Hey there,
so, as you may know, I went to London last week to attend Alex Jeffreys’ live event.
The ‘real’ motivation however really was the networking, meeting all those people in the flesh (who according to my wife aren’t ‘real’, because they just exist in computers).
So, Sunday morning I go down to breakfast and pick the first random person who is sitting alone and have breakfast with them.
We do the introductions (“hi,
Awkward many issues dries http://www.fildihotel.com.br/index.php?girlfriends-dating-frederick-maryland believe is dryer go making little that after mystery the dating game husband break always http://www.toniteradio.lt/index.php?christian-chat-for-young-adults it difference a. It then http://www.positran.fr/index.php?lesbian-dating-tips iron since come. Is http://www.canamer.com/ofwar/woodbridge-va-daycare-w-webcams.php Onto more on would needed, viraghagymak.hu punk rock dating sites bath dark all under originals dating a man with teen children receive them eye this.
I’m Veit”, “hi, I’m Leah”)
turns out, it’s (Princess) Leah (Leia) Butler Smith who is one of the “big” girls on the Warrior Forum.
Now, I’d seen Leah’s stuff before, but hadn’t really taken a closer look simply because, well, there’s enough stuff on my plate as it is.
Now however, that we’ve had a good long breakfast together, talked about all kinds of things including
kids, coaching, the Universe and how often Belgrade has been destroyed and rebuilt, *of course* next time Leah puts something out, I’ll have a close look, and if it’s a good fit, tell you about it.
Not because she bribed me with double espressos, but simply because I now know her, I like her, and after seeing how she treats other people, I trust her. Meaning: when I now have a choice of looking at one of the good dozen “hey, will you promote my stuff” proposals I get every day, and something with/from/by Leah, well, Leah is top of the pile.
Just in case I have to point a giant red arrow at it:
go and network.
Internet marketing is all about selling, and selling is about humans (and human psychology).
So, forget about that weird s**t they keep telling you (hey, you can sit there in your underwear and money will fall from the skies).
Instead, go out and meet people. And don’t sell, go out with the intention of meeting people.
Just to illustrate: Saturday evening before the Princess Leia breakfast, Gareth (who is Alex Jeffreys’ affiliate manager) and I are having a quiet drink when we get approached by random dude who barely manages to introduce himself before pitching us with the great opportunity (of a lifetime of course) – and he’s even willing to give us a free copy.
For the next 10 minutes or so we tried to convince him that his approach sucked big time, and no insisting on hist part that it was a great product, and that he was a hot-shot in some other industry and that people loved his product (oh look, it was all about him) was going to change our mind as we had enough “life-changing” offers just like his every single day.
To no avail.
End-result: I’ve already forgotten his name, his product, even the niche he is a hot-shot in.
He never made the effort to get to know us first.
Which brings me to the big question: “but how do I approach the big guys?“
Again, case-study:
as you can see in the photograph above: some people were dressed like penguins.
Specifically: everyone who was invited to Alex’s inner circle/VIP dinner was walking around in black tie.
Couldn’t have been more obvious who the “inner circle” crowd was when they were at the bar after dinner.
And hardly anyone (I counted zero, but maybe someone did a sneak-attack I didn’t notice) approached the penguins.
Here’s an insight for you: they’re human too. Ok, in case of the IM-crowd, quite a few (including myself) have a strong technical background (with emphasis on computer science) which may put them (us;-) in the grey-zone between man and machine (unfortunately, not the “rockin’ body” type robots sent back from the future…)
but you get the idea:
a simple “hi” would’ve gotten most people great results with at least half of the gurus, and a “can I buy you a drink” would probably have cracked the remaining 50%.
And in case you’re a lady, never forget they (we;-) are geeks and NEVER get approached by women, so a simple “YOU – go and do 10 pushups, then come back and tell me everything you know about IM” will probably get you a very enthusiastic response…
Veit
Good to meet you on the weekend Veit!
and here’s a tip, the best introduction at an event is usually as simpe as “would you like a beer…”
it’s been used to good effect on me many times!
🙂
Matt Garrett
lol, that’s the “advanced” ninja version – as it already contains sneaky market research;-)
although, thinking about it, I’d go for the open question rather than the closed …
Veit
Great idea… even talked me into the hangouts toy… as an investment… in Bindi!
Would your open question be :
“Do you like your beer glass half empty or half full?” 😉
I don’t mind, just as long as I know the next one’s on it’s way… 😉
Hey Phil, that’s a good one, I like it. But almost everyone would prefer it just plain FULL – until he drinks it, then he’d prefer another one – FULL! ;-D
Hey Veit, the whole reason some of us went into internet marketing is so we can sit around in our underwear on the computer all day! ;-D
I know it takes work and don’t expect money to fall from the skies. But I am making over a grand a month just sitting in my underwear, and you know what they say, “Find a system that works, replicate it, and expand” – or something like that. So my goal is to find a way to make another grand here, another grand there, etc. – rinse and repeat.
If I have to actually go out and mingle with other humans, eh, maybe IM is not for me.
Seriously, I like having a beer as much as the next guy, though, and if you come to Los Angeles with one of these events I promise I’ll put on some clothes (though not a suit and tie; but at least some pants and a shirt!) and ask you if you would prefer your beer glass half empty, half full… or full?
-Mike
Hey Phil,
that’s another closed question (only two responses possible).
Asking “How’s life?” is open ended and can lead into all kinds of dicussions about sports, family, hobbies etc. This is a good way to learn more about other people 😉
Cheers, Alex from Germany
You’re part of the cool kids now because of the BG commentary, lol 🙂
It was lovely meeting you finally Veit.
RE the being personable and not pitching immediately, I was amazed at the Alex Jeffreys conference when someone asked me to promote their product as well right out of the blue.
My first thought was:
‘Well, I’ve come here to socialize, not to be pitched.’
The thing is, if you socialize, and just go with it, people will naturally start asking you what you’re doing, if you have product launches coming up, etc…
Leah and I booked in a promotion for Simon and Jeremey that weekend just by listening to Simon go on about how bloody brilliant his product is.
He wasn’t pitching, but it was more a natural flow of conversation…and it was so interesting – natural curiosity followed to ask more questions about the product.
The best bit of networking is making friends, getting the KLT factor in there and then the business deals (or promotions) that grow from those conversations!
I for one – am hooked – beyond a doubt on events and the amazing benefits you can get from them!
and lovely to meet you too Jovana!
and yes, the conversations with you and her Intergalactic Highness were all good story telling (who would’ve thought that Belgrade was rebuilt THAT many times?;-) with a good dose of “this is what we’re doing” thrown in.
End-result: you 2 now occupy valuable real-estate in my mind, whereas the pitching-dude, well, I don’t even remember his name anymore….
oooh – I heard my name!
And lovely it was to meet you too Veit!
As I mentioned over coffee and juice, your emails are on the very short list of marketing mail that I actually read! So to meet you in the flesh (yes Mrs Veit, we are real) was a real pleasure.
I completely agree with everything you’ve said. We get ‘hit up’ on a daily basis by those who want us to promote and as you said, the people we do promote, are those we already ‘know, like and trust’.
I recommend a read of Cialdini’s Influence for those who are knew to networking as amongst the pages you’ll find super tips on how people connect with other people.
And of course, how to Influence them …
lol, “Influence” is probably the 2nd most bought and unread book after A Short History Of Time;-)
That I’m sure of! LOL
I too am guilty of buying books when I hear of them – now though, they are on my iPad awaiting a trip or a holiday to catch up on.
But anything to do with influence and persuasion, behavior and mind is usually first to be absorbed and notes scribbled, and revisited frequently.
After all, everything we do in marketing and product creation involves influence in one form or another 🙂