phone or text, and
29:30
I would say something like this. Hey, Michael,
29:32
it was great seeing you at, and I would name
29:34
the event. And I would say something like, hey,
29:38
it was great seeing you at the Local Link event.
29:40
I would love to catch up over coffee if you have
29:43
time here in the next week or so. Love to connect
29:46
with you, learn more about what you do and potentially
29:48
how we might be able to help each other. And
29:51
then you will respond. You'll probably say, yeah,
29:52
I'd love to get together. And then I would literally,
29:54
we'll align on a date and time and I will send
29:57
you a meeting invite. And I do that because I
30:02
want it to be on your calendar. And I will also
30:06
follow up with you maybe one to two days post
30:08
that event, because if you've been out networking
30:10
and you've met a lot of different people, collected
30:13
a lot of different cards, if I wait too long,
30:17
you're going to forget. It's going to be all
30:18
a blur. So that's why it's important to reach
30:21
out to that person the next day or two days after.
30:23
And then once you guys align on a time to meet
30:26
up and talk more, then you put that meeting invite
30:29
on their calendar. And then when you get there,
30:32
when you get there. You want to ask them a lot
30:35
of questions. You want them to do a lot of talking.
30:37
You want to really be interested in them so that
30:39
you can get a deeper understanding of who they
30:41
are, what they do, why they chose this industry.
30:45
What's maybe the top one to two things that they're
30:48
focused on right now? Who is a ideal client and
30:52
or referral for them? And make sure you're taking
30:55
notes. So when you and I met over coffee. i was
30:58
taking notes because i'm a woman i got a lot
31:02
going on and i can't remember everything so i
31:06
i write notes down all the time just to help
31:08
me remember but you want to make sure that conversation
31:11
that you have is focused on the individual across
31:15
the table from you and then like i said naturally
31:19
People will ask you, why are you in the business
31:21
that you're in? Who's a great ideal client or
31:23
referral partner for you? Where else do you network?
31:26
What are some top two to three things that you're
31:29
working on right now, Deanna? How can I help
31:31
you? That type of thing. And ideally, best case
31:33
scenario, you each walk away with a referral
31:37
from the other person, or you each walk away
31:39
with a new way of doing things, maybe a book
31:43
to read, maybe a podcast to follow, something.
31:46
You walk away with something of value. that you
31:49
can now go and use in your business and that's
31:52
really how you network effectively before doing
31:55
it after and that's how you start to build community
31:58
too that's how you start to build community and
32:00
start building those deeper relationships and
32:02
it may not happen the next week the next month
32:05
of the next year but that person's going to remember
32:08
you and they're probably going to remember maybe
32:12
one thing that you said from that conversation
32:15
And they may eventually refer somebody to you
32:18
to work with. You just, you never really know.
32:20
You don't go in to the conversation expecting
32:23
to get business from it. You go in with a servant's
32:28
heart and an open ear so that you can learn more.
32:32
That's what you're doing. Absolutely. Absolutely.
32:35
I always ask my guests one question, okay? Before
32:40
we end the podcast, before we do anything, I'm
32:43
going to ask you one question. From your entire
32:47
background, changing into real estate. Yes. You're
32:53
successful now, but were you always successful?
32:56
So what's one major mistake that you made and
33:01
how did you get out of it? I was not always successful.
33:05
Anybody who is in real estate will tell you it
33:10
is. the most challenging, one of the most competitive
33:15
industries and businesses to be in, partly because
33:20
it's a highly saturated business and industry.
33:24
I would say 10%, maybe 15 % of folks who actually
33:30
have a license are actually practicing real estate
33:33
full -time and doing it well. It's kind of like
33:36
that 80 -20 rule. I would say for me, when I
33:39
first started out, I had imposter syndrome, like
33:42
nobody's business. I was new to Atlanta. I've
33:47
only been here like less than six months to a
33:50
year. And I was comparing myself to people who
33:54
were born and raised here, lived here forever.
33:58
They knew where all the great neighborhoods were.
33:59
They knew everything about everything. They had
34:01
all the history. So I had to. I had to get rid
34:05
of that imposter syndrome. And the way that I
34:08
did that was to say, hey, you're literally here
34:15
less than a year. Yes, you have a learning curve.
34:18
But over time, you will get to a place where
34:22
you know where all the good neighborhoods are.
34:24
You're going to know where all the major cities
34:26
are in and around metro Atlanta. And fast forward
34:29
three, four, five years later, I do. I do. So
34:34
that imposter syndrome in any business or any
34:38
profession or any job is a real thing. And when
34:42
you are in a very competitive environment like
34:45
you are in real estate, you really have to check
34:47
yourself and you really have to check that because
34:50
it can definitely derail you and disappoint you
34:53
and discourage you from keeping going. So that
34:59
was a big challenge for me early on. It's not
35:01
a challenge anymore, but it definitely was early
35:05
on. And I think as you get some winds under your
35:08
belt, you get a little bit more comfortable,
35:10
your legs underneath you and you start, you've
35:13
gone from crawling. And so now you're walking,
35:15
your confidence builds up, your confidence builds
35:19
up. And so that was one thing early on that I
35:22
struggled with, but definitely in a good place
35:25
now. Good, good. Okay. Ready to bring this podcast
35:29
full circle? Yes, let's do it. If you could teach
35:33
every up -and -coming entrepreneur one truth
35:37
about building profitable, purpose -driven relationships,
35:42
what would it be? Be real and authentic and be
35:45
yourself. Be real, be authentic, be yourself.
35:49
Because people can spot fakeness a mile away.
35:56
Flakiness. A mile away. Dishonesty, a mile away.
36:02
I would say be yourself, be real and be authentic.
36:07
Don't try to be anybody else. Don't try to be
36:11
who people, who you think people want you to
36:15
be. Be authentically you. Be authentically you.
36:19
That was my advice. Deanna, I can't tell you
36:24
what a pleasure this was. I hope all of my listeners
36:27
felt exactly the same way because Deanna knows
36:31
her stuff. I kept that PG, by the way. You know
36:36
your stuff, okay? But if anybody wanted to get
36:40
hold of you, either because they have a house
36:42
they want to sell or invest or anything like
36:45
that, would they get hold of you? There's a couple
36:48
of different ways. You can definitely give me
36:50
a call, but I would love to have you visit my
36:52
website. It's DeannaLindoRealty .com. All of
36:57
my contact information is on there. A lot of
36:59
great resources for both buyers and sellers.
37:01
If you are on Instagram, you can find me at Deanna
37:06
Lindo Realtor. You can also find me on LinkedIn
37:09
at Deanna Lindo Realtor. You can find me on TikTok
37:11
at Deanna Lindo. So I'm all over the place. So
37:15
you can just Google me. I'm there too. Deanna,
37:19
I can't tell you how great this was having you
37:21
on. And I look forward to seeing you soon. Thank
37:25
you, Michael. It was a pleasure. hold on, folks.
37:30
Don't go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors.
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38:23
We're out, folks. A huge thank you to our guests
38:26
for sharing such incredible insights today. And
38:30
of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
38:32
listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
38:35
with us. If you're interested in my digital courses,
38:39
being coached or having me come and talk to your
38:42
company, just go to Michael and fill out the
38:45
request form. Remember, networking isn't about
38:49
being perfect. It's about being present. So take
38:53
what you've learned today. get out there, and
38:55
make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed
38:58
this episode, please don't forget to subscribe,
39:01
leave us a review, and share it with someone
39:04
who could use a little networking inspiration.
39:07
Let's keep the conversation going. You can find
39:10
me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my
39:14
website, foreman .com slash podcasts.