Master Your Networking Strategy

In this episode we explore powerful strategies for making high-value connections at large conferences and networking events. Learn how to set clear objectives, position yourself strategically, and utilize effective conversation starters to build meaningful and lasting relationships. This episode is full of actionable tips to help you network with confidence and purpose, especially for those attending the upcoming Squad Up Summit. Tune in to discover how you can elevate your networking game to spark valuable business opportunities and personal growth.
00:00 Welcome to Investor Evolution
00:25 The Importance of Networking with Purpose
02:17 Setting Clear Goals for Networking Events
06:18 Strategic Positioning for High-Impact Networking
08:52 Approaching People with Confidence
09:57 Creating Meaningful Connections
14:58 Action Steps for Effective Networking
17:25 Closing Thoughts and Encouragement

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekimberlyhoyt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyHoyt22

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekimberlyhoyt/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kimberly-hoyt

Gator Method Affiliate Link: Join Gator Now

Need a CRM: Check out Social Connector

Disclaimer: I am not a CPA, attorney, insurance/real estate agent, contractor, lender, or financial advisor. The content in these videos shall not be construed as tax, legal, financial advice, or other and may be outdated or inaccurate; it is your responsibility to verify all information yourself. This is a podcast for entertainment purposes ONLY.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to investor evolution, elevate. Whether you're looking to create financial freedom, reclaim your time, or find harmony while you're thriving in your career, this show is for you. Join me each week. As we uncover strategies to grow your wealth, nurture your personal development, and elevate your life to new heights. So you can live with purpose, joy, and confidence. You've probably been there before, walking into a massive conference or networking event and looking around at hundreds, if not thousands of people and wondering, where do I even start? The truth is that most people show up to these events. Without a plan, they shake hands, collect business cards, or blink cards in our case, and leave with surface level connections that don't really go anywhere. But, what if you could walk into these events with a clear strategy, knowing exactly who you want to meet, what you want to achieve, and how to make every conversation count? Well, you're in luck, because that's what today's episode is all about. For those of us in the Pace Morby world, we are coming up on our massive annual event called Squat Up Summit. And as I was thinking about how I'm going to approach this event, I thought this would be a great way to share with you some insights on networking intentionally. Networking can feel overwhelming, especially when we don't have a clear purpose or game plan. The people who make the most of these events and create the biggest impact are those who know why they are there and what they want to take away. So if you're investing time and money into attending these events, you should be getting high value connections, insights, and opportunities in return. Don't just spend your money and not get great takeaways. So today we're going to talk about how to set clear goals before attending an event, where to strategically position yourself for high impact networking, as well as how to build meaningful and lasting connections. And not just exchange those blank cards. So let's dive in. Let's talk about setting your intentions so that you can go in with a plan. So, key questions that you want to ask yourself before you show up in Dallas at Squad Up Summit. What is your main objective? Why are you going? Are you just going because everybody else is? Or are there strategic people that you want to meet? Things that you want to accomplish? Perhaps if you're in Gator, you are looking for those who, are needing transactional lending. Maybe you're connecting with wholesalers, maybe you're connecting with those in sub 2 who are looking double closes, EMDs, those type of things. Maybe you're like, I am so busy, I need a partner, I need an operator. Maybe you're looking for business partners. If so, that may tailor who you are talking to and structure your time a little bit differently than if you're looking for private money lenders. Okay? Are you there just to hear the speakers? Are you there to build brand visibility? What are you going for? Why are you attending this event? What is your main objective? Number two, who do you need to connect with? I want you to think of 10, 15, 20 people, maybe, maybe less, maybe more, that would make the most impact for you and your business moving forward? Who are those people? Maybe it's not specific people. Maybe it's type of peoples. For example, if you are a buy and hold investor, maybe you need private money partners or PMLs. How many of those people would you like to connect with? Maybe you're in sub two and you're like, I need TCs or operators. Who are those people that you need to connect with? And number three, and I think this is probably actually the most important one, what specific value can I offer? When you are going to these events, you need to be thinking about what you can give others, not just what you can get from others. So as you're thinking about this, what is it that you do naturally, what is it that is your superpower that you can help others with? For example, for me, I am great at connecting people and I'm not talking about connecting for money. What I'm talking about is listening to people, hearing what they're working on, what their needs are. and being able to say, Oh, I know the perfect person that you need to talk to. So if I can help provide someone with a connection with another person or people that would be helpful for their business, that is where I'm great at. And I can do that. That is a value I can offer. So I'm looking at that already and thinking about the different connections that I have that I can connect people with as we go through this time. So again, think about what is your main objective? Who do you need to connect with and what value can you offer? Do you need to connect with? five potential partners, 10 private money lenders. Do you need to talk with five or six different operators to see who might be a good fit in your business? What goal are you looking to accomplish? Who do you need to network with and what does that look like? Research this event ahead of time. Who is going? Who are the people that you know are going to be there that you want to connect with? And make a list to make sure that you are strategic when you're there and not just taking blink cards from everybody. Next thing I want to talk about, which may seem like an afterthought and not something to really talk about, is where you are positioning yourself in order to network. Not all networking happens in the same way. Where you stand, how you engage, and even your body language can impact the quality of the connections that you make. So, this comes from Vanessa Van Edwards work in her book, Captivate. I just read this recently. And she talks about building your charisma and how to be warm and competent. And she talks about where to position yourself at networking events that can be helpful. So where you can position yourself for great conversations. Near coffee or food stations, especially the exit of that. So when people are turning around with their coffee and now they're ready to network. They have their coffee. Now they're ready to network and you're there saying, Hi, nice to meet you. That is a great way to accept people in and be warm and inviting for others. That's a great place to be. When people get their drinks or get their food, that's usually their next step. Now where do I go? Now where do I sit? Who do I talk to? So that's a great place to be. During session transitions, I would be careful about where you're standing. I wouldn't stand by the entrance or by the doors because usually when people are leaving, They have a reason. A lot of times they want to go to the bathroom and they do not want to stop and talk to you. Or when people are coming back in, they are probably looking for their seat and also maybe not quite in that ready to engage mode. But if you're standing a couple feet away from the door or on You know, across the hall from the door. That's a great place to be where people can see you, and especially if you're talking with others and you can wave others in, hey, come on, come over and say hi. That's a good thing. This body language, having your hands open, uh, Vanessa talks about how that's like friend, friend, friend. Look, I'm not harmful. I, I don't have anything in my hands. I'm a friend, not a foe. Come over and join us. That's very welcoming. So that's a good way to. Show that you're open, you're warm and inviting to others. Hey, come on over. I'd love to talk to you. That's a great thing to do. Another place, if you are part of the VIP sessions, that is an exclusive area. That is where high level conversations are happening. Make sure you take advantage of that. How to approach people with confidence is another thing that can get us all up in our head. Again, having warm, open body language is very important. So like I said, saying hi, waving your hands, opening your palms to others shows that you are not a threat and that you're inviting and you're warm and you're open. When we talk about body language, making good eye contact and using open body language, So, you know, waving people over, if you're standing with your arms crossed, your legs crossed, your head down, your eyes averted, no one's going to talk to you. So make sure you have warm, open body language, that you're not closing or blocking your body with your arms crossed, but keep them open. If you point your toes towards the person that you're talking to, that's also, shows that you're engaged and you're listening. So another little body posture tip. And people respond to that confidence and that warmth, and they'll want to talk to you more. Now, let's talk about meaningful connections. We talked about this a little bit already. But, going beyond the small talk. This is one thing that Vanessa talks about a lot, is the small talk and, avoiding, boring questions and boring conversations. So instead of going from nice to meet you, where are you from, what do you do, find questions that spark interest that are maybe a little unique. One of the things that I say now instead of hey how are you I always ask hey what's good And that makes people stop, and people are like, Oh, what's good? And some people will be like, Oh, nothing, nothing's, nothing's good. Come on, something's good in your world. And it gets them to think a little bit and share with you what's good in their world. So that's a good way to open up. If you ask, Where are you from? Especially because you may not know where these people are from. And they say, Colorado, Ohio, New York, oh, New York, what is your favorite thing about living in New York? And ask a conversation that sparks interest, but also tell, but also allows that person to open up to you and give you some information about them, who they are, what they like, what they enjoy, and that will help you get to know that person a lot better really quickly, which is, which is kind of cool. Another thing is finding common ground quickly. So if they say, I'm from New York, what is your favorite thing about being in New York? Oh, I love going to run in Central Park. Oh, you love running in Central Park. I actually did a half marathon in Central Park when I was in PA school. That's really cool. And then you can then ask another question. Do you run there? Often is that your go to place to run, or the other places that you like to run, and you can just build off of that. But when you can find common ground, that instantly builds rapport. Oh, you're a runner? I'm a runner. That's awesome. And now there's more than just, uh, Kim from Colorado, don't, don't even remember you. They're going to be, oh, Kimberly's the one from Colorado that is a runner, and I want to talk to them. It builds, helps build that intrigue and that interest from the other side as well. Another great tip is to give before you take, right? Offer value. We talked above about knowing what value you have to offer so that when you're talking with someone, you are ready with some type of introduction, a resource that you can offer. Or an insight before you're asking for anything in return. Be a giver because that will naturally reciprocate. When you give something to someone, they want to give back to you. Not out of obligation, but out of appreciation and out of gratitude. And that's a great place to be. Another thing you can do is make it easy to follow up instead of just swapping these blink cards. Uh, one of the greatest tips I've gotten is to say, Hey, I'd love to stay connected with you. Let's take a picture together, take your selfie together and then say, Hey, let me have your phone number. I'll shoot you this picture. And then you can say, Hey, John Smith, this is Kimberly Hoyt. It's so great talking with you at. Squad up. Loved hearing your story about running in Central Park. Let's connect soon. And then you've sent that message. They have it. They know your name. They know your face. They remember that you guys talked about running in Central Park. That creates a much better connection than swiping through these blink cards three weeks later saying, I don't even know who this person is. I don't remember talking to him. I don't remember getting this at all. So making it easy to follow up by creating a little connection, something of interest, something that you guys talked about, taking a selfie together, sending it to the other person. Great way to follow up. Now, one of the things I would suggest doing is making sure you're following up pretty quickly after the event. I would say within the week. This will make it much easier when you have that selfie together because you know their name because you typed it out. You know who they are, because you have a picture with them. You know what you talked about when you took that picture, and you can say, Hey John, it was so great talking with you at Squad Up about running. Would love to learn more about your business. Here's my calendly link. So you have a reason to follow up. You remind them of the connection that you had and it just builds that rapport and it makes it easy for them to be like, Oh yeah, I totally remember this person. She remembers talking to me about these things. It just creates a great connection with others. Okay, so what are your action steps for the week? For those of us going to Squad Up Summit or whenever you're attending an in person event, here are some things to think about. Get your networking game plan ready. So number one, define your event goals. Ask yourself those questions. What's my main objective for the event? Who are the people I want to meet? Maybe there's three, maybe there's five, maybe there's 20. Or what are the type of people I want to meet and what specific value can I offer? Number two, plan your networking strategy. Identify the best places to connect, One thing you may want to do is practice those conversation openers because it is very automatic and programmed in us to say, Hey, how are you? Ugh, boring. So practice asking different questions, and I got that from Vanessa Van Edwards. Let's be clear. Another good question that she asks is, Hey, what is an exciting project that you're working on? Hey, I'm Kimberly. Nice to meet you. Tell me something exciting that you're working on lately. Hey, what's exciting in your world? What are you looking forward to? And what's nice about those questions, they're very open ended. And when you say, Hey, what are you looking forward to? They may tell you what they're looking forward to this weekend. They may tell you what they're looking forward to when they get back home after the event. They may tell you a project that they're excited about. It gives them the freedom to tell you what they want to talk about. And it gives you a little insight into what's important to them. Great questions to ask. And then step three is follow up and build relationships within a few days to a week after the event. Send a message, email, you're going to have link cards for everybody. Send messages to them. If, if you were proactive and took selfies and sent them a message, what you can do after the event is actually just go back through your messages and, and send messages back to those people. And again, referencing something from the conversation that you had, something specific to show that you were listening, that you were engaged, that you want to connect with them just helps build that rapport and helps them want to reciprocate and build a relationship with you. All right, let's close up for the day. I know networking can be hard, but it doesn't have to feel random or overwhelming. When you go in with a strategy, you make deeper, more valuable connections that can truly help elevate your business and your opportunities. All right, everyone, try out this networking game plan at your next event. And if you're at Squad Up Summit, I would love to connect with you and I would love to hear if this was helpful for you. Share this episode with someone who wants to elevate their networking game. Subscribe, leave a review, make a comment, and let's keep building powerful connections together. All right, until next time.