 Aloha, and welcome to another edition of Business in Hawai'i. I am Dayla Nyonegida, and we are broadcasting live from the ThinkTech studios in downtown Honolulu. If you want to tune in live, we are at www.thinktechhawaii.com. You can also sign up to get on our mailing list there as well. The theme of Business in Hawai'i is to bring you stories of local businesses by local people, our guests share with us their journey in building successful businesses in our sometimes challenging environment. In the ThinkTech studios today is Jon Stranberg, sales director at Hawai'i Tech Support. In addition to his day job, Jon is known to many as the networking guru. I'm not sure about guru, yeah. Okay, thanks so much for joining us, and welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. So, let's jump right in and tell us about Jon Stranberg. Not much to tell, father, business guy, obviously a networker because he's bringing that up, but I've been doing sales and marketing for almost 30 years now, and it's one of those things that wasn't set out to do in life, but just kind of fell into my lap and found out I was pretty good at it, so I stuck with it. Tell us about Hawai'i Tech Support because I know that's where you kind of hang your hat during the day and then later on you kind of merge into other things, so tell us about Hawai'i Tech Support. It's twofold because Hawai'i Tech Support is a local managed service provider. We help other companies with their IT issues and concerns in networking and cloud services, but in order to find those companies in their businesses requires the other side of my job, which is the networking skills, and we were talking about business networking, about computer networking, even though people kind of think it's the same thing. So going out in the evenings or having lunch out with someone that's considered networking causing them to think, hey, do I really need IT services for my company, or if I'm there under a different capacity with a nonprofit I'm working with, do I want to give money to this nonprofit? So that's part of the whole networking scheme of things. So networking isn't just for those starting out on a career, and I think we have a picture here of you and Belinda and Stan, owners of Hawai'i Tech Support, and my understanding is that they are networking. They are. In this picture we attended an event at the YWCA supporting, I think those are downtown and quark event. We support the YWCA as a company and we decided it's a great place to be a part of and help grow our business through people who support the YWCA. So for Hawai'i Tech Support, of course, you folks do networking, the computer kind. But as an integral part of your day job, you find that networking is essential to sales and marketing. Yes. Being a small business, we don't have the big dollars that a lot of the larger companies have to spend on advertising through newspaper, TV. So we work a lot on referrals from our own customers. And the other side is to go out into the community and the business community because we are B2B and finding that business owner or that senior executive that's got some pain with IT and how we can help with it. So it's more of being out and about. People recognize that you are with the tech company and they keep seeing your face and over time they might go, I need to talk to you. And that's really the goal there is to create that I want to talk to you vibe. So there are a lot of groups out there who support networking or even try to bring about the medium for which people to network. And I think we have another photo here, which is probably the Hawai'i Chamber of Commerce, right, who frequently puts on events for folks to come together and network. Do you frequent these types of events and do you feel that it's valuable? It's very valuable. Hawai'i Tech supports a very strong believer in the Chamber of Commerce. It supports small businesses here in Hawai'i as well as large. But the Chamber of Events themselves brings that large corporate business entity and the small business owners together and we share ideas, we share goals and you find a lot of times the small businesses have the same pains as the large businesses and vice versa. So there's some camaraderie in there and then we all work together to fix those issues. Fantastic. So not all of us are comfortable with networking. I mean, maybe for you it's easy to walk into a room and just start talking to folks. But I frequently hear people say, no, I'm just not comfortable walking into a room full of strangers. What do I do? It's awkward. I don't know anyone. So how do you, what do you tell those folks? Well, first of all, if you're really that timid about networking, I usually, when people ask me that question, I ask the first question back is what is your role? Are you there as a salesperson for the company or are you there to find your next employer? What do you, what do you really want to get out of that? I mean, if you're a shy, timid person and you're told to go to a networking event, my question would be why are you really there? Once you can answer that clearly, then you can step into the next part of networking, which is finding the right people to talk to. Okay. So networking is not just to build business and to sell stuff. Not at all. It's everything in between. That's huge, right? Because some people feel like, okay, well, I don't want to go to a networking event because I don't want anybody to sell me. I don't want to be sold. So it goes beyond just selling stuff. I like to preface things, sales always made when I first meet somebody. Do I like you? Do you like me? If that's the case, then we've made a sale together without realizing it. A transaction occurred and that's a sale. So I'm selling myself and hoping you like me and vice versa. So that's part of the sales process, which is also part of networking. So when you attend networking events, the idea is to present yourself in such a way that you like me enough to hear me say the few words I'm going to say to you in hopes of passing a business card or getting a business card to further conduct business, either for business or I might want to come work for your company. And this is my only chance of getting in front of a manager that might make that hiring decision. So are there different events that would segregate the sales opportunity from the career building opportunity? Yes, I'm a believer that anytime you're out and about your networking, regardless of going to the grocery store, walking your dog, you're always available to be on. So for me, if I'm looking for a job, I'm not going to go to a networking event that has a lot of other sales types. I'd go to an event that has a lot of senior managers, leaders in the community, politicians, whoever, so I can get people to take my hand and get introduced to somebody else. Okay, so what if I'm truly an introvert and I'm going to this networking event for whatever reason, whether it's because I want to promote my business or I'm looking to meet significant people in the community for opportunities. What do I do? For people like you who are very timid and afraid to be on a networking event, I always say bring a buddy. Bring a networking buddy along so that between the two of you, you can share that shy, timid, I'm really nervous factor and spread out amongst two people. Or your friend that comes along with you is ultra confident and you can feed off that confidence. Okay, and so I get to this networking event and I walk in, maybe have a networking buddy with me, what's my plan? Do I need a plan or do I just wing it? You always have a plan. Everything you do in life should always have a plan. So for a networking event, if you decide I'm going to go to the next chamber of commerce business after hours mixer, what do I need to do? You want to prepare by saying who will be there, who the audience is going to be. Get an idea of how big the venue is. So it will give you an idea of how many people will be there. Then you want to check, how do I dress for this event? Dressing up is very important. It's the first thing that people visualize. So it's like, oh, you're underdressed and you don't fit the part. Then they're not going to pay as much attention to you. But so is overdressing too. Wearing a full three-piece suit in Hawaii says I'm an attorney, go on to court, or I'm getting married. One of the two. So we try to avoid those extremes, but at the same time you dress the part, figure out the venue, dress for the venue, and then plan. Do I want to meet just five people or do I want to meet 20? You make that plan ahead of time. So again, being that introverted person, sometimes a glass of wine would take the edge off. So to drink or not to drink? To drink or not to drink? That is a question. It's up to you. Typically, I like to say when you're at an event that has drinking as part of it, it's a cocktail after hours. You definitely want to have something in hand. If you're not a drinker, that's fine. Have a glass of water, a soda, ginger ale, whatever. As long as you're holding something in your hand that says I'm part of this crowd. And I hate to say this, but people who do drink don't trust others who don't. It's just human nature. You want to be part of that. It's human nature to be part of a group. If your group drinks, it is. When you look at psychology, I think it's called the primacy effect. You start making judgments of people right away, and that's what you look at. Okay, so I've decided to have the drink in hand and I walk into a room. How do I determine who is going to be my first connection? That's where you walk to a group of people that you may or may not know, and slowly insert yourself into that circle. How do you do that without looking like you're barging in on somebody's conversation? You always will look like you're barging in someone's conversation. It's as simple as standing close to the person talking. Just, here's my chip on that. You're in a group networking session. You hear someone talking, you actually want to meet and they're talking. You want to stand to their immediate left, that'll put you at your right-handed. So you stand on their left and you kind of lean in to hear them talk. It catches their eyes, so their eyes move to you and you're leaning in. Remember, when you lean into somebody, it says, I'm interested. And if they're talking and you're leaning into them, it means I want to hear more. And that kind of creates that effect of, I like this person, he wants to hear what I have to say. Because people always like to hear themselves talk. And when we get an audience, we keep talking. So when do I know to insert myself? Is that the person you want to meet? You lean in, you listen. They're going to say, oh, hi, I'm John. But what if they don't? Then you do the same back. Reach out, put your hand out. Y'all, that was a great statement you made. My name's Dylan and I like to hear more. And that creates that start of a conversation. So do you dive right in and just start asking questions? I mean, if I've pinpointed someone that I really do want to start a conversation with, I obviously have some ideas of the things that I would want to ask them. Do I just jump right in? And I may look a bit, you know, over aggressive. See, that's actually one of the worst mistakes a lot of young and new salespeople make is they get that aggressive. By the way, my name is John. This is who I am while I support. I'd love to talk to you more about this, but you're at a cocktail mixer reception. They're here to have a drink, meet other people, and talk. So my question would be something along the lines of, you know what, I love that comment you just made. I read an article about that last week. I'd love to forward that to you. Here's my card. Do you have a card? Exchange of business cards. Let me send you that email later with that information. You know, I'd love to do a follow-up for the meeting. It's as simple as that to get the information you need and then set that meeting expectation. Simple for a person who is comfortable doing that. We are going to go to a quick break. It takes practice. We're going to go to a quick break, and I'm going to grill you even more about how you insert yourself into those conversations without making yourself seem or appear odd, right? That's a science and art. So let's talk about that while we come back. Absolutely. We are going to take a short break. This is Business in Hawaii. We'll see you back here shortly. This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. If you're not in control of how you see yourself, then who is? Live above the influence. When I was growing up, I was among the one in six American kids who struggled with hunger. But with the power of breakfast, the kids in your neighborhood can think big and be more. Go to hungarees.org to make breakfast happen for kids in your neighborhood. Hi, I'm Rusty Komori, host of Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My show is based on my book also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about creating a superior culture of excellence, leadership, and finding greatness. I interview guests who are successful in business, sports, and life, which is sure to inspire you in finding your greatness. Join me every Monday as we go Beyond the Lines at 11 a.m., aloha. I realize I lecture for 90 minutes straight on this stuff. Welcome back to Business in Hawaii. Joining us today is John Strandberg, sales director at Hawaii Tech Support and networking extraordinaire. So when we went to break, we were talking about how I would not make myself look like a fool inserting myself into someone else's conversation at a networking event. So what if I am a salesperson and I do want to promote my company, my business, what am I supposed to do at that point? Well, rule one is never, ever, ever, ever, hand up brochures at a networking event. Okay. My left hand has a cocktail, my right hand might be holding some food. Where do I put the brochure? It's usually you guys see brochures on the ground at a lot of these events and you don't want to bring a brochure. So not to look like a fool is just to chat. You don't want to force a business card on anybody. And I have this unwritten rule in my world that you don't get my business card until you've either asked for it or I feel you've earned it. Because it works two ways. In the job, my job as sales director, I get a lot of people asking, can I bring my company's products to you for review and so on too? And then the answer is, I don't think there's a need for that, but I'll take your card anyway. And if they're doing it in a plate manner, if they try to force a business card into my hand, shove it into my shirt pocket, that card's going to end up somewhere else. So if a person is going to a networking event with the intent to promote their business or perhaps a product, are you telling me that they should never go with the expectation that they're going to walk out of that event with? With a sale? Yeah. I don't know how many business people out there love to be sold at an event that's not at their office or that they didn't reach out to get information for. So being sold something is the worst experience ever. And this is coming from a professional sales person. And so at events, you just don't want to come off as, I need to sell this, I'm not pushy, use car salesman trying to get you to buy before you even realize you're buying anything. So the goal of networking is really just to pass information along, set a meeting or an expectation of a future meeting and move forward from there. So you've, I've heard you give the advice that you've always listened and not talk. Yes. But what if nobody's talking? Then how do you make that happen? Then I question why I'm at this event. Actually when no one's not talking, that's when I start asking questions of personal questions. For instance, I might see that you're showing up at a networking event and you're wearing a certain pin or a different organization. I might ask, what pin is that? What organization do you belong to? It starts the conversation. Now it's something that you as a person has a chance to go, hey, this guy's interested or this woman's interested in hearing about the fact of I'm in Rotary Club. So now there's a way to bring about conversation without talking to business. A lot of business people, even owners of companies, don't want to talk about business or their own business sometimes. So if you start talking about the children, wife, house, you know, the weather even, or if they notice, they surf. Talk about the big surf coming up. Anything but. I got a good question for you. So someone hands you a business card. What do you do with it? Do you like immediately drop it in your pocket, in your purse? Do you hold it? Do you, what do you do? Because of our Asian culture and the Japanese culture here in Hawaii, I err on the side of I take the card in both hands and I look at it and make a comment on the card. Oh, I see you're located in downtown based on the address. Make a quick comment about the card and goes, I'll be sure to give you a call or send you an email. Then I'm holding in my hand the rest of the conversation. Okay, good. I've seen many times the handing of the card and then in the pocket without even looking at it. So then we're just going to. When someone does that to my business card, that means they're not interested in hearing what I have to say further and I'll never hear from them again. Okay. So for a sales perspective, it just means I'm going to waste my time chasing after this guy or girl, whoever it might be. So you mentioned culture. Does it play a role in networking, where you network, how you network? It does. So with culture here in Hawaii being unique in the fact that we have all Asian countries here and then a lot of non-Asian countries, the acceptance of a business card in two hands is a Japanese custom and tradition. The other cultures, it's the color of your business card. It's anything on your card. So do your market research before you print off a bunch of them and start passing them around. But with the cultural aspects, sometimes you want to hand the card off to, if there's two people at an event and they're both in the same company, there's usually the senior guy and there's assistant or someone that's just below in rank. Usually you hand the card to the person below in rank. Okay, good to know. You also mentioned affiliation. You mentioned a pin or whatnot. I wanted to bring up a picture of a hugs event. I think we have that one coming up here. So you had mentioned, you want to tell us about this event? Yeah, so this is an event that I've helped sponsor over the last seven years and we raise toys. It's our only project is we raise toys. We bring toys to kids that are in need and we support a local nonprofit and this year it happened to be hugs. But if you look at the picture, I'm in the middle because I'm also playing host at the front but the different organizations that show up. We have the rotary shirt there which is my friend Ray from Kauai flew over just for the event. Nice. So another tool then in networking would be to establish an affiliation? Yeah, a lot of sales people join different clubs and organizations just to help promote their company and their business which is great because it does two things. One, it helps get you out there and you get to practice your networking because you're gonna meet new people all the time. Two, your company or even yourself ends up supporting the community because it's super important to give back to the community that you also work in. So Rotary is a great organization, Lions Club, any civic organization out there would be something to join just to help promote yourself, your company and it's a good way to give back to the community you serve. I think we have one more photo and I think this is your affiliation with Rotary, I believe. Yes, as a matter of fact, that's our Christmas Shoebox project. We give a gift every year to every student at Palo Alto Elementary School and the reason we chose Palo Alto it's in our backyard as a Rotary Club, East Honolulu but the give back is that with that particular school 100% of the students there get free or reduced lunch so we know that they're underserved and a lot of them go without a Christmas gift. This is just our way of giving back to them. So while that's not traditional networking, you are a member of certain organizations and while obviously that wasn't a networking event, it still networks you as a person? It does because people wanna do business with people they like. If I'm out there serving my community, doing what's right and helping others, it's like, you know what, John's a really nice guy and we wanna work with really nice people. It's the Hawaii culture. It's what we do in Hawaii and when I'm a nice guy, people wanna like me and no matter what I'm selling, they're gonna like it because I'm doing it for them. I think we have one more photo of you at yet another networking event. Yeah, this is actually from a Chamber of Commerce event earlier in the year. You'll see Marty Welch, past president of Chamber of Commerce there on the far right in the lower shirt. Well, again, it's networking with the Chamber of Commerce. I love, love, love the Chamber. Sherry over there is doing a great job, but what they do is they bring so many different businesses together because my company works in IT, Marty has insurance, John and the other picture is also in PR and marketing. So we all come together and we share and we talk and I get some great ideas on how to improve my company and a lot of times I improve myself by meeting these people. Okay, so that's networking guilty by association, right? So it's whether you're a member of the Chamber, rotary, or you have a favorite nonprofit that you support. What about those traditional networking groups, BNI? There's a ton of those out there. BNI is the largest one of all. I think I forget the owner who started it, but there's also other groups like a Hawaii Business Network. There's even Toastmasters will help you with the networking and they teach you how to talk to people. If you're really that shy, look into Toastmasters Club, but these groups actually teach networking skills as well. So would you recommend that as an avenue? If you're just starting out in your career, you've never networked before or you really want to learn, it's a great avenue to start, but there's only one caveat to some of these groups. It's limited to the industry that you work. So if someone's already in insurance and you're doing insurance, you cannot join because they're limited to that. Oh, okay. So that's the only, I would say that's the biggest negative, but at the same time they're great positive because the people in that group will keep referring business to you. Okay. So tell me how networking has changed with the times. So I do know that you authored quite a detailed article about networking, but you did mention that that was seven years ago. So tell me a little bit about how networking has changed or... The biggest change is actually with social media. I live and breathe on LinkedIn. At certain networking events, I might hear someone say something and I remember the company name and I'll get on my phone really quick and go, somebody from Hawaiian Airlines is here, and who is this person? And I could track that person down to the name and go, okay, that's the position I need to be talking with within that company. Then I'd be lying over and say, hi, but having your smartphone available, seeing someone's face, seeing their resume because of LinkedIn, quickly makes networking easier for me to streamline a target. But it also works in the opposite. People do the same to you. So my answer is you need to make sure your resume is up to date, your LinkedIn profile is correct and you're posting your relative details about your current job. We have a few minutes left, but I still have some questions for you. Fire away? Okay, so I've gotten myself in, I've shook a few hands, I've handed out a few cards, I've gotten a few cards. What do I do after the event is over? Go home and go, oh, that was rough. I do. Actually the next step is one of the most important steps ever. It's great that you shook someone's hand, you met someone you wanted to meet, but it's the follow-up stage. How do I need to follow up? Again, I take different people differently, so if it's an older person, I tend to follow up with an email, but if it's an older, older person, a handwritten card. Handwritten cards are actually gone out of style, but when I get a card from somebody in the mail these days, it's on my desk for a long, long time. Of course, it costs 50 cents to send now, but it's worth the expense to really get in front of somebody. But email is at the very minimum. What I recommend for a lot of people that do a lot of networking is have a canned, templated email ready to go. Nice, good ideas. I am super excited that our viewers are gonna be seeing more of you, probably once a month. Actually on the flip side, posting a guest of your own. So what can we expect? Well, it'll be a lot of what I'm already into, which is business, IT, technical issues. We're gonna talk about some nonprofit issues this year because it's every one Thursday a month for the next 12 months. Fantastic. Well, thank you very much for joining us. Networking, I guess, is a nervous issue for some, but for others, very natural. It comes with practice. All sports takes practice. Networking is a contact sport. Okay, well, thank you so much for the advice and I'm sure that I'll have lots more questions for you. You know where to find it. I wanna thank you for your time. I also want to thank the amazing production staff here in the studio. We're taking the time to help me out a lot here. If you would like to be a guest on our show, please feel free to email your information to shows at thinktakawaii.com. Business in Hawaii airs every Thursday at 2 p.m. and we are looking forward to seeing you here next week.