Note: This transcript was auto generated then some poor soul sat and listened to it, and followed through correcting any mistakes they spotted. Please however expect human error and shout if you spot an issue. Email: lee [fancy curly symbol] trailblazer.fm.
Verbatim text
Lee Matthew Jackson
Welcome to the WP Innovator Podcast, the podcast for web designers and design agencies exploring the world of WordPress and online business. And now, your host, Lee Jackson.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Hi and welcome to the WP Innovator Podcast. This is your host, Lee, and today it’s you and me, and we’re going to be talking all about networking. So that’s not computer networking, because for many of you that may be very boring, although in a previous life that was pretty much all I did. But we’re actually going to be talking about networking to actually generate leads for your WordPress or your web-based business. So listen up, sit back, relax, take notes, and enjoy as we break down what we do here at Lee Jackson Dev.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Now We as a business run very similar to any web agency because we do need to go out there and generate leads. We need to connect with our target audience the same as you would be connecting with the target audience. Obviously, our target audience are web designers, design agencies, because we supply them. But the way we go about networking would apply very much to our own clients, to web designers, to design agencies. You can go out and generate leads for your web business with your target audience in the same method that we would do.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And that would be through local networking, going online, and also through things like big events, conferences, etc. So what I’m going to do is I’m going to talk through all the different ways that we generate leads as a business through networking. And the first one we’re going to talk about, or the first area we’re going to talk about, is where do we network? Where would we go networking? So if you think about this right now, you’re sitting in a city or you’re sitting in a village, wherever you are.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Personally, we’re in a village or a very small town. And if I think about that, right, there’s a whole load of businesses all around me. There’s lots of businesses that need websites, etc., which is great. So what’s the best way to go and meet these businesses? Not usually to send them a, a cold email, not usually to send them some mail in the post.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Maybe to go into their shop. Maybe that would be a good way kind of thing, but people don’t really like to be sold at. So the way we’ve gone around generating leads, generating business, and getting to know local people is to go to those networking groups. And they are predominantly breakfast meetings, although you can get some which are in the day and you can get some which are in the evening. Now the danger for me is if I went in the day and had a nice big lunch, I’ll tend to want to fall asleep in the afternoon.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So that’s not really good for me. But I am an early riser, so I do like to get up early and have a full English breakfast. So that’s the sausages, the bacon, the eggs, the beans, you name it, all slapped on a plate, and have a great conversation with a whole load of local people. So I’ll go to a couple of groups locally. So to find the groups, all I did was I went on the internet and typed in business networking Wellingborough, and Boom, there is a whole load of groups.
Lee Matthew Jackson
I think when I first launched Lee Jackson Dev, the first one I went to was a 4N Networking. It was a local group, and within there, there was actually already a designer. It was great to chat to the designer because obviously they’re my target audience, but also it was great to meet all the other local businesses there. And I’ve met a lot of those local businesses time and time again in different networking groups whilst I’ve gone and explored which would be the best networking group for me to kind of invest most of my time in. So after that, I did figure that that particular group wasn’t going to be for me because there was quite a lot of financial commitment and the group was still quite small.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And I did want to go and find out who else there was around there. So I spent quite a bit of time for the first few weeks just visiting different networking groups and finding out where were the groups where people there I gelled with and the format of the meeting was kind of conducive to good conversations, etc. And it wasn’t long before I found a couple of groups which I’ve been able to go to regularly, and I’ve made a lot of good friends. Now, that’s really, really important. It’s, it’s that the idea of making friends.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So it’s been great. I’ve met lots of local businesses. I’ve also met throughout those travels lots of design agencies and web designers, and we’ve been able to do joint ventures, partnerships. We’ve been able to actually do business where they’ve been my client, or even I’ve been their client. It’s, it’s just been amazing.
Lee Matthew Jackson
It’s been a great time and great local businesses. There is a wealth of opportunity at your doorstep. A lot of the time as a web agency, we may think that we need to go on the internet and generate business that way. We might be going down the email marketing route or the Facebook marketing route, etc., and getting frustrated when there is actually a wealth of local opportunities to both be the supplier and also to find excellent suppliers that will help you grow your business as well. So for example, you know, I’m using a local business consultant who is helping me with packages, giving me good advice, both on a personal level and also with regards to the business as well.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And that’s a local business, a local lady just down the road. So although yes, I would love the John Lee Dumas of the world to, you know, be my coach and tell me what to do. I mean, that’s probably a long way off. Yet I get the benefit of somebody who’s been in business for many years, who’s got a lot of experience, and I’m able to physically meet with that person, have coffee, sometimes even have breakfast, etc., and get the benefit of their wisdom. And that has been through local networking and through making those friendships.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Now, the other place as well that we will network, not just at breakfast meetings, but we will tend to go to the conferences as well. And there’s two types of conferences. Sometimes there are the local conferences, exhibitions, or events which would be put on for local business. And it’s always great to go there because you’ll find that the people you network with locally are quite often at those events there with their own stand. So it’s great to go along and to support them, go and take some selfies with them, share it on social media, etc., because all of that just wins you kudos, etc., wins you friendships, all that sort of thing.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So it’s really good to go and support them, but also you’ll meet other businesses there that you will never have known of. And again, we’re not really scouting for clients necessarily, we’re just going out there to meet local businesses, to talk, to find out about them, etc. And we’re going to unpack the sort of networking that we do in a short while. But yeah, that’s the, the local conferences and events. And we’ll also go out to the big industry-specific events.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So for example, I went to the New Media Europe conference only the other week, and that was very much focused on podcasting. And online digital marketing, etc. So I had the opportunity there to meet a whole slew of brilliant people. The speakers there were fantastic, so I learned so much. But the beauty of it was, was that it was 2 days of networking, of making great friendships with people.
Lee Matthew Jackson
My Facebook group— not Facebook group, sorry, my Facebook friendship went through the roof because I think I met about 20 to 30 new people. So 20 to 30 new friends. I joined a couple of groups that were therefore related And I made great contacts with two of the speakers there as well. One of those speakers is now a supplier that they’re actually doing a big branding project with me, which is amazing. And also one of the other speakers has actually become a client, which is amazing.
Lee Matthew Jackson
It’s, you know, we’re actually doing a build for them right now. And only the other day I was doing some of the code for that and sending over some messages and they were sending me some freaking awesome messages back as well, saying how excited they are and, and how much they love what we’ve done. So that was, that was a great experience. But that was just by spending £200 and going to a local— uh, not local, sorry, a London-based, which is kind of local to us, a London-based event that was something in our industry where people in our industry were about. But also, you know, the opportunity there to make friendships was there, and boom, we met potential customers, and we also met potential suppliers, and obviously we also met and made good friends.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And then the whole other area is online. So I’ve just talked about, hey, we all feel like we need to generate business online. Well, yes we do, but the way we’ve generated business has not necessarily been in that email campaign way or the online Facebook ad way. And yes, I would love to learn more about how to do that because it looks like a great way of generating leads, etc., marketing funnels, all those sorts of things. And that’s why we’ve had a few people on in in the past talking about that, and we want more people on really to help educate us and educate me really as an agency on how to do that.
Lee Matthew Jackson
But the way that we’ve done things online has tended to be more focused again on relationships. So we’ll have looked for specific groups to be a part of, or we’ll have tweeted people that we really feel that we might have some sort of synergy with. And that word is a bit of a cliché word. I think that you’ll hear a lot of people in networking say synergy, but I have just no freaking other understanding of what other word to say You know, that kind of, uh, I guess it’s a word that just describes where, you know, the two of you would mesh well together. So synergy kind of just works.
Lee Matthew Jackson
But yeah, exactly, finding those sorts of people. So going online and joining those groups, and I don’t just mean Facebook, there is great LinkedIn groups as well, and there are also great hashtags to follow where people are having conversations. So one of the examples that we would do networking is we actually bring our local networking online through Twitter because we have a Northants Hour Twitter section, as it were. 8 o’clock on a Thursday, it would be #NorthantsHour, and we’d be able to tweet and have conversations with people. You know, it might not necessarily be to do with business.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Yes, we might say, hey, we’re looking for these sorts of clients, etc., but most of the time we’ll be having conversations, you know, about the— well, right now it’s the Rio Olympics, so I’m assuming this Thursday people might be talking about the Rio Olympics, or someone might be watching X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent or all those other things. And we’ll all be talking about it online, as well as introducing people to each other as well. So I’ve, I’ve definitely done that a few times, you know, hey Harry, have you met Sally? Because you two might get on really well. Name that film.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So there you go, there’s kind of three sources therefore of networking for us. There’s the local, which we’re kind of committing to regularly attending local, local networking— sorry, there’s the conferences where we’re going to some local and some more kind of international conferences, and then there’s the networking online. So that’s, that’s kind of the 3 areas that we would network as a, as a, as a business. And you do have to network in slightly different ways, and I’ve kind of covered that a little bit. Now I want to then unpack what do we do, or what do I do at a networking meeting.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Now the most important thing about about a networking meeting is do not go to sell to the room. Networking is not about taking a bunch of business cards, maybe flyers and a big roller banner, maybe some free pens, and then advertising your wares to the room, hoping that you are going to come out of that with a sale. Because frankly, it’s probably going to die a death. You might, you might get very lucky, you might get a lead, great, but that’s going to be rare. Networking is more of a long time or a long-term investment in making friends, building up relationships.
Lee Matthew Jackson
In fact, I definitely see the whole aspect of making friends and building up relationships as the absolute most important part of networking. There is another important part, I’ll tell you that in a sec, but one of the key areas of networking is about making friends. We’re all in business, it’s stressful. It is so good and so important to make friends who we can share these sorts of problems with, uh, learn from each other For example, one of the meetings that we go to, they’ll have a brainstorming session where you can bring up a problem and say, hey, you know, I’m having a problem getting someone paying me. And then you get the business brain from around the room, different people saying, well, hey, have you tried this?
Lee Matthew Jackson
Have you sent— tried sending this type of letter or etc.? You know, you’re getting the help from all those people. That support network for small businesses is absolutely needed. And even if you’re a big business, maybe the CEO of a very big design agency, that’s awesome, but it can be lonely. So hey, get down to some local network networking events, it would be great to make good friends.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So that’s the first thing we’ll do. We will go make friends. You’re not going to get on with everyone, it’s absolutely impossible. And I’ll be honest, there are some people out there in the networking scene that I think, you know what, you’re all right, but I don’t really want to hang around with you too much. But yeah, I will go and make some friends and gel with people that I really gel with.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So what do I then do? Well, when I’m making friends, I’ll ask questions. I want to learn about that person, I want to learn about their family, have a good laugh, etc., and also learn about their business. And people absolutely love it when you ask questions of them because, frankly, people love to talk about themselves. Look what I’m doing.
Lee Matthew Jackson
I’m, what, I don’t know, 15 minutes in and I’ve been talking about myself now for 15 minutes. There you go. People like to talk about themselves. And when you ask them questions and you listen, you learn so much about them and you’re bonding with them, etc., and they’re going to start asking you questions and that relationship is going to get built up over time. You’re going to learn about them, their lives, what makes them tick, etc.
Lee Matthew Jackson
But you’re also going to learn about their business, what it is they do, the problems that they’re solving, the sorts of people that they work with, some of the storeys that they might have as a business. You know, I’ve helped this lady out the other day because she had a problem with the boiler or whatever it is. You know, all these sorts of storeys are just really useful storeys because the next thing that we will do with our networking is over time we will start to look for opportunities to refer business to the people that we’ve met and the people that we’ve started to build up those relationships with. So we’ve made friends with them, we’ve been asking them questions, we’ve learned about their business, we’ve learned about the sort of target audience that they have, those people that would make ideal customers for them. And then we’ve begun to listen out for opportunities.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And this, this is again, one of the key important things about networking. It is about helping other people. If you’re going into a room looking to sell, you’re not very likely to sell your stuff. But if you go out looking for other people, trying to refer them work, getting them opportunities, etc., they are not going to forget what you did for them, and they are definitely going to help you out in the future. And other people as well are going to see that you are bringing in opportunities for other people, and they’re going to want to maybe get in there as well with you and maybe pass you opportunities and hope that they’ll receive stuff in the future as well.
Lee Matthew Jackson
It’s very much that principle. It’s a BNI principle I hear a lot that is give as gain. And it’s true, you know, I mean, we don’t give to get, we actually give to just help other people. But the— I guess you could call it karma or whatever, but the net result is that it’s going to come around to you at some point. Everyone’s not just going to willingly keep accepting stuff off you for free forever.
Lee Matthew Jackson
People are going to want to help you back in return as a way of thanking. So those two big important areas, you know, making those friends and helping those people that you are making friends with, really listening out for those opportunities. So those are the sorts of things that we will do in a network meeting. And when I say making friends, I mean, we literally have had people around with their families and, and my family eating at the table, or we’ve gone to their houses, etc. We’re not just talking about getting pally at the networking event.
Lee Matthew Jackson
We mean like really making some good local business friends, and it doesn’t have to be your target audience at all. You’re making friends with people that you get on with and you can support each other in that way. But then you’re going to learn about their business. You’re going to be able to give them opportunities. I mean, you don’t know who other people know.
Lee Matthew Jackson
You know, the plumber may actually be really well connected with your target audience. Maybe he’s come from that background or whatever. You just don’t know who other people know. So it’s really great in networking to be able to make friends. You’re not going in like I said, to sell to a room of people because you’re not very likely to sell a whole load of websites that way.
Lee Matthew Jackson
You’re going there to make friends and to help other people. And the net result— that’s why it is a bit more of a long-term experience with networking— the net result is going to be that you are going to start seeing opportunities. And like I said, over the last 3 years of networking, we have had great opportunities, we’ve had great clients, and some of them very big paying clients as well. Despite the fact it’s local business, there is a lot of money locally. So we’ve had good big opportunities, we’ve done great partnerships with local businesses, and we’ve also found fantastic suppliers.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And that might be a surprise to think, oh, I’m going to go networking to spend money on a supplier. But hey, you actually get to meet a supplier face to face, you become friends with them, and they end up giving you their absolute best service. You know, they’re local, they know you, you see each other regularly at these meetings, you have coffee together and a chat together. And when they work for you, they give you their best. And I know I give my local clients my best because I want them to be happy, and I, I want to really help them out because I know that’s going to help me as well in the long run.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Now, during a networking meeting, you will know that there is that terribly scary 60-second pitch. So you’ve got to stand up for 60 seconds, or 45 seconds in some places, but it’s usually around 60 seconds and you need to tell the room about you. And I’m going to remind you again, this is not really a sales pitch. This is not you trying to say, hey, we’ve got a great offer on this package of website for everyone in this room. If you sign here, dot there, and cross there, etc., you will get this amazing deal, only $995.
Lee Matthew Jackson
No, this is about educating the, the group of people in your network about your business and these sorts of clients you have and the sorts of opportunities that you might be looking for. So if I’m going to do a 60-second pitch, I will usually start with my name. It’s usually very helpful because, you know, there are visitors there, they don’t know who, who I am necessarily, and some people are a bit forgetful. So I’ll start with my name and the company name. So that’s Lee Jackson from Lee Jackson Dev, and then I’ll usually put in brackets because I couldn’t think of any other name.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Anyway, and then I will explain what problem do I I solve and for whom? What is the problem that I solve? Who do I solve that problem for? So I might talk about a design agency that are very busy with designs and they need somebody else to be doing the code because either they can’t do the code in-house or all of their developers are just too busy, so they need some outside help. And then I will and, you know, put myself forward as the solution.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So to the room, I’m not saying, hey everyone, I can code for you. I’m actually telling them who and what the problem is, okay? And then I might also kind of help illustrate that with an example storey and say, you know, what I did— some such-and-such agency called up, they were really struggling, they had a tight deadline, I was able to turn it around in a week, the client was very happy, etc., etc., etc. And that’s great as well because that adds credibility to what I’ve been talking about, and it also helps relate that message to people. People— I mean, let’s go biblical a second.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Jesus talked in parables, and that was to help those people at that time understand things, to help illustrate things. And he— I think he was on to something, because talking in stories, parables, you know, it really does help people remember what you were talking about. It helps people to connect with what you’re talking about as well. So, you know, putting in that sample story, something that you’ve done this week, even if you’re telling the same storey for a few weeks, it really doesn’t matter. Or a storey from 3 years ago, as long as it helps illustrate the point you’re trying to make, or, you know, or sets that scene so that people can connect with that.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And then lastly, I’ll usually finish off with a reminder of my name and company name. And I know when I’ve been to BNI meetings, they’ll usually have some kind of clever memory hook as well. So I might say, if I’ll visit a BNI meeting, I’ll say, um, So this is Lee from Lee Jackson Dev, getting your design online, because the idea of that is they’re going to remember that memory hook. And it kind of talks about who I am as a business, what do I do. So I’m speaking out to design agencies, hey guys, I’ll get your design online.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Bit cheesy, but hey, it kind of works. So if you want to throw in a memory hook as well, bit of fun, then that’s the sort of thing you can do as well. All right, so we’ve covered where do we network, that’s local, that’s conferences, and online. We’ve talked about what kind of goes on in a networking meeting for us with regards to making friends, looking for opportunities for other people, getting brainpower from the room, learning from other businesses. And we’ve also talked about what we would cover in our 60-second pitch.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And we’ve also covered the importance of not selling to the room. Okay. But there are other things that you can do beyond that meeting, and that is get social. And I don’t mean social media, although that does play a part. But getting social is going to some local meetups.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Sometimes after the networking, people will then arrange to go for beers one evening. They might go and watch the football, they might go to a show, etc. So it is about, you know, getting those friendships to be something more than just a Thursday or a Tuesday every week with breakfast. But you know, I mentioned earlier where I’ve had people around for dinner, you know, those sorts of things, getting social, getting You know, making friends with these people. I know it’s impossible to make friends with absolutely everyone, so I’m not saying, you know, fill out your calendar and go out for meals with every single local business in the world.
Lee Matthew Jackson
But for those people that you do get on with, it’s great to get social with them. And then also you can make friends with them on Facebook, on Twitter, etc., to be a part of their lives, to see what they’re doing, and they see what you’re up to. But also then you can comment and have a laugh and a bit of banter as well. On the sorts of things that they’re doing. So that kind of takes things beyond just the networking meeting where you’re kind of all there because you kind of feel like you have to, and you’re actually then getting social with those people that you do really get on with, that you value the friendship of, etc.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So that’s something that we make sure that we do as well. And, you know, to be honest, I’m just thinking recently we’ve not had anyone around for maybe a month or two because it’s been pretty busy here at Lee Jackson Dev, so You know, I’m kind of preaching to myself right now. I need to get out there and go and call a few of the guys and make sure that we go out for beer and darts at some point in the near future. And if you’re local to Northampton, feel free to hit me up. I love to go out for beer and darts.
Lee Matthew Jackson
I’m absolutely terrible at darts. I’m not hustling, I’m rubbish, but I love to play it. And obviously I love a good beer. So hey, there’s the invite. LeeJacksonDev.com/contact.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Hit me up for beer and darts. Yeah. All right, let’s talk about another way of network working, and then we’ll kind of do a little conclusion, and then we’ll wrap up, and I’ll let you enjoy your weeks. But first, let me just tell you that today is my birthday. I’m recording this on August 7th, ready for tomorrow, and it’s my birthday.
Lee Matthew Jackson
I am 34. Isn’t that freaking amazing? I know you think I look older on the pictures— on the pictures. Sorry, I got a bit upset there. It’s, it’s the hair.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Oh I’m joking. It is the hair. It makes me look older, although some nice people will tell me I look younger. So, um, feel free to message me and just say, hey Lee, I actually thought you were 24, because even though I’ll know you’re lying, I’ll really appreciate it. But I just wanted to tell you it’s my birthday, not because I want loads of birthday messages— I want loads of birthday messages— but also I love podcasting, and I actually asked my wife if she would allow me, as part of my gift today, to be able to just sit in my little studio here and just chat about stuff that’s on my heart, that’s in my mind that I wanted to share with you because you are awesome for listening.
Lee Matthew Jackson
I appreciate it so much that there is an audience who want to kind of join in the journey that we are going on as an agency and also learn from the journeys of everyone else. And this podcast to me has been an absolute gift. I enjoy it so much and I’ve met so many people and I want to use this spot as well just to encourage you to get in touch. Now, I said if you’re local, you want to get a beer. Great.
Lee Matthew Jackson
But also, I do really want to hear from people. I’ve been getting loads of great messages from people maybe asking questions or maybe giving encouragement, etc., but I really do want to meet other people in the listenership. So you can meet us obviously over at the Facebook group. You may have noticed I talk about that a lot. LeeJacksonDev.com/group will redirect you to Facebook, and we’ll all be there.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And there’s about 130 people now, I think, and, and counting, which is awesome. But also I’d really love to connect with you on a one-to-one level. So I’ve had quite a few Skype calls with people, and I’m not charging anyone. I just want to make friends. This is a way of networking socially.
Lee Matthew Jackson
We are starting to build a community here at WP Innovator, and we’re meeting great people. We’ve got the community online, but also we’ve got a community slowly building through emails, through Skype, through those sorts of friendships as well. So I’ve been making friends with listeners and with guests. That’s been such a blessing to my life. I hope I’ve been able to bless others as well who I’ve spoken to.
Lee Matthew Jackson
You know, I’ve met a really great guy called Chris the other day. We had an awesome conversation about a niche in his business, you know, and I hope that was a blessing to him. He was then talking about some of the things he did, and I learned from him instantly. I was like, freaking, hey, I could apply that, you know. And we’re all friends on Facebook as well, which is great, so people can comment, etc.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So, you know, hey, it’s my birthday, big whoop, I’m 34, but You know, do get in touch, do connect on the Facebook group, do feel free to send me an email, do feel free to arrange a Skype call for a chat to maybe pick my brain, or maybe just give me the benefit of your, uh, your wisdom and, and, um, give me some ideas for the podcast, all that sort of stuff, because it’ll just be freaking awesome. Let’s have a natter. Okay, so there’s my little, uh, my little, uh, pitch there to people to get in touch. That’s all cool. So let’s wrap up with the last way that we network, and that is networking online.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Yes, we are online businesses. You can network online. It is a little bit different, but it’s also a little bit the same. And the reason it’s different is pretty obvious. You’re not all in the same room having a really fatty breakfast every single Tuesday.
Lee Matthew Jackson
I get that, that’s the different bit. You’re not physically in the same room, although conferences and those big events all around the globe are great ways of physically meeting up with those people that you meet online. And I cannot recommend that enough because again, I’ve met some of the people that I’ve met with, that worked with online, eventually I’ve met them then at a conference, and that’s taken the relationship up to the next level. You know, there’s nothing like— excuse me— there’s nothing like meeting somebody in person. That’s freaking awesome.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So obviously that’s the big difference on online networking. And yet I still have some amazing friends. You’ll know Sarah Moore. She’s been on the podcast at least twice now. She is such a good friend.
Lee Matthew Jackson
She’s somebody that I think about often. We’ll Snapchat each other, conversations, telling each other about what’s going on in our lives. Um, all those sorts of things. Hey guys, you know I’m a man of God, so it’s like now and again I’ll be praying about something for her, etc., and I’ll be sharing that with her as well, you know. So I’ve made friends with people all around the world.
Lee Matthew Jackson
She’s in Australia. We’ve never yet met. We can’t meet— sorry, we can’t wait to meet. That would be freaking awesome. But we’ve never met.
Lee Matthew Jackson
She’s also been a supplier of mine as well because we met online through online networking. I grew to know, like, and trust her. That’s very important. We made friends, etc., and then I was able to give her some business for about 6 months where she was able to totally change the way we did our online social media strategy. I mean, that’s freaking awesome.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And that was a real result— sorry— of online networking. Yes, we’ve also then generated business and leads online, and we’ve generated, um, nowadays in the last— yes, it’s definitely the last year— about 80% now of our business is generated through through online networking, some of it supplemented with the local networking or going to conferences as well. So meeting up with people to really help build up that relationship to the next level. But most of the relationships have started online, and that’s how we’ve done this with our networking as well. Now we’ve actually started networking with local businesses online through different groups, and then we’re then meeting them at physical networking groups to then carry on building up those relationships, which then has led to opportunities either directly through them or through people that they So let me talk about online networking.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Online networking, the main ways you can do this are through groups. So there’s a great group called WP Innovator. If you want to go along to that, it’s leejacksondev.com/group, and you’ll be redirected and you’ll find a great group of web designers and design agencies that you can grow to know, like, and trust, and to do business with each other and help each other out, be friends, all of that good stuff. But also you know, go and find those groups online. Where are those groups?
Lee Matthew Jackson
And let’s, let’s just think about this for a second. If you’re going to go and join one of these online groups, what’s the one thing you should not go and do? It’s go and sell to that group. If you imagine that group is like a networking meeting, it’s like a room, and you’re gonna go in there and just say, I do this, I do this, I do this, only $5.99, only $6.99, whatever it is, you’re probably either going to get blocked, people are going to ignore you, they’re just going to be annoyed with the fact that you’re advertising at them. Going into these groups is the same way as networking physically.
Lee Matthew Jackson
You’re gonna go in there and make friends. You’re gonna want to add value to help people out. Look through the group, what questions are being asked? Do you know the answer? Can you help with that?
Lee Matthew Jackson
So for example, with our group at the WP Innovator, people have asked about contracts. I’ve asked questions and people have shared, you know, the benefit of their wisdom, their experience. I mean, the contract one was phenomenal. We had loads of people sharing links about about the contracts they’ve used, and I’ve learned of contracts I’d never heard of, online contract templates that you could use for different scenarios. I’ve also learned of software as well from different people adding value to the group.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And you notice those people, and you want to learn more about those people, and you end up becoming Facebook friends with those people. And then before long, they’ve either recommended someone to you or you’ve recommended someone to them. I mean, only yesterday— no, 2 days ago, I recommended somebody who reached out on the— I think they’re from the WP Innovator to a guy that I know that I haven’t been networking with online for a while, who I then met up with at NMAU. And that was for social— for, um, not social, that was for search engine optimisation. So the guy reached out to me, said, do you know anyone who is good at SEO?
Lee Matthew Jackson
And yes, I do. I know someone I’ve networked with online and physically at the conference who is brilliant at SEO and has shown me amazing proven results. Of their SEO, which is really quite phenomenal because I’ve not really met many SEO guys who have that sort of background. So I was able to connect those two people together, I was able to add value, and hopefully at some point the, you know, whoever benefited from that relationship, etc., or that introduction, they may choose to help me again in the future and maybe pass some business my way. So it’s very similar, it’s that the whole aspect of networking online You know, it, it’s very, very similar to the physical networking, except the difference is you’re not physically in the room, but you, you know, you’re in these groups— LinkedIn, on Facebook, you’re in these groups and you can make friends and you can add value and you can help people out with the questions.
Lee Matthew Jackson
You know, we talked about that brainstorming and people answering questions. You know, you can do all of that sort of thing, and people start to notice that. People notice that you’re a helpful person. You’re not in there to sell to the room or anything. You’re actually in there to make friends and to add value.
Lee Matthew Jackson
People are going to appreciate that. They’re going to friends with you. And it’s really important as well to have a laugh, do some banter, tease each other nicely. Don’t bully, because if you bully, you’re an idiot. But you know what I mean, don’t you?
Lee Matthew Jackson
Let’s all have a laugh. Let’s all have a banter. If you want to laugh at me on the WP Innovator group because of maybe I’ve got some bad habits on the podcast or whatever, feel free. Let’s have a giggle. I’m fine with that.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Okay, just be nice, I suppose. But you know, it’s important. You know, I’m a member of one of the groups that’s an online entrepreneur circle. And oh guys, so funny. And I don’t mean Nigel Bottrelli, who, you know, I’ve never been on that.
Lee Matthew Jackson
But this is an American group that I’m a part of. And the guys on there, it’s— I’m not even going to tell you what the group’s called because it’s, it’s kind of— yeah, it’s, it’s my best kept secret. The guys on there sometimes are bordering on rude, but we just have such a good laugh. It’s a really safe space for us to be able to share our problems, etc. And we help each other out a lot.
Lee Matthew Jackson
We do a lot of business with each other as well because we’ve built up the relationships now over about a year and a half to 2 years. And again, we’re all people from around the world who have really benefited from being in that group because we’ve all put time to add value to that online group. And that’s a Facebook group, but again, you know, it could be a LinkedIn group. Group. Now you can also network outside of a group scenario through Twitter or through social media via hashtags.
Lee Matthew Jackson
You know, I mentioned the Northants Hour hashtag where we kind of take our local networking online as well. Well, there are also hashtags that, you know, there’s the— I think there’s like the 1 PM lunch hashtag, etc. And that almost forms like a group where, you know, everyone’s going to be online in at a certain hour, or maybe a whole group of people are following a certain hashtag on Twitter. That means that you can all have conversations and follow that hashtag, and it kind of works in a similar way. You know, people can tweet at each other, retweet, etc., and have conversations.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Now, it’s definitely not the same as, you know, a Facebook group where everything’s all contained in one space and you can go back in the history and that. You know, it is a bit different, but there are still those opportunities as well. So I don’t think you’re just limited to Facebook and LinkedIn, although yes, groups are, I think, the best way to go forward in that. So there you go. We have dropped down the main ways that we generate business, which is predominantly networking physically and virtually, those two pools.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Would I recommend you choose one over the other? No, I’d recommend you do both, because both really help complement each other. I mentioned earlier, didn’t I, that, you know, I’ve networked with a guy online for a while. I met him then at a conference, which took the relationship to the next level, to the stage where I was able to recommend somebody through a different network to his SEO services, because I’d grown to know, like, and trust this guy and see the results that he was giving doing, and I was then able to connect those two people, you know, so that they can potentially do business together. So I really, really believe in networking, and I really believe in a good balance of online and physical networking.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So if you’re thinking that you might be able to hide behind your computer, I don’t think it’s going to work forever, unless you’re obviously— you’re a genius at Facebook marketing, and then please come on the show because I would love to know some more of that. I’m not saying I ever want to stop networking because I love it. The benefits of making those friendships and all the learning that I get out of that cannot be replaced with Facebook advertising. But what obviously could be replaced with Facebook advertising is some sort of ongoing revenue for courses and stuff like that. And I would love to get people on the show who know more about that.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So I’m sure a lot of us are all thinking, you know, how can we create some extra passive income? So if you are a Facebook guru or a LinkedIn guru who knows about paid traffic, paid campaigns, etc., then hey, touch, uh, get in touch on leejacksondev.com/contact. It’d be great to hear from you, hear your story, and, and let’s get you on the podcast. But yeah, a good mix of those physical and virtual. I highly recommend hiding behind the computer ain’t gonna work.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Now, if you are nervous, then I recommend you, I recommend you start kind of light. Don’t go to a big heavy networking meeting where there’s a whole tonne of people. Maybe try and find a small meeting where you can reach out to the person who runs that meeting, explain to them that you’re a little bit nervous about networking, you’re, you know, you’re not great at just walking into a room of strangers, etc. Because usually they, if they’re a good host, which they should be, they would normally then make sure that they introduce you to a few people and they make sure that you’re not on your own as well. Now another one is the BNI groups are quite good for that.
Lee Matthew Jackson
They’ll tend to make sure somebody Um, somebody is assigned to be around with you as well, and, and then, you know, they’ll encourage you as well throughout the meeting with regards to your 60 seconds and all those sorts of things. So if they all feel a little bit overwhelming, then just reach out to the people who run these groups rather than just dumping yourself in a room full of strangers and freaking out. And also, I would say, if you do get a bit nervous about being in a room full of people, then don’t imagine them all naked because that would be weird. I don’t know why people say that. It just makes me want to giggle.
Lee Matthew Jackson
But, you know, just remember that it doesn’t— every— everybody’s got their own hang-ups. Everyone’s pretty scared of something. And one of the things I’ve always said is just go in and just play the role of the confident person. Imagine if your name— let’s say your name is Jimmy. Hey Jimmy.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So, you know, Jimmy, mate, just imagine what confident Jimmy would do, and then let’s do a spot of acting and act confident Jimmy out for when you go into the networking group and just walk up to some people and just go say hi, or just go stand next to them as they’re having a conversation and smile. Just don’t do that awkward laugh where you’re like, and they all look at you going, what the hell? Also, a good place in networking I’ve found is to go over to the coffee and then like pour yourself a coffee, and if someone else is pouring a coffee, you’re like, oh, hello, lovely weather, or whatever, you know, terrible opening line would be. And that usually sets up a conversation as well. And the other cool thing to remember about being in a networking meeting as well is that quite a lot of those people there, maybe they’ve never been there before either, or they’re a bit nervous, and they’re going to really appreciate a friendly face and somebody to talk to.
Lee Matthew Jackson
So if you are a bit nervous, then, you know, there’s some advice there. Also, it might help for you to be doing some of that online networking as well. So you’re networking online, meeting a few people online, so that you’re gonna know a few names and places before you go to the physical meeting as well. So that’s a bit of advice for anyone who is a bit more nervous. All right then, right, so what have we learned?
Lee Matthew Jackson
We’ve learned about networking. There’s 3 different types: that’s local, the conferences, that’s online. We’ve learned about what we do as a business when we go out networking, which is all about making friends, adding value, learning about those businesses, and looking for opportunities to refer. We’ve learned about the 60-second pitch, talking about starting with your name, your company name, what problem do you solve, who do you solve the problem for, The sample story, all those sorts of things that will help people connect with you and engage with that storey and maybe find you opportunities. We’ve talked about taking that networking beyond that and meeting up with people, maybe playing football, have a game of darts, beer, meals, family time, all those sorts of things, and even making friends with those people on Facebook or wherever they are hanging around socially, which is usually Facebook.
Lee Matthew Jackson
And then we’ve talked about networking online, going into groups, which is again very similar to the physical networking about going in there, not selling to the room, but adding value, having a laugh, enjoying some banter, and connecting with those people physically at conferences outside of that group setting. And the kind of the net result of networking has always been for us, has been opportunities to sell our wares, as it were. But also a reminder has also been to find amazing, fantastic suppliers who have been able to produce whatever it is that we’ve needed. Uh, I mean, for example, the business advice has been phenomenal, but I’ve also had someone come in and organise up my paperwork so that I would have a really good system for managing my receipts, etc. You know, the value that has added, the time that has saved, those sorts of things are phenomenal.
Lee Matthew Jackson
They really do add value to a business. Sometimes it’s actually worth spending some money rather than just worrying about getting the money in as well. All right, I really hope you’ve enjoyed this. I hope you have had a great insight into what goes on in our lives. Please please do come to the Facebook group, that’s leejaxondev.com/group.
Lee Matthew Jackson
It redirects you to Facebook. If you’re on Facebook right now, just type in WP Innovator and look under the group section, you’ll find us there. Please request to join because the group is private. We keep that private so that your customers aren’t seeing what you’re saying because we want a private place for you to be able to vent, to be able to talk and discuss. And let’s build up those relationships, let’s talk online.
Lee Matthew Jackson
That is why I keep going on about this group. Let’s build up those relationships. Let’s all meet. Let’s help each other out. Let’s maybe all go for beers sometimes.
Lee Matthew Jackson
It would be great to do a UK meetup sometime. That would be cool. All right, guys, I’m going to shut up talking. I’ve been talking for something like 40-odd minutes now. Thanks for listening.
Lee Matthew Jackson
Have a freaking, freaking brilliant week. Make sure you try and do some online networking if any networking happens this week, or maybe go to a local meeting. And then tweet me about it on Lee Jackson Dev, or come to the group and tell me about it. How did it go? And if you’re already networking, let’s talk about that on the group as well.
Lee Matthew Jackson
What are your tips for networking? Have an awesome week. Keep innovating. Woo!
