Your Iconic Image : 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.\xa0Love 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!\xa0So learned educational/consultative sales early on.\xa0These 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.\xa0Been lucky to have great mentors and partners and love to give back knowledge and kindness I was gifted.\xa0I\u2019ve 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.\xa0That\u2019s my story \u2013 and I\u2019m sticking to it.
I used to be tremendously about being altruistic and giving without any expectation of what would come back.\xa0And I still think that has to be at the core\u2026I do think you need to lead with a lot of intent though.
If you want to make connections that actually have an impact, it\u2019s letting people understand in that introduction why you\u2019re 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\u2019t always include connecting.
Get to know the people you\u2019re talking to.\xa0Get to know them on a personal level.
When we see all the different people in the workplace now\u2026authenticity 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\u2019t put yourself out there that far.\xa0Don\u2019t take that chance.\xa0And I would say \u2018hogwash.\u2019
You don\u2019t have to connect with more than 3-5% of the people you meet.
Let your brain go into popcorn mode\u2026learn what they do and then start looking for similarities..
It\u2019s always surprising to me when you go at it from that angle and you go at it from that mindset\u2026a lot of times what winds up happening is that person you did not start out..being able to help\u2026sooner 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\u2026and I\u2019m never against that happening.\xa0That\u2019s a good thing\u2026but when that\u2019s the intent, that\u2019s the only reason you\u2019re doing it?\xa0You kind of wind up being a business pimp and that\u2019s no good.\xa0It\u2019s a fine line.\xa0But, it\u2019s a line.
If you send simple introductions\u2026.the chances are really good that you\u2019re 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\u2019d like to know how the meeting goes.
I also offer \u2018if there\u2019s anything else I can do..\u2019\xa0And if I don\u2019t hear back from them, I will often follow up myself.\xa0Because 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\u2019s the no jerk rule.
You\u2019ve gotta respect your network.
It\u2019s asking the qualifying questions.
Where you spend your time comes back to you in good and bad ways.
If you\u2019re not happy where you\u2019re at, you start changing the 5 people you\u2019re spending the most time around\u2026I\u2019ve seen quantum changes in people\u2026not by their own mindset, but by the people they had around them.
Migrate uphill.\xa0You\u2019re always looking to make the next connection up the ladder or up the hill.\xa0And I don\u2019t mean that as far as job position title\u2026I mean the next step i the evolution of the dot connecting\u2026.where you are trying to bring more of a net worth to your network.
Networthing\u2026taking 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\u2026
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\u2026there\u2019s been a huge uptick in how people use LinkedIn\u2026it\u2019s probably my A #1 go to\u2026
You can reach people where they\u2019re at.\xa0Find a platform that fits your business\u2026
There\u2019s a lot of good intention\u2026it 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\u2019s\u2026clientele\u2026
You really don\u2019t even need to be in a group right now.\xa0If you get on LinkedIn and start putting out what is your heart and what\u2019s value to you\u2026it take a while\u2026.you can really build\xa0community and a following.
Those recommendations on LinkedIn say more than you could ever say.
You build yourself a step at a time.\xa0But start somewhere.
Use video.\xa0Highly, highly, highly recommend that.
You want to present well and you get one chance to make a good first impression.
When you\u2019re online, you can pick who you want to send referrals to.
The introverts\u2026find a medium that works for them.
You can\u2019t eat an elephant in one bite.\xa0Networking is an elephant. \xa0
Seth Godin, John Jance, Tim Ferriss, Malcolm Gladwell\u2026there\u2019s a lot of folks that talk about connecting\u2026how to connect\u2026explore the options they have.
Always ask the extra question.
Slow down to go fast.
You\u2019ll never regret being kind.
www.uniquenessispower.com
www.andygreider.com
@andygreider
404-516-4204
Not Your Daddy\u2019s Prospecting
www.marlanasemenza.com
original music and audio production : Ariza Music Productions