Effective Networking With Christopher Seveney and Lauren Wells

July 27, 2022

chrisseveney

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CWS 210 | Networking

 

Are you new or just starting up your real estate portfolio? Or have you been enjoying your cash flow for a while? Either way, growing your network can only do your business good. In this episode of Creating Wealth Simplified, Christopher Seveney and Lauren Wells share insights on what networking is all about. The power of having the right connections, the lessons you can learn when networking is done the right way, the things to avoid, the different platforms you can use to build your network, and how networking can help you really excel in your career and continue to build wealth through real estate. Listen in for lots of actionable tips!

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Effective Networking With Christopher Seveney and Lauren Wells

In this episode, we want to talk about the power of networking, networking the right way, the wrong way, and how it can help you excel in your career in real estate. Chris, we talked about this in the last episode, which is why we’re talking about it more in this episode. Tell me what your thoughts are on networking in general.

I’m surprised I’m even allowed to talk on this episode.

You can ask me questions if you want to reverse.

We’re going to have to reverse this one because Lauren is the one with the awesome personality and networking skills. There’s me, the engineer, who you let out of my basement.

How would you define networking?

For me, networking is a form of communication where you’re trying to build out your business through teamwork. How do you define networking? I have no idea. I’m usually not stumped too easily, but in this one, I’m going to be stumped a lot.

I try not to overcomplicate it. I knew networking is meeting as many people as you can, finding common interests, and talking. I feel like it’s having conversations with people who are like-minded in networking.

I’m going to roll right into it. There are different ways to network. There’s in-person and now over the internet like Zoom. What should be somebody’s goals if they’re going to a networking event?

Since COVID, networking has changed drastically because there are many different avenues. We used to have a lot of in-person events, whether it was local real estate investing clubs or conferences. Now, a lot of things are either done via Zoom, whether it’s because it’s easy and convenient for a lot of people or because that’s the new way things are being done. Whether it’s an in-person meeting or a live conference, you need to know your goals for that specific meeting, not necessarily your goals for networking in general.

Being authentic to who you are and what you're actually hoping to do will be like a breath of fresh air for someone who's heard the same pitch 50 million times. Share on X

If I was going to a real estate investment club group, you set your goals as a new investor. It could be meeting people who are in the space to pick their brain, understanding a certain neighborhood, or meeting potential lenders and sellers of assets. There are a lot of different people who are going to be there. You need to almost map out, “What are my needs or what are the people I look at as building relationships with their building my team? Are they going to be at this event? If they are, what are the types of conversations I’d want to have with them?”

I also think that it depends on the person you are. My goal is to meet us and talk to as many people in an event as possible because you never know what someone’s doing, who they know and what value you can provide them. Some of the best conversations I’ve had at events have been with people I never thought I would have spoken with and we are able to have a good partnership. I’m able to provide them value because what you do walking away from an in-person event, your goal should be to follow up with the people that you connected with. When I say connected, not every single person, but the people that you’re like, “I have something I can help them with and they can help me with.”

I look at networking as a two-way street which is one of the big pitfalls of a lot of people who they’re like, “What can I get from this person? I want to make all these connections. That’s going to help me.” When you go to a conference, I’d say your goal should be to 1) Talk to as many people as you can and 2) Go after yourself because we all know those conferences are a whirlwind of information and people, and you’re exhausted at the end of the day.

I feel like it’s important to write down or type in your notes or on your phone who you met, a little bit about them, and who you want to follow up with, so then when you do get home from this conference, you can go ahead and follow up with them. It’s always important to reference your conversation and not just make it as we talked about in the last episode, “Can I pick your brain on this? What can you do for me?” Everyone is looking for what you can do for them. What you can provide to someone is important.

As we will call these top tips on how to network, one of the things that I do is when I reach out to people, I’ll take notes. Everybody meets so many people and you sometimes forget who is who. In my reply back to them, I’ll remember something from the conversation and put something in the conversation that they would remember me. For example, we’ve started using those OVOU digital cards. Most people see those and say, “Those are cool.” “I’m the guy who had the digital card that you scanned because I use that at IMN.” The people remember you from that component.

We’re talking about networking. You mentioned you are outgoing. You can walk up to anybody. For me, it’s draining. What’s the best way to strike a conversation up with somebody if they’re either you’re an introvert or the person you’re talking to is an introvert? Is there an icebreaker? How do you kick off a conversation with somebody? Most people don’t want to go up to somebody. They see somebody standing there by themselves. How do you approach them, or how do you start?

You might find this hard to believe, but years ago, I felt like I was an introvert. It wasn’t in my nature to automatically strike up conversations with people. What I found now that I swung hard in the opposite direction is the easiest way when I was starting to try to have more conversations, I knew something that would help me and I needed to get better at. When I start conversations, it’s never about something in real estate or something in the topic I’m trying to learn about.

For example, if I’m at a coffee shop and I see someone, it could be a comment on their outfit or anything that’s interesting to me outside of what I’m trying to learn. It takes people’s shields and brings them down a little bit. Imagine if you’re someone who has a lot to offer, you’re probably sitting there used to people wanting to pick your brain and learn a whole bunch from you.

By allowing someone to drop their shield and talk about anything other than the weather, dropping a comment around something completely outside of whatever the conference is about, whether it’s real estate, sales, or whatever it is. It’s good to talk about and drop a line about something that you’re interested in that they might have done or said. That starts the conversation and makes it more conversational than this weird interview where you’re trying to get information out of someone.

CWS 210 | Networking

Networking: Networking is meeting as many people with common interests and having conversations with people who are of like mind.

 

It’s not like walking up to somebody and saying, “What do you do?”

Sometimes at conferences, there’s a whole bunch of people. If you’re in a group setting, that could be appropriate because you’re genuinely learning what people do as there are many people involved in a conversation. Most of the conversations that end up being gems are held after the actual event, whether it’s at a cocktail party, happy hour, lunch, or whatever it is. For example, if you’re at the bar ordering a drink and the guy next to you orders something that you’ve never tried, you’ll be like, “What’s in that? I’ve never heard of that drink before.” It’s something simple that gets you to start having that conversation then it evolves from there. They get to know who you are rather than what you’re trying to learn from them.

Always something tough is that initial ice breaker. The next question I’ll ask is if somebody comes back to you and says, “What do you do?” Should you have your elevator pitch? I know everyone typically talks about that, but from the events I go to when I meet people, it’s almost like everybody has that same elevator pitch like, “We are note investors. I buy nonperforming notes and try and keep borrowers in their property.” It’s like, “I heard that recording 27 times.” Part of me was thinking, “What do you really do? What motivates you to do this?” It’s something along those lines. I’m curious how you approach that scenario.

This word is probably super overused, but being authentic to who you are and what you’re hoping to do will be a breath of fresh air for someone who’s heard 50 million times like, “I invest in long-term rentals. I’m investing in mortgage notes.” They’ve heard that a million times. More so, if you’re a newer investor, I would say that. A lot of people try to hype up that they have done more or are more involved in real estate than they are. I do believe people see through that. I would say, “I attended this conference. I’m new to the note investing world and I’m hoping to learn a bunch from the people who are involved in the industry, especially people who have been in it for a long time.” I’m trying to talk and meet as many people as I can.

I love talking to people who are just getting started because they haven’t gone through that rollercoaster ride that most of us have gone through, so I’m sharing some of those stories with them. It’s like hanging out with kids from high school and sharing some of those war stories going back in the day with somebody who didn’t go to school with you and joke around. I think sometimes, newer investors are timid to go up to speak to people who have a little more experience, but you shouldn’t.

You should go up to them, talk to them and let them know. Don’t try and be yes to them by thinking like, “I’ve done this and that.” Be upfront, “I’m new to space. I’m here to meet new people, learn, see what people are going on, and what’s the atmosphere for the next 6 to 12 months in this space. Do people think it’s going to be something where it’s on the upswing or downswing?” Have that conversation and then people truly appreciate you more because of that.

At one point, every super experienced investor was a new investor. I feel like it would sometimes be refreshing to be like, “This is cool. I was there too at one point.” In a way, who knows who you’ll connect with? You’ve been in it for a while and people know you’re a boss when it comes to mortgage notes. What are some things that are, in your opinion, as someone whose people are coming to learn more from, like turn-offs or no-go’s, and it makes you not want to talk to them?

When they try and hype up their experience, it is one. When they buy two notes, they walk around and give the impression that they have been doing it and mastered everything or come across as they think they know everything. You’ll never know anything in any aspect of real estate. I’ve built and renovated many buildings, bought lots of notes, and every day, I experienced something I’ve never experienced before. It’s a constant learning curve. This isn’t like calculus, where there’s one formula, you plug it in, it’s black and white, and here’s the answer.

Everything regarding real estate has a huge gray. There’s very little black and white. The other is when people come to you and they want to try, they pull as much information from you and have nothing to give back. You don’t need to have anything to give back, but if somebody continues to run up to you and ask you questions like, “What about this or that,” it’s more like they want me to train them on the spot on something. I help a lot of people.

You have to build trust and relationships before you move to the next step. Share on X

I’m always willing to get on the phone, on Zoom or in-person, sit down and talk to somebody, try and share my experiences or if they’re stuck in a situation to help them. The people who do zero research and want you to give them the fast pass to go down the easy lane, there isn’t one. Those are the two biggest ones I’ve seen.

You can ask those questions and get there with someone. It’s like dating. You got to build trust and the relationship before you move to the next step or whatever that is moving in, like marriage. I feel like a lot of people approach this like speed dating, where you’re asking for a bunch of interviews. That’s not how it should be approached.

Something you want to talk about is when you’re going to a pre-conference before you’ve left a pre-networking event, any event where there’s any website, or you can see who the speakers are and who’s going to be there. It’s important to do your due diligence beforehand and see who’s going to be speaking and then who you want to connect with. Make a mental list of like, “I want to talk to as many people as possible, but there are also three people that I’m laser-focused, and I will have a conversation with this person.”

The huge mistake I made when I went to Florida was that IMN, which is a big event, has the list. A lot of people were setting up meetings prior. I set up 1 or 2, but I should have set up 20 meetings prior. I’m kicking myself. I hadn’t been to conferences in several years. I call it a rookie mistake of, “In the next conferences, I got to set that up.” If you’re signing up for a conference, feel free to ask them, “Can I get the invite list of who’s attending?” See if they’ll give it to you.

Say, “I only want to try and set up some meetings with people I know beforehand. I will not use it for marketing. I’m not going to put it in my MailChimp account and blast everyone off. You can give me the names and then I can reach out to people individually who I know or want to meet or what companies are going to be there.” Some will give them to you. Some will not.

If they don’t give it to you, still look at the conference website, at least name list of the speakers usually. Typically, you can find their information on LinkedIn and maybe send a note beforehand. What other tips do you have when it comes to networking offline or not in person?

I have two other mistakes I have in-person. One is, don’t spend the entire time with the people you know. I see that where you get a click of, “I know these people. Let me hang out with the people I know.” That is something that you shouldn’t do. Find somebody you do know, go to other groups and talk to people. The other is don’t get drunk during the main areas of the conference.

You can go out afterward at night and have a blast, but during the conference, I’d recommend, don’t be that person. One of the conferences I attended was at 3:00 in the afternoon and somebody was completely blitzed. Years ago, I probably would have been that guy. It’s almost like the company Christmas party. You don’t want to be that person. Those are two things I’d mentioned for in-person. Don’t just hang out with your typical crew. Go meet other people then. If you’re going to enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself later on in the evening.

When it comes from your perspective, one thing I say is always to have something to offer. Always be able to provide a value if I’m the newer investor. I know people are like, “I don’t have anything to provide. I’m new. I’m just starting out.” What would you say is something that you see as a value that they might not necessarily see as value?

CWS 210 | Networking

Networking: Even though you might be new to real estate investing, you weren’t born yesterday. You must be very good at something that you’ve been doing for a long time and it is something of value. You just have to figure out what it is that you can bring to individuals.

 

Everybody has value because even though they might be new to real estate investing, they weren’t born yesterday. They’ve been doing something for a very long period of time, and I’m sure they’re very good at something that they’ve been doing. They have something of value that they have to figure out what they can bring to individuals. Before you got into real estate, you worked in technology and marketing sales, so you could easily help somebody with what we’re talking about networking.

I have a background in real estate, and your family was in real estate, but if somebody hadn’t had real estate, I could share some of my knowledge in real estate. Somebody may have a background in finance or work in title. Somebody may have been an inspector and knows and understands some of those aspects. I’ve talked to people who are school teachers, “You have a membership to Chris group. Here are some of the things how people like to learn.” Everybody has something that they are good at. Understanding that and potentially seeing if you can help somebody, how it relates to real estate or whatever it is you’re investing in or working in has tons of value.

To clarify, it doesn’t have to be something where you’re reaching out to these people after and being like, “I can do this for you.” That’s awkward. If you remember the conversation you have and craft an email that isn’t generic to them, they open up, and you’re able to start having that conversation and that dialogue, it will be easy for you to then be like, “I used to do sales. Do you have any lead gen for investors you’re working with or buyers and sellers? I’d love to help you with that.” It doesn’t have to be this awkward pitch from the second you meet them, the first conversation.

All of a sudden, somebody says, “I invest in the West Coast of Florida and Tampa area.” “I think I have a friend that I went to school with. He is a realtor in that area. Let me maybe hook you up with them and see if there’s a connection.” There are so many different ways.

Networking is listening essentially and hearing what the other person has to say, rather than just thinking about the next question and the next thing you need from them. When it comes to value, the best thing you can do is listen to what the other person is saying. You can tell when people are talking to you. If they’re listening, they’re thinking about something else or the next question.

The best analogy I hear when you say that is to pretend the person is your doctor and they’re the patient. When you go to the doctor’s office and the doctor says, “How are you feeling?” You’re talking. The doctor is not thinking about, “What am I going to say in advance?” He’s listening to every single thing you’re saying to digest it and then provide the response. That’s what somebody had mentioned being in the past.

Networking is meeting people and listening to what they have to say.

That’s our definition. We talked a lot about in-person, and then you started to shift it to virtual Zoom, not in-person types of networking. How is it different or how should you take it differently?

This is where the introvert has an avenue for people who aren’t super comfortable going to networking or in-person events. It is a way for them to start practicing and having those conversations. There are a few ways to do that. A few ways to network are to find all of the Facebook groups that are relevant to what you’re interested in. I would definitely narrow it down. I wouldn’t just find all Facebook groups. I would join them, start going through all of the posts and see if there’s any way I could add value because, in those groups, not all of the posts are specifically very real estate focused.

Networking is really listening and hearing what the other person has to say, rather than just thinking about the next question and the next thing you need from them. Share on X

It could be, “Does anyone know of a real estate agent in Florida? Does anyone know how to work with this marketing widget?” The questions are all across the board because, at the end of the day, it’s still a business. A business has all those facets, sales, marketing, customer support, and success. For the introverts, it’s like, “I don’t have to have this face-to-face conversation with someone.” There’s a huge advantage there for everyone to be able to go into groups and start commenting, being engaged, and people see your name. People see, “This person is not going away. They’re interested.” When it comes to Zoom, that would be the next step.

Before we get on the Zoom, it popped into my head. I never even realized that posting in Facebook groups or LinkedIn is a form of networking. The two things that drive me nuts that I see on those sites or in those groups are political posts. If you’re in a group talking about real estate, now you can talk about the effects of a political decision on real estate. For example, the state shut down evictions because of COVID.

Don’t all of a sudden go on a tangent, whether you’re on the left or the right, and then blame it on this or that because it happens on both sides. I see way too much deep dives into politics. It doesn’t belong there, and all you’re doing is you’re setting yourself up to have at least 50% of the people in that group, probably even more, not want to be involved with you. Realistically, it’s a 1/3 on one side, on the other, and who are independent, so stay away.

The second is somebody who took training and speed. It’s like, “I took this training. Now I’m going to take some drugs. I’m going to just market the heck out of something.” All of a sudden, they start posting to groups like, “I’m going to do this and that. I’ve got this and that. People want to raise money. Give me money,” or whatever the case may be. That person is wearing the tattoo because the experienced investors can basically pinpoint, “They took this person’s training last weekend because we’ve been there and done that.”

That’s the other area where you got to be careful. If you’re going to post in a group on networking or ask questions, make sure their questions are leading not to, “How do I invest in notes? How to invest in real estate?” Seriously? Nobody can answer that. If you say, “I was looking at note investing and I realized X, Y, or Z. Can somebody explain that to me?” You then are going to get a much better response.

Thoughtful questions versus generic ones like I want to get to the end of result questions are the way to go. Everyone, at some point, has been there. Every investor started out. I do find that the real estate community is very willing to help and answer questions. Come with actual thoughtful questions and not just like give me the answer to the questions.

I was on BiggerPockets and somebody made a post, “If you’re an SEC attorney or have worked with syndications, please reach out to me.” A bunch of us posted similar things. I got one, “If you’re interested, I can send you contact information.” The person replies back, “No. If they’re on here, they’ll reach out to me.” I’m like, “That’s probably not the right way to do it because it sounds a little pompous, but most good attorneys who do syndication stuff aren’t spending their time on form websites. I’m sorry. They’ve got a lot of other things going on in their world.” If you were talking and then shifting over to Zoom calls or video conferencing, what are your thoughts on that?

There’s the power behind networking. Obviously, if you meet the right person, you’re building your education and knowledge. For example, you are all over BiggerPockets. I know this because half the people I speak to that want to come and invest with Seveney all find you on BiggerPockets, not only are new investors. In networking, you should be doing it in some capacity no matter how experienced you are in real estate because it helps the newer investors in one way gain connections and knowledge and start their business.

People who are more experienced, if they’re doing networking correctly, whether it’s showing up in person more, speaking engagements, webinars, or being all over BiggerPockets, can lead to people being interested in either investing with them, learning from them, whatever that might be. It’s something where people think networking is something you do until you have your business, then you’re good. I think if you continue to network throughout as you grow, you’re only going to help yourself more and you’re going to scale faster. We were talking about the rise of Zoom since COVID.

CWS 210 | Networking

Networking: If you meet the right person, you’re building your education and your knowledge through networking.

 

Skype had a ten-year headstart on Zoom and they completely dropped the ball for COVID. It’s like MySpace. I still got people, “Do you Skype?” I’m like, “I did want to have an AOL address.”

The cool thing about Zoom becoming a new way of networking because of COVID is you can now connect. For me, I enjoy meeting people for coffee that I’ve connected with and having conversations. Now I feel like I can do that with anyone. For someone like me who loves talking to people and learning, it opened up more doors because you can essentially have a coffee conversation over Zoom. It’s not a phone call, which I feel is a little bit less formal, but you can see people, their facial expressions, and their reaction, and it’s not limited to your geographic location.

What I appreciate over the last few years has been pre-COVID. If you were on a Zoom call, it was dead serious. If a kid ran across the screen, it would be like, “I can’t believe that happened.” Once COVID hit, reality set in of everyone was just dealing with chaos. The time like, if your kid comes and sits on your lap or someone’s cat is on the screen, it was a pass muster. I remember one time I told my son, “I’m on an important call. Please don’t come downstairs unless you’re bleeding profusely.”

All of a sudden, I see him come downstairs and he has blood everywhere. He is covered in blood. All of a sudden, I’m like, “Excuse me, my son is covered in blood right now.” He had a bloody nose. He had allergies and his nose got dry. I’m like, “You got to be kidding me.” I come back in the call, and because I’ve got blood all over my hands, I’m like, “Let me go wash this.” It’s much more relaxed.

As somebody who raises money, I found being able to do video conferencing is very powerful because in the past, you set up a call or email people, but I would tell people, “Let’s do Zoom, so you can proverbially, see, touch and feel me on a video call, that I’m a real person. I’m not some robot or a machine. I’m not working out of some African country, telling you’ve got $5 million coming from The World Bank or IMF from some lost uncle or aunt.”

It goes so much further, and then people can see your facial expressions and personality. I found video conferencing extremely powerful from a networking platform because you can also scale it so much better. Whereas you can set up these 15 or 20-minute calls 1 or 2 a day versus having to drive and go somewhere, especially for people who have a family. For most investors we talk with, investing is not our full-time gig. We have other jobs, family, and normal problems like everybody else has.

It’s funny that you mentioned that because when I took my first corporate sales job in 2012 or 2013, it wasn’t Zoom. Zoom wasn’t a thing. Before that, I go to meetings at Citrix. One of the things that the sales leadership was very adamant about. He was making sure your camera was on. I feel like I was so used to that, but until COVID, I didn’t feel as many people use their cameras.

You would be in a meeting with a Zoom picture or would just say Lauren Wells in white across the screen. It was because it relaxed it so people were okay showing up if their kid was in the background. It wasn’t a big deal. Putting an actual face to a person’s name, hearing them, and interacting in this way definitely leads to more investors if you’re someone who’s looking to raise money, for example.

It’s interesting because one of the people who I buy the most notes that I’ve probably bought from, I never met him, never Zoomed him, or never seen a picture of him. It’s crazy. We talked and bought three notes on the span of this show. We’ve been talking a little bit now about networking, and we thought this would be a short episode, but it’s turned into a very good episode. If you could go back and rehash, what do you think are the top three things they needed and shouldn’t need to do?

Don't ever think somebody is too big for you and never be too big for somebody. You can reach out to people who are your peers, or people who are on the next step above you, and you can get a lot of value from those conversations. Share on X

When it comes to networking, if you’re a newer investor, someone who’s looking to do your first deal, or even if you’re just getting started, the sooner, the better. Whether it’s something that comes naturally to you or not, you should set weekly goals around how many people you’re going to reach out to. It doesn’t have to be in person, but I’m going to attend my weekly local real estate investment club group.

I’m going to post in five different Facebook groups, not necessarily my own original posts, but I’m going to add value to other people’s questions. I’m going to try to connect and set 1 or 2 new coffee chats a week based on the people I’m speaking with. Setting metrics in the beginning, especially if you’re not comfortable with it and it’s not something that comes easy to you, is something that every new investor should do. Setting metrics around networking and how many people they intentionally reach out to.

It’s not, “I saw you do short-term rentals. We’d love to connect. Hop on a call and learn more,” but actual intentional networking. The second thing I would say for newer investors or any investor is to focus on your online presence. This is related to networking, even though people might not think so. I’m not saying you have to have a full-blown website that says you do way more than you do. If you have a Facebook or a LinkedIn profile, make sure it looks professional. I’m not saying you have to have super professional Facebook.

If you have kids and family, don’t hide that, but on LinkedIn, make sure you put your picture up and show what you’re doing. If I get a message from someone, the first thing I’m going to do is go to LinkedIn and Facebook to see if I can find out who this person is. Establish your online presence and make sure that you’re putting your best foot or face forward.

The third thing I would do is if I’m looking at in-person events, I would strategically attend them because they do cost money between the ticket, airline, hotel, and everything. If you’re going to go to an event, I would have very clear goals in what you hope to walk away with. Instead of attending all of the events, look at your asset class and which ones they’re going to. Who’s the person you admire? Which ones are they going to? What can you take away from those? Don’t just go to every conference. It’s not realistic and scalable. Those are the three things that I would focus on.

What are your thoughts on the so-called masterminds?

Everything comes back to expectations, goals, and what you’re hoping to get out of it. If you go into a mastermind, it depends if it’s like, “Let me help build my brand around real estate.” That’s something completely different than, “I’m hoping to acquire ten rental properties.” Somebody’s masterminds are $25,000 plus. Can you take that $25,000, put it somewhere else, and have it do more for you? You can get as much networking and connection out of a Facebook group as you can in a mastermind if you put the effort in.

They’re like, “I came to such a great community and I met so many people.” My response would be like, “You could have done that without paying $25,000 for free.” If you’re reading this and you’re like, “I don’t believe that.” If you’re not sure, you can drop me an email and I will help you with that because I would hate to see you spend $25,000 just to meet people. It has to be very intentional. Helping you set up your marketing flow, sales systems, and processes will add value. Helping you grow your business is very generic, and learning how to invest in short-term rentals. You can do that in another way.

A few things popped in my head when you mentioned networking. This is more for experienced investors because we talked about new investors. Constantly reach out to people who you consider your equals, peers, or people above you. You have to think, “That person runs a $100 million fund. They would never talk to me.” We’re going to run a $75 million fund.

CWS 210 | Networking

Networking: Putting an actual face to a person’s name and hearing and interacting with them definitely leads to more investors.

 

If somebody is starting and reaches out to us, we’ll make time to have conversations with them. Don’t ever think somebody is too big for you and never be too big for somebody. That would be one because you can reach out to people who are your peers or the next step up above you, and you can get a lot of value from those conversations, whether you’re buying them coffee or say, “Can I pick your brain for ten minutes?”

Make sure when you do that it’s something that is targeted or focused on what the conversation is. Sometimes it might just be a check-in, but if it’s someone you’ve never spoken with before have to have a purpose for the call. The second thing, is there any part of any networking? Make sure you have a decent email address.

If you can get one based on your company and pay $5 a month for a domain, that’s fine. Don’t be like DrunkPeter1980@gmail.com. It doesn’t come off as professional. You want to have that professional image as part of networking. It’s okay to hang out with people, share some stories and have fun, but you always want to be looking professional. A lot of times, the first thing people sometimes look at is the email address if it’s cheesy or your personal Gmail address is goofy.

ILovePizza@gmail.com is not the most credible.

You have a picture of something that is completely out there and stuff. People aren’t going to take you seriously. Those are my items.

Anything else? Any other thoughts?

I’m not a working person. I don’t like to go to events. For example, Jamie, who used to podcast, took us 100 episodes before I got to meet him. I hopefully get to meet you before we do 100 episodes.

Our relationship now and where we are with the business is based on networking. We’ve built from networking.

Don’t think that you have to go to every event to network because over the last several years, people have been able to significantly grow their business just by talking on a video call.

One more point I want to make when it comes to networking. When you’re listening to people speak in an online conference, it doesn’t have to be about what the person has done or is doing. It can be if you resonate with their personality. I’m going to go back to you and me. I liked your topic of conversation because at the event I heard you speak at, you were talking about all the things that can go wrong with note investing. I’m a very direct, no BS type of person. I enjoyed hearing someone like, “Not many other people have spoken like this straight into the point. He’s a straight shooter. I love that. No BS. He’s telling me all the things I can do wrong or can go wrong.”

You can get a sense of people’s personalities through their speaking engagements and how they talk. Even just listening to people on podcasts, you’re like, “This is someone I feel like I would get along with.” I would email them over a person who has a ton of experience in your specific area because if you feel like you can connect with someone, that’s what networking is. It is connecting with people and listening.

I’ve got one final thought as well. I’ve had some of the most eye-opening conversations with people who I didn’t think I should even have the call with. I had somebody who had software that I would never use, but it’s like, “Can I talk to you to understand how you manage things and to do things?” I had a conversation with the guy. He taught me so much of things that other ways I can improve my business from systems and other performances. Another was I was talking to somebody that did a lot of auctions.

They gave me so many insights on other ways to potentially source assets that I thought it was going to be a waste of a conversation. I ended up learning so much information from those conversations. I went into them thinking, “Let me just give them 10 or 15 minutes of their time, and we’ll go from there,” but it was eye-opening.

To wrap this up, this is something I’m super passionate about because I love talking to people and learning. If someone is reading this and they’re dread networking, don’t understand what value they can bring, or have any questions about that, I would challenge you to email me at Lauren@7eInvestments.com. I will have a conversation with you and let you pick my brain. I want to throw that out there. I think leaving that door open for people who might not be comfortable reaching out to people, message me. I’m more than happy to talk. Thank you so much for joining us on this episode. I hope you learned tips, tricks, do’s and don’ts of networking. If you enjoy the show, please share it with a friend, subscribe, leave us a review, or in this case, email me. Until next time.

 

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