Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Natasha Walstra and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- Jul 6
- 19 min read
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections, the show where conversations create opportunities and relationships drive real business growth. I'm your host, Michael Forman for many professionals today, the first handshake doesn't happen in a room. It happens on linked. A connection request, a thoughtful comment, or a well-written post can open the door to relationships that lead to partnerships, clients, and opportunities.
My guest today helps professionals turn LinkedIn from a simple profile page into a powerful networking platform. We're talking about how to build meaningful connections online. How to communicate your value without sounding like a sales pitch, and how consistent engagement can turn digital interactions into real world relationships.
If you've ever wondered how to make LinkedIn work for your business instead of just out there on, on a, out there on an online resume, this episode is for you and I'd like to welcome to the podcast today, Natasha. Natasha is an expert in doing all of this, turning your LinkedIn page and everything else.
I'll let her discuss all of that. But Natasha n. Natasha, welcome to the podcast and just give us a little background on how you got where you are today. Thanks so much for having me today, Michael. Excuse me, gosh, how I got here today. I had landed my first sales position, this is about 10 years ago as an SDR, where I had to cold call, smile and dial a hundred dials a day.
I'm sure you're familiar with that, and very familiar. And it was so brutal. I'm an introvert, used to be super shy as well, and so you can imagine this was quite literally the worst position for me. However, I'm also very competitive. And I'm like, how do I hit my numbers but not cry every day?
Basically. And that's actually how I discovered using LinkedIn as a way to connect network and then warm call. And it turns out people are much more receptive to that. So that sort of just unlocked this whole thing for me of wow, I can, I don't need to do this spray and pray mass automation, this all this.
Tactics, we hate so much about sales, right? There's a way that to do it that feels good and authentic and or like organic, right? And so that was really the start of it. From there, obviously there's some twists and turns of how I started to. Create content as part of this. Like I didn't know I was building a personal brand.
I had no idea what that was actually until I was VP of sales at Forbes Books. That was the first time intentionally in that space, but it was, by that point I actually already had a personal brand and this huge network and it's because of, building out this whole system and off with sales in mind, right?
It was always about, how do I hit my quota and do it in a way that feels good. That's pretty much what brings me to today. I always see some twists and turns there, but I, it was, with Forbes books especially to drink the Kool-Aid and I think, I still think book publishing is a really great route to go, but it doesn't matter how great your book is if you don't have a community or audience you're engaging with Right.
Nobody will know about it. And left that to find a better way to serve the authors that I had signed. And that's pretty much. Where I am today is that I, obviously, I work with authors, but as well as business owners and helping them build out their LinkedIn presence in a way that feels good and authentic, but that doesn't take up all the time since most people don't have that much time.
Oh, that's great. That's great. And how do you feel that the, the people come to you and their LinkedIn pages. How, what's your first discussion with them on how to change their LinkedIn page? Most of the time what's missing is more of them. Like right now, typically I'm seeing it's like a corporate buttoned up version of them, or some professional, perfect.
Buttoned up version, they think they need to be right. Instead, we really want to see more of you. So typically my first, when I kick off with 'em, it's tell me about you. Where have you been? Where are you now, and where are you going? And then we can take that and turn that into you. Your, your profile.
That's actually feels like you, because I wanna be able to hear your voice when I go to your profile. I wanna be able to get to know you before I ever even talk to you. Very good. Very good. Okay, I'll, we'll go into the questions now. That was just a personal question. Perfect. Many professionals treat LinkedIn like a resume.
Should someone actually think about it if they wanted to function as a networking platform? I love this question. Most people, like 95% of people on LinkedIn today, still think of LinkedIn as a digital copy of their resume, right? It's a place where you go when you're searching for a new job. A way that I like to think about it now is as if it's like a block party, right?
Where you're there to connect, network, meet your people, find those that you vibe with, right? And build those relationships. So instead of also, I'd say the other. 4.5% of people think of LinkedIn as a networking event, which for years I thought of that as well. It's a borderless digital networking event where everyone's down to connect to network.
Problem is, I've learned that a lot of people aren't very good at networking. There's always this ulterior motive, right? Or people are, it's like almost funding grounds or something, and everyone, they're treating you as prospects versus actual real people. So this idea of a block party, it's let's go there.
Low pressure. Let's not go there to pitch people. Let's go there to talk to people and see how we can support one another versus asking, what can I get from you? It's what can we do together? How can I serve you? And I think when you go at it that way, it does change it to, it gives you purpose on the platform, right?
Because you're actually on there to build relationships versus trying to just close deals. What ends up happening when you build relationships though, is you're building trust. And then opportunities happen by default. It's just most people approach it backwards, and that's why I think most so many of us are even avoiding our inboxes because it's just full of pitch slaps, right?
So that's what we don't wanna be doing on there, yeah. I actually, wait, I'm sorry. No, go ahead. Go ahead, go. No, like a way I like to think about it sometimes is like back when we used to go into an office, right? When you'd grab coffee before you sat down at your desk, who were you grabbing coffee with?
Those are the people you're trying to find on LinkedIn and build those relationships with like through daily, trust deposits through micro conversations in the comments in the dms. It's, I deal with a lot of my clients and I deal with LinkedIn because it is the business platform and I tell them all the time, they're building social capital.
Right? Instead of money they're building social capital, and the way to do that is if they want to connect with somebody, then they have to build a social capital with that person, and you have to bring some sort of, substance to the relationship that you're trying to create. So you're giving them articles or something.
I thought of you today, I thought you might be interested in this, and you have to do that three, four, or five times until you find that. That trust value. And once you cross that threshold, because like you and I, there's a wall between you and I, right? And there has to be a trust level that is, is there, but that wall has to come down first.
Yeah. And that trust level goes up. Okay. So enough of that before you ever send a connection request, what signals on someone's profile help you understand how to approach a conversation?
You wanna, because so many people don't have their profiles optimized, sometimes it's hard to figure out what is the thing to be looking at. So it's, you can find some common ground if possible. The best way, of course, is if they're posting and you can look at their content and see if there's something relevant that you can talk on.
Of course, again, 99% of people aren't posting though, right? So what is it on there? It's. Oftentimes it is trying to find where there is some level of connection. But if it's not. On their profile, it's off of that. So oftentimes what I'll do is set up Google alerts relevant to their industry or the company itself, or people within the company.
So I get notified when there's a reason for me to reach out to these people. It's a really great way of having warm context to reach out to them versus just some random. I actually really try not to connect with anybody for no reason. There's always a purpose to connect with them, and that's what helps create it if you don't see something on their profile or in their content.
Google alerts kind of flies below the radar. Nobody really utilizes the Google alerts. Yeah. I use 'em all the time. That's awesome. And I get, yeah. Yeah. And it's really so great because when you reach out and you make that connection, or I use it for after the connection. And I say, Hey look, this is happening.
I thought you might be interested. Exactly. Something like that. And they're like. Wow. You, I need all this. I know. And it comes straight to your inbox for those that, dunno, it's google.com/alerts. And it's almost so analog now that people would think that this isn't a valuable resource.
It's so powerful and it's free. And it's right there. And half it comes right to your email. Exactly. And it's oh my God, this is great. Okay. Yeah. What makes someone accept a connection request and what instantly makes them ignore it? That's so a really great question because I probably have 200 connection requests in my LinkedIn right now, and it's because I actually, whenever I go I do take the time to look at.
I would say 90% of people to see why, is there a reason I want to, like, why I should connect with them, right? Most people don't necessarily send a personal note, so I'll go look and see if there's a reason and then I'll ask why did they connect with me, right? I'm always trying to start conversations.
The 10% that I just immediately decline is if they have some sort of. Get 20 meetings in, one week, these fluffy numbers that, they're full of crap. And you're just trying to, you're going to pitch me right away. There's no doubt about that. So it's like any blasting numbers like that out of country areas.
Sometimes I just, I won't just because I know that's not where I'm targeting. And typically they might be trying to sell me something too. So those one that go out of it. But when it is somebody. I do connect with and I accept it and I say, Hey, thanks for the connection, and I'll, ask why they connected with me.
It's because I think that there's some opportunity of an exchange of value, whether I think. I could use their services, they could use my services, or we serve the same people. And quite frankly, this is the most, most technical version of all this is that there's a vibe. Like they've just got some cool vibe to them.
I'm like, yes, hell yes. Let's connect. You know what I mean? That's, you hit a point. That's very important. Yeah. 'cause I, I teach networking, communication, leadership, that whole thing. And I go on stages and, or I do workshops and one thing that's. Missed by many is you pick up the vibe of the room, you pick up the vibe of the person that you're speaking to.
You pick, these are our vibes that you have to pick up and you really can't do it through Zoom. Yeah. Because everybody can put on that facade. Everybody can put on that fake face and everything else. But once you walk into the room, once you do that one-to-one, you immediately pick up that vibe. Good or bad.
Yeah. I've been in plenty of rooms where I've picked up a bad vibe and yeah. Not, I had to get away from there quickly, but that to me was, is the most important. Okay. Where do professionals unintentionally damage relationships by treating LinkedIn like a sales funnel instead of a conversation platform?
Oftentimes it's when they outsource it, honestly, they know they need to be on LinkedIn, and so they decide to use one of these. Platforms that automate their messaging. And at this, it, you, it worked at one point a few years back, but now because of the trust recession that we're in and nobody believes anything anymore, and AI has confused like people have been burned left and right.
Like it's a tough place to get attention on LinkedIn if, when, if you just. Automate it and think it's gonna actually work. And quite frankly, that actually does the reverse and it hurts your brand. I've worked with many people who have done those services, spent a lot of money on it, and gotten nothing from it.
And then in fact, it, they're like, I couldn't believe that's what I was sending out to people. And so I think that's, there's no shortcut to building relationships, although I will say your personal brand comes really close to it. But I think so many people have spent. We've spent the last years, decades trying to shortcut that process and making it easier for the sales person, forgetting about how it feels for the buyer's experience, right?
And so if you take things back to how, we do things of how things used to be done through relationships, through actually connecting with the other person you'll see that you're gonna have way more impact, right? Yeah. No I agree. I really make the pandemic align in the sand because pre pandemic Yeah.
Things were more transactional. I have I have a widget. You have $3. We'll exchange it. I'll build my customer list and. The world's a beautiful place. But afterwards, post, people when they were shut in and everything, you have to almost start fresh and it becomes more relational.
And that trust factor is so much more important. And I think that's where the authenticity, that's a buzzword now, but. I know it's unfortunate, but it's a buzzword. You and, you have to just make it through all that cloud of mistrust to get to the trust. Oh, I totally agree.
It's funny you say that 'cause I like I don't use the word authentic anymore 'cause it's lost its meaning basically because it turns out, so I say just be more be real. That's what we're going for. Because when people say, be authentic, you can't just be authentic. You either are or you aren't, and it just, it's unfortunate. It's unfortunate that it did become a buzzword. Yeah. It's when somebody says, oh you are you using ai? That's such a generic term question. Totally. And it's, I'm like yeah. I'm not gonna tell you anything because I don't trust you.
That's, yeah. Okay. So how can someone communicate their value on LinkedIn in a way that attracts interest without sounding like they're pitching? That's a good question. I would say. Very simply, I'm probably oversimplifying this. Just look at your calendar. What is it you did yesterday with your client, with your prospect?
What problems did you solve? What questions arise? And then talk about that because obviously if it's happening with your clients and conversations with prospects or colleagues, that means other people probably wanna hear about it as well. That's gonna be the best way for you to show you do what you say you do, is by talking about the things you actually do.
Okay, so what type of content strengthens professional relationships rather than just increasing visibility? I guess expanding on what I just said, right? It's showcasing you do what you say you do through real lived experience, because that's what people crave so much right now, right? AI has killed the how to post, right?
Anybody can do that. So instead of writing a how to framework, it's right how I did a thing or how my client did a thing. That's what you wanna be talking about is like actual. Proprietary point of view perspective, that's yours that AI cannot come up with, right? And I think that's like we have so much AI swap on there right now of just craft content that anybody could write.
And question actually, I always ask myself before I post anything now is could AI have written this? Because if so, that means my competitor could have, it also means my 7-year-old nephew could have, right? And so what you wanna be doing is how can you bring you to your content? Alright one thing that AI can't do and that's invoke emotion.
So once you write about the feeling that the reader. Would have, because when I teach my clients, when they give their dopey 32nd elevator pitch and everything else, I tell 'em, okay, listen, don't tell me what your elevator pitch is. Tell me what the feeling of the end result is.
Tell me what the feeling of the person on the other end of it, like they have a problem. What are they getting out of it? Because as you said, AI can write it all. But AI cannot put the emotion into it. Yeah. And that's really the difference. Okay. How can LinkedIn conversations naturally move from online interaction to real world relationships and opportunities?
That's how I approach LinkedIn in general. My whole thing is I'm on LinkedIn to get off LinkedIn and build relationships. Like I'd rather not be on there. I don't use social media in my personal life, right? This is not necessarily I never intended to build a business around a social media platform that's like mind blowing to me.
But it's an opportunity to build relationships, right? To connect with people, find deep in those relationships, and get off the platform and into real conversations. And so when you approach it that way. And when you're connecting with people who align with what you're trying to do or who you're trying to serve, right?
Then opportunities almost just happen more organically that way because again, this whole system of having the right profile optimized profile, and having the right type of content that's showcasing your expertise and your value and building trust, and then having those right type of conversations.
It almost doesn't feel like you're even doing sales because it's already done for you, because there's that trust established and then people are already just raising their hand for you. By no means am I saying, all of a sudden you're gonna get loaded of inbounds. No, that's not the reality whatsoever.
Most people will never reach out, actually, but you'll be creating more of those signals of intent all throughout your activity and. And your notifications, that sort of thing on, on LinkedIn that you can say hi to those people who are already quietly waving their hand, hello. They're just too scared to reach out to you.
That's what I, the way I like to think about it. So I don't do any cold outreach, right? It's all finding those signals of intent and taking action with those signals. 'cause some people pay attention to them, but then don't do anything about it. When I say signals, I'm thinking like profile views, likes, followers that aren't connections, that type of stuff.
Yeah, but the, those people aren't trained to look at and see it. And that's where really you come in. You can train them so they can actually notice it, they can reach out to them and that might invoke that other person to start a conversation, to start a relationship or something.
And that's what really what you're all about. Yeah, actually it's funny, really quickly, I have a, a client of mine. I was telling her what to say in the dms after somebody views her profile and she's there's no way anyone's responding to this. Took weeks for her to finally actually send the DM and she sent her first one and the person responded back with four paragraphs of why she reached out to her and she's couldn't believe it.
I'm like, 'cause most people have a lot to say. They're just too scared to say it or dunno how to, because it's so awkward. We're all new to this, right? Building relationships on LinkedIn online, it's. It's a new way of doing business in this context, right? And so imagine you who are, if you are creating content, how hard it is for you to, get into the dms.
Imagine for somebody who isn't creating content at all, like they're gonna be petrified, right? So you have to absolutely take, you're doing them a favor by initiating the conversation. Absolutely. You are in your your job is to make it easier for them. And if it's easy for them to reach out and discuss something with you, then you've done it, right?
So you're making it so easy for them that they will just do it, and really that's the goal, is to make it that easy for them to reach out to you. What follow up habits help someone to stay memorable in someone's network without becoming intrusive.
That's where it's a mix of making sure that you're consistently creating content that's valuable, right? Because that's a way to show up in the feed, right? Without. Bothering them in the fall up in the dms so much. And then supporting them as well. So if they're creating content, engaging with their stuff as well, and trying to, again, be more than just a transaction and just trying to sell 'em something like show support.
That's a huge way of doing this. Honestly, like I know, of course I, my, my whole focus is on LinkedIn, but, bringing a newsletter to my business was the most valuable thing I ever did, and that's the way I'm nurturing those relationships in their inbox. 'cause most people aren't hanging out on LinkedIn like I am.
And or, most social platforms also. So if you can find, a way to get them off of that into your email list. And then share valuable content there as well. That's a really wonderful way of doing it too. Obviously yes, we what we talked about with the Google alerts, like if you can.
If you find something that's interesting to them, something of value, genuine value that you can share with them obviously you can follow up that way as a nice reminder, subtle reminder versus Hey, just bump this to the top, right? Like you can there's a little bit more depth to it when you're actually giving them something that really could be of value to them.
Very good. Very good. What may, what mistakes do business owners make when trying to generate leads on LinkedIn?
Again, I think going back to this idea where they think of it as like hunting grounds or a networking event where you're just there to do business only and treating it that way where the last thing you wanna do as an last way you wanna make somebody feel is as if they are a prospect. That sucks. And so I think that's absolutely right and I think, but I think a lot of people just, have these. Generic messages they're sending out. Like even when I get example of somebody, they have a workshop coming up and they just send me their link to the workshop. I'm like, I don't even know you.
Why are you sending me this? It's just, it's thinking that, that people want to get that right away. So like I, my whole focus is permission based selling, where I have people opting into it. I ask if they want to receive it. And then when they say yes, like I then have a very highly converting newsletter because I've asked do you wanna join my newsletter?
And so I think I. Because again, we spent so many years trying to shortcut this whole process, automating it, and making it easier for the seller. Supposedly it just, it's burnt people out, right? We're just tired of seeing that same pitchy email or dm and instead I just it's just be human.
That's the thing I think people forget most about is that they, that there is a human on the other side of the screen, right? Absolutely. So a filter. Yeah, so like a question I'm always asking if you saw this person at the gym or at the coffee shop, would you say it to them? If not, don't say it.
A Abso absolutely that, that is one of the things that I tell everybody is that, we might be talking through Zoom, but there's a person behind the camera, there's a person, and. You have to treat them the same way. But you don't feel, 'cause I don't care if they're dressed from the waist down in shorts and sneakers.
You still have to treat them the same way. So that goes a long way. Alright, so let's bring this podcast full circle. If a listener wanted LinkedIn to become a consistent source of relationships and opportunities within the next 90 days, what one habit should they start doing immediately?
That's a really good question. One habit. I hope this doesn't sound cliche, but it's bringing more of you to your presence on there, whether that's your profile, your content, but really making sure that your essence, that vibe we were talking about. Because we can't read the room because we're not in person.
How can you bring the room there? What can you be doing to showcase what your vibe is, who you are, so that when people do get on a call with you, they already feel like they know you. I think that's what we really need to figure out like the digital version of the quirky things you do in real life.
What is that on LinkedIn and bring that to your presence there. Ab. Absolutely. Absolutely. And if anybody listening wants to learn how to do that, talk to Natasha. Okay, so now this is for, this was a great this great conversation. I love learning about LinkedIn because I use it almost all the time for business.
I have a bunch of followers and everything else. If somebody wanted to reach out to you, wanted to talk to you, say hello to you or hire you, how would they do it? You might guess you can find me on LinkedIn. That's probably the best way to connect with me, honestly. Obviously you can check out my website.
It's near point strategies.com as well, but LinkedIn is gonna be your best bet for sure. Okay here. This conversation reminds us that networking doesn't stop when we leave the room. Platforms like LinkedIn allow us to stay connected, continue conversations, and build relationships long after the first introduction.
Take one simple step this week. Reach out to someone in your network with a genuine message. Comment on their work. Share something helpful, or simply reconnect those small interactions can often lead to the biggest opportunities. If you found value in today's episode, please make sure you like, follow and subscribe to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections, so you keep getting the best insights on networking and communication, and share this episode with someone who wants to turn their online presence into a real professional relationship.
If you'd like to help strengthen how you communicate and build connections that lead to opportunity, visit michael a foreman.com. Learn how I work with professionals, teams, and organizations. So until next time, stay visible, stay genuine, and keep building connections that move your business forward.
Natasha, thank you for coming on my podcast. You are a wonderful guest. No, thank you so much, Michael. This is so much fun.
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A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. If you're interested in my digital courses being coached or having me come and talk to your company, just go to MichaelAForman.com and fill out the request form.
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. It's about being present. So take what you've learned today, get out there and make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review. Share it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website michaelaforman.com/podcast.
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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