Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

5 Networking Tips to Work a Room Like the Elite – EMP081

Networking is a huge part of building valuable connections and potential partnerships. 

In this episode, I cover 5 Networking Tips to Work a Room Like the Elite:

  1. Be confident when you enter the room
  2. Consider starting off a conversation with the question: “what brings you out tonight?”
  3. Try your best to remember others’ names
  4. Focus on listening to what others have to say
  5. Have a plan. Work the plan.

CHECK OUT MY RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
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READ THE BLOG POST
https://chrisbello.com/networking-tips

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5 Networking Tips to Work a Room Like the Elite

What do you think of when you hear the word “networking?” Many people think of happy hour, or just shooting the breeze with others.

While I think it is important to genuinely care about others and spend quality time talking about both work and non-work things, networking is really supposed to be about “working.”  You “work the room.”

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The point of networking is to get your name out there, find potential partners, or maybe even some clients. You build relationships with people you might be already be business with or people you are considering doing business with.

People do business with people they like. So this is a great opportunity to get others to know, like, and trust you.  

How most people network

I would bet that most people network to get in on free drinks and food, and talk to a few friends they already have for hours at an event.

This is not productive! While it may be fun, you are just killing time. On top of that, you’re not taking the opportunity to expand your network and meet new people.

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Networking like the elite

The elite “work the room” and do so with a purpose. They work to talk to as many people as possible and keep conversations short when necessary.

When they meet someone new, they tell that person what they are looking to find from the event and see if that new contact has met anyone that can help in the room.

When they do this, they shortcut their way to those people. As you meet others, try to leverage the people they’ve already met to quickly triangulate who you need to connect with.

Networking tips to keep in mind

#1 |Be confident when you enter the room

Confidence is important. Be aware of your body language. Have a good, firm handshake and avoid crossing your arms or acting disinterested when conversing with others.

You deserve to be in the room and have value to add to others.

#2 | Consider starting off a conversation with the question: “what brings you out tonight?”

If you’re at an industry specific event like a real estate event, obviously they are at the event for real estate. But maybe they are a lender. Or maybe they flip houses. Perhaps they are looking for a rental property? There are still tons of things that can vary in the answers to that question.  

If it’s a generic networking event, like a “Young Professionals” event, you’ll find an even wider audience in attendance. There tend to be a lot of people trying to sell services at these events, so you’ll have to wade through a lot more “spam” if you will to find the gold.

#3 | Try your best to remember others’ names

Dale Carnegie has some sage advice in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. “Remember that a person’s name is to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

When you meet someone new, practice remembering their name, and say it a few times in the conversation to make sure it sticks. This is something I’m working on getting better at. When you’re at an event meeting dozens of people, this gets pretty tough to do.

Another tip I recommend is to note something special or specific down to remember someone. If you learned they have a kid who plays soccer or a passion for Corvettes, keep that noted down and mention something personal in your follow up email to show that you were paying attention.

#4 | Perhaps the most important thing is to focus on listening.

Others love talking about themselves. You’ll find that the more you let someone talk about themselves, the more they’ll seem to like you. They’ll think the conversation went great even if it was mainly them talking!

#5 | Have a plan. Work the plan.

As with anything else, with networking, you should have a plan and work the plan. I set a timer for myself to make sure I stay efficient. I will give myself one or two hours and plan to leave as soon as the timer goes off on my phone.

This forces me to stay cognizant of time. I don’t want any one conversation to take too long. Unless you meet the most important person in the room, I would try to keep the conversation to 5 or 10 minutes to make sure you have time to talk to as many people as possible.

Play it by ear though. If you think you’ve struck up a great conversation with someone who is a power player, definitely spend as much time as you think is necessary to make that relationship last.

Tying it all together

These are a few of many tips when it comes to networking. It requires practice and consistency. It’s something that you’ll get better at with time.

Networking is definitely a balancing act. On one hand, you want to be efficient and meet as many people as possible. On the other hand, you want to actually befriend people and have meaningful conversations. So sometimes you can be flexible with the tips I mentioned today.

Feel free to talk longer with someone if you’re really getting along great. Maybe talk more about your story if they insist on hearing more of what you have to say.

Key Takeaways

  1. Be confident when you enter the room
  2. Consider starting off a conversation with the question: “what brings you out tonight?”
  3. Try your best to remember others’ names
  4. Perhaps the most important thing is to focus on listening.
  5. Have a plan. Work the plan.

Remember that you’ll get better at networking over time. Don’t overthink or over plan it though. Just remember these tips, practice them, and then reflect on how well you implemented these things at events after you attend.

Daily Motivation

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want” – Zig Ziglar.

Keep this in mind when networking and meeting people. If you come at the relationship from “how much value can I add?” instead of “what can this person do for me?”, you will see the value come back to you multiple times over.

Actionable Steps

Pick a few tips from my post today or any others that you’ve heard and make a plan. Practice in your head or out loud what you will say when you meet others. “What brings you out tonight?

Then head over to Meetup.com, Eventbrite.com, or Facebook events and find a few events coming up that you can go to and practice.

CHECK OUT MY RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
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Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

Impostor Syndrome (Do you feel like a fake?) – EMP080

This episode is about Impostor Syndrome. Do you have times where you feel like you’re a fake? Times when you doubt yourself and wonder if you’re capable of the goals you’ve set for yourself? 

We all have. No matter how far we come and how much we accomplish, we all go through periods of self-doubt. 

We must remember that as long as we are striving to get better than we were the day before, we are making progress. 


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READ THE BLOG POST

https://chrisbello.com/impostor-syndrome

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Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

How Andres Pira went from homeless at 20 to $1.8 billion empire by 35 – EMP079

Andres Pira is the founder of 20+ companies, including gyms, law offices, gas stations, coffee shops and a property portfolio.

He went from homeless at 20 to building an empire worth $1.8billion by the age of 35.

In this interview, we discuss:

  • How he moved from Sweden to Thailand and found himself in a tough financial situation
  • How the book “The Secret” changed his life
  • The power of visualization and how it got Andres a cup of coffee and a meal when he was homeless in Thailand
  • Increasing beliefs and confidence through acheiving goals
  • Raising the bar and creating new goals constantly
  • Seeing failures as stepping stones (failures are a part of success)
  • and more

Key Takeways

  • Do not underestimate the power of visualization and the law of attraction
  • Set tons of goals for yourself, but make sure that you set many little ones that ultimately help you achieve the big ones.
  • View failures as stepping stones, failing is a part of success.

Daily motivation:

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

Actionable Steps

Identify areas of your life where you are struggling. Are you afraid to try something new because you fear failing?

If so, acknowledge the fact that failures are stepping stones. The only time you truly fail is when you give up entirely.

Take time to review your goals constantly. Once you achieve any goals, replace them and raise the bar continuously.

You can pre-order his book, Homeless to Billionaire: The 18 Principles of Wealth Attraction And Creating Unlimited Opportunity, here: https://amzn.to/2UyINOk

Check out Andres’ website: https://andrespira.com/

CHECK OUT MY RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
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Blog Posts

How Andres Pira went from homeless at 20 to $1.8 billion empire by 35

Andres Pira is the founder of 20+ companies, including gyms, law offices, gas stations, coffee shops and a property portfolio.

He went from homeless at 20 to building an empire worth $1.8billion by the age of 35.

Check out the video

I love a good rags to riches success story, and this story doesn’t disappoint.

Listen to the podcast

In this interview, we discuss:

  • How he moved from Sweden to Thailand and found himself in a tough financial situation
  • How the book “The Secret” changed his life
  • The power of visualization and how it got Andres a cup of coffee and a meal when he was homeless in Thailand
  • Increasing beliefs and confidence through acheiving goals
  • Raising the bar and creating new goals constantly
  • Seeing failures as stepping stones (failures are a part of success)
  • and more

You can pre-order his book, Homeless to Billionaire: The 18 Principles of Wealth Attraction And Creating Unlimited Opportunity, here: https://amzn.to/2UyINOk

Check out Andres’ website: https://andrespira.com/

CHECK OUT MY RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
https://chrisbello.com/resources

SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecn7bkCgNHkrjvMo6rThuw?view_as=subscriber 

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Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

Exploring self-awareness and individuality with Farhid Azari – EMP078

Today’s episode features an interview with my friend, Farhid Azari. He is up to several entrepreneurial ventures, including Poseidon Pressure Washing (where he does residential and commercial) as well as a new venture called DealStryker.

In this episode, Farhid talks about:

  • Self awareness and understanding individuality
  • You have to understand your thinking process
  • How Farhid isn’t the greatest at any one thing, but how he is great at problem solving and critical thinking
  • Writing down ideas to problems and then testing them until you find the solution
  • How many people figure out what they need to do but fail to follow through
  • Marketing is a problem solving thing
  • Look at yourself from a third person perspective
  • How Farhid applied his own advice during some difficult times in his life

Follow Farhid on Instagram:
@faruhito

CHECK OUT MY RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
https://chrisbello.com/resources

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Mindset

Exploring self-awareness and individuality with Farhid Azari

Today’s episode features an interview with my friend, Farhid Azari. He is up to several entrepreneurial ventures, including Poseidon Pressure Washing (where he does residential and commercial) as well as a new venture called DealStryker.

Check out the video

Listen to the podcast

In this episode, Farhid talks about:

  • Self awareness and understanding individuality
  • You have to understand your thinking process
  • How Farhid isn’t the greatest at any one thing, but how he is great at problem solving and critical thinking
  • Writing down ideas to problems and then testing them until you find the solution
  • How many people figure out what they need to do but fail to follow through
  • Marketing is a problem solving thing
  • Look at yourself from a third person perspective
  • How Farhid applied his own advice during some difficult times in his life

Key Takeaways

Practice self-awareness today by following Farhid’s tips. Remember that even when times are tough and you’re in a tough spot, there is always a way to dig yourself out of a hole.

The first step is recognizing that you are not where you want to be. Then you take action to write down what you need to do in order to get to where you want to go.

Daily Motivation

“Life happens FOR you, not TO you.” – Tony Robbins. One guy at the Arete Syndicate Live event last weekend kept saying this every time something annoying happened. It’s so true.

Here’s an example. The restaurant a group of us ate at was taking a really long time. Like, 30 minutes to get a table, then 20 minutes before the server even came to our table to take our order.

One guy in our group jokingly said “it’s okay, this is happening FOR us, not TO us.” We were all hungry, but this helped us laugh it off and really not make a big deal out of it.

When times get tough, they are happening for us to learn something. We will grow when we overcome these types of challenges.

Actionable Steps

Practice writing down some problems or challenges in your life right now. Or even some things that just aren’t quite as great as you’d like.

Write down steps or action you need to take to move forward.

Follow Farhid on Instagram:
@faruhito

CHECK OUT MY RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
https://chrisbello.com/resources

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Blog Posts

Arete Syndicate Live: My Key Takeaways

This weekend, my friend Safir and I flew over to St. Louis, Missouri for the Arete Syndicate live event, organized by Ed Mylett and Andy Frisella and, incredible entrepreneurs with two of the top business podcast in the world!

*2022 Update* – I ended up officially joining Arete in October 2021 and have made even more amazing connections. If you’re interested in learning more or applying, you can do so here.

Check out the video

I made so many new amazing friends and connections from across the nation and WORLD! People even flew in from the Netherlands and Australia for this event.

Remember in another episode when I said that if you’re the smartest in the room, you’re in the wrong room? This room had a lot of people smarter and wealthier than me, which is exactly what I want!

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There is an accelerator group that you can apply to and join to get on 3 calls a month with Andy and Ed, and the Syndicate level has a $50K entry fee and you have to be doing insane numbers, I think $1M in annual revenue minimum.

A group of Syndicate guys took a photo together the other day and geez, I felt their presence in that room. You could JUST TELL that they were in the Syndicate, the way they carried themselves, the confidence and aura. But they weren’t stuck up or anything, they were extremely humble.

I got so much out of the event, and it was straight value. They had an incredible lineup of speakers, many who you may have heard of before:

  • Ed Mylett and Andy Frisella of course
  • Cole Hatter
  • Billy Gene
  • Ryan Stewman (hardcore closer)
  • Joel Marion – Did $700M in 6 years in his business

In today’s episode, I don’t need to sell you on joining the accelerator or anything. I just want to share some of the incredible tips and value I received from the speakers (this is at least $1000 of value).

Andy Frisella

Andy talked about the importance of core values, which is something I always thought was overrated. Andy said core values guide you as a leader. They create culture, and they are the reason you win.

Here are his:

  1. Create a positive impact – what you put out, you get back
  2. Leadership through action – you have to LIVE it to influence others
  3. Do the right thing – take ownership, make it right
  4. Be humble – It’s okay to be confident. Remember we are all just a speck of dust, we are all people.
  5. Hard discipline – No compromises, stories, justifications, get it done.
  6. Commit to dominating – have killer instinct
  7. Good isn’t enough – excellence is essential
  8. Be a lifetime student

Cole Hatter

Cole Hatter spoke next, who is the founder of the Thrive Conference. He had some great tips on speaking and selling from stage, and selling in general.

First, he talked about persuasion vs. Influence. Persuasion is a push, while influence is a pull. You need a little of both.

He talked about getting good at wordsmithing, which is the art of spoken copywriting.

Instead of saying “cost”, use the word “investment.” Stay true to your brand! Andy Frisella not cussing would probably confuse us, because it would not be what we are used to with his brand.

He talks about threat vs. desire.

Instead of saying “you HAVE to buy my course OR ELSE,” say “You’re going to want this because you’ll love the results.”

Next, he mentioned negative versus positive presuppositions (which are basically assumptions).

Stop using negative presuppositions like “You’re tired of being tired and broke…” This assumes the audience is tired and broke… why would they buy your stuff if you are broke?

Instead, say “being here today tells me you are an action taker and want to invest in yourself.”

Lastly, Cole talks about “us vs. them.”

Use phrases using us. For example, say “people like us, we make decisions, we love investing in ourselves.”

Then use “them.” “People out there just care about the numbers.”

Billy Gene

Billy Gene was up next! If you’ve seen his ads on Facebook, they are so damn good that you actually want to watch them all the way through.

He shared a formula: words + sounds + visuals + environment + association + trust

Next, he gave some examples of companies that have done really well that had great video ads.

-Dollar shave club has a hilarious video. They sold for $1B in 2016

Video ads give you the edge. Some tips he shares are that:

  • The first 5 seconds are most important to capture attention
  • You need to polarize. Have a strong message.
    • For example, he yelled “I hate Trump.” That immediately polarizes the audience. I love what he said next, which was that he doesn’t actually hate Trump, and that he believes that entrepreneurs create their own economy. Hell yes.
  • Next, he says to break down the fourth wall. Literally talk to the person on the other side watching the video.
    • He does up close shots and says things like “come with me.” Where it looks like you are following him into his office in the ad.

For cameras, he says to use 2 to get multiple angles. Throw a few drone shots in as well for pattern interrupts.

PROPS ARE EVERYTHING. A few sites he recommends are amazon.com, orientaltrading.com and shindigz.com.

Keep attention, literally keep people curious and wondering what’s next in the video.

#1 Rule is that music creates emotion. We did a really cool exercise where you had to say a certain sentence with 3 different types of music in the background (first was angry, then sad, then motivational). The different music elicits different emotions.

Boring will put you out of business, and Facebook rewards great content. So really focus on making great content, and videos that solve problems.

Ed Mylett

ED MYLETT was up next!

He talked in detail about the 10 stages of the business life cycle. To keep it brief, I’ll just run through the list:

  1. Birth
  2. Infancy
  3. Toddler
  4. Teenager
  5. Young Adult
  6. Maximization (this is the place you want to stay where you reap rewards, have systems in place, leaders energize the business, and it is run by a management team)
  7. Mid-life evaluation
  8. Aging
  9. Institutionalization
  10. Death

Ed then talks about 7 Pillars:

  1. Define reality – create a specific business map, where are you really?
  2. Constant course correction
  3. Max out social media and marketing systems
  4. Sales and closing systems
  5. Constant competition and recognition programs
  6. Max out culture and client experience
  7. Evangelize and create a cult-like following

Joel Marion

Joel Marion was up next, who I actually never had heard of. Can you believe that this guy’s business did $700M within 6 years? Incredible!!

Joel talked about how email is still king… many of us have heard that it’s slowly dying. But apparently not.

He said that 83% of consumers prefer email, followed by FB at 38% and postal at 27%.

All transactions online still require email, not an IG username. So it is still king.

These days, more and more email lands up in the spam inbox. To combat this, he said the #1 strategy is to do regular list hygiene. As a rule of thumb, you should email to people who have opened your emails in the last 60 days.

Why?

They are more likely to open. If people stay subscribed but stop opening emails, it’s basically an “emotional unsubscribe.”

emailing to people who open your emails are less likely to mark messages as spam.

Here are some targets to aim for:

20% open rate and less than .1% spam complaints.

The #1 reason to build a list is that you own subscribers and customers as well as all data. More reasons is that email is more trackable. You can see who engaged, whereas on Instagram, you can’t see who bought directly from a post.

Email allows for robust segmentation and split testing.

For lead magnets, he mentioned to do a free report, free audio/video, or even a free 5 video mini course. Perhaps give away something that you see has the best engagement.

For me, my top podcast episode is 5 productivity hacks I recommend. I plan to create a  lead magnet out of this to offer to my audience.

Andy Frisella Part II

After lunch, Andy spoke again on mental toughness. He mentioned 5 keys to mental toughness:

  1. Know your purpose for pursuing mental toughness.
  2. You have to set your rules in stone. No compromises because compromise leads to quitting.
  3. Train yourself to love the “bitch voice” – you have an opportunity. Mental toughness grows.
  4. Attack a mosquito like it’s a moose. Listing little battles is what is the most lethal.
  5. Focus on what you’re gaining, not on what you’re giving up.

Key Takeaways:

Read this entire post over again! It’s packed with over $1000 of value when you consider tickets, airfare, and hotel fees.

Daily Motivation:

“Show me your schedule, and you show me your priorities.” – Ed Mylett said this during the Q&A at the event. This ties into what I’ve said before – if it’s important, get it on the calendar and make sure it gets done!

Actionable steps:

Get around like minded people… please please please take initiative. Find a meetup or networking event in your area. Start shaking some hands and meeting people face to face. You are one handshake away from changing your life.

I met influencers this weekend, millionaires, and people who are on the path to financial freedom alongside me. It is such an incredible feeling to connect so deeply with others that are on the same page.

Literally every person I met, we would freak out and talk about how we track our goals, our morning routines, all the books we’ve read and plan to read, and more. That is something that I can’t do with most friends or family… they’re just not interested in it.

On the plane right back, I had an Instagram story showing the whole plane sleeping… me, my friend Safir, and a new friend from the event that coincidentally lives in Houston were all working through the flight and reviewing our notes from the event.

THAT Is going the extra mile. Doing whatever you have to in order to get to the next level. Find people that are crazy driven and can hold you to higher standards… I am on fire right now with motivation.

With that, I will leave you with a note I wrote at the end of the conference notes in my journal… seriously, I have goosebumps reading this to you.

I am leaving this event incredibly inspired. There is ALWAYS another level. More to achieve, see, do and experience.

I’m leaving with a fire inside to continue pushing, to increase my HUNGER and level of urgency. The time is now!

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/ 

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Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast

Arete Syndicate Live: Key Takeaways – EMP077

Today’s episode covers the 20 pages of notes I took at the Arete Syndicate Live this past weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. 

This is easily over $1,000 of information I want to share with you for free because it was both tactical AND motivational.  

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE
https://chrisbello.com/ 

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