📍 📍 Now I've got a great guest today. His name is Josh. I'm going to let him, I'm going to let him introduce himself, but let me give you a little bit.
A little bit beforehand. He grew up in a divorced family. Money was always a negative topic. He received a degree in actuarial science and then he discovered that financial advisors are in sales and really don't know the ins and outs of investing. That's when he made it his mission to educate Americans on the best ways to grow their wealth.
Josh, welcome. Yeah. Thanks for having me, Michael. Happy to be on the show. Great. Great. Listen, I'm very glad to have you here. , I see , that, , we both come from divorced families. , and we both made our way to better ourselves. , let's say talking about networking, how would you approach building genuine relationships, genuine connections with a world that's increasingly digital?
Yeah, that's the tough part. , most people don't want to leave their house nowadays to, , go to events. I'm actually one of those folks. , I'd rather stay home than go to events. , rather than focusing on putting myself in positions that I don't thrive in, I have figured out ways to put myself into environments where I could be my best self.
My best self and when you're you are your best self. That's when you shine when you meet people you're in a better mood You're more open to Meeting new people and it definitely opens things up so such as like I started a podcast and I invite people that I think are going to be cool onto the podcast such as yourself and That's one way I can meet people.
I like to play golf, so I'll sign up as a single and I'll get paired with a random person and we'll be stuck out on the golf course for a few hours. You know, that's another way to meet people. , as well as I've been working really hard to figure out how do you share your message with the world, which is scary.
Hopping on a camera, being vulnerable and figuring out how to attract the right people rather than doing what a lot of people do is just bang the phones, bang LinkedIn messages, bang social media messages, and see who responds. And I see, and you're really talking about being an introvert as opposed to an extrovert.
You know, an extrovert really such as myself. I love going out to the places to network, to meet the people. The more people I meet, the better. And there's a way to handle that if you're an introvert. I call that a wingman, but I'll go into that later on , what do you think? is the key element for effective, , professional networking.
The key is not to expect anything from anyone. Meaning , you need to reach out to people like genuinely, like people who you genuinely want to meet. , and , it doesn't have to be just for business. It could be in other facets of your life, because if you just focus on business, For 10 years and you're like, I don't want to make any new friends.
I don't want to focus on anything else I'm gonna be straight business for 10 years , you're gonna Limit the amount of opportunities that you'll have in the future because you're not nurturing relationships. You're not creating other connections outside the business world, which you never know when someone's going to call you up one day that you weren't even, you haven't even really talked about business other than they know what you do, they like you.
And then eventually you get that phone call. Hey, I have a friend. Hey, I need help with this. I know you've been doing this for a while. And it is in the short run. It could help someone get better results. However, this is a marathon game and doing short term activities that have short term results is a recipe for a calamity in the future.
Yeah, , so if I understand it correctly, which I usually do, , first of all, you have to be yourself. Don't try to be somebody else, but don't limit yourself to business activities because you don't know because a friend of yours, you're not just talking to a friend, you're talking to your friend's network of people.
So even though you may not do business with your friend, you're doing business with his friends. And so on. So you can't really cut yourself short. You want to just, you want to make as many friends business or otherwise as possible. , okay. So let me ask you a question. Listen, you've been around the horn quite a bit.
What mistakes have you made and how did you overcome them in terms of networking? Terms of networking, but business per se.
Probably the biggest one was not believing in myself because when I left corporate America and I didn't have a. Big company name behind me. I felt that my age would deter people from working with me So I attempted to partner with people who were older so that way if I ever got the objection Well, how long have you been doing this for I could say listen i've been doing this for X amount of years I partner with this person.
They've been doing it for x plus years. So we have a whole team here I felt that was a good, , a good cheat code. , hey, like, I know what my,, downfall is. People are going to ask how old I am. How long have you been doing this for? What are your credentials? , so I wanted to eliminate that.
now I realize that no one really cared. It was just something that I created in my head. There are people who, have those check marks that they want when they work with someone, especially in the financial industry. And I've learned that those are the sort of, , folks that are , not my person that I want to work with.
So I would say that was probably the biggest mistake, which is not having the confidence in. Not believing I could do it on my own because I wanted to be part of a team. And unfortunately, , I struck out on, all three partnerships I attempted to do. That's all right. But you really proved yourself by having confidence in yourself.
And that's really the number one thing you have to remember when it comes to networking. You have to be confident. And if you're confident in yourself, then you go out and you can conquer the world. But it starts with that confidence. Trust is crucial, especially when you're dealing with finances. But how would you establish and maintain a relationship with your fellow professionals?
Like the people that I used to, , used to work with or like people in the financial industry, people you work with. Yeah. Oh, , like current clients or prospects. Is that what you're talking about? Exactly. How would you, stay in contact, stay top of mind, but I want you, how do you maintain that relationship?
How can you create that authentic relationship and keep top of mind within your clients? So what I feel like nowadays. And, I've been told I'm stupid for doing a lot of the things that I'm currently doing. And, , whenever someone tells me I can't do something, I just say to myself, , I've been hearing this for a long time, so I'm just going to continue on this road and see what happens.
I would rather be, I'd rather bet on myself and be wrong than take the advice from someone else and be wrong. That way I can hold myself accountable. So what I feel like now in 2025 is if you are in business, , the new, Cold Call is social media, posting a video, making a post, doing a picture. You never know who's gonna see it.
And even if you're getting no likes and no comments, , when I went out for lunch with a friend that I hadn't seen in a few years, he actually brought up, he's , I see all of your posts. And I've never seen this person like it or comment it one time and you just never know who's watching. Not all the analytics online are gonna tell you the full story.
So, I mean, if you don't like cold calling whip out your phone and just start talking and post it and based on people's likes, interests, you know, you'll show up in the right people's feed and you'll be top of mind in that sort of capacity. So, I mean, that's sort of my, , New age cold call strategy, uh, just because cold calling for me is, , something that is, I don't really enjoy doing it.
I can do it. I'm pretty good at it. However, right now. I feel like if you create a video, you post the video, that video is out there. So when you get on a call with someone, they're like, Hey, like I have a question about this. Now you can send them a video. You don't have to say the same thing a thousand times when you get the same question.
So you can start to make videos based on your questions. You send, Now you're working asynchronously to help you focus on working on the business versus consistently in the business. That's, you bring up a very good point. Actually, you brought up a few very good points. I'm just going to try to dissect it a little bit.
Yeah, let's break it down. So, you know, really what you're talking about is an again is an introvert versus an extrovert First of all, nobody likes to do sales calls. Nobody likes to do cold calls let alone sales calls but in lieu of doing The cold calls by putting out those videos. You're not having to talk to those people by putting a post through LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook.
You don't have to do those cold calls. You're letting them, everybody see them. And if they want, they're going to contact you. So you're cutting out the middleman. You're just allowing. Them to reach out to you and you can answer an introvert extrovert doesn't make a difference when somebody approaches you Then it's a hundred percent difference than if you just reached your hand out to them So it works out very well.
So, you know, and that's what you try to do with videos with email marketing , there's a way that you attach a video In that email, and you can send that email out this 1000 different ways of you to market yourself. , but with social media, it's that much more. It's easier, yet it's difficult because there are so many people out there doing social media.
, but , let's revert back to the networking event. Okay, that's a large scale, , gathering, and it can, Really be overwhelming. , do you have any tips when they, for somebody, they went to a conference or a seminar like that?
What I like to do is typically find the person that no one's talking to. First, I find the person standing by themselves, probably that person who's a little shy. I'm not shy. I've actually read, I mean, there's like people who are like extroverted, know, the life of the party, the class clown, and there's people who are a little bit more quiet.
Like I'm introverted in the sense where I recharge, , I don't just talk for the sake of talking, but I'm like extroverted, meaning I can sit in a coffee shop, not talk to anyone. I like feel energized. So typically I like to start off by finding the person no one's talking to. I was like, let me just go talk to this person and be like, Hey, no one's talking to you.
Is there any. Any reason why? No, just haven't been haven't started talking to anyone yet. You're the first person and then boom break the ice and see where it goes and that way you can Get your lips and your tongue and all the mouth muscles moving and working a little bit Well, you know, there's a way, , I always suggest people join their chamber of commerce And go to that meeting every week because it will help you tailor your message.
And they have their after hours meetings. And usually the same people plus maybe five go to those meetings. And if you're going to those meetings and you see a wallflower. As you put it, , and you walk up to them, don't just start talking to them. But when you walk up to them, you say, you know , what do you do?
How are you? Whatever you say? Well, you know, I do graphic design or I do marketing. So, you know, something that table over there is filled with marketing people or graphic designers, or, you know, People that use graphic design. Let me introduce you to them. So you walk over, you walk them over, you introduce them, and you back away.
You let them talk. So you've done your part. You've now elevated. Your process because you are thought of much more in that person's world Every event that they go to they're going to remember you for doing that. That's very important. Um, okay So what would you say? Is an essential skill. What's an essential tip you would give for somebody looking to improve their networking or sales skills?
What I'm working on now is figuring out how to remain present as possible with every activity that I'm doing. So like right now , we're on this podcast. We're on Michael's podcast. Nothing else matters. There are no problems. We're just here. So whenever you're with someone you have to work on it.
It's hard, like focusing and really engaging with each person because you never know when that person may come back up. You never know what it may. However, if you are a jerk or you rip someone the wrong way, you're guaranteed it to be a shut door, a shut opportunity within the first, , what is it?
A couple seconds? You could just basically, boom, person's , yeah, I don't, I'm never going to talk to that person ever again. , so that's what I'm working on is remaining present. And what's really helped me is to make sure that, You're asking very thoughtful, open ended questions that help lead the conversation to where someone like walks away and is , wow, that was the best conversation I had at this event.
No, , that's what I'm working on. , it's a consistent, it's a consistent, journey. , you could always be working on it. You could always refine your skills in it. It's something that, uh, you don't just get good at you That's it. Okay. You've established what you have to work on, so, but let's change it around a little bit.
What's your favorite marketing tactic? My favorite marketing tactic is actually, I've recently started just, , spending more money on marketing. So getting more, , paid leads doing more, I'll do like a post on social media and if it hits a certain amount of reach, I'll then put some money behind it to see if it can gain some traction.
And then from there, if anyone follows, send them a message like, Hey Michael, thanks for the follow. I do XYZ. If there's any sort of content you want to see, just let me know and I'll make a video for you. And then I just see what they say. Some people just part it. Some people you see, they read it.
They didn't respond. Some people are like, Hey, like I found your page. Like it really resonated with me. And then you see where the conversation goes and you put them in a little folder and say, Hey, like lead or opportunity. And then you just start building out the pipeline. That sounds fair.
Okay. So let's round this whole thing out and I want you to give me one takeaway. That my audience can use today to further their networking skills.
I would say the, one of the highest value skills anyone can have is public speaking. So being able to speak and not stutter, not get so nervous that you pause and then you freak out and then you forget everything you're going to say. And by just talking to a camera by yourself. watching the recordings.
You don't even have to post the video if you're too scared and just watching yourself back and taking, , notes, like actually writing it down. Like I have a notepad that I like actually write down. Cause if you write it down and you're taking notes, now you're like instilling it into your mind.
So. Reach out to someone, get on a podcast, or just, , five minutes a day, talk to a camera and you could literally read a book or read anything. Just one of the things of becoming a new parent is every time at bedtime, I'm reading the same books over and over. And if you ask someone's , Hey, Michael, how do you feel about reading Jack and the Beanstalk again for the 12th night in a row?
It could be like, Oh, Well I look at it as , I'm practicing talking out loud, I'm practicing having the same positive energy every time I read the book. And I think to myself, , now I know why, , some famous musicians freak out on people when they've sang the same song a bajillion times, cause they're just like sick of it.
However, when you're a performer or you're in business for yourself, , you always have to be on your game. , there's no Minutes off, you never know where that opportunity may be. You could be in a line in the grocery store. You got your shirt on with your logo. And someone's , Oh, what is that? Boom.
You're in a sales call. You didn't even say anything. And it's true. Cause no matter where you are, you can always, you're marketing yourself. But it's very interesting because when Mike. Boys were younger and my wife and I would tag team, reading to them. And of course I read the same books 150 times. It didn't make a difference, but they loved it.
But what I would do is I would change the way that I. Spoke of each of the characters and I would create a different voice for those characters And I would get better and better my first started. I I was horrible I you know, but they didn't know it. They thought it was great. The kids don't care.
They don't know They don't care. They don't know but I knew it and I got better. So I know exactly what you're talking about , that's the greatest way to practice is just to I always say Start doing it regardless. Listen the first time you go out to a networking event or network or market You're gonna suck.
There's no two ways about it The next time you go out then the next time you get better and better Like I said in the beginning Networking is a skill and you have to practice practice practice in order to get better And I'm sure you'll do it. , you'll get better. You're getting better already.
I can see that already, but I'll tell you, Josh, if somebody wanted to get hold of you, wanted your services or learn more about you, how would they do it? , just Google Joshua Krafcik and find my website, find LinkedIn, Instagram, whichever is your preferred way of learning more. What's your website? What's your website?
369. 369financial. com. Okay. That's better. Okay. So that's the way, once you articulate exactly where you want them to go, they will go. So that's great. Do you want to add anything else? the key to anything is just showing up. So if you're scared of networking, just Show up to the event. Don't even talk to anyone.
Be like, all right, I went. Now the next time you go, be like, all right, I'm gonna talk to one person. Okay, that wasn't so bad. And then just build it up from there. You don't have to pay thousands of dollars, go to a huge conference, and then become overwhelmed, like the first time you walk into, you Costco.
You're like, Oh, this place is huge. Where do I start? Yep. That's what I said. Go join a chamber of commerce or go as a guest because they are very small meetings and you don't have to say much, but each week you practice it and you get better and you go to an after hours event, you get better. And before you know it, you're a networker.
You're networking. Josh, this has been great. I thank you so much for coming on the podcast and we'll talk soon. Awesome. Thanks everyone. We'll see you next time. Thanks, Michael.
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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