𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡! - Networking and Media Opportunity with Michelle Warner

Strategic Networking  is a key element of your media and speaking campaign strategy. We're talking with Michelle Warner who is an expert in that - and a speaker at the Break Through with Media summit, June 14-16 - and in this conversation Michelle shares

• the role it plays in your strategy
• how they came to be a leading expert
• some examples of people using it effectively, and
• more!

We're going even deeper on this at the summit - and all the other facets of your media, speaking, PR and publicity strategy

The BREAK THROUGH WITH MEDIA Summit is a FREE, virtual event, June 14 - 16, offering live interactive sessions with experts in the fields of media like television, podcasting, radio, magazine, and news, speaking, publicity, and PR to help entrepreneurs, authors, and start-ups quickly understand how they can step their brand up to more prestigious, credible platforms, stages, and pages

We want to provide an interactive expo experience for your to get the big picture, see the opportunities for you, and meet knowledgeable experts that can make this the year you have the break through you've been dreaming of.

REGISTER FREE at https://breakthroughin22.com/

You can find Michelle at: https://themichellewarner.com

Transcript

September Smith: 0:00

Welcome to the She's All That video podcast. This season of the podcast is all about the BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA virtual summit that we're holding and all about the amazing industry experts that are speaking at the summit who will give entrepreneurs, authors and thought leaders, people just like you, a powerful alternative to the fast-deteriorating tool of social media for your marketing and visibility. The next big opportunity that you need to rapidly uplevel your positioning and your reach is media exposure, TV, podcast, radio news, speaking opportunities, publicity, PR and more. The free BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit provides you with a constellation of experts information and strategy to give you the big picture of how you can get started. Our guest today is a key piece in that puzzle. And my guest today is Michelle Warner, who's going to be talking to us about network a mission. Michelle is the creator of networking that pays the introvert friendly, always awkward free connection system that brings in reliable leads consistent referrals, and meaningful connections in your business in just one message a day. Michelle, thank you so much for being with me today to talk about this very important topic.

Unknown: 1:15

Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

September Smith: 1:18

A lot of people, you know, might think of network networking is something kind of peripheral and not so important. But it is key. And we're gonna get into that. But first, what was your background that somehow had you going into this very strategic approach to networking?

Michelle Warner: 1:33

Well, it's probably not the background you would expect. But it's why I'm strategic about networking. I hate traditional networking, I find it very awkward. I am the person who hides in the bathrooms, if you send me to some sort of event and tell me to meet people, it is just not my thing. But I recognized the importance of having a strong network. And I recognize how that is one of the essential building blocks of a business, I had to figure out how to do it in a way that would work for me. And fast forward. And here we are, I had figured out that system for myself, I started sharing it with my clients. And guess what it works really, really well. And so I want other people to know how to do this. Because if you have a business, you need to have a network behind it. You have

September Smith: 2:14

no argument there. And that isn't, I would say that is not even just business. That's everything. Everything that we're doing in life is networking. And it

Michelle Warner: 2:25

is, you know, they say you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and that's about your network. But with your business, I would say your business is the average of your network, right? The quality of your network. And that's kind of unfortunate, no, in a way, because networking has turned into this thing that is so intimidating and hard. And people, if you're not natural at it, it's it's something we don't enjoy. But the reality is your business is the average of your network. So let's find a way to make it happen for you and make it

September Smith: 2:53

doable. And the whole, the reason why we're getting together at the BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit is for most people, it's innate of growing their business positioning, elevating themselves getting to the next level being seen. And that so it's all part of your business, and networking is all part of that. Such an important key myself as somebody who has a podcast or working with guests and also helping people become a good post podcasting guest. I'm shocked at how many people don't they forget that there's a networking bonus in there that you really need to make sure you leverage.

Michelle Warner: 3:30

Networking makes all that stuff easier, right? Yeah, all those strategies that you're trying to implement, having the correct network makes it all easier. And that's why the network is so important.

September Smith: 3:41

Okay, so just what what exactly, now most people have their own idea of like, oh, networking is and they envision either mass zoom call with 100 people or then the old days standing around at networking days with a drink on one hand, and later, something in the other not able to take business cards. What is strategic networking? Yeah,

Michelle Warner: 4:05

you nailed that everybody thinks of networking, they think of the activity that they do. And they forget to think about what is the actual goal of why you are networking. And that goal, when we don't define it, then you put yourself into these rooms of 100 people and you're just kind of meeting random people and you're calling that networking. Whereas what networking actually is, is defining what are Win Win relationships in your business, and going out and proactively finding ways to create those relationships. It is not meeting every random person and setting up you know, 100 coffee chats and hoping that something works out. And we forget to do that foundational piece. We forgot to say like where does networking work within my strategic funnel? And therefore who are the people who I should be connecting with to meet that goal of how networking fits in strategically?

September Smith: 4:52

Oh, I so agree with you. And in fact, a lot of I've heard a lot of networking gurus talk about you know like In the follow up and meet people and take the curds and how much time is being wasted when you're doing that if in fact you haven't strategically chosen, the group chose and the people chosen the location,

Michelle Warner: 5:12

so much time, you know, we all just love to hear about a strategy and go do something. And if you're not implementing the strategy correctly, you are just wasting so much time. And if you give yourself five minutes to figure out, who am I, why am I networking and therefore, who should I be networking with, then go do all that go meet all those people, but you're going to be doing it way more efficiently. And by the way, it is going to be way less awkward, because you will have a well thought out reason why you are reaching out to those folks. And a lot of the reason that networking gets a bad name and is awkward is because we don't we haven't thought through the reason why we're meeting people. And so we end up talking about the weather and having no idea why we're in conversation, or trying to invent ways to follow up with people, because we don't remember who these people were, we just feel like we're supposed to do it. Whereas when you have some clarity around why you are connecting with them, the conversation gets really easy. Because there's a natural winwin there.

September Smith: 6:03

And there's a real efficiency built in there, you're not having like one person, that's great connection out of 100. Hopefully, your ratio is more like nine out of 10.

Michelle Warner: 6:14

Exactly. I always tell the story. Back in the day, when we were traveling to conferences, I would regularly travel to a conference because I knew one or two people who would be there that I wanted to meet, they met my networking goal. And I would go to that conference with a plan on how I was going to meet those people. And I would spend the rest of the time in my hotel room doing work because the rest of the conferences I you know if the rest of the conference wasn't applicable to me, right? Because I would meet my ROI of attending that event by meeting those two people. And that was my goal. So why waste the rest of my time meeting a bunch of random people, if there wasn't a reason to do that, I was better off doing other things. And we just don't think that way. We think I'm at an event, I better go to every single session. And maybe if you're there to learn that is true. But if you're there to meet a couple of people, it is a massive waste of your time to then feel like you have to go to every single session to meet 100 people, when actually we're only there to meet two people.

September Smith: 7:04

Hmm, yeah. Using your time efficiently. So when we're thinking about this in terms of media, I mean, basically, it's another business transaction when you're looking to get or in media. And as you said, one of the goals should be like, what is that win win? Outcome?

Michelle Warner: 7:22

Yeah, absolutely. Go ahead.

September Smith: 7:25

No, no. So I was going to say, so when you're looking at it in terms of media, I mean, yeah, you do have to get strategic is like, what do I want? What do I hope to achieve? But also, what am I providing for that person? So that's the foundation of that strategy. Where would you go from there?

Michelle Warner: 7:40

Yeah, I would start to think about, again, why is media in your plan in the first place, and let's not react to every single media opportunity that you hear might be available to you, because the other person on the side of a media hit is looking for value for their readers or for their listeners, or whatever type of media, it might be their viewers. And so if you are taking the time to be very clear about what media fits in your strategy, your pitches are going to be much better received, and it is actually going to be a win for the other person on the other end. Because your content will be a match for what they are looking for, for their readers, that's typically the win for them that they actually get really great content. And usually, when we're thinking about media, we're thinking about just send a pitch to absolutely everybody. And it's being a little dramatic, but that's actually how a lot of people do it. Just send out these huge blanket pitches and try to get placed anywhere in everywhere. Whereas one or two really perfect placements are gonna go much further for you. And I will get you the return invite, because there's no perfect for your audience. And for that for the media's audience.

September Smith: 8:41

Yeah, I mean, that you're just doubling the benefit. You gotta have the time there, if you're going to actually be invited to the next opportunity as well. And one of the networking things that I see that people are missing in the media, in their efforts to get earn media is, yeah, you get on a show, you're with that person. And then they walk away from that show at the ends, like Yeah, by, and they're walking away from the opportunity to actually create a deeper relationship, because networking is all about relationships.

Michelle Warner: 9:13

Absolutely, absolutely. And that's where I talk about a concept called an ideal connection avatar, we all know who our ideal client avatar is. We also have an ideal connection avatar. And when you're in a situation with earned media, you know what the long term Win Win and what that relationship is. So if you have that first opportunity to be interviewed by someone or to meet someone, if they're an ideal connection, Avatar, you've had the opportunity to think through what is your next ask of them? And how do you build that relationship for the long term again, because there's a natural Win win there. There's a reason you're in front of that person. So that person is probably going to say to you, how can I help you? You know, when you finish up, how can I help you what's next for you? What are you thinking about? And you will have an answer to that? Maybe the answer to that is could you introduce me to more people who look like you and they're generally willing to do that if you showed up great for their audience, or it could be, you know, I would love to talk about a deeper collaboration that we could have. And when you're really clear about what your goals are, those are very easy conversations to have.

September Smith: 10:11

Yeah. And even just like applying that to the whole search for what are the shows, I want to be on that ideal connection? Avatar is actually a really useful key piece in that search.

Michelle Warner: 10:23

Yeah. Because think about not only I want to meet the person, because I want to be on this piece of media. But why do I want to be on this piece of media? What is the long term strategy? Am I trying to meet clients? Am I trying to raise my profile? What am I? What is my goal? Why is why did that media make the cut? And that will start to tell you what the natural next steps are?

September Smith: 10:43

Yeah. And I think another good question to ask at the end of it in case they don't say like, How can I help you? Or what are you looking for? is, how can I help you you as that person on their guest, the guest on the show is like, How can I help you? Because I mean, nothing tightens a bond and a connection, then you help me?

Michelle Warner: 11:00

Absolutely. Remember you. When you are limiting yourself to only those really good options, it can feel limiting at first, but it also gives you the time to help them. And in a world where maybe you're trying to get placed on a million different podcasts, you're not gonna have time to promote all those opportunities. So when you're really clear about what's a match, you're going to be able to go all in and promote your appearance to your own audience, on that on that media, and the media is going to appreciate that, right? That's where you start having a real back and forth where you're not just looking at it from a transactional standpoint of what can I do for myself? But how can I then be in a position to return that favor in the best way that I can?

September Smith: 11:41

That whole thing? The whole collaborative thing is what we're looking for apps, how can I help you? How can you help me what what helps both of us mutual benefit?

Michelle Warner: 11:49

mutual benefit for the long term, right, let's look at this opportunity as the moment or meeting not as the complete transaction. Yes. So if this is the moment we're meeting, what's next, what's next? What's next. And that becomes a back and forth of you each helping each other.

September Smith: 12:05

Now, one of the things that I definitely want to touch on, you just describe how you work with people is with a tech have an approach to networking that is introvert friendly. So why is there a difference between introverts and extroverts and how they network and how they should be networking?

Michelle Warner: 12:24

Yeah, I have found this to be really surprising when I got into the weeds. So I thought I have a system for networking. And it involves identifying your goal and identifying your ideal connection avatar. And as an introvert myself, I found that that made networking doable for me. So again, I'm not going into a room and just meeting people that's going to always end really badly for me. And I see that with a lot of introverts, where if you don't have this clarity, networking is not even something that you can do. So when we break you into this system, as an introvert, you're able to follow the system, now you have a purpose for why you're approaching someone and you're not approaching that person through just hoping to get lucky at events, you have a strategic way that you're going to proactively approach them. And, again, not just hope to run into them. So this system makes it doable for introverts because it gives you a system to hide behind. And it's not just you having to put yourself out there and go meet people at the same time. And this is where this really surprised me, my extroverts who don't necessarily have problems meeting people, wildly inefficient, because they like to talk to everybody and meet everybody in the room. And so their networking efforts, while on the surface, they look good. They're inefficient, and they're not getting as much as they could, and they're wasting a ton of time. So if we can get our extroverts focused on having a networking goal, having an ideal connection, Avatar and kind of getting into this system that I teach, their results just are astounding, and because we're able to channel their energy. And so that's where I think it's really cool when you have a system that makes it doable for introverts. So we take away that, that that problem that they have with their businesses, where we were talking about a network is critical for your business. And when you don't have one, it's not possible for you that is a really not great position to be in. So we make it possible for you to have a network. And then for extroverts, we just channeled that energy and allow you to absolutely explode your results with your networking because you're doing it strategically.

September Smith: 14:21

That's so incredible that there's like two different approaches for the different ones for the either camps. So as an introvert using this methodology is not only more successful, it's actually more comfortable.

Michelle Warner: 14:34

I find it to be very much more comfortable. And my clients find the same thing. Because again, it's not just oh, go network and meet people. That's generally the advice we get that feels very impossible to an introvert. Because, yeah, it's stressful. I'm put into a situation where I have to figure out what to say to these people and this and that and the other thing when I have a purpose, and I don't have to go into a room and try to figure out which one of these people might get lucky and be a good connection after a lot of awkward small talk. but instead I'm in that situation where I'm going to an event, I can do my homework beforehand, I can be clear on what I want. And I can know, oh, I'm going to go to this event because I need to meet this one person or these two people. This is how I'm going to do that. This is what I'm going to say to them. And it's going to be a predefined, when when I can hide behind that system and know that my success is virtually guaranteed. Nothing's ever guaranteed. But I've done everything to set that up. So that it's guaranteed, as opposed to going into this, you know, completely blank space and just told, Go meet some people and find some collaborations that's virtually impossible for an introvert.

September Smith: 15:36

Yeah, if you don't have a system is virtually impossible for an extrovert as well. I mean, to actually find valuable collaborative network network,

Michelle Warner: 15:43

exactly, the extrovert will go into that room and meet absolutely everyone and set up follow up calls for everyone and waste their next two weeks, following up with a bunch of people that have no purpose. And that's why it ends up working for both groups in a way that is really cool and unexpected to me.

September Smith: 15:58

I can see that your MBA and your business background is really bringing a real technical strategic approach, systematic approach to this. I love that. Well, Michelle, thank you so much for being here with me today. And if anybody else is thinking, I need to find out more about this, you definitely should, because Michelle and I are going to be going deeper at the BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit, where we're going to be covering how strategic networking is a key element of your media campaign, how it can help, we're going to go deeper than what we did today, how you should be using it. And what people need to do need what people need to know to do it effectively, and tips, strategies and action steps to make this a powerful part of how you'll be breaking through with media this year. Michelle, where can people find you,

Michelle Warner: 16:47

they can find me over at the Michellewarner.com. And there's a free training there where you can can check out some of the networking as well.

September Smith: 16:54

Okay, and I'm also going to be putting your links down in the show notes below. And if you want to learn more about how you can be using this to get media exposure, speaking engagements, PR publicity, and how this can help your business. Make sure you register for the free three day BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit, June 14 to 16th to come be with Michelle, myself and an exciting array of industry experts who are going to be helping you learn how you and your business can really have that big breakthrough that you need. The link for the registration is down below in the notes. You will not want to miss this. Michelle, thanks so much for being with me today.

Michelle Warner: 17:30

Oh, it was my pleasure. And I can't wait to see everyone at the summit.

September Smith: 17:34

And that was just one of the amazing guests that we have at the BREAK THROUGH with MEDIA Summit, a three day live virtual event happening June 14 to the 16th to give entrepreneurs authors and thought leaders a panoramic overview of the opportunities, the skills required and the services and tools that you can be using media exposure, speaking opportunities, PR publicity and more to have the major breakthrough that you are looking for 20 industry experts three days all available right from wherever you are and it's free. Register at the link below in the show notes. You will not want to miss this!