Lydia Sugarman of www.privatelabelinteractive.com Interviews Kevin Hogan
5. Have you ever experienced a seminal networking moment that impacted you as an entrepreneur?
Every day. It's simply part of the lifestyle of an entrepreneur. By the nature of this life you meet fascinating people and are introduced to fascinating people every day, whether on line or in the brick and mortar world. My favorite networking moments are when I can take my Inner Circle and put them in the way of Mark Victor Hanson or Stewart Emery or Vice Presidential Candidate of the Libertarian party, Wayne Root. These are the things that excite me.
6. What have you found to work well when networking? What caveats can you offer?
People know who I am and they know that I am cut from a different cloth than many other people. So when I ask someone if they will be at an event I'm holding and I ask them not to sell from the back of the room and I ask them to work for expenses (or not)...they do it. They know that by being at a Kevin Hogan event that they have just set themselves apart. Everyone wants to do it. Many ask, few are chosen.
So I'm fortunate in that I can ask people to be there for me as a friend and a favor and they do it. People like to associate with authentic people.
If you want to get good at networking, go to events and conventions where people who you'd like to meet are going to be and starting with a couple of months in advance put the bug in their ear that you'd like to buy them breakfast (they have to eat). Bring them a gift that is meaningful and I don't just mean your new book. Make YOU memorable. We meet a LOT of people in the course of a year. Make yourself stand out. Get a photo taken. Send it to me. Post a review of my books at amazon, ask if you can help out at an event I'm holding. Put yourself positively in the way of the person or people you want to meet. It is very hard to NOT meet amazing people when you do this.
Online, everything is much simpler. Get friends to introduce you to person X. Before you get introduced make sure you DO something for the person you want to meet...something that is noticed and appreciated.
Connections are the same as status and income in the world. Connections are REAL CURRENCY. Developing relationships with people you want to know and meet is necessary.
7. What networking lessons can we learn from the way entrepreneurs operate?
When people go to work in their "hamster wheel", they spin at the same thing all day, every day. There is no variation or difference. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, need to make connections. They need to communicate effectively. They must be valuable to others. They must provide great experiences, services, products. It's two very different kinds of people. People who are indeed out to PLEASE other people are entrepreneurs, and they become wealthy. People who don't like to please other people are divorced and in a hamster wheel. My life is about making people happy, giving people great experiences, helping people and feeling good about it. By lifestyle we are out to do good things on purpose to just about everyone we meet.
8. How can thinking like an entrepreneur give one an advantage in networking and in general?
People with jobs have an entitlement schema. Lydia #2:, "Would you get me a cup of coffee?" "Oh Kevin, that's not in my job description. That's sexist, or racist, or something I'm not paid for."....Lydia Sugarman, "Sure, cream and sugar or black?"
People are whiners. Entrepreneurs are doers. They are self-reliant and self-responsible. They are FUN people to meet because they live to serve others. They fail daily but never in the big picture. Because they fail and recognize it, they aren't afraid of failure. It's unimportant.
Entrepreneurs don't have the mental disease of entitlement. We do for others more than most will ever do for us and that is OK because that IS how we network and how we build a truly strong network of valuable connections.
People don't like to meet whine-y people who "deserve" health care, a mortgage, a chicken in every pot. They want to meet people who make the world a better place. Entrepreneurs are the people that other people are fascinated by.
Continue for Kevin's Secrets for Leveraging Networking. Next page...
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Every day. It's simply part of the lifestyle of an entrepreneur. By the nature of this life you meet fascinating people and are introduced to fascinating people every day, whether on line or in the brick and mortar world. My favorite networking moments are when I can take my Inner Circle and put them in the way of Mark Victor Hanson or Stewart Emery or Vice Presidential Candidate of the Libertarian party, Wayne Root. These are the things that excite me.
