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#5 - Networking 101 · TWO GUYS IN TIES

0:02
SPEAKER_01: Listen to Two Guys in Ties.
0:06
SPEAKER_01: Hey everyone, welcome back to uh Two Guys in Ties.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm your co-host Mitch McDermott with I'm Rod McDermott this week co-hosting with my favorite son Mitch.
0:16
SPEAKER_01: And uh today we're gonna talk to you about how to network.
0:19
SPEAKER_01: Uh Dad, Rod, I know this is uh this has been a uh staple to how you built your entire career.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: So I get thoughts.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: This is one of my favorite topics.
0:31
SPEAKER_00: Today's about networking 101, the do's, the don'ts, what goals you should should set for yourself, what objectives you should have, how you can consider yourself a successful networker, and really what the end game is, right?
0:45
SPEAKER_00: It's just not about collecting a bunch of connections, it's about building relationships.
0:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think the relationship part is something people miss the most.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: Do we want to do a top 10, Reagan?
0:56
SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
0:56
SPEAKER_00: I know you don't like top 10s.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: You're rolling your eyes right now.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: I'm not.
0:59
SPEAKER_02: He's a liar.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: Do you want a top 10 today?
1:02
SPEAKER_02: Top 10 what?
1:02
SPEAKER_02: Networking tips?
1:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: I think that sounds good.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: All right.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: You think we can get to 10?
1:06
SPEAKER_02: We gotta go fast.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Can we get to 10?
1:08
SPEAKER_02: Let's do it.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: All right.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Mitch, you want to kick us off?
1:10
SPEAKER_01: No, I don't think I even have 10.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: All right.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna start.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: I think we can get to 10, but Reagan, you're gonna have to keep track.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Okay, number one, hang out where your ideal customers hang out.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: The people you want to network with.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be customers, it could be people you want to build relationships with.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give you an example.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: Are you guys okay with how many stories do I get today?
1:32
SPEAKER_00: Three.
1:33
SPEAKER_02: One, you get one per top 10.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: One per so I get 10.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: No.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: This can be a two-hour podcast episode.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: I think I get 10 stories today.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm gonna start with one.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: When I first got an executive search, I was doing a lot of work in the technology sector.
1:50
SPEAKER_00: And so what I did is I joined the American Electronics Association, the Orange County chapter, because it was kind of the technology networking group in Orange County, who's really the only one at the time.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: And I decided that if I'm gonna build a network, I want to hang out where my customers are.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: I also want to hang out where other service service providers who are seeking to work with those same customers hang out.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: For instance, banks, insurance companies, lawyers, real estate brokers, anybody who's working with the tech community, those are the people I wanted to build my network with.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: So for me, number one is identify what sector you want to play in and identify the groups, associations, meetings, whatever.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: And it could be, by the way, it could be functional.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: If you're ahead of HR or you're an HR person and want to meet other HR leaders, you go hang out at HR organizations.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: If you're a finance person, you go hang out at FEI Financial Executives International or FAING, Financial Executives Networking Group, or other groups like that.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: So does that count as number one?
2:55
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
2:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I got that one.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: So number one, identify who it is you want to build relationships with.
3:00
SPEAKER_00: All right, Mitch, I've given you some time.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think the second one's easy.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: It's it's offer value.
3:05
SPEAKER_01: You know, a lot of people go into networking wanting to take, but not a lot of people think about how they can give.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: And this is I I have a personal share on this because wait, wait, you get a story?
3:15
SPEAKER_00: I get a story.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: How many stories does he get ready in?
3:19
SPEAKER_01: I don't need as many.
3:20
SPEAKER_01: Come on.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: That's not cool.
3:22
SPEAKER_01: All right, go ahead.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: I remember when I first got into search, I wanted to build my network.
3:26
SPEAKER_01: I had an issue with feeling transactional about wanting to meet people who I knew could help me, and I didn't feel like I had a network where I could help them.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like over time, as I made intentional relationships, I built a network where I could refer other people business and I could start to create opportunities and become a connector.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: Uh, so I think for those out there that don't have a network yet, what I'll share is you just have to start, even if you don't feel that you can offer value, know that building genuine relationships will lead to you being able to create value for others.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: I love that idea.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: I there's a saying we have in the networking world, we call it givers get.
4:03
SPEAKER_00: If you think of other people first and how you can service them and help them achieve their goals, they're gonna take care of you.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: Um I want to double down a little bit on yours.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: So let's call this kind of a 2B.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Yours was a 2A.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: The the 2B is um people like you made this comment, people sometimes feel like they don't have anything to offer.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: But everybody knows somebody.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: Everybody, and if you've now, if you're brand new in the work world, like you're coming right out of college, you might not have too many relationships.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: But you might have people at the university that you came from that you were friends with, professors who may have worked at an accounting firm at one point.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I want to know somebody at the accounting firm, right?
4:44
SPEAKER_00: And I want to build a network for myself, and you have value in that you can introduce me to a professor.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: But if you've come from the work world, and this is something I tell CFOs, for instance, they're out of work, right?
4:56
SPEAKER_00: And they come to me and they're like, Yeah, I've been heads down.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: I really haven't built a network in the last couple of years, and I'm not sure I I I've got anything of value.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you have accounting firms that you've worked with, right?
5:08
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: Did you have a bank?
5:10
SPEAKER_00: Well, every company has a bank.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: Did you work with your bank?
5:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know my banker.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: Did you work with your lawyers?
5:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: Did HR report to you?
5:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: Did you get involved in choosing a payroll provider?
5:23
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: All of these companies that served you are part of your network.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: You might not have done a really good job of building that network and deepening it.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: And shame on you for not doing it while you had a job, but you can still do it afterward.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Pick up the phone and call them.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Here's the reason why.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: They want you employed.
5:43
SPEAKER_00: You already worked with them.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: They want to help you get your next job so you work with them again.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: So, would you call that a 2B?
5:51
SPEAKER_00: Or is that a whole new For the sake of getting to 10?
5:53
SPEAKER_01: Let's call it three.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we're gonna call that three.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: And then moving on to number four.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: All right, go ahead, Mitch.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I was gonna say, uh, actually, what you were touching on is being proactive versus reactive.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: Most people start when it's too late and then wonder why it doesn't get them the results they want.
6:10
SPEAKER_01: Well, networking takes time.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: Doing it the right way, genuinely, building relationships takes time.
6:15
SPEAKER_01: So, therefore, networking is gonna take time.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: And I think uh people often become captured vendors to their companies.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: They stay at a company they want to leave because they don't have options versus always proactively building your network and meeting with people who could be clients or companies that can hire you one day or senior leaders that can make a connection for you that maybe gets you your dream job.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: Do it now and always do it.
6:39
SPEAKER_01: It will never hurt you, but not doing it can put you into corners.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I love that.
6:45
SPEAKER_00: So, um, what I heard from you, I I always like to use this quote.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: It's an old JFK quote.
6:49
SPEAKER_00: Have you heard me say it before?
6:51
SPEAKER_00: Probably.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember, Reagan?
6:53
SPEAKER_00: The time to fix a hole in your roof is when it's sunny outside, right?
6:58
SPEAKER_00: So what you just said is while you have a job, network, or you're gonna become a captive vendor to your own company, right?
7:06
SPEAKER_00: And so one of the things I've told C level folks in the past is networking has to be a core competency.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: You can work for a company for 20 years, but as you move into the C level, the mortality rate is much higher.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: The air gets thinner, the pyramid gets thinner at the top, and the mortality rate, what that means is the idea that the board can remove you because they want to move in a different direction or need a different kind of leadership, you can't hide anymore, right?
7:35
SPEAKER_00: So you have to network.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: So I I think this is number five.
7:40
SPEAKER_00: Make networking a core competency of your entire career and start this at the very beginning.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: Don't wait.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: So when you have your first job right out of college, make sure you start building a network.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Is that five?
7:55
SPEAKER_02: That's five.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: Can we can you touch on like how to do that?
7:59
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:59
SPEAKER_02: What do you mean network?
8:01
SPEAKER_00: So, wouldn't one of the things you want to do is you want to meet other people in the company outside of your day-to-day world, right?
8:09
SPEAKER_00: I call this in networking.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: I did a presentation once at Toyota Motors up in um up in Torrance, and their HR leader had me come in and speak with what they called high potentials, right?
8:19
SPEAKER_00: So they put them all in a theater and they said, these are the people that we want to stay here at Toyota, but we want them to be able to find other jobs outside of their own departments because sometimes they're blocked from moving ahead in their own department because somebody ahead of them is their own age or maybe a couple years older and just got that job.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: And what they end up doing is they lose some of their high potentials because they feel like they can't move ahead.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: And so I got up there and I taught this concept called in networking.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: Out networking is going outside of your company and building a network outside of your business.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: In networking is building your network inside your company.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: And so what it means is if you're in the accounting department of Toyota, go meet somebody in purchasing, go meet somebody in quality, go meet somebody who runs manufacturing, go meet somebody in marketing, meet somebody in sales, right?
9:14
SPEAKER_00: All the different organizations and start working with them and understanding with them how what you do in the company and accounting affects them.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: I'll give you a real world example.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: You meet with somebody in supply chain and they're dealing with vendors and they're saying, we're not getting allocated parts because we pay our bills in 90 days and other car companies pay their bills in 30 days.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: Now imagine, Mitch, if you're selling stump something to Toyota, and this is not a real world example, right?
9:42
SPEAKER_00: This is hypothetical, I'm not putting Toyota down, they probably pay their bills on time.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: But if if you're a company that doesn't pay your bills on time and you're a vendor and you're on allocation because of supply chain issues, and you get a choice of selling your product to somebody who's gonna pay you in 90 days or selling it to somebody who's gonna pay you in 30 days, where are you gonna sell your product?
10:02
SPEAKER_01: 30 days.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: Right.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: And so if I'm the head of supply chain talking to this person in a county, I'm saying, you guys gotta get our bills paid faster because I'm getting suppliers telling me they're not gonna ship us because they're on allocation and we can't build our cars because we're waiting for a part because you guys haven't paid our bills.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: Those are real world examples.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: So in networking means get out of your department and meet other people.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: By the way, how many people would you guess do this, Reagan?
10:31
SPEAKER_02: Not that many.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: Very, very few.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: So by doing this, you are gonna make yourself unique and stand out in your company.
10:39
SPEAKER_00: And when it's time for promotions in different departments, people are gonna know who you are.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: And that's really, really key.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tell this story a little bit later about and I I I I actually tease this a couple of years.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: We're running out of stories.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: I know.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: I already teased this a couple episodes ago when I talked about the gal who became the CEO of Xerox.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell that story later because this is exactly how she became the head of a Fortune 500 company, starting in a fairly low-level position early in her career.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: Okay, what number is that?
11:09
SPEAKER_02: That was five still.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: Still five.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: Technically that was going to be part of mine.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: Is don't just look, uh, don't just look inside.
11:16
SPEAKER_01: But another one I think I could I could talk about is networking doesn't mean just going to events.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: You know, you could do cold outreach.
11:23
SPEAKER_01: If you're somebody who is thinking about a career change or just wants to build your network, go find people.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: LinkedIn makes it so easy.
11:30
SPEAKER_01: Have a digital coffee chat, or even better yet, go find people in your community and start taking people to lunch.
11:37
SPEAKER_01: You know, I think uh the concept of networking, a lot of people first go to let's go to this event and everyone's kind of putting on this mask and everyone's nervous.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think networking can be as simple as reaching out and taking people to coffee and building a genuine relationship.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: I joined uh an entrepreneur group and there's about 200 people in the Orange County chapter, and I wanted to meet people, so I just started anytime I met people at the events, I would take them to a coffee.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: Because when you meet someone at an event, you don't actually build a relationship.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: You trade a card and you go home with 10 business cards and you throw them in the trash.
12:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a good idea.
12:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they sit on your desk for you know a month and then they go in the trash.
12:14
SPEAKER_01: So use that as a touch point to then actually build and cement a relationship.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, I like to say when you go to the event and you pick up somebody's card and you meet them, that's like the on-ramp to the freeway, but it's not the freeway.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: You get stuck on the on-ramp if you don't pick up that business card and make the next step.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: The next step gets you on the freeway and that gets you going where you want to go.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm a huge believer in that, Mitch.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: I I love that idea.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna I'm gonna throw a se are we on seven?
12:41
unknown: Yeah.
12:42
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna be on seven, yeah.
12:44
SPEAKER_02: Wait, I have a question.
12:44
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
12:45
SPEAKER_02: Thoughts on business cards.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm I'm a huge believer in business cards.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: Now, a lot of people have moved to digital cards, but that doesn't mean you should.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: And I will tell you right now, if you're looking for a job, print a business card.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't hurt.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: It makes it so easy.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: When I get a digital business card, it goes right in my LinkedIn and it goes right in my contacts, but I sometimes forget.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: And if I don't remember your exact name or your or anything about you, even if you're working at a company, then I can't find you.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: But if your business card that's physical and it's in my pocket, I will know because when I get home, that'll be on my desk and I'll remember to follow up with you.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Mitch, what do you think?
13:22
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think it's good to have.
13:25
SPEAKER_01: I actually ran into a situation where I was really happy I had business cards.
13:28
SPEAKER_01: I don't carry them ever, but I throw them in my jacket pockets and forget that they're there.
13:32
SPEAKER_01: And I showed up actually, haven't used a business card in probably 10 or 11 months until the last month I've used them twice.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: And I sit down across from a CEO at a company who I'm pitching a search to, and the first thing we do when we sit down in the conference room is they take out their business card and slide it across the table.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: And I'm thinking, holy shit, like I don't have anything.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: And I literally just touched the side of my jacket and realized, oh my gosh, I kept, you know, probably 20 cards in there, and I was able to do it and slide it down two times in the last month that happened, and I was really happy I had them.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: It's happened to me.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: Reagan, you just ordered new cards for me.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: I literally are am going through cards, and I always keep three or four in my wallet.
14:09
SPEAKER_00: They're thick as crap.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: Each one of our cards.
14:12
SPEAKER_02: You throw them away, or Mitch said.
14:14
SPEAKER_01: At networking events, yeah.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: And honestly, the person that sent me their card I already had their email and they already have mine.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: So, quite frankly, it was pointless.
14:21
SPEAKER_01: But I think it's the principle of show up the way your audience expects you to.
14:26
SPEAKER_01: If you're interviewing for a job at a company and the CEO's 55, 60, 65 plus, they might they might appreciate that you showed up with a business card.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: You know, if you're meeting with a startup CEO who's in their 30s, they might they might actually not care, right?
14:42
SPEAKER_01: They might just throw it away and be like, this is kind of old school.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: So I think we're in this weird in-between season where you got to know your audience.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: And I think, like you said, you're having a business card's never gonna hurt you.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: So why not get some made and stand out?
14:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: I think if the intent is to give out a card so somebody remembers you and they get in touch with you or you get in touch with them, or the intent is just to have something to trade so you can get something back from them, I think it's important to have because I do actually keep them.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: I keep them on my desk if I haven't followed up and I haven't put them in the contacts yet.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Even once I put them in my contacts, I still will keep them on the desk if I have a follow-up that I want to do and I haven't done it yet.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of a reminder for me.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'm a I'm I'm a for I'm pro business card.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
15:29
SPEAKER_02: That's good to know.
15:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, good question.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so what number are we on?
15:32
SPEAKER_02: Seven.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: Seven.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna throw this out.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: There's another way to network and it's doing good in the community.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: Okay, right?
15:41
SPEAKER_00: It's called getting involved in a nonprofit.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you want to get involved in some nonprofits that you can be passionate about, but also meet folks in your business community, that could be really cool.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: It could help two things, and it could also help build your network of other business people because business leaders are involved in nonprofits.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: They're the ones that have the money, they're the ones the nonprofits seek out for fundraising, but also for leadership.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's uh usually business leaders sits on sit on boards.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: Um the first nonprofit board I ever sat on, the CEO of Mazda was on that board, the CEO of Western Digital was on that board, the former COO of Western Digital was on that board.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: There were a bunch of people.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: I got a friend who was a partner at Deloitte.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: So the networking was really, really cool because we're building relationships without actually trying to sell each other.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: You know, we're just showing up and we're doing good for the community, but we're building a relationship while we're doing that.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: So what number is that?
16:40
SPEAKER_02: That was seven.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: That was seven.
16:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm running out of numbers.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: We're not even close to out of ideas.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay, you're on number eight.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: I might be running out of ideas.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think uh do's and don'ts, one-on-one, networking one-on-one.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: So think of something else.
16:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think uh do show up.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: Uh if you're going to a networking event, show up in a way that makes you stand out.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: I was just gonna say this.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna say dress to impress.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: Dress to impress.
17:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I feel like, and we've talked about this.
17:08
SPEAKER_01: I've always loved suiting and dressing up like this, uh, but I think that makes a memorable impression.
17:14
SPEAKER_01: And dressing well in a time where most people are casual is a way to be remembered.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: I think that's part of networking too, especially if you're at an event where people are meeting potentially dozens of new people, uh, that leaves an impression.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: And when you call them or you follow up to ask to go to a coffee, they remember you for something.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: Create a brand.
17:35
SPEAKER_00: That's why I wear those crazy ass jackets.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: Like that red jacket that I wore a while ago, and you said I looked like a clown.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: I wore that to a wedding.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: Do you know how many?
17:44
SPEAKER_00: I got five compliments at that wedding.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: So I dress to stand out for sure.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: Peacock?
17:51
SPEAKER_00: But people come.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, I went to a trade show in Vegas a couple weeks ago, and the CEO of one of the biggest cosmetic companies out there, they do uh not a billion, but pretty close, and it's a privately owned cosmetic company, shows up wearing a red, I wouldn't do this.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: This is not me.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Red suit, bright red suit, and Air Jordan's.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: And everybody knew who he was.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: He stood out in the whole thing.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: Now, that's not me.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm not going that crazy, but I want to look sharp but also stand out.
18:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:23
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: Uh was that number eight?
18:26
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
18:26
SPEAKER_00: Number nine, I would set a goal when you go to an event.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: This is something I did early on.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: I always looked at it that if I was going to an event and it was an evening, I was gonna miss dinner with my family.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: If I was gonna miss dinner, what was gonna make that worthwhile?
18:45
SPEAKER_00: So my goal was 10 business cards.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: I wanted to meet 10 good people that I wanted to follow up with afterwards.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I would meet people that I would say, hey, great, cool to know you, blah, blah, blah.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: But they weren't somebody I was gonna follow up with because they weren't really in my target profile.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: So I would try to meet 10 in my target profile.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: The other thing I would do, this is almost like 8B, is I would try to go with a friend.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: Right?
19:10
SPEAKER_00: So I had a friend who had an IT consulting business and he was doing a lot of work with tech companies.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: I had another friend who was a money manager, and he would um he would work with tech companies that had gone public and work with their C-level execs to move some of their stock and manage some of their money.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: So he loved going to these events and meeting these pre-IPO CEOs.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: The three of us would go to events and we would help each other out.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: We all knew what each other wanted, and we would look out for one another.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: So when we heard, if I'm meeting with somebody and they're like, Yeah, we're gonna take our company public in the next nine months, we're filing our S1 in the next couple of weeks, blah, blah, blah.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: You need to meet a buddy of mine.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: And I would bring him over and meet that CEO.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: They would do the same for me.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: So I called it having a foxhole buddy.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: You're in the foxhole, you're fighting the battle, you want somebody who's got your back, you've got their back.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: But my big thing was I had a goal of 10 cards.
20:03
SPEAKER_01: One thought on the buddy.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: Great idea.
20:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh, where I see this, where I see it don't is don't make that your comfort bubble.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: Don't don't anchor yourself to that buddy out of fear of going out and meeting new people.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: That's where I I force people on my team to go alone, at least for the first few, because then they're forced to socialize.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know what I always say, Reagan.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember you're young, you remember this.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: What what happened?
20:28
SPEAKER_00: Do you ever go to a sixth grade dance?
20:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: What happens at the sixth grade dance?
20:33
SPEAKER_02: Girls on one side and boys on the other side.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: I know, and they're not talking, are they?
20:36
SPEAKER_02: No.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: Right.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: We don't do that.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: This is not a sixth grade dance.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: You're here to network.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: Don't forget, you're skipping dinner with your family.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: What is your goal?
20:46
SPEAKER_00: Right?
20:46
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: All right.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, when what number are we on now?
20:50
SPEAKER_02: I'm on nine now.
20:51
SPEAKER_02: Oh, cool.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I got one.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Act like the host of the party.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: Did everybody know what that means?
20:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: All right.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: When you're the host of a party, somebody comes into your house and you're hosting the event and the party, and you're talking to somebody, and somebody walks over to you, and they're standing awkwardly to the side, but you know they're there.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: What do you do if you're the host of the party?
21:14
SPEAKER_01: You go up and introduce them.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you bring them into your your so I might be having a conversation with you, and Reagan, who just walks in, she's not talking to anybody.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: It's the most awkward thing in the world for her.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: She comes up to you and I, and you and I see her, but we're not giving her the time of day because we're engrossed in this conversation.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: I hate that.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: I hate it because people forgot what they're doing.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: They're here to network.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: So I tell everybody act like you're the host of the party.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: When I teach this to college kids, act like you're the host and invite Reagan in.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: Open up, turn your body towards that person.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: Hey, what's your name?
21:53
SPEAKER_02: Reagan.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: Reagan, great to meet you.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm Rod.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: This is Mitch, my new friend Mitch.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: What do You do and what brings you here, right?
22:02
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm inviting her into the conversation.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: Don't forget, it is the most awkward thing for the person who's walking over to you.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: You become a hero by making it easier for them.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: Act like the host of the party.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
22:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think, you know, for number 10, don't judge a book by its cover.
22:21
SPEAKER_01: The amount of times I've gone to networking events hoping to meet CEOs at companies that can hire me, and was kind of let down by the lack of meeting the kind of person I wanted to meet.
22:31
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm standing by a cocktail table and someone walks up, I would have never expected, and they're end up being a CEO of this massive company who I've been trying to book a meeting with for a year, and here they are right in front of me.
22:43
SPEAKER_01: So I would say don't judge a book by by its cover.
22:45
SPEAKER_01: It's easy to go to these things and kind of try to filter out.
22:48
SPEAKER_01: Just go meet people.
22:49
SPEAKER_01: And I think the more you meet and the more you make friends, like you said, and start to bring people in, you almost turn the networking event into more of a party.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and you're gonna actually, you know, expand the people you personally met with with not just physic like the people you met, but even those people are gonna start thinking of you for other people that they met.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: Your brand starts taking on a life of its own because people remember you because of how you were.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: You know, I had a coach who used to say years ago, like 30 years ago, you guys are too young for this.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, they used to, there was a saying it said, it's it's all about who you know, right?
23:26
SPEAKER_00: And my coach Vance said, It's not all about who you know, it's about who knows you and what they say about you.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: And so when you build these relationships and you show people the kind of person you are because you've met them now two, three different times at different events, your brand is actually starting to work for you.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: You don't even know it, but behind the scenes people are talking about you.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: And that's the quality of a brand.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: A brand is what works when you're not working.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's what's helping you make money.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: I've got another one I want to share.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: Um uh gosh, I just I just lost it.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: It was gonna be a number 11.
24:06
SPEAKER_00: Damn, it was good too.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: Hang on, hang on.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: It's coming back to me.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh, there it is.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: When you made that comment, like I might go to the event.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: I've actually got two more.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: I've got two more.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: I got an 11 and a 12.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Are you good with that?
24:17
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: So here's number 11.
24:19
SPEAKER_00: Number 11.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: When you're trying to decide if you're gonna go to the event or not, this is what I have.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: People will call me and say that work at our company, hey, I'm thinking about going to this event.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you've ever been.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, no, but let me look it up.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: And I look at it and they're like, yeah, I don't know if it's gonna be good or not.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
24:35
SPEAKER_00: I tell them, I can 100% tell you what you're gonna get out of this event if you don't go.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: Zero.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: I can't tell you what you get out of this event if you go.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: And what I'm gonna tell you is building a brand, building relationships, building a practice in a business.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't matter, you don't have to be a search person, you could be, you know, a salesperson in an industry.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: Building your relationships is about trial and error.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: You have to go to things and try things out to find what works.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: So err on the side of going and try it once.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: And if it's absolutely disaster, don't go again.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: If it's pretty good, but not great, go again and see if maybe you were on an off night.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: The second thing, this is number 12.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: Look, you guys, you thought we had we were gonna have our time to get to 10.
25:21
SPEAKER_00: All right, here's number 12.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Show up early.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: If you've been to this event multiple times, get to know the person sitting behind the table handing out the name badges.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: Once you get to know that person, you'll be able to call that person after meeting them three times ahead of time and saying, hey, is it possible to get a list of the attendees?
25:41
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna come tonight, but I want to know who's gonna be there.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: I promise I won't distribute it to anybody, but I want to do a little homework on some of the companies.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: You can literally befriend that person and get to know who's gonna be there.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: But even before that happens, if you show up early and you look at the table when they're handing out the name, name tags, you can actually see who's gonna attend.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: And you can say, I want to meet that person, I want to meet that person, I want to meet that person.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: I've literally seen who's gonna be there, and I'm like, shoot, I know somebody at that company.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: And I go over to the site and I start pulling it up on my phone, knowing that the CEO or the CHRO of that company is gonna be at that event.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: I want to be able to name drop who I know.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: So I start looking it up ahead of time.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: I've done my homework, but this has helped me so many times.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: Go early, see who's gonna be there.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: All right, that's great.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh, what do you think?
26:33
SPEAKER_00: Should we end it at 12?
26:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
26:35
unknown: Let's drop it there.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: All right.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I want to I want to throw this out.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: Reagan, if somebody has a specific question about networking that we didn't answer tonight, how can they get a hold of us?
26:44
SPEAKER_02: You can email us at two guys in Tiespod at gmail.com or you can DM us on Instagram at TwoGuys in Ties.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we want to answer your specific questions.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: Mitch has been fun.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: I feel like I want to go to an event right now.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: I know.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: I'm fired up.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna grab my business cards.
27:00
SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the car.
27:01
SPEAKER_00: Sounds good.