Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Adam Chronister and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- May 30
- 16 min read
📍 📍 Hello and welcome to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections. Welcome back to the show, folks. I'm your host, Michael Forman, and you're listening to the podcast where networking is more than just awkward handshakes at bad coffee. It's an art and a talent, but here's the twist, it's an ARP and talent you can actually learn.
Yes. Even if you are the person hiding in the corner at every event, pretending to check emails, networking isn't just a nice skill to have. It's a game changer, and when you get good at it, you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner. More connections, more opportunities, more profits. It's like unlocking a cheat code for life.
Part or the, just let me stay at home type. We've got something for you. So stick around. Let's turn those awkward, small torque moments into big wins. Now I have a guest today. He's got quite a lengthy background, which I will let him fill it in for you, but Adam Chronister. Correct me if I got that wrong, please.
Yeah, you got it right. Yep. Perfect. That was a bad first time out. Yeah. Adam is a prominent figure in the digital marketing industry recognized for his entrepreneurial skills and expertise. Now he has. A rather lengthy background. I'm gonna let him introduce himself and have him tell you a little bit about his background.
So Adam, hello. Welcome to the podcast, and why don't you tell me about yourself. Thanks for having me on. I'm looking forward to our conversation. As mentioned, I own and operate a digital marketing agency based in the West Coast. So we're here in Spokane Washington, and have been doing that since 2009.
We help clients and basically across the board from small SMBs, small businesses all the way to large enterprise. And have a heavy focus on search marketing. So anything that you would go to a search engine to look for whether you're looking to show up in the advertising placement spots or in the organic results, or even looking for that foundational architecture on your website design and development, that's really where where we shine.
And yeah, certainly looking forward to our conversation today and seeing where that leads. Good. Good. I'm happy as well, so let's just jump right into it. How has digital marketing changed the landscape of professional networking? Take this podcast as an example, right? It, there used to be a time where it was hard to network without actually being in a physical room with other people, right?
And that barrier has been significantly diminished with technology. Now, I don't think digital formats are necessarily a replacement for meeting people at conferences, at networking events and all of those kind of things. But it definitely can be a, a good supplement and open up the door.
I. I know for instance, I've had a lot of relationships that have been, maybe started in person and then transgressed to online arenas, right? Or even some vice versa. And so if anything, the internet and this digital era that we're living in from social media to podcasts, to all of those different mediums really help us bridge the gap.
It's a fun and interesting, time to be in Be Alive because we're no longer limited by distance. It seems. No, not at all. And you brought up this podcast because in the last week I've had a guest from England, from Germany and Australia. Oh. And Israel. Nice. So I covered all over the world, yet I'm doing it all from here.
It really brought everybody together and it's really a good feeling when I can do that. Yeah, I imagine. What in what ways do you see AI enhancing or disrupting traditional networking strategies? It's hard to tell. Like I honestly say, I haven't put I guess I have and haven't I, I've obviously utilized AI quite a bit.
We utilize it quite a bit in our business just to optimize what we do. Where I think it helps is mostly in communication. I think it can streamline communication, but maybe it also if done improperly or used improperly might start to dig, degrade. Maybe someone's creativity towards how they re reach out to people.
So I don't know. I think it really depends on where you're at in your usage of ai. In some cases it allows me to more quickly articulate a message maybe more in depth than I might have the time to do. So in that case, it could be a benefit, but in other times, maybe it, it can become an a crutch or an overreliance, in which case, maybe a phone call versus an email might be a better scenario.
Right? And so I think it's hard to tell to see exactly where it fits into the realm of networking, whether it is gonna be a negative or positive, but I definitely see it's impacting other arenas that might bleed over into that realm. You're absolutely right. I am, I happen to be a big proponent of the face-to-face networking, and even though we are face-to-face through Zoom, I prefer the face-to-face in-person networking because Sure, I get to feel the vibe of the person, the vibe of the room, and you pick up so much more when you're in it rather than just.
A Zoom call, but I see what you're talking about. As an entrepreneur, what's your approach to building valuable network from scratch? A lot of it does involve getting out there, right? I can attribute a lot of, my success and the network that I've built just by going out to different events and conferences and not just be being a participant but trying to figure out ways to get involved.
I remember man, I. Early on in my career, I had done the work of creating a roundup post. And I don't know how many people are familiar with this strategy or what a roundup post is, but basically it's a blog post where you go and you you interview or pull different people inside your industry.
They're not as popular as they used to be. Now, podcasts have actually filled that gap. But what I found that this strategy did is. It allowed me to add value to other people who I admired. It then also presented me as someone that could contribute value to them because I'm essentially giving them a voice.
And that particular exercise actually opened up a lot of opportunities. So I remember a circumstance where. I was at a conference, somebody that I had looked up to for a long time introduced myself and they're like, oh, okay, I recognize your name. You're the Roundup guy, right? And he was referring to the Roundup post, which many months ago.
Prior to that meeting, I. He was featured in, right? And so that's one example. Now things, are, have evolved. And so whether it's things like this where you start a podcast and you have guests that maybe otherwise wouldn't probably give you the time of day, now you can start having actual conversations.
I have friends that are starting to publish, user generated eBooks. So essentially, I was just featured in one of these books, and that's another great way to network outside of just the face to face. But I would encourage people to not leave things just in the digital realm if you can, right?
I think digital podcasts, virtual events zoom meetings emails, social media interactions, all of those are great supplements. But hopefully that's an extension to real life relationships, right? I have relationships with people that I see maybe once a quarter or even once a year, but we're able to keep that foundation going through all these other digital mediums, which is great 'cause it feels like the gap isn't so far.
That's so true, because if you see that person once a year, but you stay in touch with them through LinkedIn, Instagram, whatever. It's like you're right there. And then it makes that one time a year that much more special. Yeah. Because you've actually had that relationship with him all throughout the year.
So you're, again you're right on point. Okay. How has your network contributed to identifying promising investment opportunities? I think the biggest arena for me as far as how networks have fit into what I do on an investment perspective has probably come through my relationship with my real estate broker.
And this has been a long-term relationship. So for those that don't know, I I have, and my family have some buy and hold properties, so both my wife and I manage those together. But that relationship started out as an early relationship with a broker here in town when we were buying our first property.
And that was our, our live-in property. And eventually we took the the leap of starting to buy investment properties and continued this relationship. Since then we've bought and sold numerous properties both in our hometown and here, one recently overseas. But having that long-term relationship has been valuable because it's really it's really a win-win because this particular real estate broker, he's benefiting because he knows every two, three years I'm gonna be knocking on his door probably for an investment. So he's always got me on his radar and I got him on his radar or on my radar. And those kind of relationships I think are invaluable. To give you another example too just as a reference I'm gonna be actually on his podcast.
So he does a real estate podcast here locally. And so here, coming in a month we'll have a time to sit down and chat. And so yeah, like even somebody like that in your personal life, whether it's a, another business owner that you come across or something like that, it's always good to figure out like, how can you add value to other people?
Look to give more than you, you take, and then usually it will come back to you. That's kinda my philosophy. That's a perfect philosophy because that's one of the things that I teach, is you look to give and not receive. And I think it was Zig Ziglar that said, as long as you keep on giving, you're gonna receive.
And what goes around does come around. So that's very good. And in, in step. Speaking with the mutual beneficial parties, how would you leverage connections across different industries for that mutual benefit? As far as how I would leverage that across different industries I guess it depends.
Like I know one of the things that I've been interested in. And still pursuant is going out and attending conferences that are not directly related to my industry. As a default of what I do, I end up speaking and or attending a lot of digital marketing conferences, which is great.
Like it's I consider it instrumental into what I do. But one of my goals for this year and next is to start to attend conferences. Things I'm interested in, but maybe not directly related to my industry. So for instance I dabble in cryptocurrencies in addition to other investments.
And I would love to attend a cryptocurrency conference just to figure out and learn from. Those other arenas. So I think just being curious and figuring out what is available to, to get out and network. I had another opportunity here locally where there's a a small business group that meets together with, numerous people across different industries.
So we had a networking dinner and it was great to meet people that were in completely different industries than myself and just learn what it's like to be in their shoes, day to day. That's really great, by the way. What's your take on balancing online and offline networking in today's digital age?
To my earlier point, just like not being overly reliant on one or the other, or too heavy in one or the other, I think is key. I see a lot of people that are very comfortable online they're uncomfortable or they're comfortable getting in front of a camera.
But in person, they can become. Really shy. And so I think, figuring out a good way to bridge the gap between that digital world and, and in person is an invaluable tool, right? So yeah, I think just getting out there and attending different events, getting a little bit outside of your comfort zone, those kind of things can open your horizons quite a bit.
I know, not exactly related to networking, but one of the things that my spouse and I and our family love doing is traveling. Particularly we love traveling overseas, and the reason I like it so much is it gets me outta my comfort zone. I realize that there's a whole there's a whole world and culture that works without me in it.
That just opens my horizon. And so I've had a lot of opportunities just to, to meet people just that way, just by getting outta my comfort zone and being curious and going to places and locations where I otherwise might naturally go. Sure. Sure. That's great. That's great. Okay, so let's move along with the metrics side of things.
Sure. How do you measure success or ROI for your networking efforts? There's a lot of different ways to measure success when it comes to networking. I think just having a catalog of people you can go to, right? It's not always monetarily, I would say a lot of, it's actually not monetarily.
It's who can, if I have a question about, a, an industry that I'm unfamiliar with, right? Do I have somebody in my network? I can speak to. If I have a question about taxes and accounting, do I have a good person I can reach out to? If I have a question about, a weird noise that my car is making, do I have somebody that I can speak to that I'm not just, bugging them, but they're genuinely gonna say, oh yeah, here's what that probably is.
Here's who I recommend sending it to, or what I recommend doing. So I think just the responsiveness in your. Your networking portfolio and having people you can rely on not as an obligation but really as a relationship basis. I think that is how I would measure a lot of those kind of things.
That goes along with the giving, not getting right. If you give yourself you're basically, you want to become a referral partner for everybody. I am known in my area as putting two people together. Oh I really need my heating went or whatever. Wait, I've got a perfect heating guy for you.
Yeah. And I do things like that all the time. And I never look for anything back. I never do. But ultimately, my name gets referred out also. Sure. So it's a kind of give and take, but that's a good way of doing it. Can you share any AI tools or platforms that's revolutionized your networking approach?
One of the things that we're utilizing right now is a tool called make.com, which is a, it's an automation platform. And basically with a tool like that much like Zapier and other tools that have come before it the sky is the limit. You're basically limited only by your imagination.
And the third party tools you can plug in and play to, to automate systems. So one of the things we're developing right now is an intricate cold outreach system. So that we can reach people in different verticals that we want to get in front of via email and via social media.
So that's something that we're starting to explore and experiment with right now, just to become more connected in different arenas. So yeah I recommend people take a look at tools like that. Start to look at ways to introduce automation and AI into their business. Okay. Let's take that, let's look to the future just a little bit.
How do you envision the future of networking in the next five to 10 years considering advancements in AI and digital technologies? Yeah. I think one of the areas, and it's still developed, I think it's still. Still a uncharted territory is probably with VR and augmented reality, right?
I know Apple tried their hand at the vr an augmented reality space with their headset, which I think flopped. I don't know if it's the price point or what but. Companies like Meta are still very much in that arena. I think the verdict's still out the field to see how comfortable the masses are gonna be with that technology.
But I can imagine a scenario where a system like that, or maybe one that's even more scaled down as technology grows, becomes more and more of a vertical for connection. So instead of a. A 2D screen and a Zoom call. We might be in an immersive, VR experience where it feels like, we're right there with the person, whether it's a spatial audio or 3D render renderings of the individual.
On the flip side, on the more dystopian side, I also see scenarios where, there's gonna be segments of people that might rely or utilize virtual avatars to the point where. You might be talking to somebody thinking it's one person or thinking they look one way, but it's, someone completely different.
So there's some of those kind of things that are more yet to be uncharted as far as what that does to traditional style networking. But definitely something to keep an eye on. Okay. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it too. What are the key elements of a strong network for entrepreneurs seeking investors and what mistakes should they avoid?
I think, for entrepreneurs looking to get in the way of, anyone of accolade, whether it's in an investment community or anything like that, I think you always have to be asking yourself what value do you provide? Exactly. Typically the more busy someone is it's harder to get their time, and so really you have to put yourself in their shoes.
If you want, if you wanna. A half an hour or an hour of someone's time who is a busy individual maybe has already seen a lot of success. You have to ask yourself. Putting yourself in their shoes, like what's in it for them? Sometimes that can be as simple as Hey, I'd love to buy you lunch.
Other times it might mean starting to develop a platform, a podcast or an ebook or an interview type outfit in which, they feel like they benefit from that. So I think that's the key is like. How do you add value to them so that you know they're even willing to sit down and talk to you, right?
That's right. That's right. That's good to know. Good to remember. But for early stage startups, what's the most effective way to connect with the right people for funding and partnerships? For early stage startups I would say. Figure out where the networking hubs are in your community. I know for instance here in Spokane between Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, which are fairly close, 30, 30 minutes to an hour between those two areas, depending on where you're from there are at least a small handful of communities that meet for things like hackathons or pitch events, and.
Just about every, metropolitan Hub these days has some kind of community where they take entrepreneurs and startups and put them in front of people looking for investment, right? So figuring out. Kind of who those people or hubs or entities are in your local area, I think could be instrumental.
And like I said they exist just about everywhere. It's just a matter of figuring out where they are and getting involved. And they are they're everywhere. They are. Yeah. And even though you may not believe it because you're the one looking for the money. But they are everywhere.
And there's organizations and you just have to find them. That's really what the key is. Yeah. Last but not least, being, bringing this podcast full circle, can you share a personal story of how a networking connection changed the course of your career or business? Yeah, so I had attended, I had been attending search engine optimization conferences for a few years into kind of the infancy of our agency.
And there was one particular event, it was a smaller mastermind style conference, meaning that I think there was maybe 30 or 40 people it was. Not overly expensive, but it wasn't cheap either, right? It definitely wasn't a free conference. But I had I had entered this conference as an attendee and while there, it was one of these kind of events where the speakers, they didn't just fly in and fly out, right?
They stick around to network and discuss with people and, at this particular event, they had a panel where I think I gave a short, 15, 20 minute talk. Wasn't overly planned, it was just there was an opening and so I jumped in there and after the event, I started speaking with one of the individuals who I had been following for quite some time and saying, and I just went up to him as genuine as I possibly could, and just said, Hey man, I really had, I really loved your talk.
I rattled off a couple points that kind of stuck with me. And just told this individual how much I admired what they were doing. And to my surprise, this individual was like, yeah, I've been following what you've been doing for a while as well. And I'd really like to have you share some resources inside of this training community that I'm a part of.
And that ended up opening up doors for me to be on stages, in Vietnam, an Estonia. And ironically, the story I told earlier about the guy that I had done in this roundup post, it was the same guy, right? And had I not gone through the effort of creating a platform where I could showcase other people's work and then introduce myself as a component of that and embedded myself in this community.
And started to get to know the players in this community I don't think I ever would've had the ability to be on the stages that I've been. And and I have other stories, probably we can save for another time, but numerous stories like that where just being able to invest a little bit of time and money to be in, the right rooms has opened up doors to me that otherwise never would've been opened.
You are willing to give it without thinking of the return. And so I think that's the mindset that you have to have when you're, at least when you're first starting out. Even years in, I've been 10 years on and off stages. And I still have that mindset. You still look to give, one, one of my favorite things to say to a potential client is, how can I make you more successful?
How can I make you, how can I be a good referral source for you? And it usually starts out very well and we usually wind up doing business or whatever, but it's always a good thing to give rather than receive. Adam, I have to tell you, this was great. I. I I feel I can talk to you for another two hours and still not get to the crux of what you are doing.
But if somebody wanted to get a hold of you either to buy your services, be coached by you, or just to talk to you, how would they do it? First of all, I'll say I'm pretty easy to find simple Search for my name, Adam Chronister. You'll find all kinds of information, but outside of that, I encourage people to take a look at the agency I run, which is called nle.
I'll spell that. It's a little tricky name. It's E-N-L-E-A-F. So nle.com. Or simply do a Google search for my name. I'm pretty active on, all the social media platforms. Facebook x.com. TikTok, you name it, I'm there. So yeah, I'd love to chat with anyone that has any interests or questions for me or simply wants to connect and talk shop.
So that's great. Adam, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Oh, my pleasure. Thank you so much.
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Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
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