We all have lost connections and forgotten rolodexes. How can we re-engage with those potentially valuable connections and build meaningful relationships to grow our businesses? I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Michael Goldberg.
In addition to being the Founder of THE Networking Group Michael is a speaker, trainer, coach, and the author of Knock Out Networking for Financial Advisors and other Sales Producers. For over 25 years, Michael has been a “knock out” training resource to financial advisors, and now attorneys, that are serious about growing their business through networking and referrals.
We dive into topics including:
- The lost art of reconnecting with lost networking connections and how to reclaim it.
- Why chasing the next new contact or event isn’t always the best approach to networking.
- How to re-engage with lost contacts easily and effectively.
- Why you must know your target markets before reaching out and how to define them.
- How to turn reconnection conversations into long term, meaningful relationships.
- How to do more than just reconnect with old friends and build your business when reconnecting.
- The power of collaboration and how to create it in your relationships.
- Why asking for advice is one of the best conversation tools you have at your disposal.
- How to open up the opportunity to have a business conversation.
- The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to successfully reconnect with lost networking connections.
…and other golden nuggets of advice!
Why Do We Have Forgotten Rolodexes?
When Michael thinks about the forgotten Rolodex, he believes the reason we have them is that as avid networkers, we tend to always be looking for the better introduction, or the next connection.
Avid networkers want to meet the next new person, go to the next new group, and shiny objects like that. He believes that’s part of your genetic makeup as an avid networker. But often we forget about literally the thousands of contacts that we already have in our phones. And that’s not even counting our connections on LinkedIn where we may have thousands more or tens of thousands more; many of which we don’t know personally.
But on our phone, we do know most of those people, and we forget the power of reconnecting with them. Consider just strumming through a certain letter, the A’s, then Albert, and calling him when you’ve got a break in your day. And Albert, if you had a connection with him, will probably pick up, and there’s that uptick. There’s that uptick, you know, when they hear your voice and are happy to see that you called.
Those are people that you could reconnect with, and there’s an opportunity where you could help one another. If you have thousands of people in your phone, while it’s extreme but makes a point, you could just reconnect with them and never go to another networking event. Think about that. All you have to do is go into to your phone and maybe reach out to five people every day. And if you’re collaborative and focusing on how you can help one another, you could just build a business off the contacts you already have.
What Those Reconnection Conversations Look and Sound Like
For example, you might scroll through the M’s and realize “I see Mark Carter here, I haven’t spoken to him since the last time I was in Chicago.” Call Mark and say “Mark, hey, what’s going on? I was just thinking about you. It has been way too long, totally my fault. What is going on with you? You got a couple of minutes?” So, then you would just ask questions. What’s going on with you? What have you been up to? What’s different since the last time we spoke? What are you focused on?
And since Mark is a friend of yours, he’s going to come right back to you and say, “Well, what, what have YOU got going on?” Now you’ve got this fun banter happening. Now it’s not about getting to know each other for the first time. You already know each other, now it’s just catching up with one another.
That ends up being a great phone call because it turns into things that you’re both focused on and ways that you might be able to help each other out. Now you’re having a new networking conversation with an old friend, which creates a new opportunity, and that opportunity was in your phone the whole time.
How to Build Relationships from Reconnection Calls
Michael would say, “Mark, um, I take full responsibility, although I’m gonna blame you a little that I have not stayed in touch, and what can we do about that to make sure that we don’t lose the connection this time?” If the person you’re calling lives near you, you could say “I’m very active in networking groups, and would you like to come to one of mine?”
Or you could ask them if there are networking groups that they’re involved with that maybe you could come to as their guest. As soon as you start going to events, which means there’s something to invite people to, now it’s much easier to stay connected over time. Or it could be as simple as saying, “Why don’t we just put something on the calendar for every other month so we can stay connected and catch up?”
Whatever it is, you must own the activity that you’re not going to allow so much time to get by between calls. We can’t do that with thousands of contacts, but we can do it with a handful of them. That’s what builds long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
And that’s just the beginning!
Watch this episode for the rest of the story and more golden nuggets of advice!
You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”
About My Guest
Michael Goldberg, CSP has helped thousands of financial advisors, brokers, and agents generate hundreds of thousands of dollars using his Knock-Out Networking system. His firm Knock Out Networking has been recognized as a speaking and training resource in the financial services industry for over 20 years.
Clients include Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, UBS, Oppenheimer, Mass Mutual, Chubb Insurance, and AFLAC.
Michael is a two-time TEDx Speaker with a focus on keynoting at conferences and associations, leading sales meetings, and delivering “results driven” programs on networking, referrals, and recruiting.
Michael launched THE Networking Group; a national networking organization focused on helping small business owners and sales professionals grow their business.
Michael’s book Knock Out Networking for Financial Advisors is considered a “go to” for financial advisors and field leaders in the industry.
His blog 3-Minute Rounds has thousands of subscribers worldwide.
Michael is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), an earned designation awarded by the National Speakers Association to recognize demonstrated commitment and success in the speaking profession.
Fewer than 5 percent of the thousands of speaking professionals worldwide hold this designation.
Michael has been an award-winning adjunct professor teaching public speaking at Rutgers University for over 20 years, traveling from Florida to New Jersey regularly.
Click here to connect with Michael on LinkedIn!
Click here to learn more about Knockout Networking!
