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Talking More

Garth Beyer

When I pick up the phone to pitch to journalists I don’t know… When I type up an email to send to a CEO I’ve never met… When I attempt to write a personal note on a LinkedIn invite to someone inspirational, but has no clue who I am… fear tends to creep up on me.

If you think cold calling is tough when selling, consider how tough it is to connect cold, to establish a relationship with someone who knows nothing about you.

Here’s what gets me through it.

Before I reach out to anyone I’ve never met, I remind myself the more people I talk to, the easier it will be to do, ask, and connect with people later down the line.

If you had to guess which scenario feels better, would you rather dial the number of a journalist who has never heard of you before or would you rather dial the number of a journalist who you’ve talked to before, if even once.

Or… would you rather send an email to someone saying “Hey, I’m friend’s with John Appleseed. He’s spoken highly of you. Would you have time to chat for a few minutes?” That’s certainly better than “Hey, would you have time to chat for a few minutes?”

The more people you talk to now, the more times you put yourself out there to warming a cold connection, the easier things will fall into place for you in the future.

The quickest way to dissipate the fear is to dive straight in it.

 

Stay Positive & Who Are You Connecting To?

If People Like You

Garth Beyer

I might be wrong, but the best way to succeed at work is to have people like you.

I don’t mean this in the sense of giving gifts, manipulating emotions, and sacrificing your personal life to please those who have a say whether you move up the work ranks or not. Quite the opposite.

Getting people to like you requires you to always have an open mind, requires you to try new experiences, and you’re always putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It requires you to share who you really are with another person, it gives an ambitious goal to work toward, and it helps you stay positive.

So much goes into getting people to like you. What I love most is that you get an instant return on your investment even if it’s not in the form of the person liking you just yet.

 

Stay Positive & Make Putting Yourself Out There The Type Of Person You Are

In The Box Podcast

Episode 9: Referees, Fear x2, Haters And More – Podcast

Garth Beyer

On this episode of In The Box Podcast, we both thought we were covering a topic so there’s two times the fear talk, as well as discussion around what inspires something to become a referee, why white people riot, how to deal with haters and why working from home is a poor decision. Enjoy.

Episode 9: Referees, Fear x2, Haters, Working From Home And More

Referees – What inspires someone to become a referee?

White people + riots – Why do white people riot after their sports teams lose?

Fear – If you could give someone one tip on how to not live from a place of fear, what would it be?

Fear x2 – What was the last thing you were afraid of? Did you overcome it? How? If you didn’t, why not?

Haters – How do you deal with haters?

Working From Home – Do you think people should be able to work from home?

 

Stay Positive & Craft Those Connections

Small Talk

Garth Beyer

It’s awkward for everyone…at first.

The folk you think it comes naturally for have simply made more rounds than you.

A good PR friend of mine stops at every person’s desk in the morning before he gets to work at his. It didn’t come easy for him to begin with. It was awkward, there wasn’t much to relate to each person with, and most days he just didn’t want to for a dozen reasons his lizard brain came up with.

Now each person is left with a smile as he leaves their desk to talk to the person.

Was it worth him to work through the awkwardness of small talk? Without a doubt.

People are more open with him, they trust him, they respond quicker to him, they take on tasks he asks because he’s established a relationship. There’s so much more you get out of small talk then knowing what Netflix show they binged on over the weekend.

 

Stay Positive & Are You Making The Rounds?

Find Your Chokepoint And Learn From It

Find Your Chokepoint And Learn From It

Garth Beyer

Chokepoint Chokehold

When you begin having more followers than you can handle, more orders than you can supply, more promises than you can keep up with, and you’re feeling the stress of it all – you’ve reached your chokepoint. It’s a positive thing to know where that point is for two reasons.

It’s a reminder that you can stop trying for quantity, and to start focusing on quality.

I’ve written multiple blog posts in one day. I’ve crashed more time’s I would like to admit. I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I’ve learned from all of these moments.

There’s a reason I only write one post a day. There’s a reason I take a walk, do yoga or meditate each day. There’s a reason I stretch, before I take on a large workload. I’m not saying don’t make my same mistakes. I’m saying make sure you learn from your own chokepoint. The chokepoint is only a negative, detrimental phase if you stay there.

The chokepoint also reminds you that you’re human. When you recognize your chokepoint, your style of writing, interacting, working, changes. You think more on a personal level. By becoming more aware of how you spend your time, you also consider the time of your audience. By default, it will be easier for you to connect with people.

 

Stay Positive & Everyone Pushes Themselves Too Hard From Time To Time, It’s Okay

(as long as you learn from it)

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20 Ways To Boost Your Client Connection

20 Ways To Boost Your Client Connection

Garth Beyer

Surf Bro

PR freelancing has its downfalls, but one particular positive piece about it I love is the chance to connect with a client (be it a person, a business, or perhaps an actual PR agency). Here are 20 ways you can honor, strengthen, and leverage that connection.

1) Do one unexpected thing a week for them.

2) Ask for promo gear. (shirts, mugs, pens, etc,.)

3) Work with, not for.

4) Have their birthdays written on your calendar.

5) Connect them with other like-minded people they have yet to meet.

6) Ask a lot of questions – business and personal.

7) Write blog posts for them without being requested to.

8) Post on review sites. (Must love & trust your client)

9) Share your weekend goodies with them Monday morning. (cookies, cakes, dip, etc,.)

10) Be forward and transparent about your experience working with them. (Keep a work journal they can view anytime)

11) Fire the clients consuming 80 percent or more of your time, energy, money, etc,. (Unless, of course, you only have one client…)

12) Meet up on their turf.

13) Meet up on your turf.

14) Meet up outside each others’ turfs.

15) Friend as many other employees or team members of theirs as possible.

16) Remind them each week of what you’re thankful for.

17) Be forward with what you see is working annnd what you see isn’t.

18) Challenge them.

19) Always have one piece of the puzzle you work on together.

20) Consider at the end of the day.

 

Stay Positive & Every Business Is In The Business Of Connecting

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Show Up Early, Stay Late

Show Up Early, Stay Late

Garth Beyer

Pick Yourself event

When it comes to work, simply show up on time, do the important work first and end up leaving early.

When it comes to meetings, events, gatherings, seminars, networking parties, ceremonies, workshops, conventions, conferences, and powwows, show up early and stay late.

By showing up early, you have a hand at setting the agenda or at least setting up the room (perhaps so you get to sit by those who have the most influence?), you get to meet the organizer(s) (they are like the secretary, as important to have like you as the boss), and you get more time to make friends with others who show up early (making friends is a reason you’re there, right?).

By staying late, you get to connect with others who attended and are hoping to connect too (you’re not chasing connections), you typically get to meet the keynote speaker or the key influencer if you stick around (you’ll learn what they didn’t get to tell you during their time in the spotlight), and you’ll hear the down and dirty of what people really think (both helping you know who to avoid and how to make things go smooth if you ever organize an event yourself).

The things you learn, see and hear before and after an event is sometimes more fruitful than the event itself.

 

Stay Positive & Don’t Take My Word For It. Go Learn, See, And Hear For Yourself

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