The Loser’s Networking Strategy

I used to be a sales loser before I became a Sales Badass. It’s okay. Most of us have been. It’s all part of the learning process, so I’ll describe the loser’s networking strategy.

First, they arrive at the networking mixer, pay or show their ticket or whatever, and then mistake number one usually happens: They go to the bar and get a drink.

The reason is to have something in hand, because everyone else has one, but the larger reason is that the sales loser is nervous about talking to strangers and needs some “liquid courage” to get warmed up. The problem is that alcoholic drinks have a tendency to inebriate people and cause cognitive impairment, which alone can kill any chances of making solid, powerful connections. That’s why I keep hammering home the point that you must not drink at these functions. Save that for another time.

He’ll bounce from group to group and try to introduce himself and make small talk. More often than not he’ll be in a group yet not be in the conversation, but rather just observing and listening because he can’t get a word in.

Finally he ends up finding some friendly fellow sales reps and hangs out with them. They’ll complain about the usual stuff, talk about how they never make any good connections at these events, how they’re full of salespeople also wanting to sell something, and spend the evening like they would at any other bar. They enjoy the food and have a few drinks and have a good time.

The problem is that the sales loser walks out empty-handed, or worse, he foolishly gives his business card out to MLMers and financial planners and life insurance agents and many others who will barrage him with dozens of phone calls trying to recruit him into their MLM or otherwise sell him something. (I have nothing against people in those professions, and am friends with many, as long as they’re not harassing me to death with cold calls.)

Then for the next week, his sales are impaired because he’s afraid to answer the phone. What if it’s another one of those obnoxious salesmen he gave his number to? (See how annoying cold calling is when you’re on the receiving end?)

In the end, the event was a waste of time and money, and the salesperson is back to square one the next day.

The story I just told you is true. That sales loser was yours truly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wasted my time going through that experience. And when I say wasted time, I mean I might as well just have stayed back and made cold calls on the phone because that’s about how much in terms of results I got out of those events.

Eventually I realized all they were good for was meeting women, and, being single at the time, I continued going but only for that purpose. They proved useless for getting sales. (C’mon, dressed to the nines like I do, it was like shooting fish in a barrel!)

How One Man Became “Mayor” of His City

A prominent friend of mine, another author whose name you almost certainly know, got divorced at one point and wanted a fresh start.

He moved to a new city in a new state where he knew no one. And yet he was in the sales game like you are so he realized that networking was his ticket.

Here’s what he did: He planned on going to at least three networking groups each and every weekday: A breakfast group, a lunch group, and a happy hour group. (No booze and all business.)

Then he found out where the players in his city hung out, and started going to that bar at night to mingle. With no alcohol flowing through his bloodstream, and some flowing through those of the high-power CEOs and others who hung out there, he easily had the advantage.

In a relatively short period of time he earned the nickname of “mayor” of his city. The one time I happened to be there, we made plans to meet up and spent half a day with him showing me around town, and we couldn’t go anywhere—anywhere—without people coming up and saying hi to him.

There were no less than a dozen when we met at Starbucks at 7:45 a.m. when the place was jammed. (Not my time of day!)

The result? He never had to prospect for sales, ever again! He just knew everyone, and everyone knew and liked him. (Remember the Likeability Formula from Chapter 1? Learn it and use it!)

Likewise, when I moved to Dallas in 2012, it was the first time that my wife and I had moved to a new city without knowing a single solitary person.

She made friends fast through our neighborhood’s early childhood association, became very involved, and even became president of it for a year. Then once our kids were in school she made tons of friends with fellow moms, as I did with fellow dads.

But I digress. There was no early childhood association for dads, so I was on my own when it came to meeting people, and I chose my friend’s strategy, minus the breakfast groups. For starters I’m a night owl and getting up at an insane hour when it’s still dark out doesn’t work for me. Truth be told, I did try a few, and they were the worst of the bunch. Everyone at those groups was groggy as hell and we’d progress around the room, everyone did his or her 30-second pitch, and then said, “I don’t have any leads to share this week.” What a joke.

For that reason I stuck with lunch groups, which was tricky for me because most require you to buy lunch—that’s why restaurants provide the private rooms for free—and I normally don’t eat lunch. I guess I looked like a cheapo buying the smallest thing on the menu, but so what. I made connections. And as I said, I got invitations to speak, to meet with decision-makers, to network with noncompetitors who were in the same space, and so on.

Pretty soon, say, after about three weeks of this, I started running into people I knew everywhere. All over Dallas. I didn’t become the unofficial mayor as my friend did but I became extremely well connected. Then, when I joined the Rotary Club of Dallas I met CEOs, generals, owners of large private businesses, community and government leaders, judges … you name it, they were there. (Judges are fantastic people to have as friends. I’m just saying.)

Here’s a hint: I highly recommend Rotary. However, of the 67 clubs in my area, there are only two where the players are. So do your research. Look for the club with the largest membership and preferably one that meets in your city’s central business district, because the CEOs are sitting on the top floor of those tall buildings and they tend to join the nearest club. Once you’re in Rotary for some time and have gotten on a committee or two and done some volunteer work—don’t worry, it’s not hard or overwhelming—then you can start talking business. Although promoting yourself or your business from the stage is strictly prohibited at Rotary, as a member you’re free to network, ask for introductions, get meetings with the players in the club, and more. Perhaps the best part is that as a member, you can go to any Rotary Club meeting anywhere in the world. So make it a point to not just attend your meetings, but to visit with other clubs as well. That’s a better option than showing up at a random networking group at lunchtime every day. Go to a Rotary Club instead and be sure to exchange lots of business cards with the people there. And have your introduction down pat! I don’t like the term elevator speech—thirty seconds as a limit is stupid in my opinion, and it doesn’t let you be your genuine self. Talk to people, get to know them personally, and ask them about their kids and other things they love, not just business.

And don’t get the wrong impression about Rotary Clubs. I know we all picture our grandfathers there. I got that idea about Rotary during my first summer job as a kid, when I worked at an insurance agency and the two owners were much older men and were very much dedicated to their Rotary Club. The truth is that the larger clubs are extremely diverse, and in fact, my club’s largest demographic for new members last year was women in their thirties. Rotary isn’t your grandfather’s club anymore!

The other “club” you want to check out is a smaller, regional chamber close to you. The North Dallas Chamber of Commerce only costs me $300/year and it’s well worth it. Visit as a guest, however, before joining. You want to make sure it’s a worthwhile organization before spending your money.

Sales Badassery Tip: Every time you meet someone you want to connect with or otherwise meet with, take a selfie with that person, and then later on or the next day, shoot that person an email with the photo attached so they remember you. It’s powerful! You can also use the photo in their contact profile on your smartphone so you remember who you’re talking to when they call you. See how that works both ways?

Zero to $20,000 a Month Through Networking Badassery

Remember when I told you I started a digital marketing agency, and pretty soon I was taking home—netting—$20,000 each and every month with very little work on my part?

That was because of Networking Badassery.

When I started that business, it was a whole new ballgame for me. Up until that time my business activities had been restricted to the Internet, along with any opportunities such as speaking or sales training that came via our website; again, it was all online. Now I was in a local business and in need of local clients, so I had to come up with a strategy to find them and get them on board as paying customers.

I didn’t quite know what to do when it was time to get some clients so I started going to networking events. And I mean a lot of networking events. I also made a point to invite my technical guy who I outsourced the actual work. He lived quite a drive away on the other side of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex but made as many events as he could, because he was valuable to have around to answer technical questions from prospective clients.

Since I had created a digital marketing agency, which means a business that manages Google AdWords and other online advertising and marketing platforms for clients, I knew I had to differentiate because the space was highly competitive, and is even more so today.

Now at most events, what happens is that everyone does his or her 30-second pitch, going around the room, then someone gets to do a quick 10-minute presentation if it’s their turn that week, and that’s it. Everyone wraps up and goes back to work and nothing actually turns into results.

Remember the Reality Factor from Chapter 8? The Reality Factor says that fighting reality is painful and will not get results, and that you need to adapt to reality and make it work for you.

So there I was, trying to adapt to a world of 30-second pitches when I was used to marketing online and doing two-hour webinars and all that. And here’s what I came up with:

“My name is Frank Rumbauskas, owner of ROI Media, and what we do is very simple: We turn your website into a printing press for money.”

That’s more like a 10-second speech, if that. And it worked.

At every event, multiple people would inevitably come up to me at the end and say, “I’m interested in that making money thing you said about our website!” BOOM—new client! Done!

However, I knew I had to think bigger. The Sales Badass always thinks BIG.

That’s when I remembered the importance of leverage. It’s the foundation of the Never Cold Call Again^® sales philosophy—and I decided to employ leverage in my networking efforts.

My Favorite Networking Venue

The best networking venues of all to me, besides LinkedIn, are private, invitation-only business roundtable groups.

I used to belong to one called Dallas Business Alliance. In spite of having to get up two hours early to get to the 7:30 A.M. meetings every Wednesday, I was there each and every week. The group consisted of CEOs, thought leaders like myself, higher-ups in companies, corporate/business law attorneys, and more.

The nice thing about the group is that while the meetings were about general business topics, with one person—either a member or guest—presenting that week, we followed a plan whereby each member would meet one-on-one with another member until we covered them all; then we would start all over again.

That’s where the networking happened. The specific purpose of these one-on-one private meetings outside of the group was to determine what type of people we’d like referred to us. Then we’d explain that to each member individually, listen to their needs in return, and take notes so we could mentally scan our contact list and think of who might be a good prospect.

You’ll have to network and get involved to get invited to this type of group. They exist everywhere, and in fact now that Dallas Business Alliance disbanded because almost no one liked the too-early meeting times and attendance dwindled over time, I’m planning on starting one with someone I met while speaking at a local chamber group. (See the power of speaking?)

Side note: You don’t have to be a morning person to be successful. That’s why I wrote an entire book on why night owls are, overall, more successful than morning larks and can continue to become even more successful. It all started when a colleague put out a research paper—really a promotional piece—claiming that the most common trait among the extremely successful is that they are early risers.

I immediately called bullshit on this and did my own research. I learned that night owls actually earn more money in a lifetime, on average, than morning larks. But the big eye-opener is that, in my own research, the most common trait among the highly successful is that they don’t drink alcohol.

Now I’m not saying you have to quit drinking (unless of course it’s a problem, in which case you absolutely should). What I am saying is that, unless you’re a natural early riser, there’s no need to drag yourself out of bed to get to a 7:00 or 7:30 A.M. networking group. You’d be far better off getting your needed rest than going to an event where you’re not fully awake, then have a less-than-productive rest of your day because you’re half asleep the entire time.