Speaker 1: I am pleased a bunch to have someone on Wait,
Speaker 1: hang on, let me do this because I'm an idiot.
Speaker 2: Wop say how you doing? Let me just don't try this.
Speaker 1: At home, kids, it's very technical radio. I'm pleased to
Speaker 1: have someone with us who knows more about networking than
Speaker 1: your average bear by a long long shot. Doctor Ivan
Speaker 1: Meisner is the founder of B and I. As it's
Speaker 1: commonly known, it is the Business Networking International Groups.
Speaker 2: They're all over the place.
Speaker 1: I was part of one of them in Florida because
Speaker 1: I suck at networking and I figured I needed all
Speaker 1: the help I could get.
Speaker 2: Why are we talking about networking?
Speaker 1: To be really honest, there's a lot of economic uncertainty
Speaker 1: out there, and you may or may not in the
Speaker 1: near future find yourself getting laid off. We do know
Speaker 1: that some federal workers are going to be out of
Speaker 1: their jobs, so it's time to kind of review what
Speaker 1: we're doing when it comes to networking, because networking is
Speaker 1: not something you do when you get laid off. It's
Speaker 1: something you do all the time. And i'd like to
Speaker 1: welcome doctor Ivan Meisner to the show.
Speaker 2: Hey, I even welcome my friend.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, and you were a member at
Speaker 3: one time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, about I know about fifteen years ago.
Speaker 1: No, no, twenty years ago. Now, I was selling insurance.
Speaker 1: So we signed up and it was a very positive experience,
Speaker 1: and it really did help me because everyone at the
Speaker 1: organization was so friendly and they came to me and
Speaker 1: sort of helped me get over that hump of you know,
Speaker 1: talking to people that.
Speaker 2: I didn't know.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 1: I know, people listening to me on the radio right
Speaker 1: now were like, really, Mandy, you're not.
Speaker 2: You're too afraid to talk to people. You know, It's
Speaker 2: all true.
Speaker 1: You can be an introverted extrovert or an extroverted introvert.
Speaker 1: And that's where I found myself. And you tell me
Speaker 1: you found yourself in the same place.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm a situational extrovert. You know. I found this
Speaker 3: out fifteen twenty years ago when my late wife said
Speaker 3: I said something about being an extrovert and she's like, no,
Speaker 3: you're not. I'm like, yeah, of course, I run the
Speaker 3: world's largest networking organization. And she's like, no, you're an introvert.
Speaker 3: And I got mad and I went into the Internet
Speaker 3: and I took a test and it said, congratulations, Ivan Meisner,
Speaker 3: you are an introvert who is a situational extrovert. Now
Speaker 3: go apologize to your wife. And we didn't say the
Speaker 3: last part, but I was surprised by that. Honestly, I believe,
Speaker 3: having now done that years ago, it introverts can be
Speaker 3: great at networking. And here's why. When you're an extrovert,
Speaker 3: you're great at introducing yourself. You can meet people, introduce yourself.
Speaker 3: What's your favorite topic?
Speaker 2: Yourself?
Speaker 3: Yes, you love to talk about yourself. If you're an extrovert,
Speaker 3: that's a problem. If you're an introvert, you have a
Speaker 3: hard time introducing yourself, but you're a good listener. And
Speaker 3: a good networker has two years in one mouth and
Speaker 3: she use them both proportionately. So I would argue that
Speaker 3: extroverts have a strength at networking, but they have to
Speaker 3: learn how to listen. Introverts have a strength at networking,
Speaker 3: and they have to learn how to connect with people,
Speaker 3: and there are definitely tech niques that you can use
Speaker 3: to do that.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about what a network actually is, because in
Speaker 1: my experience, from industry to industry, there are subtle changes
Speaker 1: and sort of how things sort of get grouped out,
Speaker 1: and I think some people don't recognize that they have
Speaker 1: a network when they do.
Speaker 2: So let's just kind of take it back to basics.
Speaker 1: What is a network and how does that How do
Speaker 1: you determine what your network should be.
Speaker 3: Well, your network is a group of connections that can
Speaker 3: help you to connect with other people throughout your community.
Speaker 3: They may help you to connect for jobs. They may
Speaker 3: help you connect for referrals for business. When you were
Speaker 3: an insurance agent, you were looking for referrals for business.
Speaker 3: And so it's really the community that you have around you.
Speaker 3: They may be friends, they may be neighbors, they may
Speaker 3: be business associates, they could possibly be old classmates that
Speaker 3: you have connections with. And so these are the people
Speaker 3: around you that you know, like and trust and they're
Speaker 3: willing to help you in some way and you're willing
Speaker 3: to help them. That's important.
Speaker 1: So if you've cultivated a network of people that meet
Speaker 1: those characteristics. And for me, I don't necessarily want people
Speaker 1: in my network where it's only going in one direction,
Speaker 1: meaning they're only seeking help or seeking favors or seeking
Speaker 1: you know, connections from me. I've had that experience in
Speaker 1: the past.
Speaker 2: I don't like it.
Speaker 1: How do you delicately maybe remove someone from your network
Speaker 1: that isn't serving your purposes or you find to be
Speaker 1: a time waster or even worse, an askhole. And I said, ask,
Speaker 1: there's a case there is a key.
Speaker 2: I think I heard ask, yes, ask.
Speaker 3: So my recommendation is that you sit down with them,
Speaker 3: uh and have a conversation and maybe let's let's just
Speaker 3: for arguments sake, because me and I as a referral organization,
Speaker 3: that's my background. So let's say you've given them a
Speaker 3: into referrals. You sit down with them and rather than say, hey,
Speaker 3: you haven't given me anything, which just makes them defensive.
Speaker 3: Instead you sit down and you say, how did this
Speaker 3: referral workout for you? And you may know, but you
Speaker 3: get them to talk about it. How did that referral
Speaker 3: work out to you? How did this referral? These are
Speaker 3: referrals you gave them. Then listen to their answers. Now
Speaker 3: this is really important. They may say to you they
Speaker 3: didn't work out at all, which case you need to
Speaker 3: reassess just how much you've helped them. Most of the time,
Speaker 3: several of them worked out, and they'll tell you, yeah,
Speaker 3: this worked out great, this worked out great. That's when
Speaker 3: you have the conversation. It's easier when you do it
Speaker 3: this way, as you say to them, well, I'm really
Speaker 3: glad those worked out for you. Can we talk now
Speaker 3: about how you might be able to reciprocate and possibly
Speaker 3: give me referrals in the same way that I gave
Speaker 3: you referrals? Then listen to their answer, and if their
Speaker 3: answer is that they can't do it for some reason,
Speaker 3: then that's when you cut them a litters right. But
Speaker 3: if their answer is, as I've seen many times, oh
Speaker 3: my goodness, you're absolutely right. I can't believe I haven't
Speaker 3: given you any referrals. Let's talk about that. Then you
Speaker 3: open the door to being able to build a relationship.
Speaker 2: How do you maintain a network?
Speaker 1: I mean, how much time do you need to spend
Speaker 1: making sure that you stay in contact with people. For me,
Speaker 1: in the radio industry, I try to go to radio
Speaker 1: events at least every other year just to say hello.
Speaker 2: To old friends.
Speaker 1: This is a very small industry when you get right
Speaker 1: down to it. But how do you maintain those relationships?
Speaker 3: You know? Just in general, Well, it's really about the
Speaker 3: number of touch points that you have with somebody, and
Speaker 3: as your business grows, the touch points become a little
Speaker 3: more difficult. You can't pick up the phone and call
Speaker 3: every friend or associate that you have. And by the way,
Speaker 3: Facebook is kind of redefind what a friend is. I'm
Speaker 3: talking about real, legitimate friends that you know, like and trust,
Speaker 3: and it's really about touch points. It might be an
Speaker 3: email that says, hey, Mandy, how are you doing anything new.
Speaker 3: It might be connecting with them on some social media platform,
Speaker 3: or you say, hey, that's a great love the photo
Speaker 3: of your grandchild. Right. You're making these use your touch
Speaker 3: points with your closest friends. It's a phone call. As
Speaker 3: a matter of fact, just today I called a co
Speaker 3: author of mine for one of my books, who I've
Speaker 3: known for twenty years. Loved this guy, and I called
Speaker 3: him and I just said, hey, how are you doing.
Speaker 3: We haven't talked in a month, and give me an update.
Speaker 3: And so it's all about touch points. But the people
Speaker 3: that are most important in your life, you got to
Speaker 3: do it otherwise benign neglect kicks in. Yeah, and benign
Speaker 3: neglect can be both good and bad. If it's benign
Speaker 3: neglect with somebody you don't want to stay in touch with,
Speaker 3: that's a good thing. But if it's a benign neglect
Speaker 3: with somebody that you love and care for, then you
Speaker 3: don't want to let that happen.
Speaker 2: I'm talking with Ivan Meisner.
Speaker 1: He's the founder of B and I, which is a
Speaker 1: massive networking operation and I eleven.
Speaker 3: Three hundred chapters in seventy five countries.
Speaker 2: Holy cow, that's amazing. That's amazing, it really is.
Speaker 3: You know, we generated last year twenty five billion with
Speaker 3: a B twenty five billion dollars with of a business
Speaker 3: what we call thank you for closed business for our members.
Speaker 3: Now here's the awesome thing. I love this business. Here's
Speaker 3: the awesome thing. There are actually, based on United Nations estimates,
Speaker 3: one hundred countries in the world, one hundred with a
Speaker 3: lower GDP than what we generated for our members in
Speaker 3: the last twelve months. That blows my mind. When I
Speaker 3: started being and I, I had no idea that it
Speaker 3: would resonate this well with businesses.
Speaker 1: Well, as I said, I told you off the year
Speaker 1: I was a member. Probably now that I did the math, God,
Speaker 1: I you know, I've reached that age where I think
Speaker 1: that the nineteen nineties were like ten years ago. And
Speaker 1: clearly I don't know going out with my brain, but
Speaker 1: I was a member because I didn't know anything about networking,
Speaker 1: and I needed something that had structure and that was
Speaker 1: already there.
Speaker 2: You know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And I got a message said, ah, I'm not a fan.
Speaker 1: There are plenty of free networking for someone who's a
Speaker 1: complete like. The thought of the word networking gave me
Speaker 1: cold shells down my spine.
Speaker 2: I'm not exaggerating it.
Speaker 1: It was like a horrifying thought to walk into a
Speaker 1: room full of strangers. It provided a structure for me
Speaker 1: that I found invaluable. So my experience was very good.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this question, because I think this
Speaker 1: is really hard. If someone finds themselves in a position
Speaker 1: where they get laid off, how do you kick that
Speaker 1: network into gear?
Speaker 2: How do you start? How do you make those phone calls?
Speaker 2: What do you do?
Speaker 1: Do you just pick up the phone and start saying, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm looking you know, let me know?
Speaker 2: Or do you need to be more specific?
Speaker 3: Well, so there's two parts to that answer. The first
Speaker 3: part is you know the old Chinese proverb when's the
Speaker 3: best time to plant an oak tree? And the answer
Speaker 3: is twenty years ago? When's the second best time in
Speaker 3: the answer is today? So you should start building your
Speaker 3: network now. So Anyone who's listening to this should really
Speaker 3: start to develop their network now. And the technology today
Speaker 3: is so great. When I was in graduate school, we
Speaker 3: didn't have any social media to stay connected. I went
Speaker 3: to school with a deputy director of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Speaker 3: I went to school. You'll love this one with the
Speaker 3: Captain of the Palace card for Saddam Hussein, who I'm
Speaker 3: sure is not around what I did. I went to
Speaker 3: graduate school with him. But it would be amazing to
Speaker 3: stay in touch with those who are still alive, and
Speaker 3: social media allows you to do that. We don't teach
Speaker 3: this in colleges and universities anywhere in the world. We
Speaker 3: don't teach networking or referral marketing. And so the key is,
Speaker 3: I think, to learn how to do this effectively, because
Speaker 3: most people use networking as a face to face cold
Speaker 3: calling opportunity. Hi, Mandy, my name is Ivan. Let's do
Speaker 3: business right, and that's not the way to network effectively.
Speaker 1: Well, when you're calling people because now you've been laid
Speaker 1: off and you're looking for a new position, and are
Speaker 1: you going to give them your resume or are you
Speaker 1: just going to say, hey, I'm looking something for something
Speaker 1: in the field of you know, broadcast or project management
Speaker 1: or whatever. Is it better to call with a specific
Speaker 1: ask or just call and say, hey, you know me,
Speaker 1: if you hear of anything that you think I might
Speaker 1: be a good fit for.
Speaker 2: Let me know what's the better strategy.
Speaker 3: Well, I think if it's people that you know, you
Speaker 3: can get very direct. If it's people that you have
Speaker 3: a relationship with, so you've gotta have to layer your connections.
Speaker 3: In most of my books, I talk about the VCP
Speaker 3: process and visibility, credibility, profitability. So let's start with profitability.
Speaker 3: People that you have a really solid relationship. And by profitability,
Speaker 3: they may be clients, they may be close friends, they
Speaker 3: may be people who have referred to those people you
Speaker 3: can go direct with Hey, just you know, just got
Speaker 3: laid off. I'm really I'm looking for a job in
Speaker 3: this area. You can get direct. They don't mind because
Speaker 3: they love you, they like you. Your friends. Credibility it's not
Speaker 3: quite as direct, you know you just you may reach
Speaker 3: out to them and say, I'm looking for job opportunities.
Speaker 3: If you know any people in these areas, please let
Speaker 3: me know. Uh. And at visibility you've got to be really,
Speaker 3: really tactful because they don't know you, and if you
Speaker 3: go right for the for the requests, it's probably too early.
Speaker 3: The other thing is to go to networking events that
Speaker 3: have people in it that are in the business you
Speaker 3: want to be in, and make connections there and have
Speaker 3: conversations with them.
Speaker 1: This is all great advice. I hope nobody in my
Speaker 1: listening audience needs it anytime soon, but everybody should maintain
Speaker 1: their network, and it's it's so critical. If you want
Speaker 1: more information about Ivan, if you want more information about
Speaker 1: B and I or anything else, I put it all
Speaker 1: on my website today, ourmandy'sblog dot com. Doctor Ivan Meisner,
Speaker 1: thank you so much, because you know a lot of
Speaker 1: us know this.
Speaker 2: You know it.
Speaker 1: If you're a working professional person, you know all of
Speaker 1: the things you just said. But hearing them again, I'm
Speaker 1: already thinking about how I'm going to go through and
Speaker 1: sort of reevaluate my contact list where I'm going to
Speaker 1: put people, and thinking about people I should probably reach
Speaker 1: out to just in case, not that I think anything
Speaker 1: bad is going to happen, but just in case.
Speaker 3: Well, you're exactly right. If you go through your contact
Speaker 3: list and say, am I a profitability with this person?
Speaker 3: Is there a real tight relationship or am I just
Speaker 3: a am I a credibility or am I just a visibility?
Speaker 3: That really helps determine the kind of communication that you
Speaker 3: have with the individual.
Speaker 2: Doctor Meisner, thanks so much for your time today, Mandy.
Speaker 3: It was great talking to you. I'm be happy to
Speaker 3: come back
Speaker 2: Anytime, all right, Thanks so much,