3 Tips On How To Build A Strong Network When You’re Only Starting Out

, ,

Whether big or small, your goals are dependent on your ability to get other people to do stuff for you. Tune in to learn how you can build a solid network that helps you achieve your goals.

[00:00] In this episode, Igor shares his top practical networking tips that will get people to not only like and trust you but also work with you. 

How To Build A Strong Network As A Beginner?

[01:35] The importance of networking:

  • They say your net worth is your network.

  • My network was pretty tiny. However, in recent years I have been starting to realize just how important your network is and how it can actually define your success.

  • And what I’ve been discovering is that the industry does work like that, where you shake enough hands and you get to the right people, and that one connection can bring in a lot of success your way.

  • In fact, just associating with some other person alone can make everyone else in that circle want to work with you because they respect and admire this other person. 

[04:22] Donā€™t be straightforward: 

  • One tip I’ll give you is that I don’t actually talk to people about working with me most of the time. I used to be very straightforward.

  • I was born in Ukraine, but I grew up in Israel. And in Israel, everyone is super straightforward.

  • I would shoot straight and I would ask for joint ventures. I would ask for connections. I would really ask for what I wanted without much preamble.

  • Because I assumed everybody was like me and they just wanted to make a lot of money. But what I’ve discovered is quite the opposite.

[06:17] What the hell is schmoozing?

  • Etai Paz, he’s a dear friend of mine. And one time we went to a seminar in Vegas together, and he told me to stop being so upfront and to do more schmoozing. It’s like the non-business stuff, you just hang out.

  • You don’t talk about the money. You don’t talk about doing business. You just schmooze.

  • I did exactly what he told me, and I basically did not mention any business stuff at all. I just hung out with these people. We basically had dinners together, drank together, and had fun together.

  • All of a sudden, people wanted to work with me because I was a fun guy.

  • The less I try to get people to work with me in some capacity, the more they’re open to the whole idea.

  • And because there’s been so much positivity associated with our relationship with this person, we’re both open to all sorts of projects because we’ve now grown to like each other. And that’s really been key to my networking. 

[08:31] Be respectful while staying true to yourself:

  • I thought I had to be a hypocrite and I had to really befriend people that I didn’t like or try to take interest in what they liked, even though I didn’t like what they liked. I thought I was supposed to agree with them about their political beliefs and stuff like that. But you know what? That actually wasn’t true.

  • I did retain a part of my Israeli personality and I basically stayed true to my core values.

  • If we’re having a political discussion, I’m not necessarily bashing their opinion, but I’m also not agreeing with them.

  • I express my honest opinion in a nontoxic way and we are still able to respect each other and still continue to like each other.

  • In fact, what I’m finding is that if you do stay true to your values, people respect that and they find it refreshing.

  • Everybody has their opinions. Everyone has their personality quirks. So I’m just trying to stay true to who I am, but at the same time be a fun person to be around. And that, as a networking tool, is just very, very effective.

[10:47] Physical cues for effective networking:

  • I actually recommend reading the book called The Like Switch because it gives you lots of different cues and tools on how to be a little bit more likable.

  • Smile more just if you’re at a networking event, just smile more. Your face will be friendlier if you really extend that smile from ear to ear and walk around the room.

  • If they only smiled a bit, they would be a little bit more approachable, and then they would make way more connections again.

  • So between these two things just schmooze more and smile more, I think you’ll become at least 80% more effective when you network.

[13:34] Igorā€™s book on email marketing:

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT

WHO IS
IGOR KHEIFETS

Igor Kheifets is an amazon best-selling author of the List Building Lifestyle: Confessions of an Email Millionaire.

Heā€™s also the host of List Building Lifestyle, the podcast for anyone who wants to make more money and have more freedom by leveraging the power of an email list

Heā€™s widely referred to as the go-to authority on building large responsive email lists in record time.

Igorā€™s passionate about showing people how to live the List Building Lifestyle.