Struggles Presented by NCBI

Strategies to Overcome the Struggle of Networking Anxiety

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Ever felt a knot in your stomach just at the thought of walking into a room full of strangers? Get ready to conquer that fear! We promise you'll walk away with actionable strategies and a newfound confidence in networking. Join us as Chris Inman from I.D.E.A. Cleveland and John Carpenter from Snelling Hospitality unpack their personal anecdotes and reveal the secrets to transforming the daunting task of networking into an enjoyable and productive experience. From finding a wingman to break the ice, to mastering the art of the perfect elevator pitch, these industry pros share the insider tips you need to thrive in any networking setting.

In-person networking can be daunting, but with the right strategies, you can transform your struggles into success. By acknowledging fears, finding allies, asking insightful questions, allowing others to lead conversations, focusing on relationship-building, and following up effectively, you can navigate the networking maze confidently. Tune into the "Struggles" podcast for more invaluable advice and shared experiences to help you master the art of networking.

But the learning doesn't stop there—we're turning the mic over to you! Share your own networking triumphs and missteps, and let's build a community of mutual support. We believe that with the right mindset and a few strategic moves, anyone can become a networking superstar. So, hit that subscribe button, spread the word, and consider sharing your story in a future episode. Together, we'll navigate these challenges and turn every networking opportunity into a chance for meaningful connections.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, the podcast where we navigate challenges together.

Speaker 2:

Hey everyone, welcome to the first real episode of Struggles presented by NCBI. This is Chris Eminem with Idea Cleveland and John Carpenter with Selling Hospitality. So today we're going to talk about in-person networking. I remember, you know, joining a chamber and going to a networking event, being terrified. How do I just walk up to these complete strangers and start conversations and how do I not just sound like a d*** trying to sell my services to everybody? But at that moment I'm like a desperate non-trained salesperson going out. At that moment I'm like a desperate, non-trained salesperson going out. Poor elevator pitch, poor delivery, without a strategy for going to networking events. So if you struggle with going to in-person networking events, today we're going to talk about things and some tips to be a little bit better. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

And you know, for me I think we've had this story before, but I've gone to networking events I pulled into the parking lot, I sat in my car and I left. I drove away Like I was too nervous to walk in, and it didn't have anything to do with an elevator pitch, it didn't have anything to do with, you know, not being a good salesperson. I can do that all day long through video. I can do it all day long through phone calls. It was, for me, the struggle was standing in front of somebody and actually talking to them, and I'm not an introvert normally, but in that case, with a room full with 45 people that I don't necessarily know, that's where the struggle comes in.

Speaker 2:

My first tip for you is find an ally. Yeah, walk in with somebody, or as soon as you spot that ally, that's your first person you talk to, right?

Speaker 3:

And I will say that's what happened with me. So my first real networking event that I went to, brian Bukowski invited me to and I didn't want to let him down. So we met in the parking lot and walked in together, and then, lo and behold, there was two other people that were in the room. Ken Glantz was one of them and another gentleman that I knew that I did not know was gonna be there, and so I walked in and had three allies right off the bat and it made everything kind of be smooth. So I didn't even go with a strategy. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew I was walking in the door with somebody who was a pro-networker, you know.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and it and you walk up to them. I was just having a conversation with somebody else. They're like hey, when I go to a cozy event, I always see Bill. I go up to Bill, blah, blah, blah. That's like my first stop and it's funny to think about because you're there to network with new people, right. But you got to get comfortable in the situation first. Yep, it's kind of like going to Cedar Point and riding a roller coaster. No matter how many, you still get a little butterflies in your stomach. The first season, the first time on it.

Speaker 3:

And the funny thing with Brian was because he's such a decent networker, he actually would introduce me to people. He'd say, hey, this is John, hey, this is John. And he introduced me to five or six people and then walked away. And it made me think back to when I was a leader with big teams. I would basically help them, I would jump in, I would kind of get my hands dirty, ask them you good, and then step away. And Brian was doing the same thing and it was helpful, because then they made the soft intro and the warm intro and then I just had to take the conversation from there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that gets to our tip number two for me, and that is ask, who should I meet in this room? That, I think, is a great way to also get out of a conversation that you think you're going on too long with with one person. Because you're going to a networking event, you want to walk away with at least five new contacts, in my opinion, and you don't want to spend all your time with one person. You're not there to have a one-to-one with that person. You're there to get to know them, understand them a little bit, see if there's some value, some strategic partnerships, you guys can work together or whatever, and then move on. So that's always I say, hey, who here should I meet that you've met, who here is kind of unique and cool that you've met here? Or hey, who are you looking to meet here? Is there a certain industry that you think that you would love to meet? And then hopefully then I can hand them off or something. But that whole transferring of people in a networking event is so powerful.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I think with that question is key, because you don't know who you don't know right. So for me, I've listened to people in the past and I always felt like I couldn't help somebody with the networking. But what I ended up doing was it was all about people. So when I met one person, he was on a flight and he talked to a guy who owned 22 hotels in St Louis. So he referred that person to me to use for recruiting because I met him at another networking event. So it isn't about who might be standing in front of you even, it's about who you, who they know. So, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So the next thing that I think is so important Tip three, tip three. Let them talk first. What do you do?

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And let that person talk about themselves. Do and let that person talk about themselves. That way you know how to answer. Can you bring value to their life with your response of what do you do? Many times I'll meet people like oh, I do XYZ, oh, I have a YouTube channel Interesting, so now I know to ask further up questions about their YouTube channel, whereas if I'm just about me at the beginning, I don't know what to ask and how to move forward in the conversation.

Speaker 3:

Most people love to talk about themselves, right, and so that is a very good start, because once you go off and you just start talking about yourself from the beginning, I think you might lose people, and I think people just kind of fade away into the background and then go to try to find somebody else and be like how can I get away from this person? All they're doing is talking about themselves.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

So if you do walk into that situation and let them talk first, it's a very easy intro then from that point.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and it moves the conversation that you're not just talking about yourself. Maybe you're talking about somebody that you know that can add value to their life. You know, the whole concept is the same thing with social media you want to add value to the other people's lives. It's not about you. And that comes down to my next very important thing is you're not making a sale there, you're not closing a deal, right? So stop trying to sell so hard. Save that for the golf course, right?

Speaker 3:

No, yeah, when you got 18 holes, and you're right.

Speaker 3:

Though, when you go to a networking event, it's really just about getting to know other people. It's about getting to know what they do and how they can help you in the long run, and how you can help them in the long run, what value you're both going to gain out of any interesting connection. I think and that was what was always hard for me because, when I would walk in, the struggle was I can't help these people locally because I work nationally and I don't do anything locally, so how am I going to help any one of these people? But it was pointed out by this group, by NCBI, that 30 years of hiring, 30 years of leading teams, there's more to just me recruiting. In one space, I can actually talk to many different topics, and, and that kind of helps out in the long run, because we are all more than what we do right now, and we've done other things in the past, so you have things to talk about with people if you just let them talk first and listen. If it's so, yeah, it's.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely and all right. So the last thing that we want to make important, though, is the follow up. What are you going to do afterwards? Are you guys getting together for a coffee to take the conversation deeper? Are you going to connect with them on LinkedIn? Are you going to connect them with somebody on an email? Like, what is going to be the follow-up of that conversation?

Speaker 2:

And it's all about, yes, having that, what I consider to be a very important marketing touch, and that's your business card. Have that business card, hand them your business card. You take their business card, and then I've been taught by some networkers in the past like have a system where you fold a corner. It means something. Fold it in half means something else. Like take out a pen, write like I want to connect them with XYZ, like that business card has some value there if you use it properly at the network.

Speaker 2:

If you just come home or back to your office and you have a stack of cards, now you've got to put the face and everything to that card and be like hey, so my I'm only going to to connect with him on LinkedIn is a fold and a half card, right, I take the card, I fold it in half and I put it in my pocket. Gotcha, I'm going to connect with him on LinkedIn. If I'm going to connect him with somebody, I pull out a pen and I write that down. Okay, because if I don't write it down, I'm going to forget it. More information about Idea Cleveland Okay.

Speaker 3:

That's an interesting thing, because I've never thought about it that way, right? I think you know there's a story from our own, Josh Muller, and he said that this one woman was looking for coaching and he gave a business card three years ago and she just piled it into one of her 10 Nike boxes filled with business cards and when she decided it was time to get coaching, she had to dig through all 10 boxes of business cards to find his coaching, Right? But what happened was is he actually stood out then, honestly, because it was three years later, Right? So there was a reason behind her looking for him, oh yeah.

Speaker 3:

You still have to stand out, you still have to provide value. I don't go into it with you know the, the guys that you do, but I actually can come up with something a little bit different, because I usually try to connect with everybody on LinkedIn, if they're there, and then try to provide value to them or make the connections I need to. At that time, I think that I'm you know, I'm going to a conference in October with 4,000 people. I'm clearly not going to take 4,000 business cards out of that, but I do need to set up time and energy to see who I want to meet, and I think that's one. My tip, big tip go in knowing who you want to meet, right. Like, yes, you're going to meet with somebody who made you you know you're walking in the door with somebody that you know, but walk out of it. No, you know, meeting somebody that you've never met before, never thought you would make that a point out of it. That's my strategy is meet somebody I've never talked to before.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that's the whole purpose of going to these networking events. You want to meet somebody new, or you want to connect with somebody that maybe you kind of got the edge of a prospect and you really want to flip them over. And those are the people. When you go to a networking venue, you see them for the second and third time. That's when you start building a better relationship. And you're talking about how's your kids doing, right? Hey, I see on LinkedIn that your daughter's rowing, such as like Brian, like you, can have these casual conversations then, and that's when you start really building that relationship which leads to working together.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, no, and I agree with that. I think that's a hundred percent. And if you can get that going in like even beforehand, if you know it was going to be there, that also helps too. That's a warm open and it's very easy to have a conversation. Then I see your daughter's eight years old, my granddaughter's eight years old, you know, eight years old, my granddaughter is eight years old. That kind of stuff that can turn that non-personal conversation into a little bit more value-driven conversation.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. So we'd love to hear what you guys' strategies are for going in and what struggles you've had going to in-person networking events and how you've overcome them. Going to in-person networking events and you know how you've overcome them, so feel free to share them with the group and everything, and we'll catch you on the next episode. Absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Struggles presented by NCBI, where we navigate challenges together. Don't forget to subscribe, listen and share this podcast with others who might benefit. We'd love to hear about the struggles you're facing or have overcome, and we'd be thrilled to have you as a guest on a future episode. Let's continue this journey together.