Valued Connections: Don’t Forget Where You Came From

Someone who was a guest on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast recently had a massive opportunity, getting to open for country star Lainey Wilson. That’s an opportunity that my interviewee won’t soon forget.

When she posted about it on Instagram, I pulled out the old, “Don’t forget us little people when someone is sharing a video someday of opening for you” in commenting on her reel.

I can paint you a picture of the long, long road of how I ever got to her in the first place. And that’s a valuable exercise for a couple of reasons.

It’s Who You Know

We all know the value of networking. Heck, an argument could be made that you wouldn’t be here on Stage 32 if you didn’t recognize the power and importance of making connections.

On a recent episode of my podcast, I was heard saying that I feel like if I’m repeating something often, (a) it must be important, and (b) there’s a strong likelihood that it was meant to be heard again (by the audience or myself)! In other words, I shouldn’t, and I won’t apologize for how often I talk on that show and/or write in the weekly blog on my agency’s website about the importance of not only building but maintaining relationships.

I remember when I was a college student and I was turned off by the expression, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I wanted my good grades to be what would lead me down a successful path. You won’t be surprised when I tell you that I can’t remember someone telling me, “Honestly, the reason I chose you is because I saw that you graduated from college cum laude.”

I realized quickly that the more networking I did, the better my chances were of finding that thing called success even faster. (We all have our own definition of success. That’s another blog for another time.)

Membership Has Its Privileges

And so, I sit here today thinking back on the various activities I’ve participated in so that I could meet people that would benefit my agency and, as a result, my clients.

Now Hear This, Inc. became a member of the local Chamber of Commerce. I joined the Christian Business Connections group in my area. I signed up as a member of Tampa Bay Business Owners and fully immersed myself in that group. I’m a charter member of the Florida Podcasters Association. And, of course, I joined professional development groups and started accounts on social networking platforms, like Stage 32. You likely have a similar list of groups that you’ve joined.

But there’s also the blender that you put all of this into and out pours an opportunity that you see didn’t come from one direct source. You start tracing the roots and you quickly find that there’s not one proven recipe that will lead you to the desired result.

Luck is Where Opportunity and Preparation Meet

When I first started my podcast in February 2014, I thought, “Maybe someone will hear the show in (insert city here) and say, ‘This Bruce guy sounds like he knows his stuff. Perhaps he can promote me from across the miles’.” It’s funny that over my ten-and-a-half years of doing the show every week, I’ve watched the podcast industry grow and change so much and, as a result, my focus shifted away from viewing “Now Hear This Entertainment” as a way to get clients. Interestingly enough, though, it has been a big part of serving clients.

I’m currently in discussions with two different individuals who have been guests on the show – yes, about hopefully becoming a client.

Moreover, the list of approximately 550 guests is in itself a rolodex for me. Since these are full-length, feature interviews, sometimes talking to a guest (including on- and off-air) for an entire hour, the foundation is poured to start a nice relationship.

Note the word ‘foundation,’ though. I keep up with what they’re doing. As mentioned above, I comment on their social media posts. When I’m in their city I plan a breakfast or lunch get-together. Heck, if someone’s going to be performing within, say, a 60-mile radius, I’ll go see their show.

Then, when a client needs something that someone I’ve interviewed can help with, it’s a very natural connection.

Measurement

Nowadays everyone wants to ask about analytics, though. They ask about podcast downloads, or they want data about a Facebook ad that you ran, or they’ll inquire about engagement on YouTube Shorts that you’re testing. Someone just sent me their LinkedIn newsletter with a screenshot of the metrics showing the engagement increase since they started doing vertical videos on that platform.

Why wouldn’t you step back, then, and analyze what’s working for you in terms of building professional relationships?

Have you been a member of a local organization for far too long and gotten zero from it but just keep going on the hope that somehow that’s going to miraculously change? (Remember that they say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over yet expecting a different result.) What is your time worth? Would it be better spent sitting at home editing that updated sizzle reel that you otherwise can’t seem to get around to?

There’s also the good old-fashioned technique called word of mouth when it comes to flat-out asking someone, “How do you know him/her?” Or “How did you meet (name)?”

Take a step back and look at all the tools you have available. On a given day I can touch any or all of the following: voice call, text message, email, Google Meet, Instagram posts and DMs, Messenger, Owwll app, Stage 32, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (Twitter). And believe it or not, I’m probably forgetting one. Or two.

If you read that skeptically and say, “I just text people,” then you’re missing out. Really missing out.

Personal Touch

Thankfully, the pandemic is long behind us. Face-to-face brings such a more intimate dynamic to connecting. I see this firsthand when I record a podcast interview on-location instead of remotely.

When I go to Nashville or Los Angeles, for example, I pack my days with breakfast, lunch, “let’s just meet at Starbucks,” checking out someone’s recording studio, going to see people perform, and anything else that allows me to sit in-person with someone and visit.

It meant the world to me when someone I did that with went out of their way to say, “You always stay in touch and look me up when you come to town.”

Additionally, I remember going back home from a business trip and pulling out a Now Hear This ‘blank inside’ card. (It’s horizontal, not quite the size of a greeting card, and has the agency logo on the front and our website on the back.) I wrote to someone I’d had lunch with, put a business card in there, and dropped it in the U.S. Mail. The recipient emailed me, quite impressed by the gesture, and noted my having sent something handwritten. And by the way, we’ve stayed connected to this day.

Kevin Bacon Game

Let’s back up to the idea of tracking.

We’ve all heard of the Kevin Bacon Game. I challenge you to try applying it to your networking journey.

Watch this.

To steal from something I’d posted in the Stage 32 Introduce Yourself Weekend Lounge recently:

I had a phone call with a potential new client. That person had asked a current client of mine who their publicist is, so thus the referral was made over to me. The current client? I had landed that person as a result of speaking at a conference. How did I end up at that event as one of their speakers? That was thanks to someone I'd met here on Stage 32!

(And how had I ever landed on Stage 32 to begin with? Simply from getting the email invitation TO check it out and join.)

So, before you dismiss a connection, an introduction, an opportunity, and so on, remember that you truly never know where it might lead.

Oh, and by the way, Kevin Bacon has a band that someone who was on my podcast recently opened for. The latter was someone I met in-person at a conference in Anaheim, which I’d gotten connected to through someone at our monthly Florida Podcasters Association meetings in Tampa. You know I’ll be contacting him to ask him how he got that opener slot and if he can make an introduction for me so that perhaps I can interview Kevin Bacon himself!

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