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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of Image Group International, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies, and hacks for the new tech world. Here, you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques, and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image, and reputation.

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to my personal branding master class. I'm John, Michael, and your guide on this journey to build a powerful personal authentic brand. Today we're going to challenge one of the biggest myths in the professional world. So let's cut right into it. In a world where networking has become overly transactional, today's episode is about flipping the script with what I call the anti networking strategy. And here's a question to get you thinking, when was the last time you made a connection that genuinely mattered? One that didn't start with what can you do for me if you're tired of shallow social media connections, pathetic direct messages and endless business card exchanges that lead to nothing? Well, you're in the right place, and I'm going to start with number one today, and that's the problem with digital networking. So let's be brutally honest here, mainly due to the online world, and this is where it's had a lot of impact. That's where it's been had the greatest impact. In my opinion, networking has turned into a numbers game for most people. How many connections can you rack up on LinkedIn? How many people can you meet at a conference? It's become about quantity over quality. People think social proof is only about numbers and for the masses. That might be true. But here's the thing, transactional relationships rarely lead to meaningful opportunities. A contour study by Forbes, professionals who focus on building authentic relationships are 70% more likely to get promoted. Obviously important from a career perspective to those who only focus on expanding their network. Superficially, I remember a quote from the great Dale Carnegie in my younger days, you can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. So let's think about that for a moment. How many of us are actually focusing on being genuinely interested in others, rather than just trying to sell ourselves. And this brings me to my next point, my own journey, of course, with networking over the last 35 odd years. Let me take you back when I first started image Group International. Like many newcomers, I attended nearly every networking event I could find. I was shaking hands, collecting business cards and trying to connect with as many people as possible. But guess what? Almost none of those connections translated into meaningful opportunities. But here's what changed the game for me, a lesson from one of my mentors, he told me to stop focusing on quantity and instead invest in a few deep, meaningful relationships. 

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So instead of trying to connect with everyone in the room, I started focusing, and it was very strategic on just a few handful people who shared my values and vision. Of course, I had to guess that, and also the power and also the influence to leverage opportunities. So in other words, there needed to be somebody. From that perspective, it was a simple shift from transactional to relational networking, and he made all the difference. For example, rather than chasing 100 random leads, I focused on building deep connections with just 10 key individuals. So this is an example. 10 is more powerful than 1000 those 10 influential connections eventually open doors that 1000 surface level connections never could and I have a stat from Harvard Business Review that says that executives who build fewer but deeper relationships, report better career satisfaction and higher growth rates, and those who spread themselves too thin. And this is very, very important, because you can only do so much. You've only got a certain amount of time and energy. So it's very important to think about that. In fact, 85% of executives said in this Harvard study that the most significant career opportunities came from just three to five key connections. So this is very important to really take this on board. So the three to five key connections means really, on one hand, if you can see that as an illustration, look at the hand and then specific. Lead. That's all you need to get started. Now I'm going to go into number three, the anti networking strategy, of course in action. So what's exactly an anti networking strategy? It's about flipping a conventional approach on its head. Instead of focusing on what you can get from someone, shift your mindset to what you can give and a real life example of that is, let's just look at, I don't know, Richard Branson.

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He's built a vast yet loyal network, not by focusing solely on transactions, although, of course, is that as well, but by genuinely caring about people's well being, or certainly, that's the image and the perception of him out there, whether it's his employees or his business, and this is how he's maintained loyalty, trust and influence across his ventures. So here's a practical exercise for you over the next week, identify three people in your network who you haven't connected with in the wild. Reach out to them not to not to ask for something, but to generally reconnect. Share a piece of advice, offer support, like a testimonial, for instance, on LinkedIn is a good example, or even just check in on how they're doing. Remember this stuff, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care, and the care factor does come into play here. The other aspect, number four, of why anti networking is more important than ever is because in today's world where many are trying to build their brand and hustle for more visibility, standing out is not about being louder. It's about being more authentic. And according to Mackenzie, emotional intelligence and relationship building are among the top skills that will define leaders in the next decade. And from my experience, I agree. So think about this. In an era of digital noise and fakery, people are craving real, genuine connections. In fact, studies show that 60% of professionals feel isolated despite being more connected than ever on social media, that's really interesting in itself. So they're more connected, but they feel isolated. And what does this mean for you? It means that focusing on deep, meaningful relationships isn't just the nice to have. It's a competitive advantage. And I know with all relationship building takes a bit of effort, it's easier just to put the headphones on and concentrate on some music or self, whatever. Where relationships do take a little bit of effort, we know that, but in my experience, they're worth it with all its ups and downs. Next, let's cover number five, how to build genuine relationships in a transactional world. So how do you actually do this? Let's break it down into actionable steps. First of all, be genuinely curious. So when you ask somebody, how are you be there for the answer, don't quickly have the next question without even listening to the first response, ask questions that go beyond the surface. Instead of what do you do? Say, What projects are you most passionate about right now? As an example, show appreciation, a simple thank you note or message can go a long way in nurturing relationship. Give before you take this is very, very important, and also a great test to see where people are at from the perspective of playing Win Win, offer to help before asking for anything in return. This could be as simple as sharing a resource or introducing them to somebody in your network, and also follow up consistently. And this is also very important, because it shows professionalism and it shows that you're on point. 

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So according to a study by the University of Chicago, people are 50% more likely to remember you if you follow up within 24 hours of your initial conversation. So here's a quick exercise for you to consider doing, identify one key person you've connected with recently. Think about how you can add value to their life, whether it's by sharing an article, introducing them to a contact, or simply checking in on their well being. And reflect on this for a moment. Just think of that person, because I promise you, if you do this as simply as the exercise says, Then basically you'll be able to measure this very quickly. So to wrap up, this is very important the exercise are very important for you to test yourself and just to see specifically, this is not just theory. This is actually practice that works. So to wrap up, today's episode, remember this the trip out network in lies in building deep, authentic connections. It's not about how many business cards you collect, but about how many lives you can impact. If you found today's episode valuable, please. Share it with somebody you believe could benefit from building deeper connections. Remember to subscribe to the podcast or your favorite platform, and of course, let's connect on LinkedIn. If you're serious about elevating your personal brand and want to learn how to build lasting professional relationships and also influential networks, reach out to Patricia at patricia@image group.com.au - for further information or to book a consultation. Thank you for tuning in today until next time, focus one truly matters, deep, meaningful connections, till next time, cheerio!

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence, and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for personal coaching, seminars, and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.