Building Connections: The Value of Networking for Your Personal Brand

Sara Lohse [00:00:08]:

What is that in everybody? I'm Larry Roberts. Hi. I'm Sara Lohse, and this is Branded, your comprehensive guide to creative branding.

Larry Roberts [00:00:16]:

And on this episode, we're gonna talk about how to build your brand through networking.

Sara Lohse [00:00:23]:

This is a topic I'm really excited to talk about. I am a huge fan of networking. I have gotten so many valuable friendships and -- through different networking events that I've done. And I think it's something that people don't give enough credits to and don't really value as much as they should. Yeah. You know, I I think sometimes networking gets a bad rap.

Larry Roberts [00:00:48]:

because there's those professional networkers that are out there that really just use networking as their social outlet it it you know, it's that's their friends. That's their their circle of of, basically, of entertainment. They go to all these networking events, just kinda to hang out eat the little finger foods and have a couple of drinks and and then call it a night. But if you're really looking to build a brand and you're really looking to establish yourself,

Sara Lohse [00:01:16]:

networking events are a perfect place to do it. I agree. And I think we have to go into these events with a mindset of I wanna build connections. Not I wanna sell my services, and that is something that people don't necessarily really think about. Yes. A networking event is a great opportunity to find potential clients. But it's also just an opportunity to find connections that could lead to other opportunities

Larry Roberts [00:01:45]:

later. I I know when I first started networking, especially as an entrepreneur. You know, of course, throughout my corporate career, we'd go to these little networking events that were corporate driven, and I was there representing the company. And those didn't mean a whole lot to me directly because, I mean, we were there for the company. But as an entrepreneur, as somebody that's trying to grow my own personal brand or my own business brand, these networking opportunities give you that chance to introduce who and what you are. what your values are, what your products and services are. But you have to kinda do it in a way that's social. And I think that's where a lot of people drop the ball. they get out there, and they start giving you that used car sales pitch. Hey. I'm Larry Roberts, and I have a podcast company, and I love to launch podcasts. Let's launch one for you. and then they fall flat on their face, and no one wants to be their friend. So

Sara Lohse [00:02:42]:

but it takes time to figure that out. Doesn't it? It does. And it's definitely I mean, I've gotten better at it over the years, and I'm sure I'll get better at it as I continue. But I'm curious, like, do you have a networking experience that really stood out to you. And if you don't, I do. So if if I'm putting you on the spot, it's okay. I can I can tell mine.

Larry Roberts [00:03:03]:

They're all very similar because we get these opportunities to go to these networking events. And we typically if it's a brand new event, we know nobody. So here we are. We have no security blanket. We have no, quote unquote friends that are going with us. We're going to this event hoping to meet people and establish, as you said, a connection, a relationship with some new folks. And I specifically remember going to one here in Dallas. It was at a restaurant called 12 Cut which is a Brazilian steak house. Amazing. So if you ever are in Dallas, head over there to 12 cuts. You'll love it. If you love steak anyways. But I went there, and it was this it it was a networking group, but it was a professional, quote unquote, networking group. And anybody that knows me knows that what I conduct my business in a very professional manner, I don't necessarily front that professional look. I'm typically wearing a hoodie or maybe a three quarter zip type, pullover, and, of course, the red ball cap. So how do I fit in in these professional networking environments But I got there. Yeah. I met somebody else that just happened to be a podcaster. And instantly, once you make that connection with that one person, you start getting those introductions to others around you. And before you know it, you've met half the people in the room. And now the next time you go back to the network networking event, you can have conversations right out of the gate, but it's so difficult to take that first step. And that's what makes it so hard or it did. It's not so much that way anymore, but made it so hard for me to start networking in the first place. Going to these professional networking events, as an independent entrepreneur and trying to, quote unquote, fit in. That can be extremely scary. But it ended up paying off. You know? I established relationships with several people several businesses, not people. In that networking event, and it blossomed into business opportunities. It turned into clients. It turned into monetization opportunities, which if you heard on our last episode, that's exactly what we were talking about. And if you haven't heard that episode, go back and listen to it. It's how to monetize your podcast and monetize your brand. And networking is one of the best ways to do it. I'll I'll never forget this interaction just because of how much of an impact it's had.

Sara Lohse [00:05:22]:

Not even, like, financially, but just on my mindset. but I was at fincon, and I was just at one of their parties. And somebody comes up to me to introduce a gentleman named Clifton Corbin, who is a an author, and he really wanted to be on the podcast that I produce. And I go into these events with authenticity in mind. I'm not a very polished professional person. I just go in as myself So when he asked to be on my podcast, I just decided to have some fun with it, and I was just messing with him. I was like, you know, maybe I'll think about it. Send me some Send me some Lohse, send me something that you've got, and I'll see if you're a good fit. And I was just have having a little fun, but he was like, oh, absolutely. I'll send you everything, and I would really I would be honored to be on your show. So after about a month or 2 of just him continuously following up and me saying, yeah. I'm considering it, and I have to watch a few more things and really get a feel for if you are fit. I finally tell him, I was just messing with you. Of course, it could be on our show. Here's the link. But because I went in at just, like, being myself with it, we formed kind of a friendship. He thought it was really funny. He He loved that. We kind of got to know each other over these couple months, and he became a really big supporter of me. none of the brand I was representing, which got really important a few months later when I launched my own brand. I left the company that I had been representing at the time. He sees this on LinkedIn, and he sends me a message, hey. I see you just launched to company, do you mind if I introduce you to a couple of people? And, of course, that's a silly question. Please introduce me to several people So he just started sending messages to people in his network that have ever mentioned an interest in podcasting. And I set up some calls with them, talk about what I do, and one of them that he connected me to was named Danielle Lewis. and you guys will meet her soon because she's actually gonna be a guest on our show. But she reaches out to me. We get on a Zoom. We have scheduled maybe a 30 minute call, I think we're on Zoom for, like, 2 hours just talking and talking about personal things and business things and just forming a friendship. And now I ended up doing a webinar for her network so I could teach her people about what I do, and That can lead to opportunities. It's something I was able to repurpose on my website. And every time I post something that I'm doing, she shares it. every single time. And it all came from one conversation where I was just truly myself and really authentic. And if people resonate with who you are and you said before, it's like, I didn't connect with people. It was businesses. No. It was people. because the people are the ones we connect with. I know why you said it. It sounded dirty. But but we connect with humans. Humans connect with humans. They don't wanna interact with the brand they wanna interact with who you are, which is why it's so important for your personal brand to be authentic to who you are just as a person, and it has paid off so much for me just with the people I've been able to meet and the support group, I've been able to form around me that I know if I do something,

Larry Roberts [00:08:46]:

I will have at least one person cheering me on on the side. No. That's amazing. And, you know, I think you hit the nail on the head there when you talked about support groups. And I think that's one of the easiest ways to find networking opportunities. is to join groups that are in your community. You know, I'm in I'm in Dallas Fort Worth, major metroplex. And there are a ton of networking opportunities and networking groups that are here in the area. But even in smaller towns and smaller cities, you still got networking groups that are out there. And I think that's absolutely so critical to establishing yourself. I mean, even you know, I'm from a small town at very north Texas called Denisson. Little bitty town up there on the border of of Texas and Oklahoma. And even from Dennison and Sherman, which are sister cities, they're right next to each other. You know, I joined organizations even in my early twenties, like toastmasters, and, you know, church communities and the local chamber. And any opportunity that I had to interact with other people and get to know other people and shake hands and interact and build those relationships. You know, today, I belong to an organization here in Dallas called Success North Dallas. It's organization's been around for, like, 34 years. It's a massive organization that's all about networking for big businesses here in Lohse. And it's been an amazing opportunity for me to meet all of these CEOs and CFOs and CMOs of all of these big businesses in Dallas and start establishing those relationships. And then to take that to the next level, they have another membership called the young executives, the success North Dallas Young Executives. which are for roughly 25 to I think the cutoff is 42. I guess 42 is young, so that makes me old. But 25 to 42, they consider their young executives, and that's another subset of individuals that I have the opportunity to interact with and be involved with. And I'm heavily involved in the young executives. I sponsor the young executives, and that gives me the opportunity to meet these new influencers that are coming into the space. that are coming into the business environment of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex and establishing themselves as the next generation of leaders. and that allows me to interact and be involved with them on a completely different level because they wouldn't even know me otherwise. I mean, why would they talk to the dude in the red hat? But because of these networking organizations that I belong to, I have the opportunity to meet these people. And develop these relationships, as you mentioned, with these people that open up significant opportunities down the road. Yeah. And I think the most

Sara Lohse [00:11:28]:

important keyword there is relationships. Nobody likes a salesman and you can smell a sleazy salesman from five miles away. If you go into a networking event with a This is what I do. This is what I'm selling to you. Do you wanna buy it kind of mentality? You're not making a relationship. You need to go into it with that. What what do you do? Who are you? How can we help each other? What can I do for you? Who can I connect you with? All of these other ways of how am I able to serve the people in this room? That is how you're going to get those relationships and that that's how you're going to form that support group because you need people who wanna support you. You don't just need people who know what you do. Knowing what you do is great, but if they're not supporting what you do, nothing is going to come from it. You know, I don't even take business cards to networking events. And I know some people listening right now are gonna be going, dude, that's stupid. Why wouldn't you take business cards? But

Larry Roberts [00:12:32]:

That's not how I wanna do business. I don't want it to be transactional here. Take this piece of cardboard and throw it in the the the side panel of your car door and forget that it's there until you have the car cleaned the next time. I wanna be able to have a conversation and have that individual remember me. and potentially exchange real information. You know? Give me your phone number. Shoot me a text. Let's reach out. Here's my booking link. Do whatever you need to do. to establish that relationship. But for me, the perspective with business cards is it instantly makes it just transactional. This is what we're supposed to do because we're at a networking event. So here's my card. Take that. No. And I don't even mind people going, hey. Do you have a card? And I go, no. I don't have my card on me. But, hey. Why don't you give me your number? Shoot me a text real quick. Let's connect. Now I have a real conversation that's already in my phone. that I can reply to and continue that conversation and let that conversation evolve into a relationship.

Sara Lohse [00:13:29]:

That makes sense. I I do have business cards, and I do bring them everywhere that I go. But I have that same mentality that I don't just, like, hand you a business card and walk away. I give you a business card as a I wanna continue this conversation. My the number on this is textable, shoot me a text, send me an email. Let's set up a time to talk. My website has a contact link. You can book a call with me. Let's continue this conversation. It's not oh, you heard what I do. Here's my card. Just go to my website. It's less continue this conversation. Here's my contact information. And if they prefer that they just type it into their phone, if they just wanna pull up my website and book it up right on the spot, that's totally fine. I'm not going to be offended by someone. Like, oh, you know really take business cards. They just get lost. Okay. Cool. Here's my URL. Go book some time with me. I wanna continue

Larry Roberts [00:14:20]:

having this conversation, and I wanna continued getting to know you. Well, it's funny because I I do have business cards, but I use them mostly for throwing in the fishbowl for free giveaways and things like that at the networking events. But one of the things that I do with the business cards, so that's a little bit different than I see a lot of people doing is I invest some money in my business cards. I mean, they are super, super thick. They're super super polished. They are totally you know, it kinda reminds me of there's a Christian Bale movie. What I can't remember what the name of it is. Batman? Well, no. It wasn't Batman. We're well, regrettably, he's a serial killer. But but but the American Psycho? American Psycho. Yes. There's a scene in American Psycho where they're literally sitting there and airing business cards. business cards. And that resonated with me to this day where I go, okay. I'm gonna make sure that if somebody takes my business card, they feel it it it it makes an impact. They go, wow. This thing, this is a very stiff card. This is a very hefty card. It's got a great paperweight to it. It's got a great field to it. It's got a great look to it. So that movie influenced the way that I do business cards. Now granted, my business cards are pretty expensive, and a lot of people don't wanna put that kind of money into a dated piece of marketing material, you know, a business card. But to this day, I still get comments just about every time someone does pick they're like, oh, do I have 2? Did I get 2 of your cards? No. No. It's it's just just one. So I still leverage the opportunity to make that impact and make that impression so that it leaves that little thought in their mind. They're going, oh, yeah. That's the guy with that pick ass business card that I need to reach back out to and talk to about whatever they're wanting to connect with me on. So if you're gonna use business cards, stepping game up a little bit and build that brand with a business card that stands out. It makes me laugh because

Sara Lohse [00:16:15]:

We we talk all the time about how different our personal brands are from each other despite how well we work together and how close we've become over the years. but you are that big personality. You are that person that stands out that people just recognize, and you have that big, thick business card. I'm not that. I am more soft spoken. I'm the more, like, feminine touch. My business cards are the soft touch paper that feels really nice in your hands. And every time I give someone a business card, they're like, oh my god. This card feels so good that, like, I love this paper. So we do the same thing without realizing it. My card is so branded to who I am, and so is yours. I did not get the inspiration for that from a serial killer, but It led us to the same place. My cards are pretty. They're in my colors, and they're very I don't it's like velvety I don't I don't know what it is, but they were probably not as expensive as yours. But I also do something when I get business cards that is I I I get mixed ideas of whether or not this is okay. and I'd love to get your take on it. Okay. If you give me your business card and it has your email address on it, You're giving me permission to contact you. So I go and add you to my email Lohse. in constant contact. So I basically subscribe you to my mailing list. I think that's okay because you gave me your email address you invited me to contact you. That's basically you checking the box of, yes, I agree to receive messages from this person. Do you agree?

Larry Roberts [00:18:07]:

Well, I wouldn't necessarily agree. However, however, I would not scold you for it. I kinda have a history of doing some similar things for establishing my brand. You know, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Is that true is that true? And we're probably gonna lose listeners here. But let's just if I'm being a 100% honest, there's probably been more than one time in my life that I've received a cease and desist. And and not from talking people, but from doing certain things that maybe I may have sold some things on eBay back in the day that I didn't necessarily have permission to sell. But as soon as I got that cease and desist, I I definitely stopped. So, you know, can you add them to your email list? Yeah. You can. Did they give your permission to contact you? Yeah. They kinda did, but they didn't necessarily give you direct permission to send them your newsletter on a weekly basis or a -- So multiple weekly, you know, three times a week. They didn't necessarily give you permission to do that. Correct. They always have that opportunity to hit that unsubscribe as well. Exactly.

Sara Lohse [00:19:21]:

And let me defend myself here a little bit. So I do this when I go to big conferences, and I get just stacks and stacks of business cards. Sure. And then I send a follow-up email about that event with a note in the email that says feel free to unsubscribe. So it's just a it was so great to meet you at x Event. I Would love to get to know you better, let's stay in touch, visit my website, find out more about what I do. And I think at the last one I actually wrote If you don't wanna receive these emails, feel free to unsubscribe, and we'll just awkwardly avoid eye contact at every other event we see each other at. So you intimidate them into staying on your email list is what you say? Yes. But I do say you can. I just guilt you into not. But, I mean, hey. It's my brand. I was raised by a Jewish woman. We go with guilt.

Larry Roberts [00:20:18]:

Oh my. Okay. Well and on that note, if you wanna leave us your email address, please do so in the comments section below. We would love to add you to our mailing list. And for that, we're gonna wrap up this episode of Branded. And if you enjoyed this episode, you got some value out of it. Do me a favor. Smash that. Subscribe button on whatever platform you're on so we can continue to bring you this insightful commentary each and every week. And with that, I am Larry Roberts. I'm Sara Lohse , and we'll see you next week.