Welcome to the Guy Who Knows The Guy podcast with your host, Michael Whitehouse, the guy who knows the guy. We're counting down to the exciting JV Connect event happening on December 12th and 13th, 2023, with an exclusive Elite Invitation Only event on December 14th. 

If you think you should be part of that elite group, don't hesitate to let us know. But if you're not quite sure what JV Connect is all about, don't worry – we've got you covered. In the lead-up to the event, we're here to share valuable tips, tools, and advice every Friday to help you make the most of this incredible opportunity. 

We're kicking off with a game-changing topic: how to introduce yourself effectively at an event. We're diving into the "Russo Intro" method, a concise and engaging structure that will make you stand out in a crowd, keep your audience engaged, and set the stage for meaningful connections. 

Stay tuned for more golden nuggets as we prepare for JV Connect, and if you haven't already, grab your tickets now at guywhoknowsaguy.com/jvconnect. Subscribe to this podcast and join us on this exciting journey!

Mentioned in this episode:

JV Connect, December 12-13, 2023

Join us for JV Connect, the dedicated networking event December 12th and 13th, 2023 https://www.jv-connect.com

If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it. JVConnect is December 12th and 13th, and for the next few weeks, well, really, every Friday from now until the event, I'm going to be sharing tips and tools and advice to get the most out of it. My original thought was to have some, some content I'd only give to ticket buyers, and then I realized, no, this stuff everyone should know.

But, it's gonna be really valuable for the event, but it's valuable at other places. So we're gonna start with one of the most important things, which is how you introduce yourself at an event. I recently posted on LinkedIn a poll and said, What's the most annoying thing? about networking events, and one of the things people are really annoyed by is these interminable, rambling, confusing, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah introductions.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The ones that, they last for 90 of the 60 seconds provided, and you still don't know what the heck they do, and how they're different from anyone else. who does the exact same thing they do. So I'm going to teach you a basic structure of an introduction, and then how to play with that and how to work with it.

First off, let me give credit, I learned this structure from Mitch Russo. I believe he learned it from somewhere else, but I learned it from Mitch Russo, so I call it the Russo Intro. And it is... Very simply, two lines. The two lines, the first sentence starts with, you know how, and the second sentence starts with, what I do is.

I'm going to get into how we use it, then some of the theory behind why it works so well, and then some of the possible applications both at JVConnect and beyond. Before we get into that, let me share a little bit about how JVConnect is going to be structured so you know how this would be used. So the core of JV Connect is a series of focused breakout rooms.

So we're talking about 20, 25, 30 minutes and 15 to 20 or so people in there and a focus. So some will just be, you know, meet each other, make connections, find deals that can be made. Others will be focused on. Try to build a giveaway or try to build a summit or find stages find podcasts to speak on now I'm not expecting people to come out, you know, if I make 20 breakout rooms, I'm not expecting 20 functioning giveaways to come out But the exercise of working together this group of people and saying what do you have?

What do you bring to the table leaders are going to emerge, etc will be valuable to determine who you want to follow up with more, and a few of these will actually do the thing, and that's going to be super awesome, but that's bonus. It's really the exercise of going through this project together that gives you a very quick impression of someone.

But. Part of what makes this work is being able to go around the room quickly, and quickly knowing what everyone does and what everyone brings to the table without someone saying, Oh, I've been doing this for 26 years, I have this award and this degree, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and their life story.

So you need something that quickly, boom, in less than 15 seconds gives you an idea of, Okay, I get what you do, I have a concept of what your market is, we can get the details later. So, the structure. You know how what I do is. We start with you know how and then a problem that exists that you solve. So for example, you know how a lot of people find networking to be difficult and boring and overwhelming and unprofitable.

What I do is teach people to network profitably with ease. Okay, so that's the basic structure. You know how, problem. What I do is, solution. Now, if you're at an event that's live, say a BNI meeting, a place where you're introducing yourself and your name is not floating under your face, then you can put your name in the middle of it.

So, for example, you know how a lot of people don't like networking because they find it unpleasant and unproductive. I'm Michael Whitehouse, the guy who knows a guy, and what I do is... Let's make networking profitable with ease. So you just slip your name in the middle of it. But the important thing is you open with that, you know how, because that's a question.

People get hooked by questions. Coaches are taught, ask powerful questions, make less statements, ask more questions. Salespeople are taught, ask questions to draw them along, to bring them with you. So you open your introduction with, you know how, and a problem which people will identify with. If you do this at all well, either they identify closely like, Oh boy, do I know that one?

Yes. You see the heads nod. They're like, Oh yeah. Or maybe they're not familiar with it. But they say, well, that could be, yeah, that sounds plausible. I believe that's a problem, because no one wants to be like, no. Because it doesn't say, do you agree that? It's, you know how. As in, it's a fact. Are you familiar with it?

Are you aware of this? Or do you not have that knowledge? So if you say, you know how? There's this problem? People say, yeah, yeah, of course I do. Yeah, sure. Yeah, of course. Yeah, huh. Yeah, they're not going to say, no, I've never heard of this. I'm ignorant of this part of the world. They're going to go along with it.

And it draws them in. They're answering a question in their mind. And then you're saying, I have a solution. Now, you are not giving your life story or how you do anything with these two sentences. What you are doing is identifying if you are the person I'm talking about in the first sentence, then in the second sentence, that's how I help you.

But more likely, if you know someone or if your audience is familiar with this problem, Then this problem, the solution could be relevant to your audience. We need to talk, right? So if you're a coach and you teach sales skills and you're listening to me saying, you know how most people find networking overwhelming and unpleasant and hate doing it.

And you're thinking, oh man, all of my clients feel that way, but I'm not a networking coach. And it would be really handy to bring you in as a guest or on my podcast or collaborate with you. So you could provide the solution you just said. That's the purpose of it. Now, this is also really, really quick. It only takes a few seconds to say these two sentences.

So then you can put after it what you're actually looking for. So, for example I mean, at JVConnect we encourage people to open with their Russo intro every time because it should only be a few seconds. Before I get to that, let me caution you. Keep it short. The biggest mistake people make is it goes like this You know how a lot of people like they go to networking events and they're not really sure what to do They think everyone knows each other and so they don't really get a lot out of it and it's really frustrating And it's kind of difficult for them So they don't get the best potential and it's not as good as it could be.

Well what I do Oh my god, that went on, that first sentence was almost 15 seconds long. Keep it short. One sentence. Not a compound sentence, not something that looks like a spider web if you diagram it. Just quick and simple. Because the job of this is to create questions, not answers. You want to make people say, I want to know more, I want to talk to you, I want to connect with you.

The more you talk, the more you confuse. The shorter it is, The clearer it is. I mean, there's a certain point which is too short. You know how networking hard, okay? That's not gonna work But you know keep it as simple and as short as possible while still getting the basic points And then you can have follow up conversations That's why you send someone your Calendly link so they can book with you because they asked a very compelling intro Like I want to know more Here is my calendar link.

Now, after this, with equal concision, you might say whatever is relevant to the topic. So, you say your Russo intro, that takes 10, 12, 14 seconds, and then you're in a breakout and we're talking about podcasts and getting on stages. You say that, and then you say, I have a podcast where I interview networking experts who share their tips and advice on being a great networker.

Or, I have a... An upcoming summit where we're going to be talking to experts on parenting to teach parents of young children how to do great parentee stuff, whatever it is. So it's, you know how, what I do is... I have, or I'm looking for, right? I, I bring this to the table, I'm looking for this. So I speak about parenting for parents of middle school children, and I'm looking for podcasts and summits where I can share what I know.

So, Again, you want to keep it to the point and you know, more information will be coming out about what the breakouts are going to be as we develop that. So you'll know, and you'll be able to be prepared. In other situations, maybe you can't do that, but the better you can be prepared, the better.

There's no cheating. It's not cheating to have your, have your answers written down, right? This isn't school where you got to be able to do that off the top of your head. So the great thing about the Rezo intro, yeah, you can totally do it on the fly. I usually do whenever you hear me train it, I'm just kind of throwing together on a fly.

I've practiced that, so that's why I can do that. Better is actually take some time and prepare it. So you have it, it's rehearsed, get some friends together, do it together. You can do it with me as well, but that's usually in a coaching session that you're paying me for, which you should definitely take advantage of if you're in the Six Figure Networker program or have any other opportunity to meet with me.

But, you know, talk to some people, go through it. It's not rocket science. But the more you've prepared it, the smoother it's gonna come out. Well, if you're specifically going in there looking for stages, looking for launch partners, looking for giveaway participants, whatever it is, write what you're gonna say about it, and then prepare it until it doesn't sound like you're reading it.

But worst case, if you do sound like you're reading, that's fine, as long as you took the time to cut it down. There's the old quote, If I'd had more time, I would have written a shorter letter. Right? The longer you spend on it, the shorter it should be, because you can cut out the excess terminology. You want to keep it as short and concise as possible.

The longer it gets, the more confusing it gets, and the more likely someone's going to say, Yeah, whatever. I'm on to the next person. You lost me. You need to hold their attention and stop while they still want to know more. Because while they still want to know more, That's when you're going to get that private message in the chat that says, Oh, I want to talk to you about that.

Here's my calendar link. Let's connect. So, this is what you want. Them to be engaged enough they want to have a further conversation with you. Yes, JV Connect is 14 hours long. You can do the entire thing. Two days, seven days seven hours each day. You still won't have enough time for deep conversations.

You will have enough time to book a lot of very valuable calls with the kind of people you want to connect with. But the deep conversations aren't happening in the live event. And that's not just JV Connect. That's any event, any virtual event and live events to some degree, that you won't have the time, no breakout room is long enough.

To have that one. That's what a one on one is for so you're going to meet people figure out. Yes I want to talk to you. I know why here's we need to talk about and Let's book a call the call can be 30 45 60 minutes, whatever you want to do That's when you're going to really deep dive into it. But if you're really efficient if you're sharing this information One of the breakouts will be build a giveaway That's going to be the the assignment is create a giveaway in the room now I expect most of them won't be able to If you don't have someone who's proficient at the technology, It's not gonna come together.

You're gonna share what you have, you'll kinda brainstorm, well I have this gift, I have this gift, and that's as far as you'll get. A few people will be in the room, they'll be like, oh, yeah, I know how to put together giveaways, bada bing bada boom, we're gonna come out, they're gonna make a giveaway, but only if the people in the room When they go around, say, you know how, what I do is, some of the freebies I can offer in this giveaway are boom, boom, and boom, and here's the audience I have.

If you can get through that quickly, concisely, 30, 40 seconds, then everyone can go around and share what they know quickly and easily. If you start rambling on, you're like, well, you know, when I was 14, I did this, and I was inspired, but then I went to college, and then blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, there won't be enough time.

The breakouts are long enough that if everyone is efficient sharing the information, there's plenty of time and more time after. But if anyone starts rambling, that can throw off the rhythm, and if a bunch of you start rambling, Now, that doesn't mean it's not a good breakout. You can still meet people.

The breakout that falls to chaos, half the people have introduced themselves, one person monopolizes the conversation, whatever. Now you're over in the chat, you're sharing with people, you're connecting, that could be where you make the best connection of the entire event. Who knows? So don't worry about it, don't stress out.

But don't be the person who is derailing the breakout and making it take too long. So, the tighter you get this, you know how, What I do is... What I bring to the table is The tighter you can do that, you know how what I do is That part and then whatever the back end is that fits the room or fits the environment The tighter that can be, the more effective it's gonna be And here's the thing too, if you're in a room and everyone's rambling blah blah blah blah blah And you're like, you know how?

Problem What I do is solution. What I bring to the table is this thing. Talk to me this way. Link in the chat. Mic drop. Michael out. You do that, people are like, Wow, that's a professional. That's someone who knows what they're doing and that someone is not going to waste my time when we get on a call. It gives you a really good impression of what you're going to be like to work with.

I'm sure you have had the experience of working with someone Who just talks and talks and talks and talks and talks. And you spend, if you were to actually list out all the time of the project, 5, 6, 10 hours of the project to just listen to them talk. Tell their life story. And maybe that's good, maybe you know them a little better.

But maybe you just want to get to the point, cause, you know, they need you to... Do something for them, and you just need them to tell you what to do and not the history of everything going back to the dawn of mankind two million years ago, you just need kind of the key details. So, if you can show you can introduce yourself, right to the point, effectively, then people are going to say, ah, that's worth a conversation.

And, people are going to make a lot of connections at JB Connect. A lot of connections. So, When, especially if you're getting into the second day, they're thinking I've already made 12, 15, 20, 30 appointments. This, this over this event, I don't know if I want to meet with more people. That's when you're going to start getting selective.

And if you're rambly, they'll be like I think I'm full. But, if you're boom, boom, boom, You know what? You? You all can fit in. So, this is the keys to being effective at introducing yourself. And as you can tell, this is applied for JBConnect, because what I'm teaching you is designed for the event that it's designed to work at.

But this will work anywhere. Anytime you're in a breakout room introducing yourself if you come to my entrepreneur entrepreneur village meetings, which are every Friday at 2 p. m. Guy who knows the guy. com slash village. I make everyone introduce themselves that way. It works phenomenally well at any of my summits.

I do that. There's one summit coming up currently other than JV Connect, which is Intuitive Serendipity, which is October 23rd, which you can find at summits. fun. So, you know. Also there, I have people introduce themselves that way and it works so, so well, cause it's so quick, so efficient, so punchy.

And of course, other people's events too. So, you don't have to just go to my events, you can go to other people's events. Other people have good events, also. You know how, what I do, is. That's the key. So, if you don't have your JBConnect tickets yet, you should get them, because the price is going up fairly soon, and it's going to go up every few weeks until we get to...

The, the final at the door price, if you wait till the last minute, it's gonna be 150. It is way less than 150 bucks right now. I'm not going to say the price right here on the recording in case you're listening to it later. I don't want you to feel like you missed out. Not trying to create FOMO. That's not my jam.

But go to guywhoknowsaguy. com slash jvconnect. That's guy who knows a guy.

You will find the price it is right now. That ticket price doesn't go down, it does go up if you wait. You want to wait? Go ahead, wait. I'm not trying to pressure you. This isn't a false scarcity thing. It's just giving you an incentive to take action now. The event is December 12th and 13th. On the 14th, there is an exclusive invitation only Elite Networking Mastermind for entrepreneurs who are in the mid six figures and above range or equivalent.

So if you run a large non profit. That's not measured in revenue, but it's still, you know, a major player. You'd obviously be invited if you believe you should be invited to that email me michael at guy who knows a guy Dot com we can talk about if you qualify to be there but everyone should grab a ticket to come for the first two days because this is going to be an incredible event And I look forward to seeing you there.

That is guy who knows a guy dot com slash JV connect and be sure to if you're not on my email list already get on it guy who knows the guy. com or Subscribe to this podcast, whichever makes you happy because we have an interview that you are not going to want to miss dropping Next Monday, and I believe every Monday between now and J.

B. Kinnear. So, every Friday, I'll be dropping these, these tips, these advice, and every Monday you'll be getting an interview. And some really cool people sharing some really cool stuff. Thank you, as always, for joining me, and I will see you, or at least you will hear me, in the next episode.