Rethink Networking: The New Blueprint for Building Authentic Relationships in a Tech-Driven World

Hello, my friend. Let me tell you a story about Mitch. Mitch is a loan officer in our My Agent Classes community who just had a major win worth celebrating. Mitch hosted a networking event for real estate agents, but this wasn't just another meet and greet. Mitch took an intentional targeted approach inviting only top producers. And what was the topic and the conversation all about? Well, Mitch shared strategies and ideas and resources to help the agents with lead conversion, even talked a little bit about DSCR loans and even tips for optimizing the agent's Google business profiles. And here's the key. Mitch didn't need to be an expert on any of the topics because he's a member of My Agent Classes in our community where we equip loan officers like Mitch with the tools and resources and training to help him host networking events just like this. And even more, he used Chachi BT to help conduct Google audits for agents. And that value first approach led to four booked meetings, six Google business profile audits, a listing video invite from an agent who said come be in my listing video, Mitch. And Mitch was also invited to a brokers open where he was introduced to two new agents. Mitch had never met before. Andy scheduled two appointments with each of those agents as well. All of this from one strategic networking event. Why does this matter? Because this is what real networking looks like today. It's not about shaking hands and handing out business cards. It's about showing up intentionally offering real value and building authentic relationships that move your business forward. And if you want to scale your agent awareness engagement and referrals, the way Mitch has done without call calling chasing or paying for leads, this is exactly what we help loan officers do inside my agent classes. Want to learn more? Check the link in the show notes to watch a quick video and book a time to talk with me or just head on over to go.myaginclasses.com. You're listening to mortgage marketing radio where we help loan originators who want to grow their business safe time and make more money. I'm Jeff Zimfer your host and today we're talking about rethink everything you know about networking. A brand new book and I'm joined by Lindsey Meyer, Jen Pietman and Philip Mancuso, three of the 25 contributing authors behind this new book, rethink everything you know about networking. This book is not just another collect business cars and hope or referrals. It's a fresh modern framework for building meaningful long lasting connections that align with your values and your goals. So whether you're a mortgage pro or a real estate agent, you're a business owner or a leader, this book will help you connect with purpose, lead with generosity and grow your network the right way. So you're going to hear from three of the contributing authors today, but this book is packed with wisdom from 25 different authors across mortgage, real estate and business. If you're ready to leave old school networking behind and create real momentum in your business through relationships, this episode is for you. Hey, and don't forget, check the show notes for a link to grab the book on Amazon today. Pick up a copy for yourself and maybe even a few extra copies to share with your referral partners. Enjoy the episode. Let's get into this week's show. Lindsey and Jen, welcome to the show. Hey, we're excited to be here. Thanks for having us. My pleasure. Let's take care of some housekeeping first. People want to know who's who attach the identity with the voice. So Lindsey, what do you want to share with the listeners or viewers about who you are and what you do? Hey, y'all, thanks for tuning in and Jeff, thanks so much for having both Jen and I on. We have a week until we're launching our book. We think everything you know about networking and that will be the foundation of our conversation today. Jeff, I love speaking and catching up with you a few weeks ago and I know you have a lot to say. So I'm currently outside Chicago, born and raised at EPM wholesale and I love it there. I've been there for a little over seven months as VP of this dev and then my passion project rethink everything you know about networking which we have nicknamed Raycan and it's been such an adventure and now we're just launching and hope to help all of you and feel free to reach out to any of us anytime to learn a little bit more after our conversation. Absolutely. Okay, Lindsey, thank you for that. Jen, you know what the game is now. What do you want to share? Well, I'm Jen Peachman. I am VP and Director of Strategic Lending at GVC Mortgage. I'm sitting in our headquarters today which quite honestly doesn't happen all that often. I do work remotely. I'm based out of Cleveland but our IMB is based out of Indianapolis. So I'm here welcoming a new branch to join us and I'm excited to start off the first of a series of podcasts that I'll be joining this month to talk all about our book, rethink everything you know about networking and talking about how you can create real long-lasting human connection along the way. So excited to get started. I love that you said that real long-lasting human connection along the way. I think that's relevant based on the flow and volume that's coming at us all with tech and AI particularly. Automate everything, outsource this, outsource that, don't have to talk to people, push button, get resolved. Like, tell me, tell me where's that landing for you guys in the whole premise of what was the motivation to write this book which by the way, it's more than a book, it's a movement so who wants to take that first? Jen, go for it girlfriend. Listen, I think Lindsey asked me to participate in this book and I know Lindsey from networking on the conference circuit and quite frankly say a lot of times I feel like I conference for a living sometimes because I might have so many different events throughout the year and yes, conferencing is a word I've made it up but I think to your point you know we live in a human-based industry. I'm sorry and there's tech that enables us but the human connection is something that first time home buyers are craving. I thank us in this post-COVID world. I think the value of human interaction is super important and I have some friends that are neuroscientists and I've asked them, you know, how does your brain treat zooms versus in person and they're like completely different? It's not the same. Your brain is wired for human connection and you know I talk a little bit about three melodies that we'll talk about here a little bit but things that I think are super important, the three top things that I find are most important in networking and I've really made my living in and have the position I have at TBC because they were former clients of mine. So every job I've been offered over the years in the past I'd say 10 years in this industry at the level that I'm at has been through connections and relationships so I think that speaks a lot of volumes just there and itself but you know I'm seeing more and more you know really are focused on hyper localized lending in our industry and I think you know being the mortgage gal or the mortgage gal or the guy in your area is more important now than ever. There's a lot of information out there right but folks are really looking for people that they dig they trust and can give them helpful information and resources along the way and yeah we've got a great tech stack and everybody it does right but I think the difference is the person that you are. Are you saying that in today's tech forward tech heavy noisy world that it's more important than ever to have those communication those in-person communications those authentic. I really think it does mean personally you know I have been on a little movement of my own this these past three months and I've really taken a lot more time to pick up the phone and call my connections yeah I can text you yeah I can email you but man when someone calls you and says hey I've been thinking about you and it's been a couple of weeks since we chatted and whatever blah blah blah like that means more than any text message or email or auto dialed response that you're going to receive from my perspective. There's just something about human connection that I really believe in and I feel like whether it's building your business or your brand or your connections like that's at the heart of it all. Yep I would agree. I want to take a pause for a second then we see that Phil has joined us Phil we'll come to you in a few minutes you can do your brief intro and share what your kind of chapter is from the book in a moment. Lindsay we're going to go over to you. Why do you think that networking and by the way let's do this what does that mean networking right are we talking about I'm going to a network event you know I'm shaking hands and kissing babies like can we put some definition around networking and because I think you talk about intentionality so go ahead and jump on that from there if you would. Yeah networking is a really tough word I think it has a lot of negative connotation to it and I think there's a lot of different ways to say that we're having human interaction or human and tech interaction which is happening a lot these days I think networking really is just getting a face-to-face and communicating and using your five senses and body language in order to do so body language makes up 55% of the communication prides process which is pretty crazy. I think if you are open to talking to people whether it's your family your best friend you have conversations that challenge you I mean we were all born to connect and to communicate in different ways so start with that we already have the the power within us to just get started and to go and I think writing this book we hope that it provides a go-to-to-help individuals looking to find their way looking for better tips in order to master their confidence through connection whatever it may be so I think it's really just get started and reach out to people to help you. Hmm okay hey are you tired of cold calling realtors and feeling like you're getting nowhere with my agent classes you don't have to chase agents anymore we hand you a done for you system of ready to teach presentations plug-and-play marketing and even 200 producing agents to invite so you can double your agent referrals in 90 days or less plus you'll get weekly coaching and a community of loan officers sharing exactly what's working right now here's a quick win from one of our members I joined it because I was tired of doing business the way that regular loan officers have been doing it in my market which is just making the the core calls every Monday and Friday checking with reals agents I had done that for years and seemed like everybody was doing that I need something different and I wanted to find a way that I could work with the agents that I want to work with I wanted to find a way that I could have a captive audience every month every couple weeks where I could find agents that were like-minded and that wanted to work with me as well so it's probably brought in I'm just guessing here but it's probably brought on in the three years I've been back with the program is probably brought on it's probably say about 40 million dollars in volume since then right and it's led us some massive relationships and I wouldn't be able to do those things without this program the value of these Friday calls are so incredibly valuable for all of us I get upset if I miss it on a Friday the cost of this program is what is worth it just because of these Friday calls that were on where we help coach each other we're just here to help each other add value to our real trip partners are you ready to stop chasing and start attracting agent referrals on demand book a call at mortgage marketing .pro or hit the link in the show notes now back to our show good I'm going to come back to you two ladies in a moment I want to get to you fill up what we were doing here is if you want to go and unmute yourself I think I can do that right here there you go give us a brief brief background who are you what do you want to tell the audience about yourself well I'm Phil Mancuso president chief investment officer of EPM been in the business since 1988 and having encompassed many roles from sort of start to finish within the mortgage industry started out in sales so when you talk about networking know a little bit about that um that's about it um well your chapter in the book if I'm correct is built different a call to rethink resilience stop romanticizing misery and choose excellence that is a juicy title like what do you want to accomplish what do you want what here's the question I ask all these everything everything author chapter contributors what were you hoping to accomplish with your chapter you know I I had an interesting conversation in an uber of all places uh and you know I should remember the guy's name he had a really sort of unique name so you think it would stand out but he was a part-time uber driver and like a part-time psychoanalyst or something like that and you know he brought up this really interesting thought that our brains are wired for survival not success and you know I don't that wasn't a unique thought for me but I felt like he articulated it in a really intelligent and thoughtful way and it was sort of around the time that I did a keynote at our annual event and you know and then it sort of dovetailed into writing this chapter and you know when you think about it and I've been saying this from you know the first sales training that I may be ever did uh you know was you know the human condition is very much like Pavlov's dog you know the the more you experience failure the more you become adverse to it and of course I wouldn't pick up the phone again or knock on another door if I knew it was going to be hung up on me or slammed in my face and and that's you know just something that we're kind of tend to be wired with unless we're not or unless we can sort of train ourselves uh you know to not be so you know trying to grab the collective sales force of the world and maybe shake them by the shoulders a little bit and say this isn't easy and you know no one wants to hear your complaints I certainly don't uh you know and and obstacles are opportunities for winners and excuses for losers and so that's really the thought and the mindset is um you're gonna fail you want to fail the most successful people use that failure as a rallying cry as a catalyst and I think that's ultimately the message um that not only would I want to convey in the chapter but but just really uh in in the communication of what I we uh us stand for um okay yeah I think that's a good we always need to be reminded of that right resiliency especially in this business right here what's the old saying by less brown that it's not if you get knocked down fall on your back because if you fall on your back and get back up something like that all right Jen back to you in your chapter we're gonna kind of go round robin here um you talk about the three traits for deep lasting human connection do you want to unpack those yeah um you know in coming up with topics when I was working with Lindsay and Liz I thought immediately to intentionality and networking I feel like networking to network is one thing but doing it intentionally is a whole another different ballgame um I know that this word the little bit played out I feel like authenticity but I also feel like people can smell a fake and can sniff out BS really really quick right so if you're not who you are 100% of the time you're not gonna show up authentically um and I talk a little bit about vulnerability too um I feel like I'm one of those people that kind of when I know you I know you and I'm not gonna forget the details um some of that comes along with being intentional and with the folks that I'm reaching out to to either chasing clients or prospects or folks that I really admire in this industry like I will chase you down and find you because I want to know you and I'm doing it intentionally along the way um you know authenticity I think for me is one of those things that is super duper important how you show up and how you stand out and how people will remember you is bigger than anything else out there so you know I'm not shy about I love hiking because I'm stressed out and I need to go you know clear my brain in nature and I dig waterfall chasing because I like the energy that I received from it and I wear peach a lot because my last name's peach bin and people call me peach or peaches right and I talk a little bit about vulnerability um right now I'm in the process of being evaluated to give my daughter a kidney and it is a story that not most people didn't know until about 10 years ago when I was with a client and they wanted to see a picture and I showed her my girls and they could see obviously that one daughter was very different than the others right and at that time I could hit it right I've leaned into it um along the way you know she has a disease that only 500 people in the United States are infected with so it's ultra rare but in telling my story I've connected with other people in our industry that are impacted by the same disease that don't necessarily talk about it or folks that have given a kidney or their kids has had their second or third kidney transplant so it's to me I'm just a big fan of human connection and the relationships that come along with connecting with people that you know you're vibing with right away um and that's what I talk about in chapter 9 is just the importance of authenticity and intentionality and vulnerability because I think those are the three things that lead to real long lifetime relationships I mean 10 years ago nobody knew who the heck I was right and now when I walk in a room most people know who I am a little that's branding a lot of that's networking and I give some tips and tell some stories along the way and for me you know I've had such incredible opportunities the opportunities in this industry to tell my story to raise money and hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity to you know being off of the position that I'm sitting in now because of my networks I'm a big believer in you are who you surround yourself with and you have to be intentional along the way to get there hmm agree with that 100 percent quick question if you don't mind I want to I want to go pull the thread a little bit deeper on the vulnerability piece and then Matthew will say hello to you in a moment um did you struggle with being vulnerable and would you have any tips to share with people or offer up to give them permission to it's okay you know I feel like I don't know if I'm just one of those people's but you can tell when I'm holding back um and when I was younger and probably not in the same position that I'm at right now um professionally yeah I was scared to death man when you're like FMLA eligibility and taking time off and like punching clocks and trying to get everything done hell no I wasn't telling anybody right when I was given the platform um when I kind of got my face first big girl job I would say in this industry I leaned in um and people were amazed I mean the first time I talked about it on stage man I got off stage and like fell down it was like crying like it was all the things right now I can talk about her situation and surgeries and fighting medical professionals and my own journey to to be in a place where I can make some life style changes and and make an impact to her that makes I think for me some people see as my shell can be a little bit hard around that but it's also because I've been given a platform to probably let out a lot of the stuff yeah that I'm dealing with that I probably would have held in if I wasn't vulnerable um I get it some people don't want to talk about health stuff I understand but like the first thing most people say when they see me as hey Jen how's it going how's your kiddos right like how's Morgan right or how's team peach right like we call ourselves team peach right so like people feel like they know me because they do because I'm I wear my heart on my sleeve not everybody does but for me it's been a platform to you know raise a hundred fifty thousand dollars to a foundation and her name and make connections with people that probably just would have been business associates but now I know you have this in your family too like you don't have to talk about it and I'll never say your name um you know what other people's kids are diagnosed with super rare diseases or they're like oh my god can you help me what would you do it just shows that you know all this time and the trench is medically has provided me with a vehicle to support myself and my kid and support others who might be along a similar journey if not the same so that's where the real connection happens man it does yeah and there's purpose in the pain or the struggle you know well because unless you have some some purpose or some meaning or you're able to kind of uh turn that into some way for you to utilize that on a bigger scale or platform or maybe impact other people then then it becomes debilitating you know 100% yeah when you hold it in man I can tell you like the tears will roll down my face like if I'm gonna get in for too long I just got an award on stage and I I came Kardashian cried man because I was holding it in for too long like oh right by the way I don't know it's ugly crying it's what it is yeah it's my friend tells me they're like oh you Kim Kardashian crying you you ugly cry but like well that's that's I'm glad we brought that on a nice transition note into Matthew here um I don't know where we go from that or how you one up the Kim Kardashian crying but um you're talking about networking through education in your chapter teaching and sharing knowledge as the highest form of connection what did you hope to accomplish with your chapter Matt and Jeff you were part of the first book of rethink so yes we're a family we are family absolutely um and so while Matt's getting his audio set up Lindsay I want to come back to you because I haven't asked you specifically this question about what you hope your goal from your chapter to be about um and you talk about the universal power of the wave I'm curious tell me more I do thank you uh I think it just takes one small action for a large result and I used the example in my chapter I described my early years in college pre-facebook and social media where it was you just get out there and connect with people you actually use your two legs and you're walking like I mentioned 10 felt like 10 miles a day on campus just to make sure that I was building myself building my sorority I you know social chair who I you know how I represented myself and then as an adult I came across the Hawkeye wave and it's very well-known if you don't know it there's the QR code in my chapter you can also YouTube it and a woman had posted on a Hawkeye group hey we should all turn and wave to the children at the hospital because a new suite had been designed over the field so the first time that the press box as they called it was used uh the moment is recorded and and you know she thought oh I'm just throwing the suggestion out there but it was such a beautiful moment because enough ears had listened and people started turning and waiting to the children the children were prepared with their parents for signs you can just see the motivation and how much inspiration and joy a single or multiple waves and what the impact can make for families that are struggling so learn to gents and just want a happy moment and you know go down your teeth flowing your way. So the Hawkeye wave I just googled it Iowa Hawkeye's athletics when the Kinnick clock hits zero at the end of the first quarter 70,000 fans football fans turn and they wave at the kids in the hospital who are watching along with them battling life threatening diseases yeah that's powerful. Did you go to Iowa? I did. The listeners who want to know where and when and how they get the book what who wants to jump on that where and how and when is it Amazon you mentioned audio earlier and we're going to put everything links in the show notes to everybody's linked in profiles but also to how they get access to the book resources somebody take that and tell us where the heck we can get it. Sure it's going to be on Amazon October 15th which is a week from today it will hit bookshelves I would say maybe a quarter after that although we will have some local books bookstores across the nation that will have the Ray Khan book on their shelves and then we will have an audio coming out as well so we're super pumped. Okay so first place to get it is on Amazon October 15th which by the time this goes live is probably it's going to be available so you're listening to this right now go to Amazon and what about for people who want to continue the conversation maybe you've made a connection to somebody here right Matt Jen Lindsay what would be the best way for them to do that. Reach out LinkedIn is great don't get scared if we don't reply back sometimes it's just a lot of messages and you might miss one so jump on an opportunity ask questions connect with our crew and those that are following rethink everything you know about networking like you said we're creating a movement for those people who want to change a lot change their lives change other people's lives use education and and use the power of being an individual to become multiples so fantastic and so it's been a privilege to meet with four of the authors authors in today's conversation from the chapters but there's actually like 25 other chapters from a bunch of different other people so you're going to get nuggets from over 25 people and I guarantee you there's something for you to connect and dive into there on that book hey everybody I appreciate you making time for your busy days this is really a great conversation thank you thank you so much chef the authenticity is your best friend when it comes to success I think that if you believe in yourself and you believe in the product that you're selling then you're really not selling I think sales has more always been more about the networking aspect making the connections and then secondarily communicating what you perceive the benefits are of what it is that you do and you know to try to convince someone to make a decision versus in an educational informative passionate enthusiastic way just simply leading them to that decision that to me is the the way that you can really get the ultimate level achieve the ultimate level of success in sales you know otherwise if you're just fooling people and and trying to you know convince people that might work for a minute but it certainly doesn't work in the long yeah absolutely good point all right maybe we'll call this to the the tornado podcast seek shelter wherever you're at okay that's it for today's episode before we wrap up I just wanted to remind you about my agent classes your proven system to double your agent referrals in just 90 days imagine never having to co-call again instead building real lasting relationships with top-producing agents who want to send you business with done for your presentations marketing automation weekly coaching it's all designed to make growing your business easier and fun so if you're ready to take control of your agent referrals and grow your income visit mortgage marketing dot pro or check the link in the show notes and why you're there don't forget to check out the success stories from other mortgage pros who've already seen incredible results thanks for listening and I'll see you on the next episode you