49 min
280: Assembling your Network of Champions - with Ashley Owens Social Capital
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- Careers
Meet Ashley:
Ashley is the first and only networking concierge that puts you in the right situation or gets you out of the wrong one. As a networking concierge, Ashley trains coaches and speaks on becoming an authority at generating revenue by networking with intention. Ashley is the host of two digital TV talk shows on RVNTV and THIS IS IT TV speaking and interviewing on the topic of tactical networking.
As someone who speaks, talks, teachers, coaches, all things networking, what has been the most effective networking tip that you have ever received?
The best one that I received, which I try to talk about all the time is nobody gives a damn about what you do. Nobody cares, they care how you make them feel and what value can bring to their lives. So I think the biggest challenge a lot of people have in that capacity is that people always forget, when they're in a networking situation or, doing networking activities that they always have to be on. There is a level of good perception and good manners and being respectful, but at the end of the day, people buy or work with or connect with people that they know, that they like, and that they trust. So having that stigma of trying to sell something or trying to impress that person needs to go away because there's no room for that we've got things to do.
How do you know how you're making someone feel?
You look at their body language, and you can understand or at least start to be more in tune with how they're perceiving you as a person. If you're framing out a conversation that is beneficial to the two of you, you always want to lead with service. So one of the things that I try to tell my clients is that we are lucky to be able to network, really, how lucky are we to be able to do that. So when you are of service, and when you are communicating with somebody new, it's really important to make them feel good, but also to allow them to showcase their businesses. Ask the right questions, be naturally curious. You as somebody who enjoys to network has to lead them in a way that's beneficial to them. You'll get the information that you need from them, whether they're in a small business, big business, or if they're looking to meet that particular kind of person, but the goal is to be naturally curious, and you can make them feel comfortable by having actual interest in what they do.
I'm interested in your coaching process, how do you educate your audience on what networking is?
The thing I try to focus on is that networking took a significant change in the logistics, and the fluidity of it, so everything went virtual. A lot of groups and organizations did have virtual options, but it was kind of more cliche, and everyone would typically go to events. So the way that I coach my clients was different before the pandemic than what it is now because you adjust and you grow within the needs of your client, that's what any good coach does. As a coach, I have a responsibility to train my clients in a way that's meaningful to them, which means that my personality may not match everybody else's personality, but they still need my help. So my job is to make sure that I understand how they make decisions and what drives them to complete tasks. So within my coaching sessions, I run a disc profile on them, it's an emotional intelligence assessment so I know what activities to align their decision-making process with the networking activity. For example, for an introvert, I'm not going to put them into a 60 or 90 person networking event, even if it's online, because they're not going to have the ability to communicate in a way that's beneficial to them. Whereas identifying good groups to be a part of and giving them strategies to connect with people one on one, and how to ask for those meetings and putting more of a stress on LinkedIn is the better option for...
Meet Ashley:
Ashley is the first and only networking concierge that puts you in the right situation or gets you out of the wrong one. As a networking concierge, Ashley trains coaches and speaks on becoming an authority at generating revenue by networking with intention. Ashley is the host of two digital TV talk shows on RVNTV and THIS IS IT TV speaking and interviewing on the topic of tactical networking.
As someone who speaks, talks, teachers, coaches, all things networking, what has been the most effective networking tip that you have ever received?
The best one that I received, which I try to talk about all the time is nobody gives a damn about what you do. Nobody cares, they care how you make them feel and what value can bring to their lives. So I think the biggest challenge a lot of people have in that capacity is that people always forget, when they're in a networking situation or, doing networking activities that they always have to be on. There is a level of good perception and good manners and being respectful, but at the end of the day, people buy or work with or connect with people that they know, that they like, and that they trust. So having that stigma of trying to sell something or trying to impress that person needs to go away because there's no room for that we've got things to do.
How do you know how you're making someone feel?
You look at their body language, and you can understand or at least start to be more in tune with how they're perceiving you as a person. If you're framing out a conversation that is beneficial to the two of you, you always want to lead with service. So one of the things that I try to tell my clients is that we are lucky to be able to network, really, how lucky are we to be able to do that. So when you are of service, and when you are communicating with somebody new, it's really important to make them feel good, but also to allow them to showcase their businesses. Ask the right questions, be naturally curious. You as somebody who enjoys to network has to lead them in a way that's beneficial to them. You'll get the information that you need from them, whether they're in a small business, big business, or if they're looking to meet that particular kind of person, but the goal is to be naturally curious, and you can make them feel comfortable by having actual interest in what they do.
I'm interested in your coaching process, how do you educate your audience on what networking is?
The thing I try to focus on is that networking took a significant change in the logistics, and the fluidity of it, so everything went virtual. A lot of groups and organizations did have virtual options, but it was kind of more cliche, and everyone would typically go to events. So the way that I coach my clients was different before the pandemic than what it is now because you adjust and you grow within the needs of your client, that's what any good coach does. As a coach, I have a responsibility to train my clients in a way that's meaningful to them, which means that my personality may not match everybody else's personality, but they still need my help. So my job is to make sure that I understand how they make decisions and what drives them to complete tasks. So within my coaching sessions, I run a disc profile on them, it's an emotional intelligence assessment so I know what activities to align their decision-making process with the networking activity. For example, for an introvert, I'm not going to put them into a 60 or 90 person networking event, even if it's online, because they're not going to have the ability to communicate in a way that's beneficial to them. Whereas identifying good groups to be a part of and giving them strategies to connect with people one on one, and how to ask for those meetings and putting more of a stress on LinkedIn is the better option for...
49 min