058: Derek Coburn Author of Networking Is Not Working | Why Networking is Broken — and What to Do About It

Derek Coburn is a man who knows a thing or two about the importance of relationships.

He?s a financial advisor for high net-worth individuals, he’s an entrepreneur, and he’s an author of the great book Networking Is Not Working.

He finds that explaining all of these roles can be confusing. ?Often times we get caught up in trying to be clever and it ends up not communicating what we do,? says Coburn.

Instead, Coburn recommends keeping things simple and relevant to the person you are talking to by asking them questions first. ?By learning more about the person I am talking to first and what they do, I’m in a better spot to lead with what’s more relevant to the conversation.?

Today, Coburn is also the co-founder, with his wife Melanie, of Cadre DC, which is a business networking group in Washington DC that uses ?non-traditional networking strategies? to bring together highly successful entrepreneurs and business owners who are focused on helping one another.

Derek CoburnThe model is based on the strategies Coburn used himself when the economic crisis of 2008/2009 hit and his business slowed down. He created an informal networking group consisting of his best clients and their top advisors and tripled his revenue and improved the quality of his business and created more free time.

We talk about:

  • Why the essence of building a network is helping one another
  • Why if you want to grow your business, you should start by growing others? business
  • Coburn?s system for following up with people in his network.
  • How to find events that are a ?win? for you in multiple different ways
  • The importance of helping clients and customers and becoming an advocate for their business ? above and beyond the service you provide which you are paid to do.

Enjoy!

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