The Case for Focusing on Face-to-Face Networking with Brian Wallace

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The digital networking scene is booming. So is a growing lack of respect for common people skills and decency. I discuss the case for bringing them back through face-to-face networking with my guest, Brian Wallace.

Brian is Founder of NowSourcing, an industry leading content marketing agency that makes the world’s ideas simple, visual, and influential. Brian has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-present, joined the SXSW Advisory Board in 2019-present and became an SMB Advisor for Lexmark in 2023. He is the Co-Founder for The Innovate Summit which launched in May 2024.

We’ve gotten used to interacting in a digital landscape, including video conferencing most of the time. As we get further towards the edge of a proverbial cliff, assuming AI is going to make everything better and we have the totality of everything on the phones in our pockets, what do we do to avoid falling? We can perfect our sales pitches on LinkedIn and elevator pitches on Zoom, and it’s still not nearly as impactful as face-to-face networking.

Getting Back to Being Human in Business Networking Situations

What people need to understand is, we need to stop running away from humanity and trying to do everything at scale in a virtual world. We need to get more personal again instead of just building new connections on LinkedIn like a video game. Think about it… when is the last time you checked in on somebody you’ve known for a couple of years but haven’t spoken to recently and set up an in-person meeting? Brian says he can guarantee that everybody right now has a ton of missed messages they’re sifting through because they were focused on playing the LinkedIn game for so long.

In person interactions have taken a big hit. We’ve forgotten how to make eye contact, we’ve forgotten how to shake hands, we’ve forgotten how to be human. The world needs to get better at being human again. When it comes to networking in general, more so for in person networking, we need to stop selling everybody, stop coming up with canned sales pitches, and start connecting meaningfully again. At the end of the day meaningful relationships are paramount to your success (or failure) in the business world.

Brian believes the main thing to remember about face-to-face networking is to figure out how to be the most interesting person in the room or at least the most interesting version of yourself. That doesn’t mean you have to brag, grandstand, or be over-the-top energetically if you’re normally introverted. It just means that instead of asking meaningless questions about the weather, come up with better stuff and ask more meaningful questions that yield more meaningful answers and interactions.

We don’t need dumb party tricks instead of connecting as humans, and that is what is wrong with the networking world.

What NOT to do in Face-to-Face Networking Situations

Let’s start by unpacking the word “networking”. Brian believes there’s a lot of misuse of the word, and that means developing the understanding of and behind that word. Because a lot of people depending on your personality type, how you show up in business, if you’re introverted or extroverted, in sales or a different career, “networking” means different things to different people.

So, let’s just examine the networking event game. When you’re at any kind of conference, meetup, or event where part of the agenda is networking there are many misconceptions. So, what do we automatically think? We better come armed to the teeth with a fancy suit and a bunch of business cards. We’re just doing the business version of speed dating.

We run around in this horrible, cutthroat way, and we’re just focused on sales and transactions instead of trying to make a good impression. But the truth is that people buy, people interact, people engage with the people that they know, like, and trust. It’s not rocket science. But it can seem that way if you have the wrong approach.

You have endless choices of who you want to do business with. Why would you work with somebody that you don’t know? Why would you work with somebody that you don’t like? Why would you work with somebody that you don’t trust? If your toilet is overflowing and its midnight maybe you’re not so picky about your plumber. That’s not how it is in the business world.

Aside from plumber scenarios, in a normal business situation, we actually have choices. So, instead of these dumb networking games where you try to meet people as fast as possible with terrible messages, there is a way to evolve that conversation. Many people think networking is bad because they think that it’s just salesy and superficial, but I think if they understood the true art and science of networking, they wouldn’t hate it so much.

Yes, sometimes you have the Type A personalities that just want to talk about themselves. That’s not networking. You don’t have to be like that. Networking is a skill that can be finely honed. It’s something in your brain that you can flex as a muscle when you choose to.

How to Successfully Move Along the Spectrum of Know, Like, and Trust

Brian loves the philosophy of Bob Burg and the “Go-Giver” movement. A go-getter is that annoying guy at networking events who’s being so over the top, so salesly, that no trust can be built. You run away from him. Those people think that business is just a numbers game and if they talk to enough people maybe somebody will buy from them. Brian believes there’s a better use of your time that can be more reflective and thoughtful for everybody around you. That way you don’t come off as a jerk by showing up and acting too aggressively.

A Go-Giver, instead of taking first, is giving.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

~Zig Ziglar

People are interested in you when you care about them. When you’re a nice-natured human being you genuinely care about people and are genuinely interested in them. If you want somebody to do business with you should have at least a cordial, reciprocal personality.

You should be useful to them, and you should be resourceful when it comes to helping them. Brian gives talks all over the world where he talks about being the most interesting person in the room. He doesn’t mean be that egomaniac. He just means that when you’re really interesting you’re going to leave this indelible mark in somebody’s mind. They leave the interaction with you thinking “That guy was kind of cool. I want to learn more about him.” Then they’re selling themselves on you instead of you trying to sell them.

That way you start the proverbial dance to set the stage for something better for the both of you.

We also dive into topics such as:

How to introduce yourself in a different way than the traditional elevator pitch.
Why being on stage or running an event builds your brand faster than the usual networking techniques.
Ways to use LinkedIn during conversations at live events.
Things you can do after meeting somebody (they now know you) to become likeable.
How to move into the trust phase of a professional relationship faster.
The power of reaching out to people that you know but haven’t spoken with in a while instead of always chasing new connections down.
Why people get “shiny object syndrome” and how to avoid it.
How to balance making new connections with fostering existing relationships.
How to effectively ask your network for introductions and referrals.
The networking problem with most “super connectors”.
The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to be successful at face-to-face networking.

…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”

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About My Guest

Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry leading infographic design agency, based in Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH which works with companies that range from startups to Fortune 500s.

In 2014, Brian started #thinkbig, a grassroots movement to make the Louisville / Cincinnati corridor a more competitive player in the global marketplace.

Brian also runs #LinkedInLocal events nationwide, hosts the Next Action Podcast, and has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-present and started serving on the #SXSW advisory board in 2019.