In this episode of Spark and Ignite Your Marketing, host Beverly Cornell dives into the magic of face-to-face networking with Michael Forman, author of Networking Unleashed. Discover actionable tips to navigate networking events, build genuine relationships, and unlock your business’s potential. Whether you’re an introvert or a seasoned connector, this conversation will inspire you to embrace networking as a cornerstone of success. Tune in and let the sparks fly!
Three Key Topics Covered:
- The Transformative Power of In-Person Networking: Face-to-face interactions are proven to be 34 times more effective than emails in building trust and rapport. This episode explores how personal connections can drive lasting business growth and create meaningful relationships.
- Practical Strategies for Introverts and Extroverts: Whether you thrive in crowds or prefer one-on-one conversations, learn adaptable techniques like the FORM method to start meaningful conversations. Michael shares actionable tips to help you feel confident and prepared in any networking environment.
- Leveraging Networking for Sustainable Business Growth: Building genuine relationships isn’t just about exchanging cards—it’s about creating opportunities for mutual success. Discover how to follow up, nurture connections, and turn meaningful interactions into long-term business wins.
Transcript:
Beverly:
Did you know that face to face meetings are 34 more times effective than email exchanges and building trust and rapport? And yet, with our busy digital first world, many are missing the true power of live networking. Welcome to Spark and Ignite Your Marketing. I’m your host, Beverly Cornell, and today I am joined by Michael Foreman, a corporate speaker, networking expert, and author of Networking Unleashed. Michael has spent 30 years mastering the art of making real connections from his start in the Air Force to running businesses and serving as a sales director in multiple industries. He has developed a unique approach to networking. That’s all about authenticity and building genuine relationships. Michael, welcome to the show.
Michael:
Thank you, Beverly. It’s great to be here.
Beverly:
I am excited. Networking is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I think about, like 20 some years ago, I became really intentional about the power of networking. So talk about your journey a little bit. You have a really rich background. You from the military. I’m actually an active duty army spouse.
Michael:
Thank your husband for a service.
Beverly:
Thank you for your service, sir. You had some varied businesses and then to speaking and book writing, and now you’re doing interviews on podcasts. How did you get here?
Michael:
It’s a long story, about 30 years worth When I was in the military, I had a rank where I was above other people older than I was. I had to learn how to tell them what to do without telling them what to do, and keep the peace. I was a police officer. But from there, I went into owning my own businesses, graphic design studio, pizzeria, restaurants, and, After all that was done, I went to being the manager in a bank and I had about 15 people under me and I had to tell them, show them, teach them how to network. I developed two networking groups, one in New York, one in Jersey about 30 businesses in each, and there were weekly meetings. And I had to teach them what to do, what not to do. And really the, what not to do was more important than the things to do. Things were really busy beforehand, going to conferences, shows and everything. I was talking to 100 people, 200 people. Everybody was interested. Everybody was going out and really enjoying themselves. Then the pandemic hit and all of a sudden, everybody. Was in house. I personally feel that they lost how to connect with the other people. Now they say what’s the sense of going to the event then? We’re building relationships and a relationship lasts forever and the best way that I can explain the difference between a customer and a client Is if you’re in a supermarket And you bump into a customer, say, Hi, Beverly. How you doing? Oh, hi, Mike. How you doing? Okay. See ya. And you’re gone. But if it’s a relationship. Hi, Beverly. What’s going on? Oh, how’s your husband? Your husband’s in the service. That’s great. What’s he doing recently? Oh, that’s great. You have a son or daughter. Oh, that’s great. And you talk a little bit, 5 minutes and then you go. So what did I just do? I elevated myself up above your normal vendor. So there’s a whole new way of dealing with people. The number one thing I tell everybody is when you walk into a networking event. And you see the masses of people tables around where do I start? Okay, I’m gonna start with this table. You don’t say a word. You listen. Listening is a forgotten tool. You listen for the right conversation. Is it the right conversation for me? Now, remember in networking, they have to know you, they have to like you and trust you in order to do business with you.
Beverly:
I was an avid networker many years ago before I got married and had kids and before COVID. I think I’ve always been a bit of an introvert. But I was unpracticed for a while and it became really hard to go out into those crowds. I recently moved here in July. And I joined the chamber because I knew I needed to get connected. I had an amazing network in Detroit, where I’m from originally, but I think I felt like it was so overwhelming to start over. I’m horrible with all those facts that you’re talking about, like remembering the things. Like I generally can connect with somebody, and I’m right there very present. Then I moved to the next person and everything they told me is now out the window. And then the last thing is I always feel like a creeper when I walk in and I know no one, just sitting there staring as they’re talking. I feel like the most awkward, uncomfortable creeper possible and incredibly embarrassed for some reason.
Michael:
When you’re speaking with that one person. Remember the word form. F O R M. Family, Occupation, recreation, and a message that you can get onto the same level. So when you’re speaking with him or her, you’re asking them about their family, about their occupation, do they enjoy doing something, all of this, so that you can keep them talking about themselves. And then finally, if you’ve done your job correctly, you say, I like you. I like the job that you do and the way you do it. How can I be the best referral source for you? Go into a networking event with the thought of giving. Not receiving. And then he’ll hand you a business card. Now take that business card and on the back of that business card, write down the date, the name of the function and a little something you spoke about. Because during my follow up, I’m going to use all of that information. For the introverts, those people that are afraid or a little hesitant on walking up to the table and listening and waiting for his opportunity. I always say go to the networking events by yourself this time don’t, bring a wingman. You do the same things. You still listen for the conversation. But instead of you saying something, a little something about what you do, your wingman is there. He’s going to start the conversation and say, Beverly, what do you think? I belong to a local chamber of commerce also. And I think it’s very important because remember, you’re not talking just to the members. You’re talking to the members and their networking circles.
Beverly:
So after the first event I went to, I felt like I didn’t know anyone and I wish everyone did this. I was like, I’m going to design myself a name tag to take with me. That will have my name, my logo, what I do. And I have podcast host and founder on there.
Michael:
Remember your name tag is not a billboard. It doesn’t say everything you do. So having your logo, your name. And your title podcast host, whatever. That’s enough for them to say, what do you do? When I talk about your thirty second elevator speech should only be five seconds. Here’s my thirty second elevator speech. I help professionals network and communicate more effectively and efficiently, thus creating more profits.
Beverly:
Mine’s very similar in short length. It is. I help bold purpose-driven entrepreneurs awaken their brand magic.
Michael:
That’s it. You have to do it just enough. Another shortened version of what you do, the bullet points, when I give speeches, when I do breakout sessions or keynotes, I go with a slide deck, and on the slide deck are just like three bullet points for each slide. And even for the introverts, you have that mindset and you can do it. But listen, whenever you go to an event, Don’t forget your name badge. Yep. Don’t forget your business cards.
Beverly:
So I even do something a little bit more extraordinary than that, that I would recommend people do. So my business card has a QR code with my picture in the center. So I actually have a picture of myself on my business card so people can remember, cause I know how hard it is for me to remember. And then when they scan the QR code, it’s a specific how do I help them? It’s a connection landing page. I am all about connections. These are the ways in which maybe I can help you. Like I’ll even have a couple options. Here’s my LinkedIn. It’s going to my website, to a specific connection page on my website that is specifically geared towards. It was great to meet you. I would love to get to know you more. Here’s my calendar. Like it’s very personal and it has my picture on it as well. So it’s Hey, like a friendly picture. But it’s a way that it’s much more about the connection that it is about doing business per se.
Michael:
You have to work on that relationship before it comes to business. That’s why when you go to a networking event, you’re asking how you can make that person more successful. You’re looking to give not to receive. So you’re trying to build on that relationship and you’re not even talking business.
Beverly:
And I think it is about connection as human beings. I worked for remotely for 13 years and I think it’s just harder now to be in person. I like people as an introvert, but I like them like this, Michael, one on one you and I have in a chat. I genuinely enjoy people, but it’s just really outside my comfort zone to be with 400 people. It’s just a very different experience. And like I said, back in the day, I knew a lot of people. So going to an event with 400 people, I would know like a hundred of them. But starting from scratch is really intimidating. I’m doing some things really strategically too, like I just had a photo shoot here in front of Prominent local landmarks. So when they come to my site or if somebody sees me, they now can connect me with the city and I become more connected just psychologically. So I’m doing some other things just because I’m a marketer and I think this way, but there are ways that you can ingratiate yourself into your community.
Michael:
You’re halfway there, because the main thing behind being a good networking person, marketing person, and just go do the job you’re supposed to do. Listen, business, if you’re a good person and you have the right personality, it’ll come around to you. You’re there, you’re helping, you’re doing, and you’re promoting. You’re not promoting yourself, you’re promoting Other people in what you’re doing and that will come around to you, but the best way to start networking is to volunteer listen, a chamber of commerce, that’s the best way to start, but go strategically. In other words,
Beverly:
strategically is the key word here, Michael.
Michael:
Yes, it is. You have to do it strategically.
Beverly:
And I’m not saying that you, when you volunteer, you have to just volunteer for the ultimate goal of some connections, but if you’re going to give your time freely, it should be one of two things when you’re something extremely passionate about, or you can enjoy yourself and really let your personality shine or to a way to meet your target audience. So for me, I like big, I like bold purpose driven entrepreneurs. A chamber event is probably really good for me to be a part of. But when I was in Detroit, there was a Detroit economic club, it’s one of the most prominent like networking groups in the country. A lot of big line, headline speakers go there to speak presidential candidates, all kinds of things. I didn’t want to just volunteer. I wanted to be on the VIP committee. Because I wanted to meet the big people. And I was really intentional about if I’m going to volunteer my time, I want to make the connections that were going to benefit the business that I was working for at the time. And so I feel like you can maximize your exposure by being more intentional. And ultimately the board members that I was with became extremely strong connections and people inherently, because we all had a passion for this particular thing. I could talk about this all day long. It’s like I’m living this right now and I know the importance, I know how important it is. We humans need each other. Humans do business with humans. They don’t do business with your website. I’ve started calling people that I used to really be close to and just reconnecting. I feel like it’s incredibly important to stay connected.
Michael:
I’m very passionate about networking, about communication. And I enjoy it so much because I get to go out and meet all these people. When you get to go out there and spread the word and educate people and teach them and actually, and once you see them become a better person, because the better communicator, the better networker, the better person, they are, then you feel really good.
Beverly:
And it is an art, to a certain degree. It is about practice and just putting yourself out there and doing it. And then you do it again and again. And before you know it, you become really natural at it. So is there something about networking that you absolutely don’t like and that people should totally avoid?
Michael:
No, really my problem with networking is the other people. Okay. Because you really, when you go out and you speak with somebody face to face, you can pick up the vibe of the person. Okay. You can see whether he’s full of himself.
Beverly:
Yeah.
Michael:
Unless he’s really polished and really good at lying to you. Okay. My only suggestion is that even if you feel you get a vibe from a person, like you’re not sure what it is, but you don’t really like it, stop it right there.
Beverly:
Yeah.
Michael:
And move on to the next person.
Beverly:
I think disengagement is a skill as well. And that’s something I learned a long time ago too. What’s your escape line? What do you use when you want to move on?
Michael:
There’s a lot of people here, I really want to try to meet everybody. So we’ll be in contact afterwards. Okay, good. Gone.
Beverly:
I think that’s probably like the one thing that I learned the power of disengagement. So you’re not stuck and forced into horrible conversation.
Michael:
You prepare for those good contacts for those good people, but you have to prepare just as much it. For those not so good.
Beverly:
What do you think is the most misunderstood thing about networking?
Michael:
The most misunderstood is the fact that they think they can just go through zoom through FaceTime and get just as much accomplished as in person. Can’t stress enough how much the difference actually is for the person that you’re meeting But for you as well for you to get out go into that networking environment meet people
Beverly:
yeah, I think you’re right about that. There’s something about the handshake, the looking and somebody’s eyes, the exchange of a smile being in somebody’s energy. I’m really blessed because on this podcast, I get to meet some amazing people and have amazing connections, but there is something uniquely human about the in person experience.
Michael:
Yes. Yes, absolutely. And that’s why I’m passionate about it.
Beverly:
Did you have business partners, but I do this all by myself, right? I have a team, it’s me and I’m in it by myself and other business owners are there too. And if we’re chatting about Hey, over the last three months, sales are down. Oh yeah. Sales are down. Like it gives you a perspective that you can’t get in your store by yourself.
Michael:
I was fortunate for the pizzerias and the the restaurants, I was with my brother. Okay. So we had a tag team the graphic design studio, that was all me. So it was different and I got to see both aspects of it. And the networking is different when you’re in business with somebody or by yourself. Because everything falls on your shoulders when you’re by yourself.
Beverly:
Oh, yeah. But most businesses are growing because of referral.
Michael:
That’s right. Referral is the best. That builds you up. That builds them up. That builds me up. That does everything.
Beverly:
You can build the website, but you have to go out there and you have to talk to you. You have to give us a good service. You have to do all those things to help people see the value of what you do, and then hopefully create those raving fans that are going to push more people to you. It is your easiest, lowest hanging fruit as a marketing that you could ever do. Is networking and connecting and working your current customers and people who know you for referrals.
Michael:
When I coach managers, CEOs. I tell them the most important thing is not your customers. It’s your employees.
Beverly:
They’re your first customer.
Michael:
Your employees have to be happy because how can they show their happiness to the customers? You teach your employees and then they’re going out to your customers. Every time that I give a talk I say I have a certain way of meeting the people and following up. And if you follow my guidelines all the way through to the end, I’ll almost guarantee you, you’ll get more profits. Because all of that is built around client relationships.
Beverly:
One of my friends in Detroit, he used to say it all the time, it’s not who, it’s how you’re known.
Michael:
Yes. Yes. Very true.
Beverly:
So give me an example of where you’ve seen, like a testimonial or like a case study of how the power of networking has shifted their business.
Michael:
I just did a workshop for a metal roofing company and there was about 30 people there, and there were only four salespeople. There were staff people, back office people, warehouse people, and the two owners. One of the questions was, how many in this room do you think are a salesperson? And those four people raised their hand. I said, What about everybody else? Everybody. What about your back office? What about your warehouse? People just saying what do you mean everybody’s a salesperson? I said, wait, I’ll tell you what Todd, that’s the owner. I said, who in this room is a salesperson? He said, everyone. Everyone. I said, including you. He goes, especially me. I said, look, this is what I want you to do. I want you to pick up the phone. I want you to have a mirror right next to you. Because when you’re talking with the people, I want you to smile, and chuckle. And as you’re helping them and go above and beyond, and I want you to do that. Not just for the customer service people, but that’s for everybody, but especially for that, for you guys. Yeah. Next month. I called the owner cause I always touch base with the person who hired me. I said, how did sales come? He said, Michael, we’ve increased it tenfold. Wow. And I said, just by changing your attitude.
Beverly:
It really does. I think just you can hear a smile through someone’s voice, but you can also see a genuine smile in someone’s eyes. But tell me an example of how have you done marketing for either your businesses or for this particular project you’ve worked on right now with the book?
Michael:
The book was a major player. Once I wrote the book, it really opened a lot of people’s eyes. The way that advertise now being a public speaker, as opposed to owning a restaurant or pizzeria, it’s completely different. Now as a public speaker, I am advertising and marketing, not by paper, not by doing an ad on somewhere else. It’s networking and communication. My primary is LinkedIn, and then I have Facebook and Instagram, and I have the YouTube channel. So you go on, see a little snippets of things that I’ve said and talked about. But all of that is my greatest advertisement. I advertise on LinkedIn. Facebook, Instagram, about four out of five days. Now, when I say I advertise, I don’t advertise. I say, what’s important about eye contact? What’s important about shaking somebody’s hand firmly? And every once in a while, I’ll put an ad saying I can do this for your company. But my advertising is word of mouth networking events. That’s the biggest part and then as a secondary social media.
Beverly:
And you said you go to a networking event every couple of weeks
Michael:
every two
Beverly:
Okay.
Michael:
That’s where I think you should start. You should see your chamber, see the after hours events.
Beverly:
You’re right. Those are good. I have my lightning round, my magic round. Where I ask you some rapid fire questions. And I have one that I want to kick off that’s specific just to you, Michael.
Michael:
Okay.
Beverly:
What type of pizza do you like?
Michael:
All meat.
Beverly:
Is it round deep dish? The New York style because you’re out on that coast?
Michael:
So as New York goes, it’s a little different. That’s called Sicilian pizza. There’s nothing like that down in Georgia. I’m in Georgia. And let me tell you, one thing I miss is the food.
Beverly:
You are so right. Like I’m from Detroit, so I miss Detroit style pizza, which is its own unique pizza. So we’ve got the pizza question out of the way. Super important. Talk about a little bit about If the Foreman Group had a voice, what word or emotion would it embody?
Michael:
It would have to embody passion, because everything that I am about networking, communication, spreading the word, if I wasn’t so passionate about it, it wouldn’t behave as good, okay? So I have to put passion behind it.
Beverly:
That’s the authenticity part for sure. What are the three most important ingredients for your success?
Michael:
Okay. Honor, respect, and trust. That was pretty quick, wasn’t it? Because those are three things that I had on my original email. I always put my name, I put Air Force Veteran, and I put the three words. Honest, respect, and trust. Because that’s what I live by.
Beverly:
One of our core values is honor. It’s not just integrity. It’s honor. There’s a whole different level of that. And maybe that’s the military life that kind of feeds into that a little bit.
Michael:
It might be because I’m very patriotic. So when it comes, I have 2 flags in my house, 1 for each side that goes onto the road and I’m very. Passionate about being patriotic. So both my kids grew up that way also.
Beverly:
Yeah. How can you not serve your country and not have a passion for exactly you do
Michael:
exactly.
Beverly:
A lot of sacrifice goes into that what is the moment that you realized you were successful.
Michael:
That’s a very tricky question because success, you can be successful having money, you can be successful as fulfilling your dreams. It’s such an ambiguous term and I feel successful when I speak at schools also about networking Afterwards, when they come back, the parents come with the child, they say, Michael, he listened to every word you said, and he’s a better person for it.
Beverly:
That’s the way I think success should be. It should be about the impact that we have on the world. Call it a little naive, a little optimistic, all the things, but we love magnify the impact of that. Those moments as a company, that is the lifeblood and heart and soul of what we do. It matters. It’s like a game changer, right? So It’s completely important. So what area of running your business did you have to learn the most about? As a business owner?
Michael:
Throughout all the years of owning businesses, I learned a very important lesson, and that was to do the things I enjoyed and to have other people do the things that I don’t.
Beverly:
That are way smarter than me.
Michael:
You know what? I have to invest a little bit, whether it’s bookkeeping or something else that’s so dry and I really don’t enjoy that. So let somebody else do that.
Beverly:
Yeah.
Michael:
And let me just enjoy speaking and going on stages and things like that.
Beverly:
So the last question of the lightning round is if your business was an animal, what animal would it be? And why
Michael:
I would say lion, because it looks soft and cuddly and it looks very passive. Yeah, but once you have, once you get into its lane he’s so determined. And he’s ferocious when it comes to doing that task. And then afterwards, he goes back to being subdued.
Beverly:
Taking a nap.
Michael:
Taking a nap. And nobody’s going to mess with him.
Beverly:
And now I want to wave my magic wand, and we are going to travel back in time. So as I wave my wand, I want you to go back to 18 year old Michael, and I want you to give that young kid a piece of advice that would save him some heartache, some time, some money that would serve him well from older Michael.
Michael:
Don’t do it.
Beverly:
Nike says, do it.
Michael:
Don’t do it. Okay. I’ve made so many bad choices when I was 18 years old. And I just wish that I make the other choice. The only thing I can say is, Don’t do it.
Beverly:
Okay, I’m going to wave my wand again.
Michael:
Okay.
Beverly:
And we’re going to go to your funeral. But you’re like 120 years old.
Michael:
Okay, good. So it’s the next year.
Beverly:
Come on, 120 years old. What do you think is your most significant legacy or impact that will be shared with your eulogy?
Michael:
He gave. He looked for somebody in need, somebody that needed help. And he was always ready to help, to give the person a need, even if he didn’t have the money he gave to support those people. There are vets. In front of supermarkets with little red flowers. They say, just a donation And I’d always give them the money and say, hold on to the flower. Give it to the next person. You have to be able to do that without even thinking.
Beverly:
Yeah.
Michael:
If I can give, I will.
Beverly:
Okay, so I’m waving the magic wand. We’re back in present time. And I want you to speak directly to my listeners, and I want you to give them the one thing that they can do today after this episode that could help them grow their business in some way, shape, or form.
Michael:
Okay, very easy. Listen to your podcast. You have to listen, then pause afterwards. Understand what they’re saying and respond to that. Don’t think about the next thing that you want to talk about. Think about what they’re saying so you can respond to what they’re saying.
Beverly:
Such good advice. That’s not just for work. If you’re married, if you have children. Oh my gosh. My mom always said, you have one mouth and two ears, so you should be listening more than you should be talking. One of the hardest skills to do is to truly listen Before we go please share with our listeners where they can learn more about what you do, what’s happening, what’s going on in your book, Networking Unleashed.
Michael:
If you go to my website. Michaelaforeman.com. There I have a copy of my book. You can purchase it on Amazon, but there’s also an unabridged version of my book, and that’s in PDF form and that’s free. So if you really want to get the feeling of how to network, download that, then you can, if you want, purchase the book. I belong to a speaker’s bureau, all the podcasts that I’ve been on, my talks of leadership and networking is on there. But most importantly, there’s a contact form on the bottom. And if you put right down information, whether it’s a keynote, A workshop, a breakout session, or just coaching one to one. Put that in there. I’ll get back to you within a day. Also, I just added a podcast section on my website.
Beverly:
So is networking unleashed perfect for everybody?
Michael:
I say it’s for professionals. And I really want to use that in a loose term. When I do conferences, I speak to mortgage people, real estate people, financial people, insurance people. But as I said, I did a workshop for a metal roofing company. So if your company is rather large and you are serious about upping your game. About getting those extra sales, then have me come in and I’ll talk to your company as well.
Beverly:
Thank you so much, Michael, for sharing your insights with us today.
Michael:
You’re most welcome.
Beverly:
So all our listeners, I really hope that you found today’s conversation helpful with some real actionable tips for those introverts and those of us that are a little bit more awkward in social situations. But remember that We hope that all of the insights that we shared today can ignite some positive change for you and your business. And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or to Michael. If you’re looking for more support and guidance, please stay tuned for more inspiring conversations and actionable marketing tips on future episodes of Spark and Ignite Your Marketing. Until next time keep sparking and igniting.
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Michael A Forman | LinkedIn
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Michael A Forman | Instagram
Michael A Forman | Facebook
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