I hate networking.
It’s what I hated most back when I was grinding for leads and referral partners.
I could handle doors getting slammed in my face.
I could handle getting hung up on time and time again.
But I didn’t like driving doughnuts around to potential referral partners and attending awkward event after awkward event…
The mind-numbing small talk…
The fake smiles that make your cheeks hurt…
The same old “let’s keep in touch!” that you know damn well means you’ll never speak to them again…
What a waste of time.
Sorry, I know that probably sounds harsh. But psyching myself up before every interaction at an event or with a loan officer just got old… especially because rarely (if ever) would I get any results to show for it.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be all that bad. Here’s a quick look into how I totally flipped the script and had loan officers coming to ME…
Instead of forcing myself to believe that I didn’t hate networking.
And quadrupled my book of business without any small talk, doughnuts, or networking events.
When you hate networking, forget about “favors”
This goes back to the “Pavement Pete” concept I like to talk about…
To every potential referral partner you’re just another guy doing needless “favors”, begging for a lead to be thrown his way.
Even if you’re walking in with the best doughnuts in town… or a box of the most expensive roast they sell at Starbucks… loan officers don’t care.
What’s really on their mind is:
→ Why should I do business with you?
→ Why should I send you a referral?
→ What makes you special?
Any old agent can “get known” by running around doing “favors” like a chicken with his head cut off. But what (if anything) actually sets you apart?
Swap “favors” with VALUE to build referral partners instead
This is where things get good…
I think just about everyone in the world always puts themselves first. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, it’s just human nature…
But what changed everything for me and my agency is when I asked myself: “What would benefit my referral partners — not just benefit me?”
Do you know what referral partners want more than anything?
Leads. Clients. Business.
So here’s what I did: I said to hell with delivering coffee and doughnuts.
Instead, let me find a way to deliver them business.
Let me put money in their pockets.
Practically overnight this took me from being just another “Pavement Pete” to the top 5% of agents in my town.
Offer your referral partners something they can’t refuse…
Once I found a way to generate piping-hot leads for potential referral partners, I made them the best offer they’ve ever heard in their lives…
(Yes, even better than a box of doughnuts!)
“If I keep these leads coming, will you send them back my way once they need insurance?”
Over and over again, the answer was a resounding “YES, sign me up!”
You see, most agents are completely set on working harder. Buying more leads. Making more cold calls. Going to more events.
But hardly anyone out there is trying to work smarter. So when I bring this offer to potential partners, almost all of them tell me I’m the first guy to ever do anything like this.
The results? Well, these days I’m able to spend far less time “networking” and way more time closing deals…
And the days of psyching myself up to face awkward small talk, fake smiles, and empty promises are far behind me.
I haven’t changed though… I still hate networking and would avoid it as much as I can.
P.S. Want to know more on how I’ve taught others to flip the script and build a network of 25 referral partners? Here’s what my students have to say.
Nato owns Guajardo Insurance Agency. He learned the lessons he needed to learn so that his agency avoided the traditional ups and downs of lead flow and sales. He created Fully Covered to do just that. A methodology and system that provides predictable and automated online leads to insurance agents that have a passion for helping people.
Today, Nato runs his business together with his wife, Angelica, without the stress of finding the next client or worrying about if there is enough money in the bank. Plus, he gets to protect clients with our Agency and protect his peers through education and systems that took years to figure out on his own.
