GUERRILLA NETWORKING Traditional networking is all about "meeting people."; The success you reap in life, however, is directly correlated to-not how many people you meet-but rather, how many people want to meet you. Guerrilla Networking is all about "becoming the type of person other people want to meet." Learn how from both guerrilla marketing legend, Jay Conrad Levinson, and guerrilla networking originator Monroe Mann. "Jay and Monroe have flipped the typical networking mentality on its head-but they've landed right side up-and so can you, if you read this book. You're in for a wild ride." -Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid "An incredibly simple, and yet, original concept. The idea behind guerrilla networking makes perfect and logical sense. I recommend this book to all members of my networking organization." -Dr. Ivan=2 0Misner, founder of BNI and NY Times bestselling author of Masters of Networking
GUERRILLA NETWORKING
A Proven Battle Plan to Attract the Very People You Want to MeetBy Jay Conrad Levinson Monroe MannAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Jay Conrad Levinson and Monroe Mann
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4490-0035-6Contents
ABOUT THE AUTHORS.......................................................................................................xiACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................xvMonroe Mann.............................................................................................................xvJay Levinson............................................................................................................xviPREFACE.................................................................................................................xxiFOREWORD................................................................................................................xxiiiGuerrilla Networking in Action By a True Guerrilla......................................................................xxiiiINTRODUCTION............................................................................................................xxvWHAT IS THIS BOOK?......................................................................................................xxixPART I Guerrilla Networking.............................................................................................1CHAPTER 1: Networking...................................................................................................3CHAPTER 2: Traditional Networking.......................................................................................9CHAPTER 3: Guerrilla Networking.........................................................................................13CHAPTER 4: Six Degrees & the Name Game..................................................................................19CHAPTER 5: How to Become Desirable (i.e. the type of person other people want to meet)..................................25PART II 50 Proven Ways to Get People to Come to You.....................................................................291. WRITE A SUCCESSFUL BOOK..............................................................................................312. BECOME THE EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD......................................................................................333. BECOME FAMOUS........................................................................................................354. OFFER INVESTMENT CAPITAL.............................................................................................375. BE A NETWORK HUB.....................................................................................................396. GET MEDIA EXPOSURE...................................................................................................417. TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS.....................................................................................438. OFFER TO HELP PEOPLE.................................................................................................459. INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO PEOPLE.........................................................................................4710. ALWAYS SMILE........................................................................................................4911. INITIATE CONVERSATIONS..............................................................................................5112. BECOME 'COOL'.......................................................................................................5313. BECOME NOTEWORTHY...................................................................................................5514. DO SOMETHING RADICAL................................................................................................5715. BECOME THE GO-BETWEEN...............................................................................................5916. RISK FAILURE........................................................................................................6117. SEND OFF AN EMAIL...................................................................................................6318. BE CREATIVE.........................................................................................................6519. WRITE A SPICY LETTER TO THE EDITOR..................................................................................6720. WRITE A PRESS RELEASE...............................................................................................6921. HIRE A PUBLICIST....................................................................................................7122. FIND THEIR 'SWEET SPOT'.............................................................................................7323. TAKE OUT AN AD......................................................................................................7524. CALL THEM...........................................................................................................7725. LEAVE A VOICEMAIL...................................................................................................7926. INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................8127. BECOME THEIR FRIEND.................................................................................................8328. DO THEM A FAVOR.....................................................................................................8529. LET THEM DO YOU A FAVOR.............................................................................................8730. SAY THANK YOU.......................................................................................................8931. BECOME A SUCCESS IN YOUR FIELD......................................................................................9132. HELP SOMEONE ELSE BECOME SUCCESSFUL.................................................................................9333. INVENT SOMETHING AMAZING............................................................................................9534. MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER...............................................................................................9735. GET ONTO A TELEVISION TALK SHOW.....................................................................................9936. GET REFERRED........................................................................................................10137. GET OUT OF THE HOUSE................................................................................................10338. TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO................................................................................10539. TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE......................................................................................10740. TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY DOING............................................................................10941. THANK THEM ... AGAIN!...............................................................................................11142. DO SOMETHING THAT NO ONE HAS EVER DONE BEFORE.......................................................................11343. DO SOMETHING BETTER.................................................................................................11544. HITCH YOUR WAGON TO A STAR..........................................................................................11745. GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT............................................................................................12146. SOLVE A PROBLEM.....................................................................................................12347. BE USEFUL...........................................................................................................12548. BE THE ANSWER TO THEIR PRAYERS......................................................................................12749. NAME DROP!..........................................................................................................12950. BE A GUERRILLA......................................................................................................131PART III: Guerrilla Networking in Action................................................................................133Jay Conrad Levinson.....................................................................................................137Ned Vizzini.............................................................................................................139Andrew Young............................................................................................................141Carol Blaha.............................................................................................................145Arthur Brown............................................................................................................147James Dillehay..........................................................................................................149Barry Morgenstein.......................................................................................................151Kathy Hagenbuch.........................................................................................................153Debbie Bordelon.........................................................................................................157Graham Guerra: How I became the type of person Keith Ferrazzi wanted to meet ...........................................161Ashley Ann Serafin......................................................................................................165Knox Vanderpool: SAYiWON'T..............................................................................................169Paul Rieckhoff..........................................................................................................173Bones Rodriguez.........................................................................................................175Dennis Hurley...........................................................................................................179Phil Malandrino.........................................................................................................181Douglas C. Williams.....................................................................................................183Roberta Muse............................................................................................................185Kip Gienau: The Illusionist.............................................................................................187Marcia Harp.............................................................................................................191Scott duPont: Guerrilla Networker & Fund Raiser.........................................................................193Kolie Crutcher: Who Wouldn't Want to Meet Kolie Crutcher?...............................................................197Ed Smith................................................................................................................201Scott Norman............................................................................................................205Peter Bielagus: Connecting on a Whole Other Level.......................................................................207Monroe Mann (... or, how I convinced all of all these wonderful people to contribute to this book.).....................211PART IV: Creating Your Own Guerrilla Networking Strategy ... in 10 Easy Steps...........................................219THE STRATEGY - Step by Step.............................................................................................223Conclusion..............................................................................................................231Appendix 1: Recommended Reading List....................................................................................233Appendix 2: Networking Resources........................................................................................235a. Jay Levinson's Guerrilla Marketing Association.......................................................................235b. Monroe Mann's One Degree Networking..................................................................................235c. Monroe Mann's American Break Diving Association......................................................................236d. Monroe Mann's Accountability School..................................................................................236e. Guerrilla Networking Central.........................................................................................236
Chapter One
NETWORKING
Networking according to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is defined as, "the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions."
That is the problem with most 'networking' strategies. They are based upon a definition that is far too vague, broad, and unspecific to use in daily life and business.
If you search Google for the word 'networking' (as of this date), over 400 million search results come up. Regrettably, almost all of them refer to computer networking, and none to professional networking. When we searched for "professional networking" (as of this day), 75 million search results came up. Of those on the first results page, all of them refer to and subscribe to a definition of networking that is as equally unclear and unfocused as the definition we find in most dictionaries.
Ask most people the question, "What is networking" and you'll get a variety of answers ranging from 'meeting people' to 'getting your name out there'. Rarely do you receive an answer that actually defines a clear and focused strategy.
The sad truth is that most people give us such vague and cloudy answers because most people truly do not know what networking really means. Even some of the most successful 'networkers' in business can't explain their magical ability of making useful connections because in many cases, even they do not know exactly what it is that they are doing. (Hint: they are guerrilla networking.)
Strangely-and this leads us in the direction this book is going-most traditional definitions of networking seem to imply that everyone is already chomping at the bit in anticipation of the day they get the opportunity to meet you-that the hard part is already done-that you are already someone who people want to meet.
Regretfully, the reality is anything but. No one cares about you. No one wants to buy from you. No one wants to hang out with you. No one wants to date you. No one wants to be your friend. In fact, no one wants anything to do with you ... unless they have already determined for themselves that you are someone that they want to meet. Starting to make sense?
You see, meeting people really just isn't going to do much for you. Meeting people in and of itself is useless. What good is a filled rolodex if those people really don't care about you? The question to ask yourself in such a situation is 'how truly valuable are these contacts?'
Do any of these hundreds of people know who you are? If you called them up on the phone, would they take your call? Would they recognize your name? More importantly, would they drop what they're doing to help you?
Many networking books rattle off suggestions of increasing the number of contacts in your rolodex. We disagree. The quantity of people in your rolodex is second to the quality. It's better to have eleven contacts of quality rather than ten million in quantity. I would rather have Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Jeff Bezos, Hilary Duff, Rudy Giuliani, Gwen Stefani, Conan O'Brian, Billy Joe Armstrong, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, and Avril Lavigne as my eleven sole close and personal contacts than have generic and broad connections with all of Hollywood, Washington, and Wall Street. I would rather a small group of influential people who know me and respect me greatly than a large group of uninfluential people who really don't even know who I am.
And why? Because those eleven people listed above could probably introduce me to anyone else I may want to meet. Quality over quantity is the name of the game (though if you can get a huge quantity of high quality contacts, well, that's the best of all worlds.) But think about it: if I have the personal cell phone numbers for all those above eleven people in my rolodex-and they in fact knew who I am, respected me, and would always take my calls-then frankly, I could probably get anything done that I dreamed of. Quality over quantity.
So, what defines quality then? A-ha. Therein lies the rub! In our opinion, quality is determined based on one simple thing: their desire to meet you. Does this person truly madly deeply want to meet you? Does this person truly madly deeply want to hear from you? Does this person truly madly deeply believe that he can benefit immeasurably by talking with you? Does this person truly madly deeply believe that time spent with you will be time well spent? Does this person truly madly deeply want to hear your opinion, listen to what you have to say, and ponder what you may have to offer? If the answer to these questions is YES, then that's truly a contact. If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then guess what: this person is not truly a contact. This person is just a name and a phone number on a piece of paper.
Think about this: if your mission is to simply meet people, then just stand outside on the sidewalk in Times Square in New York City and extend your hand to everyone you meet who passes by. One out of three will probably shake your hand, and heck, we'd venture to guess that another one out of nine might actually stop to talk to you.
Mission accomplished, right? Yep! You met people. All day. Congratulations!
You shook their hands. Looked into their eyes. Told them how pleased you were to meet them. And meet them you did. But you really have no idea who they are. And they probably have no idea who you are. And at the end of the day, you are really no better off than when you started. But 'get out there' you did, and boy oh boy did you 'meet people'. You networked, baby! But you didn't sell one more product, one more service, or even entice one of them to want to come back and speak with you again.
This preceding story seems so fanciful and silly and we are sure you are shaking your head, thinking, "Well, of course! But no one would ever do that." And you'd be mistaken! Because that is what 99.9% of the people in this world do when they go to parties. When they go to seminars. When they go on job interviews. When they go out into this brave new world and start 'networking'. Most people go to parties and hand out business cards. Most people go to seminars and hand out their flyers. Most people go on job interviews and hand out their resumes. Most people go out ... and desperately and sickeningly try to meet people.
Does no one realize that these marketing tools are simply REMINDER advertising? That these things should not be used as introductions. That these things should simply be used to back up your preceding reputation?
"But I didn't have a preceding reputation," you balk! "No one knew me at that party. And no one knew me at that seminar. And none of these job interviewers knew my name!"
Well, folks, that's precisely the problem. Fortunately, though, that is also exactly the problem that we are going to be helping to solve with you in this book. We are going to help you create that preceding reputation. We are going to help make you so desired that you don't even need to use a business card. So desired that flyers are simply unnecessary. So damn cool that you don't even have to use a resume. That the phone becomes but a simple tool you use only to put to your ear, but never to dial. Sure, you'll still use these traditional tools, but not as your first line of attack. Rather, you will use them simply as reinforcement.
Which brings us back to the definition of guerrilla networking: becoming the type of person other people want to meet. It is truly a sad state of affairs that even in this day of high technology and the internet, so many people still subscribe to the WRONG and OUTDATED definition of networking; to this idea of 'meeting people'. It is time to change your paradigm and use a new model of networking.
Once and for all, we-the authors of this book-are going to debunk and dethrone this horribly outdated and completely ineffective traditional definition of networking that has kept millions of people from reaching their true potential. Networking does not mean meeting people. We'll say it again: Networking does not mean meeting people.
One more time, loudly: NETWORKING DOES NOT MEAN MEETING PEOPLE!
No, ladies and gentlemen, networking means becoming the type of person other people want to meet. And that's exactly who you are soon going to become.
Chapter Two
TRADITIONAL NETWORKING
Before we can better understand what guerrilla networking is all about, our first task is to analyze, dissect, and evaluate 'traditional networking'. This is probably most easily done through the use of an example:
a) We are at a cocktail party. b) Our subject's name is Francesca. c) Francesca has one week before the night of the party. d) No one knows that Francesca is coming to the party, and at this point, no one cares.
If Francesca is a traditional networker, one week prior to the party, this would be her plan. She would:
Bring lots of business cards that say nothing about what she really does; Try to find out who is at the party so she can approach them and hand out her business cards that say nothing about what she really does; Tell her friends that she's going to this big party 'to meet people'; Delude herself into thinking she has a plan, when in fact she really does not; And that's basically it.
At the party, she would:
Come in, and begin the search for the people 'she wants to meet'; Go on the prowl, moving from one uninterested prospect to another; Deposit her business card (that says nothing about what she really does) into each prospect's uninterested hand; Bore each prospect so each comes up with some excuse for having to move away; Target another prospect, lock in, approach, with business card extended in hand; And so it goes for the night.
At the end, Francesca is exhausted. She is smiling because she is certain that at least 45 more people have her business card in hand. She feels accomplished. She feels like she actually should be proud of herself. She thinks she 'made connections' and 'networked like a pro'.
What she doesn't know, though, is what hurts her. If she actually sat down and thought about it, it might occur to her that she really doesn't know much about the people she was speaking with beyond what the general public may know. It might occur to her that most of these people have probably already thrown her business card in the trash because they didn't care about her, or more precisely, because she didn't give them a reason to care. If on the off chance her 'prospects' did keep her card, they probably won't remember her name or face the next day-even if her photo was on her business card. Overall, the night was wasted, and was certainly not as productive as it could have been.
Bottom line, traditional networking is resource heavy, a waste of time, stunts your expansion and development, and more often than not ... just does not work. The problem with traditional networking (among other things) is that you-as the networker-are not developing yourself. You are simply prancing around trying to get people to want to meet you when instead you should be becoming the type of person people want to meet. Do you note the difference? Telling people that they should want to meet you and get to know just doesn't work. People need to come to this conclusion on their own.
Have you ever approached someone (or seen someone else approach someone) and without really explaining why, just said, "We should hang out." Or what about, "We should do business together." Those phrases are coming from the mouth of a traditional networker. From someone who is assuming that the other person already wants to meet you. Isn't it more powerful if you subtly (or blatantly) give hints and tips that would lead that person you are speaking with to come to that conclusion himself? Isn't that infinitely more powerful?
Truly, think about it. Can you imagine how much more powerful you'd be if those same people came up to you and said those very same things? If those very same people said to you, "Let's go to the movies together." Or, "I have a business proposition for you." You turned the tables and became the type of person they wanted to meet! But alas, we are getting ahead of ourselves. We'll talk more about this later. First, let's return to our discussion of traditional networking: meeting people.
Most people subscribe to this 'old' (and ineffective) definition of networking simply because they do not know of any alternatives. They subscribe to this definition because most of the people they hang out with ... KNOW NOTHING OF NETWORKING! If they did, they would stop telling you that networking means, "Meeting people." It most certainly does not, and that is a huge insult to the guerrilla networkers of the world.
Networking does not mean meeting people! Are you starting to get this? Networking does not mean meeting people! Networking does not mean meeting people!
We urge you to reconsider the networking definitions that you yourself have been using. Have you ever really sat down and thought about it? If you did, you might come to the realization that your networking definition is anything but clear, crisp, and defined.
Sure, networking must-of course-help you meet the right people, but far more importantly, in our minds, it must also encourage them to want to meet you AND help develop you into a more interesting person as a result. And that is the essence of guerrilla networking: enticing the very people you want to meet into desperately wanting to meet you (by continually becoming a more and more interesting/ influential person on a daily basis.)
Chapter Three
GUERRILLA NETWORKING
We hope that the previous chapter-chapter two-shook up and debunked the idea of traditional networking enough to encourage you to consider the theory that we are advancing-the theory of guerrilla networking. It is our belief that guerrilla networking (becoming the type of person other people want to meet) is far more effective-and in many ways, easier to implement and reap reward from than traditional networking.
If we want to become successful, the traditional definition of networking just doesn't accomplish what is needed in this competitive world we live in. It's now time to discuss the idea of guerrilla networking in far more detail. And it all begins with the fact that no one cares who you are.
In fact, for better or for worse, in this internet driven world we live in these days, no one cares even more. Because of the advertising messages we all receive in any given day, we have become an oversaturated society and marketplace. You just can't 'meet people' anymore. It just doesn't work! Getting the proverbial 'foot in the door' just doesn't mean anything anymore because the internet has allowed EVERYONE to get their 'foot in the door'. As a result, actually getting your foot in the door today in a meaningful way means doing a lot more than you may have had to do ten years ago. It's even more difficult to accomplish.
Sure, ten years ago, maybe 'meeting people' was a viable strategy, but no longer! Things have changed, and it's now a two-step process. Today, you need to not only get in that door, but now you need to learn how to stay there-because job security is a term that doesn't apply anymore in the brave new world we're living in. That is why guerrilla networking is so important: it helps you stay in the door once you figure out how to get in. More importantly, guerrilla networking is the very tool you need these days just to get invited in the door in the first place!
That being said, you'd be wise to just STOP trying to meet people. Right this very moment. You are wasting your precious time, energy, and resources doing so. Traditional networking just doesn't work anymore (if it even worked to begin with). Just stop dead in your tracks. You need a new strategy.
Good news: the book you are reading is that new strategy. It's called guerrilla networking, and it merely requires a simple (though profound) change in your thinking: becoming the type of person that other people want to meet.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from GUERRILLA NETWORKINGby Jay Conrad Levinson Monroe Mann Copyright © 2009 by Jay Conrad Levinson and Monroe Mann. Excerpted by permission.
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