Erin Marcus LIVE: Who is in Your Network?

Not just looking at networking as the event you go to the cocktail party , the chamber mixer , the association group that's not what I mean , but like who , very specifically , who is in your network ? Not who's in your database , not who's on your list , but who will actually answer a DM , who will answer an email ? Who will answer a text message if you send it ?

Who will do you a favor ? Who will help you find your next team member or your next client ? Who will help your clients ? Who can you send your clients to when they need extra help ? In our personal lives , we know this .

In our personal lives , we have this dialed in when you need a doctor , when you need a mechanic , when you need a plumber , when you need a electrician , when you need a landscaper , a painter , a lawyer , a job for your kid who just got out of college , right , we know in our personal lives that it's all about who you know .

Who can you go to for trusted information and support ? And yet in our businesses , it's amazing to me how many people don't treat their business the same way . We fall short in building our network . Maybe I should say it that way building your network versus networking as an activity that you check a box right . That's the problem .

We see networking as a check the box activity . We think we're supposed to do and it doesn't work . And it doesn't work because we're not . We're treating it as prospecting instead of actually building our network . What are you doing to build your network ? And I'm just going to call this out because you know me , I'm very direct .

I'm just going to call this out . As my business has grown , as I have elevated who I serve , who I work with , who I network with , I will tell you seven figure business owners are monumentally better networkers . They are monumentally better networkers than the folks that I see struggling to get there or struggling to get to their first couple six figures .

It's just a basic , basic difference in how they approach the concept . So what are they doing differently ? What are they doing differently that can help you ? And I had a conversation with New Connection yesterday and it was absolutely fantastic . It was like textbook . This was amazing .

So I'm going to use that to break it down for you about what you can be doing differently or what you can be doing specifically to build your network , as opposed to check the box going to a networking event . So in this conversation , we absolutely built rapport , but we kept to our time . Now , in this particular situation , I had a .

We had a 45 minute block booked . We ended up doing a good probably an hour because we just had that great of a conversation . But I also do this in 30 minutes . You can also do this in 30 minutes . We were personal and friendly , but we also knew we were there to figure out how we could work together .

Right , we were personal and friendly in build rapport , but it was very clearly a business relationship that we were looking at how we build this . So think of it this way the first time you're talking with somebody , it's really like buying someone a drink .

You're not there to go on a full blown date , yet You're there to buy each other a drink and see are there synergies that you can later build on ? We asked each other a ton of questions .

You could tell that we were both very interested and curious about how we could learn about each other and learn about each other's businesses , and that we were very clear from the beginning that we were looking for something that was going to be mutually beneficial .

We didn't know what it was gonna look like yet , but you could tell from both sides that we were interested and curious and trying to figure out what would be the best way and the way that I described doing it like come in with your confidence in what you do but you're not there to pitch , pitch , pitch .

I have been on plenty of one-on-one follow-ups at networking events or introductions to people and all they wanted to do was pitch me their widget . You don't want to be that person that is not building your network . That is not building your network . So build rapport , but stick to your time .

Consider it by each other a drink , maybe , not even a first date , yet Be very clear that you are good at what you do and you're coming in and your confidence , but you don't have to overrun the other person and try to convince them to be your client . The other thing that was done very well and I see this in higher level network building is positioning .

We both did a very good job and very specific job intentionally specific job of positioning our businesses in how we can help each other right . So once he learned more about conquering business , it became obvious to him how he could support us and he was very clear oh , okay , if this is what you do , this is how I can best support you .

And then I was able to do the same thing where , once I learned more about his business , I said okay , if this is what you've got going on , this is how my business can work with you , right ? So , understanding enough about each other so that we can position yourself and make it easy to work together . We didn't worry about where we overlap .

There is some overlap between his business and our business . Who cares ? We didn't see that as a problem . What we focused on is where were the synergies , not where were the overlaps ? Where are we complementary ? Not where do we overlap . And I'll give you an example .

I had an and my entire job was based on this incorporate where not to get muddy in the details of it , but one of the things that I used to do in my corporate position was work with people who were basically competitors of ours .

They were basically competitors , and so it was very important that we had rules of engagement and only focused on where we could support each other instead of worrying about overlap , scarcity , stealing each other's clients . And this is why I also call this building your network , not just the activity of networking .

And the one way that he said it , which was absolutely brilliant . What he said to me was I can do a lot of different things , but I know if I try to be everything to everyone , you will never remember me .

Here are the two ways that I can best help you , and I thought that was absolutely brilliant , because he made it very , very easy for me to know who to send to him . No one to bring him in , and he didn't worry about the 85 other things that he did . He just knew the two best ones for our relationship and we focused in on that .

We were also both very straightforward with our asks . This is , I see this as one of the big , big , big problems when building a network . We were both very specific and straightforward with our asks . The building your network it only works when you can be straightforward with what you want from somebody . It is amazing to me .

I talk to 10 , 15 , 20 business owners a week between the podcasts that I'm on and the guests on my podcast and the networking that I do , and I always wrap it up with okay , what else do you need ? Who else do you need to meet ? And I am absolutely shocked at how many times the person says , oh , nothing , I'm fine , nothing , they need nothing .

They want nothing , when we know that's not true and most of the times they say that because they're just not prepared for that question . They're just not prepared for a specific ask . What do they need ? So have a specific ask . Two weeks ago I spoke at an event . I did a workshop . In the afternoon I met the two gentlemen that run the event .

I met them almost a year ago now . I liked what they had to say , I liked how they participated in the event where we met , and so I walked up to them and I said how do I get to be involved with you ?

And I just kept that relationship going until it became clear how we could work together and , because of me having a specific ask , I ended up doing a keynote for them . I've done two workshops for them . They've given me unbelievable promotion of Conquer your Business , because I had specific asks , because I was brave enough to ask them .

The other thing that went well on the call yesterday that I see a lot of in the higher level networking and building your network is having a recap . We had a great conversation . This one was a particularly long conversation . We had really good synergy , so we had a lot of fun , but it also meant we were kind of all over the place .

So we did a quick recap before we got off the Zoom call of okay , what are you going to do and send to me and what am I going to do and send to you , so that we both had a very specific list of how to keep moving forward , instead of all the times where you have these great conversations and then that's it , and then that's it .

Right , you have these great conversations but there's no follow-up .

So you want to be very , very specific with your asks and straightforward and be able to provide for the other person as well in response to their straightforward and specific asks .

So here's a thing All of this sounds really basic , right , it sounds really basic when I just list it out this way , but it is absolutely amazing to me how many people don't have this dialed in .

They don't see the difference or understand the nuance difference yet between networking and building your network , and what an amazing , amazing value it is to having a network of people who will respond to your DMs , right , who will actually respond to you when you need it . So I'm going to give you a couple of pitfalls .

You know I got to have our tactical takeaways here , some pitfalls and what to do instead . The first one is always give before you get , and it's not linear . Give before you get and it's not linear . If you want to have a network that supports you , you have to be a supportive part of somebody else's network . I already said not having those specific asks .

You don't have to ask for a million things , just have one thing . If you just had one thing , one problem that you need solved , and we're ready to articulate that very specifically Amazing , right , amazing . How fast could that problem be solved for you ?

Another pitfall that I watch happen is if this becomes very hard to do , if you don't have what you do and who you do it for very , very , very dialed in , you can't expect people to send you the right solutions if you aren't able to be very specific and articulate about what you do and who you do it for in the outcome based language .

If you don't have it together , there's no way they're going to figure it out for you . Another pitfall I watch happen is people not being willing to financially invest in high level groups of these people , groups of these people .

Most of the time , a higher level group is gotta kind of pay to play , but there's a reason for it and it's because those people get it and it is absolutely worth it . Once you find the right group , to invest not just your time but your money and your energy and your effort and give back to that group and be involved at a higher level .

Staying in your comfort zone , networking sometimes it's not as scary to walk into a group of people . If you feel your business is in the top 25% of the businesses in that room , then that's a safe room for you to be in , right ? But what's that saying ? You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with . What level of business do you want ?

What size business do you want ? And if you want your business to grow , you're going to have to surround yourself with people whose businesses have already grown or people who are putting in at least as much effort as you are to grow their businesses . That's a big one . That is a big one . It can be intimidating for some people .

It might take a minute to get your feet underneath you , but the more you can do to elevate who it is that is a part of your network , the bigger and faster your business is going to grow . Prospecting instead of networking is another big pitfall . Don't be that person . It doesn't actually help you when you are only prospecting instead of networking .

Yeah , there's going to be a bunch of times when the person you meet is going to be an ideal climate for you and it turns out and that's great . But if that's the only intention you have , that's not really building your network .

Being too aggressive there are times when I've come across people who are just way too aggressive .

I had a meeting once this was years ago and I still can't forget this we went out to lunch this was back in the day where we kind of spent more time with each other networking and went out to lunch , and as soon as we sat down , this person went on an absolute tirade about why they were the person I should give all my referrals to , and at the time I

was in a business it was real estate adjacent business and I had been giving out like $6 million in real estate referrals and this person she wanted all of them and she made it very clear that I should only give her my referrals .

And then it was weird and it was inappropriate and it was way too aggressive and I never gave her any referrals because that's not how I wanted someone to behave with my prospects , right , and then at the other time is just being too passive On the other side just being too passive .

If all you're doing is trying to make friends without remembering you're there to grow your business , then that's not gonna work either . Here's the thing I built two businesses to over six figures in about 12 months each , where networking was my primary strategy . Networking was my primary strategy because solutions come through people .

Other marketing strategies are great funnels , events , social media they're all great , but you gotta meet the people . Nothing replaces nothing I have found can replace a really strong network . I consider the relationships that I've made .

Networking as the surprise bonus from Leaving Corporate I didn't Incorporate is intrinsically competitive because , as each promotion happens right , there's only one promotion out of the team and then the next promotion out of the team right . It's intrinsically competitive because promotional opportunities get less and less and less .

And in the entrepreneurial small business world , the opposite is true . The collaboration and willingness to support each other in the small business community was the biggest surprise bonus that I just never even anticipated when I left corporate and as I've grown my businesses . So the bottom line just go make some friends . It can be that easy .

Just go make some friends . If networking is one of the things you're already doing or if it's one of the things you wanna get better at , it has to be part of what I call an intentional lead generation system , right .

Networking can be one of the absolute key components of how do you move people over the bridge from your marketing efforts and into sales conversations , and a strong network and people who will send you the referrals and people who will support you is one of the things that hacks right , kind of turns that bridge into a shortcut .

If you wanna learn more about other things you can be doing to create an intentional lead generation system , you're in luck . We are doing a masterclass , a lead gen masterclass , on September 14th . I'll go back . I'll put the links in there for you so you can grab them . But September 14th lead gen masterclass it's from 11 till three o'clock central .

There will be recordings available for a few days , so register , get this information and learn how , not just through networking , but through other strategies as well , to grow your business .