Networking at a Higher Level
Andy Greider ; McOmber Insurance Partners
Born in Palmyra, PA and full circled back to Central PA at 51, with one long stay in Atlanta and many other locations in shorter spurts, with fave area of the country being Central California. Love to hike with and hang out with my lovely wife, Linda, am a big fan of craft beer, live music and helping others in whatever ways possible.
Professionally, been marketing or selling since I was 14, started with vcr's for people who didn't know what they were - or why they would want one! So learned educational/consultative sales early on. These last 20 years, have become a serial entrepreneur, through business consulting for companies from Fortune 50 to Mom and Pop America, and growing a few companies of my own. Been lucky to have great mentors and partners and love to give back knowledge and kindness I was gifted. I’ve made networking and giving to others a focus for me - and it is a large part of what I do - I love putting people together with other people, tools or resources that can help them. That’s my story – and I’m sticking to it.
I used to be tremendously about being altruistic and giving without any expectation of what would come back. And I still think that has to be at the core…I do think you need to lead with a lot of intent though.
If you want to make connections that actually have an impact, it’s letting people understand in that introduction why you’re putting them together.
Adding the personality in is really key these days.
Explain what you see.
Connecting is a part of networking, but networking doesn’t always include connecting.
Get to know the people you’re talking to. Get to know them on a personal level.
When we see all the different people in the workplace now…authenticity matters are than ever.
They expect authenticity, they expect transparency, they expect reality of who you are.
There are a lot of people out there that would say don’t put yourself out there that far. Don’t take that chance. And I would say ‘hogwash.’
You don’t have to connect with more than 3-5% of the people you meet.
Let your brain go into popcorn mode…learn what they do and then start looking for similarities..
It’s always surprising to me when you go at it from that angle and you go at it from that mindset…a lot of times what winds up happening is that person you did not start out..being able to help…sooner or later on down the line, they become that person.
While there is altruism, I do think there is enlightened self interest in what you do in the fact that you wind up connecting good people and eventually good things wind up coming back to you.
I think a lot of people look at it as needing to be a financial return…and I’m never against that happening. That’s a good thing…but when that’s the intent, that’s the only reason you’re doing it? You kind of wind up being a business pimp and that’s no good. It’s a fine line. But, it’s a line.
If you send simple introductions….the chances are really good that you’re not going to engender what you were expecting.
If you are going to take the time to make the introduction, make it a good one.
Mention that you’d like to know how the meeting goes.
I also offer ‘if there’s anything else I can do..’ And if I don’t hear back from them, I will often follow up myself. Because the fortune is in the follow up in everything you do.
Unrealized potential is the worst potential.
Before you make an introduction, make sure you are listening to the other people and asking a lot of questions to understand their pain.
When you start becoming a good connector, you will see people start respecting that about you and when they get an introduction from you, they take it seriously.
I also try to connect by personality.
There’s the no jerk rule.
You’ve gotta respect your network.
It’s asking the qualifying questions.
Where you spend your time comes back to you in good and bad ways.
If you’re not happy where you’re at, you start changing the 5 people you’re spending the most time around…I’ve seen quantum changes in people…not by their own mindset, but by the people they had around them.
Migrate uphill. You’re always looking to make the next connection up the ladder or up the hill. And I don’t mean that as far as job position title…I mean the next step i the evolution of the dot connecting….where you are trying to bring more of a net worth to your network.
Networthing…taking networking, connecting and intention and running them all together.
The first part is enriching the people around you by educating them, by bringing them resources, by bringing them better people…
A spirit of giving is really important to get yourself up that ladder because people want to give back to people that give.
LinkedIn has changed so much…there’s been a huge uptick in how people use LinkedIn…it’s probably my A #1 go to…
You can reach people where they’re at. Find a platform that fits your business…
There’s a lot of good intention…it really depends on whose running that particular chapter.
On a financial level, when you put money into a group, you need to get at least that much money back out in order to make it a cost-justifiable expense.
I had a service that was too expensive for the people in the group’s…clientele…
You really don’t even need to be in a group right now. If you get on LinkedIn and start putting out what is your heart and what’s value to you…it take a while….you can really build community and a following.
Those recommendations on LinkedIn say more than you could ever say.
You build yourself a step at a time. But start somewhere.
Use video. Highly, highly, highly recommend that.
You want to present well and you get one chance to make a good first impression.
When you’re online, you can pick who you want to send referrals to.
The introverts…find a medium that works for them.
You can’t eat an elephant in one bite. Networking is an elephant.
Seth Godin, John Jance, Tim Ferriss, Malcolm Gladwell…there’s a lot of folks that talk about connecting…how to connect…explore the options they have.
Always ask the extra question.
Slow down to go fast.
You’ll never regret being kind.
www.uniquenessispower.com
www.andygreider.com
@andygreider
404-516-4204
Not Your Daddy’s Prospecting
Audio : Ariza Music Productions