📍 Hello and welcome to Networking Unleashed, building profitable connections. I'm Michael Forman. I am hosting and I just want to tell you personal. Okay. So we're going to delve into both of those, but I have an incredible guest. His name is Frank Agen, let me just tell you a little bit about him. The science of networking. Big misses in networking, referral, best practices. Frank Gagen is president of AmSpirit Business Connections, empowers entrepreneurs, sales representatives, and professionals to become successful. And get more through networking. also shares, excuse me. He also shares information and insights on professional relationships, networking, and best practices for generating referrals on his networking RX podcast through various professional. Finally, Frank is the author of several books, including Foundational Networking. See all of his books through www.frankagent. com. So I just wanted to tell you, I want to welcome you, Frank. I just, just tell us a little bit about yourself.
Frang Agin
Thank you for having me on Networking Unleashed. I really appreciate I appreciate the opportunity. I live in Columbus, Ohio. I came here 40 years ago to go to law school. Never really had an intention on staying, but I got a law degree, got an MBA, met a girl and started a job in public accounting.
I was a tax Consultant, which was a great job. It was great pay. Just a great experience all in all. Michael, I didn't want to do taxes for the rest of my life. And most people understand that if you, I'll run into a few where it's like, Oh, why not? I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life.
And so I decided to leave and go into private practice because I've always been very entrepreneurial. And a funny thing happened to me when I went into private practice. And the funny thing was that nothing happened. I had no idea how to get clients. They don't teach you that in school, high school, college, law school.
They don't teach you that in the big firms because the work is already there. We just need you to come in as many days a week and stay as long as you can. And just work. And so I'm out on my own trying to figure out how to make it happen. Most states have ethical requirements for attorneys and one of them, and certainly the state of Ohio, I think most states have this attorneys really aren't supposed to call people.
We're not allowed to cold call. Advertising is very restricted. And so I'm like how am I going to get business? This is the mid nineties. There's no LinkedIn. There's no email. There's no no websites. I don't even think I had a cell phone, Michael. I really don't. And so I was beside myself.
What am I supposed to do? So I had lunch one day with a friend of mine and she took a different path out of law school. There's a saying in law school that a students become professors, B students become judges and C students become millionaires. And that's because if you're a C student, you don't get the cushy opportunities.
You got to figure it out. And that's what she did is she was, she figured it out right from the start. But I asked her, I said, what do I need to do to become successful? And she said, why don't you get into a tips club or leads group? I really had no idea what she was talking about, but there was an organization based out of Pittsburgh that was starting these networking groups, if you will.
And through a couple of introductions, I got invited to a meeting. They didn't have an attorney. They were, and it really changed everything. To be honest, I showed up and it made total sense, that you could lift your whole world up. Just helping other people. This, that's what you and I, that's what the whole essence of networking unleashed is right.
Your whole, everything you do is all about this. You know what, this mentality of just helping people and just trusting it's going to come back to you. And that's what these groups are about. And that really resonated with me because I'm good at talking about other people and talking other people up.
If I start to talk about myself and self promote, I just, I lose steam right away. So I really doubled down on being successful in that group. And I'll make a long story short. I had an opportunity to buy it at one point in the early two thousands and I did, I enjoyed practicing law. But I could build something here.
I could, I could, the law is always changing there, in law schools are always pooping out attorneys every year, right? What you and I do is really unique. It's really unique. And You could really learn a craft and be, it'd be unique. And so I, I stopped the practice of law. I started, I rebranded the business that I bought to Amspirit Business Connections started writing books really becoming a student of networking.
Why does it, why do some people, why are some people successful and other people, not that person there is really outgoing. But they're still living with mom, right? That doesn't make any sense. And that person's a total introvert and he's crushing it. It doesn't make any sense.
You and I know the answers, right? And there are answers. And so I just really started to lean in and learn these things. And then that led into me having a podcast which I, that's how you and I met, got you on and lots of other things, all things networking.
Michael Forman
That's great information. Thing I've learned personally when I go to a networking event or a networking meeting or something, I look to give, receive. I look to give, I look to, I say to the person you know what? I like you. I like what you do, how you do business. How can I make you more successful?
How can I be a good referral source for you? if I do that enough, what you said, what goes around comes around. So it
Frank Agin
That being said, was one experience that drove you to open up your networking career? What was that one thing?
I'll be honest when I had an opportunity to buy this, go from attorney to doing this. And I remember having a conversation with my wife and saying, you know what, if I continue being an attorney 30 years from now, I know what I'll be doing. I've seen the old codgers going into the law, the law library, they don't have a law.
They've surely still law libraries, but much of it's online anymore. Yeah, I've seen it. I know the end of the story, but if I do this, it's something very unique. And so I really embarked upon it as a business opportunity. Like this is something unique. This is something I can do. This is something I can build, but.
What really fascinated me about the whole networking thing is that it touches every aspect of life.
I have you know, they're all adults now who are and needing to get jobs or have jobs and losing jobs and trying to find a next job. And I don't get paid for this, but I can lean into helping those people.
And it's really applying the same sorts of principles to helping a small business person get business. It's okay. This is what you need to do to find a job.
That you, we were never really taught, but we all have, we just don't know how to deploy them in the right way.
And if you do, it's really powerful. So that was really neat for me.
And it's true. And those personal skills, listen, like anything else, you have to practice, practice, practice, practice. And the more you practice, the better you get. The more networking meetings you go to, you know, but in your travels, in your experience, your number one challenge? What really challenged you throughout your career?
I think this is something that challenges everybody is. Is this ever going to come back to me,
Yeah. right? Because it is a real leap of faith. It's a, you go work for a company, you work all week and there's a paycheck at the end of the week. Maybe it's two weeks, but it's the same thing.
I'm working, I'm going to get paid. The government's going to step in and help me if I don't get paid or society, there's this faith that the turnaround between what you're doing and what you're getting happens quickly. And with respect to networking, As you well know that, that's not always the case.
Sometimes it's pretty immediate when you and I have just met you, when I say just met in the last three months, you've been on my podcast, I've been on your podcast. And that's relatively immediate. And, thank you for having me on. This is truly an honor, but it's also an asset for me because I'm out there on another platform.
So it is a gift. And so there is a somewhat of an immediate return there. So sometimes it's relatively immediate. Sometimes it might be years where somebody will come back and say, you know what? I heard you 10 years ago, talk and I need help now or even with respect to friends of my kids, I, run this networking organization and I, I have these kids.
They're not kids. They're grown adults with spouses and houses and mortgage payments coming into the organization and being clients of my organization. And it's literally been decades in the making, hey, you need to go and get in Mr. Reagan's program. It's so it's that's the biggest challenge has been.
Just having the faith that, things will come back to you and you might not even recognize that it's come back to you, but it's coming back to you.
Yeah, whenever you go into a networking event or meetings, that's what I've been saying all along. Yeah. Really people lost sight of what they have to do,
You know, they, this is going to sound very sexist. I apologize to everybody who's listening. But usually it's the woman that walks in and starts talking a mile a minute. And, you know, everybody's like, whoa, you know, stop, you know, what you have to remember to do is when you first, let's say, walk up to a table you don't talk, you work, you listen, listen for the conversation, you listen to what, is this a conversation that I want to be a part of? Then, it's not you politely back out, you go to another table. if it is, you wait for the opportunity for you to say something. Now gone somewhere and you are supposedly the expert in your field. So what you say, I really hope is something intelligent at least one or two of the people will turn around and respond back to you. And that gives you, that opens up your opportunity to ask them what they do, how they do it and everything else. And remember form, I don't know if you remember on our podcast, but form is family, occupation, recreation, and a message you get to the same level. Keep all that in mind, and you let them talk, speak, and after a while, you say, you know, that's when you come back with the, I like what you're doing. I like you. How can I make you more successful? And before you realize it, they're giving you all their information. And the best thing to do is to find a referral for them.
Yeah. And it's really human nature. I'll share a story. This just it, it happened a few months ago, but I retold it this morning introducing two people. I had met a woman down in Jacksonville, Florida, and it was very impressed with what she did with ai.
I reached out to her and said, Hey, would you please show me how I could be using AI to do the things you are doing for your clients? And I'm happy to pay you. She said, don't worry about paying me. You don't need to worry about paying me. I'll give you an hour of my time. You're out there doing this stuff and it's only an hour of my time.
And you're smart enough to figure this stuff out. If you need help beyond that. Sure. Just, let's just sit and talk about it. And I spent an hour with her and I was just blown away by the things she was showing me and the whole time we're talking. I'm certainly listening to what she's saying, taking notes, but just intermittently, it's okay.
Who do I know that could use this person? Who do I know that I can introduce this person to? And it's just, these are things that are just barking in the background in my head. We are hardwired. She gave me an hour of her time. We are hardwired to reciprocate. And so when we do these things, good things are going to come back to us.
absolutely. And, you know, in business, it really doesn't matter what business you're in, your referral, referral is gold. It does nothing better than a personal referral. So what does that tell you that you have to do right by whomever that you're helping to, and, and give them more, and so it's just, you give them more than what they're paying for, and they should be. So, you know, elated that you're helping them in such a way that they can't do anything but refer you and that referral say, Oh, you know, so and so referred me and called you as, Oh, I love her.
You know, they, cause you're putting their name on the line as well how you treat them.
Yeah, I think a lot of times people run into, they had this hang up that if I do something for someone else, I am going to be depleted. I'm out something. And what I share with people I always have to preface. Okay. I'm not being, I'm not getting crazy here. Just follow my logic.
I say, I tell them I don't like coconut. I just don't. From as being young as a kid, I just didn't like coconut. It's, I have a gag reflex if I have coconut. But if you hand me an Almond Joy bar that's all coconut, even though I will not eat that. I will not. I'll probably die before I eat it. I will take it because I know there are people in my life that love coconut and could benefit from coconut.
And so I'm going to take, I'm going to collect all the almond joy bars out there and give them to the people I knew who love almond joy bars. It's certainly not depleting me because I've already said I don't like coconut. And the reason I'm doing that is because I'm giving these almond joy bars out and hopefully they're asking what kind of candy do you like, Frank?
Cause I'll keep a lookout for you. Because they're so thankful that I've given them their favorite candy and I look at that same thing with respect to other opportunities. A lot of things come my way that don't really fit for me.
Somebody might have a fitness podcast.
That's not for me, but it's for somebody I know. And so I'm going to take that in, that I'm in Joy Bar, and I'm going to hand it out to somebody else. And what are they going to say? What kind of podcast are you looking to get on? I'm looking to get on ones that are, that deal with professional relationships, business networking, referral best practices, oh, okay. I'll keep a lookout for you. And it's the same thing with respect to other opportunities too. We're all encountering things and people, somebody looking to hire a, somebody to work in their it department, but I'm in marketing. That's an opportunity. What type of person are you looking for?
Entry level, how many years? I don't know if I know somebody, but I know people and maybe I can help you. And so you're not depleted at all by doing those sorts of things. Yeah.
you know, I go on stages and I do breakout sessions and workshops and people ask me all the time, whenever I give them an hour of my time, you're giving me All of your information, there's nothing left. You know, what can, what else could you possibly show me? Well, there's an infinite amount of things that you can still learn. But you know, on my, on my website, I have my book. but right next to it, I have a little thing called an abridged version and that's free. It's a PDF and it gives you the basics of my book and everything out, but it's free. say, well, why are you doing that? whoever downloads it obviously needs it.
And just do it. What goes around comes around. I feel that if you give out as much as you can, it will come back.
No, it's like you have books and people say what's the best way to sell a book? I say, give it away for free. I'm saying just get out there and just tweet little tidbits of it out there, right? That's what I've done. Here's this little reference, show the book, maybe a link to the book.
That's how I'll buy books. I'll look at, oh, that really sounds interesting.
Perfect.
Berg, I'm going to buy that book, and I joke and I say, if somebody was really enterprising enough, they could scour my LinkedIn and my social channels and they could find The entire book, little bits and pieces, plug it all together.
Yeah, absolutely. Because you are giving away enough for somebody to really put together if they want to take the time to put it all together, but you might as well just go out and buy the book.
That's what people end up doing.
What one marketing or networking tip that you feel the most strongly about?
That's a great question. And I have a consistent answer. Find something that you're passionate about and go volunteer I need to get out. I need to network. I need to do something. I don't know where to do. You should go find something, don't just, don't be calculating.
These big people are here or whatever. If it's pet charities, head in that direction. Homelessness. Maybe it's youth sports. Just get out there and give to the world. You don't have to wear a t shirt that has your business name on it. You probably better off not doing that. Don't be calculating like that.
People will find out I see it all the time. What's he do?
He runs an insurance agency.
Yeah. No, you have to remember that you're not just speaking with the people that are there speaking with their entire network, each individual people. And I always recommend exactly what you just said, and I always recommend just go and do.
When you start doing and you start giving, the conversation is going to turn around to say, What do you do for a living? That's when you can say, well, I do this or I do that, know, and people say, oh, that's very interesting. Or you know, that's all right. But it will advance you not only personally, but it will advance you as well. As
how to communicate with them.
Yeah when you're doing those things, you're not doing them alone. You're doing them with other people who are, care about the same, whatever it is, charity or initiative and they'll ask about you and you'll develop a relationship with them and something's going to happen from that.
But that kind of gets you off of the dime, so to speak, and just doing something.
Yeah, it's true. And that falls into the category of giving, receiving. Yeah. Cause when you're there, you're going to give, give, give until somebody turns around and says, what do you do, you know, something like that. But that is great for your networking tactic. Do you have specific way that you market that you have a marketing tactic?
Now I know you run networking groups. You actually have a separate networking next week. I think at four o'clock or so.
I have a couple of things that I do. I, again, it goes back to the whole notion of the best way to sell something is to give it away for free in the early days of the pandemic. We were all a little bit, what does this mean? What does this mean for the world?
And we're all a little bit lonely and I discovered that you could use Zoom for something more than talking to one person at a time. So I invited, 12 people onto a Zoom call and we just had a conversation. I said, I know none of you people know each other.
You're all very well connected. Meet each other. Let's all talk about ourselves one by one. And that from that was born the networking hub, which is the second Wednesday of every month at 7 PM Eastern, you can get the link to it. It's free to attend. There's no commitment networking dash hub. And then I've also started doing a referrals strategy workshop at four o'clock on that same day.
And so what I'll do on the workshop is I will bring up just the workshop is more about hands on sorts of things with respect to referrals. And the next one I'm going to be talking about. I'm going to be talking about the whole notion of what I call wholesale referrals, basically looking for people that will lead you to multiple referrals.
I'll talk on that briefly and then put people in breakout rooms and they can have a conversation around that concept. So again, free to attend. And it's interesting, I see the people who are registering and, certainly people from my organization. Lots of people not from my organization. So it's going to be a great opportunity.
Spreading the good word about networking. I love it. Frank. If somebody wants to get hold of you, what's the best way that they can hold of you,
Everybody communicates in their own style. Some people love LinkedIn. If you go to frankagin. com, you can find my email address, you can get to my LinkedIn profile, my Facebook and communicate any of those ways. However works best for you. For me, email's the best.
It's just easy for me to catalog and color coat and put reminders and things like that. That's just me.
Frank? I have to tell you, this was a great. experience.
Thank you.
If my viewer wanted to know about networking or referrals or anything else, please contact Frank and and he will set you free sort of speak. I personally will be sitting in on that networking event both at four o'clock and seven o'clock, because I'm very interested in networking in case you have, haven't realized that yet, but I want to thank you and good luck with everything.
Thank you. Appreciate the opportunity.
Nothing other than sharing good information and getting additional exposure for myself and AmSpirit Business Connections
Plus, you can always find me at www.MichaelAForman.com
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