Last week I was at PodFest, connecting and meeting with people and supporting my friends. When it was time to leave, I had a conversation with someone who didn’t feel like they made the connections I did—that the event wasn’t valuable. This person was a friend of mine, so we interacted a bit, and I noticed that every time we would go into a session, they would sit in the back. That’s why they weren’t making connections. I learned from Vincent Pugliese, Ken Carfagno, and John Stange that you only make connections by putting yourself out there and introducing yourself. You have to drag that extroverted side out of you at events. Justin Schenck has an amazing podcast and is considered an influencer. I’ve had him on the show, and he’s been a great encourager. Sunday when things were wrapping up, he invited me to come sit down with group of big influencers he was with, and I was able to meet some amazing people. Being willing to put yourself out there is how you make connections and meet people that will be in your corner and include you—when you don’t really have the audience or the relationships to sit with people who are influencers of that level. This friend who hid in the back of the class didn’t ask any questions, didn’t support the people who were speaking, and therefore didn’t make any connections. He didn’t have the amazing experience that I had at PodFest this year. I sat in front, asked questions, raised my hand, and introduced myself and my podcast when I was called on. I met so many people that way. At Podcast Movement this past year, my friend Ariel called me out and asked me to talk about my podcast simply because I asked a question. As a result, I connected with a bunch of Realtors and my show grew a lot. However, people who come to the events, sit on the sidelines, and don’t try to make connections leave feeling shocked that they didn’t build any relationships or get anything out of the event. If you have a platform and you’re trying to build it like I’m trying to build mine, let this be a lesson for you. This is a lesson for Realtors as well. Why are you not making connections and meeting people? Are you spending too much time hiding in the back of the class? Of course, you don’t want to be that person who comes in like a bull in a China shop—dominating the conversation—there has to be balance, but get out there. Don’t sit in the back, staring at your phone. Introduce yourself to the speaker and thank them for their time. Put yourself out there—go out in your community, serve at church, serve for nonprofit organizations, or just go sit at the coffee shop and have conversations with anyone who comes in. Ask to buy them a cup of coffee. There are so many ways to grow your business and if you are continuing to struggle, you are not using the resources available to you. I told my friend that if you hide in the back of the room, the back of the class, you won’t make any connections. They didn’t like what I had to say, but it was true. I would encourage you in whatever you’re building—your podcast, membership, real estate business, or whatever to build relationships. Show up and put yourself out there. If you can do this, you will create success. Thank you so much for listening.

Resources

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Podcast edited by Kenny Carfagno.

Show notes and blog posts are created by Jennifer Harshman and RealtorEmails. John Schuchman is a licensed REALTOR®...