Ask the Expert: Turbocharged Networking with Tallal Gondal

Michelle Abraham: 00:00:03

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Michelle Abraham: 00:00:44

Hey, amplify your family Michelle Abraham here your host today I'm bringing you a pass the expert interview. Today I've got to Tallal Gondal with me to allow Hi, I just want to say hi first before I tell her audience more about you and how amazing you are.

Tallal Gondal: 00:01:00

Hey, Michelle, so glad to be here. I'm super excited. Let's do this thing.

Michelle Abraham: 00:01:04

Awesome. Well, I'm glad you're here too. So amplify your family. Let me share with you a little bit more about Tallal I was the author of a number one best selling book, turbo charge networking. So there's a reason he's here him and I have a passion for networking and collect, connecting and collaborating. And so we're going to get into all that juicy stuff. So in his book, he shares a message that care value and service of a three two or turbo chargers to building human connection. And human connection is critical to networking and building authentic long term relationships. I could not agree more. So a little bit more about Tallal. He's also a speaker on a mission to help people cultivate the mindset and develop the skill set to become a world class networkers in a personalized and business business lives. He's coming to us all the way from England. And it's not in the middle of the night there. It's not early morning. So I think we're good in the middle of the day here today. That is a good time. So Tallal, welcome. And thank you so much. To thank you so much for joining us here today.

Tallal Gondal: 00:02:05

I'm super excited to be here. Michelle, I really want to make sure that I come here and serve your audience. So I'm ready to rock and roll. Let's do this. Oh, awesome.

Michelle Abraham: 00:02:13

Well, I would love to just dive in. And you know, you and I both hold networking dear to our hearts, how has networking really impacted your business over the last few years.

Tallal Gondal: 00:02:24

So networking was something that I stumbled into, it wasn't something that I knew anything about. But I started. Because I do not come from an entrepreneurial background, I don't come from a business background, I don't come from a corporate background. I don't come from a sales background. And because I was actually trained as an educator, as a math teacher. And so what happened was that I lost my job. And I didn't know what to do, I reached out to everybody I knew and, you know, didn't get much of a response. And I said, Hey, you know what, I think I think I need to start hanging around different people. Because, you know, while I care, and I love everybody that I'm surrounded by all my friends, all my colleagues, my family, they just didn't have the answers that I was looking for at the time, you know, in that desperate situation, when you really want to know, you know, what's next, what should I go into, you know, maybe there's an introduction somebody can make, maybe somebody can refer me to, you know, a place where they're looking for an opening or something, you know, then nothing came about. So I started to look into this thing called networking, I didn't have a clue about it. But what came out of it was Michelle, the fact that I was able to become friends and get in touch with top influencers, top experts, you know, people who are top thought leaders in their respective fields. And I started like a YouTube show where I started doing interviews, just like, you know, this podcast interview we're doing right now. And it just really was phenomenal. That, you know, a me just mean a Nazi teacher. And I was able to get in front of, you know, top war leaders and, you know, essentially get free advice, free mentoring from them. And so that's kind of like the backstory about, you know, how I got into it. And what's come out of it, it's been phenomenal, you know, I've had so many opportunities, investment opportunities, opportunity to come and, you know, speak at amazing, you know, online summits, virtual summits, I've gone on radio shows, I've gone on podcast, I've delivered presentations and trainings. And it's just been an absolute bargain. And it everything came about because I started to look into this idea of just connecting with other people and seeing, you know, how I can just show up in some of them, you know, what are they going through right now try to understand where they're coming from. What are their challenges, what are the pain points, what are they excited about? What's working for them, what's not working for them? Why do they do what they do? And so, you know, just being curious and authentic, really allowed me to just connect with everybody and I can't believe where I am right now, you know, all these things that have happened, all this all the stuff that I was able to, you know, be a part of. It's just been a phenomenal journey. And none of that would have come about if I if I didn't know the right people. And I believe that that's what networking is all about. It's about knowing the right people, it's about connecting with the right people, and I'm sure you got more questions on this, we're gonna dive deep into that.

Michelle Abraham: 00:05:25

He, absolutely, I love, you know, it's just seeing the word networking has kind of had a bad connotation to it for the last like few years. And, and the, you know, I think that people started calling it connecting, and like I did is like I do as well. So it tell us a little bit about your experience in the word networking and, and how you can make that be a really positive experience and a positive for for audience of maybe thinking at home, like, oh, good networking is one of those like things that you don't, oh, just feels like, like hard to do. And I love doing it. And I know you do it. So share with us a little bit of how our audience at home can maybe get started doing it with not feel so awkward.

Tallal Gondal: 00:06:09

So Michelle, so I believe that actually networking is something that happens all the time. And it happens naturally. Because every single interaction we have, every every sort of communication we have with somebody else, we're networking, you know, whether that's in our personal life, or in our business life, it doesn't matter. Essentially, we're just networking, and it happens naturally. Because the way I define networking is the fact that networking is all about human connection. And you build human connection with every single interaction with every single bit of communication that you have with somebody else. And so networking is is something that I feel, you know, when you try and isolated when you try and, you know, kind of pull it to one side and try to only apply to one area, which is like sales and business and, you know, trying to get clients and making sure that, you know, you're meeting your KPIs and meeting your targets and things like this, then it starts to become stagnant. And that's where you get the negative connotation from, right, because people feel like, Oh, I'm being sold to and, you know, they're just here to take my money, or somebody just wants something out of me or somebody just wants to sell me something. And I think that networking is something that's much bigger than that. It's just how we communicate. So when we focus on building human connection, it just changes how you actually view networking. And you just, you know, as humans, we just want to connect with, you know, other people, we just want to know what they're all about, we're naturally curious. And I think that's what networking is really all about. And I believe that if you want to, you know, naturally connected somebody else, and you want to build that human connection, you need three things, the three pillars, three key ideals, to building human connection. And they are care, value, and service. So if you come from a place of care value and service, you will naturally build human connection, you don't have to try and be somebody else, you don't have to put on a persona, you don't have to follow an agenda, you just naturally connect with people, right? Because when people see that, you know, something I refer to my book is a piece of research from University of New South Wales, where they discovered that we have a very highly evolved sense of intuition. We can tell when somebody is faking it, we can tell when somebody's got an agenda, we can tell when somebody's trying to put something on. And we might not be able to voice it, but we can definitely sense. And so everybody's shields go up. And so I feel that networking is a flow, because relationships are a flow, right? Just like flowing water downstream down a river, that's what happens is natural, it's just a flow. You shouldn't have to force it. You shouldn't have to, you know, try and I you know, crowbar it into it like today, this is networking time. And now I'm network, you're networking all the time, man, like just, it happens naturally, it happens organically. So that's my view on networking. And that's what the message behind my book is that, you know, it's it's about human connection. It's about care, value and service, the three core ideals of care value and service, and they allow you to build human connection.

Michelle Abraham: 00:09:18

I love it. Those are great. When you're out and about and networking in life, and as you do, are there certain things that you're doing to nurture that relationship right after you meet someone?

Tallal Gondal: 00:09:31

Yeah, absolutely. So when you meet somebody, I think the biggest thing is that you want to make sure you are being curious you're being curious about that, right? You're more interested than then trying to be interesting yourself. You're not really talking about yourself. Because that's that's a big, you know, sort of thing that most people do, oh, I do this and then this happened and then I went there and then you talk about yourself all the time. But then the reverse is also true. The other person and also likes talking about themselves. So if you give them the chance, if you're naturally curious, you ask about, you know, who they are, you know, why they are doing what they're doing, et cetera, you start to build that sort of rapport. Okay. And one big tip that I'll share here is, you know, focus on things that are common that you have in common, right. So for example, you both might be into sports, or you both might like art, you know, whatever it is, so it's time to focus on that to really drive the conversation deeper, because then you start to feel, you know, I synergy a connection, that would probably not be there otherwise. And then once you build that rapport, you know, that then allows you to, you know, start to work on that relationship, and that long term relationship where like, you say, how do you nurture that relationship? So one of the quick things that I will share with people right now is that relationships are about the long term investment, okay, so keep the long term vision in mind, when you are trying to nurture that relationship. And the best way that I have found to nurture that relationship is to just show up in the moment. Okay, and just, you know, be curious, find out what's happening in their world. And so that's, that's the, that's the first pillar care, you're showing up curious, you're showing up, you know, genuinely caring about the other person, you really want to, you know, show them that you're trying to invest in the relationship. The next part is value. So once you know, what's happening in the world, what are they working on, etc, you know, what defining exciting, what are the challenges, what are the pain points, you then try and find a way to add value to them? You know, what can you do to serve them? Okay. And it doesn't have to be anything big Michelle, you know, people think that it has to be something absolutely groundbreaking. No, you just, you might want to just send them, you know, a message saying, Hey, I heard I know that, you know, your, your family has just gone to this difficulty. Maybe they had COVID. And, you know, I, I just wanted to reach out to you. And I just wanted to say that, hey, I hope everything is well, I'm here if you need anything, and I hope everything is well. And so you just you know, having a positive impact on somebody j. So it doesn't have to be anything groundbreaking. Maybe you share a book, maybe you share an article with them, maybe you just make an introduction, right, doesn't have to be anything groundbreaking. And so you you show up in the moment, you try and find a way to add value to them. And the final part to that is service, right? So service is where you really show where you demonstrate through your actions, not just your words, because, you know, we know Words are cheap, people make promises, and then they don't follow through. So service is about follow through, it's about making sure that you have a process in place to actually do that follow through to make sure you do serve them. And not just for the moment, but you constantly show up and do it again. And again. And again. So here's an important principle, I'm going to share with everybody that I talked about in my book, it's the idea of disproportionate value by the other person receiving disproportionate value, because, you know, they suddenly don't have to go and make 100 different relationships, they can just make one relationship with you, they can just make one connection with you. They can just a one person, which is you. And then over the long term, they get so much value out of just that one relationship, because you're constantly trying to show up and add value to them by trying to sell them even your past clients, right? You just call them up and just say, Hey, I just couldn't stop thinking about you, you know, I just you're just on my mind. And I'm just leaving this message to find out, you know, what's, what's new with your life haven't spoken to in a while, you know, sorry? How are the kids or the family, etc? And I'm just wondering, you know, since the sale, or since we last spoke, how can I best serve you right now? Is there anything else that we can do for you? Is there any way that we can improve our service? Is there anything else that you need from us? Right? And so that's it, that does, sometimes that's all it takes, right? So it's the idea of disproportionate value, because I can guarantee that not a lot of people keep the long term vision in mind when they're trying to build a connection when they know somebody when they connect with somebody for the first time. So there's just that in the moment, and then they're off. But if you have, and I'm going to stress this if you have a process in place. And that that is the biggest leverage point you have towards nurturing those relationships over the long term.

Michelle Abraham: 00:14:31

Hate. I'd love that you said that. You know, I was just thinking the other day. Who can we connect people to speak on podcasts all the time, and I was like, I wish I had a database of all the people I didn't have podcasts are interesting because I can just go look at it and then be like, okay, here Kek these first person or this person and all those kinds of things. And so do you have like a specific process when you meet people that you follow up at a certain cadence afterwards and connect with them on a certain cadence?

Tallal Gondal: 00:15:00

Yeah, so I think, first of all, I would say that having a process is very important, you need to have a process in place, right? Because otherwise, you just fall through the cracks by people fall through the cracks, you lose, keep track of who's who and you know, how you connected with them, and, etc. So you want to have a process in place. And, and you also want to have a follow up process, like, you know, at what time you want to get in touch with them, you know, and how regularly do you stay in touch, etc. And so two things have been mentioned, number one is that you want to make sure that you put people in the right category in your network. Okay. And so what I mean by that is, for example, the Level A, okay, level one or Level A, we want to whatever you want to call it, is the people who are closest, that's your inner circle, right? That's your power base, that's everybody that you know that you want to keep close, because they're super important to you, right? For your business, for your personal life, whatever it is, right? That could be your team, your clients, your coaches, your mentors, your family, your, you know, whoever, like you want to keep these people super close, right, and you're staying in touch with them absolutely regularly. Okay, then the next sort of Section could be, you know, level two, or Category B. And these are people who are important, you need to know that you want to stay in touch with them, etc. But you don't have any immediate reason to be in touch with them. Right? Okay. So they can be the next level down, which is, you know, the the next category level two, or Category B, the level C is people who are kind of like, you know, casual acquaintances, you kind of get in touch with them, you stay in touch, you know, from time to time, but it's not important, you know, it's not critical. Okay, so that could be category C, and then I would say, there's another level, you know, level four, Category D, where basically everybody you meet kind of falls into the category and gets filtered into one of the other. Right, so that's, that's, that's a good sort of, you know, simple system to have simple system to follow. Okay, and then in terms of follow through with each category, based on their importance, you will have different steps for follow through right. Now, in terms of how you actually, you know, what system you use, and such, and there's so many things like, you know, there are Dan CRMs, and, you know, there's databases and all sorts of other stuff. And, hey, if that works for you go for it, if you want to make an investment in this, go for it, but I am a big fan of simplicity. So what I advise people is that, you know, have something that works for you. Okay, your own system, it doesn't have to be a, you know, specific CRM or database or, you know, piece of software or whatever, it just has to work for you, it could be a spreadsheet, or it could be a simple spreadsheet, you just set it off, right? That's cool. But there are other, you know, awesome things you can look at as well, you know, the brain, for example, that's an amazing piece of software, if anybody wants to go explore that. That's amazing, somebody introduced me to die, and I became a fan. And there's other so many other you know, networking tools, and websites are out there, that people can go and check out. But mainly, it's just something that works for you, I think that's the most important thing, because you can have the best thing in the world. But if it doesn't work for you, it's useless.

Michelle Abraham: 00:18:14

Yeah, or if it's just sitting there empty, you know, actually utilize. It doesn't work. So you can just even start with a spreadsheet or something as simple as that and, and check in do you have like a preferred like cadence that you follow up with people in the certain categories, again, level V, like us follow up with them once a week kind of thing or check in with them once a week.

Tallal Gondal: 00:18:36

So one of the things that I advise people is that when you are putting people into categories, first of all, don't keep those fixed. People can move between categories of fluid thing, right, based on circumstances based on situation, etc. That's the first thing. The second thing is that when you have a you know, one category, like Category B, Category C category, yeah, whatever, you know, setup you want to have. And this is just one example that I use, because the simple one, right? Like you can build more intricate systems if you want to, but this is just a simple one. So when when you have that what I really want you to focus on, is that the actual communication you're going to have, okay, as long as it's consistent over time, that will yield you more results, rather than actually, you know, just saying, okay, Category B people that are important, so I need to stay in touch with them. So, you know, I'm going I'm going to try and message them, you know, let's say, you know, once a month, for example, okay, so you need to have a strong follow up system in place. So Category B people, for example, it could be that, you know, once a month, and this this is a cool one, just leave a short voice message on WhatsApp, right? And then you you know, with a follow up, you know, type a short message and say, hey, just left you You know, a message on WhatsApp. And so when you get a chance, have a look, we'd love to hear from you, I've got a couple ideas that I want to bounce off you, that's it, okay, but that initial thing that, you know, they have a voice message, and they have, you know, the written message as well, it basically gives you multiple, like, you know, levels of attack. So the other person will pick up, you know, the actual worded message, or the actual recorded message, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, whatever, you, you know, left a message as, and then they, you they, that would be a prompt for them to get back to you. Right? And you're actually, you know, kind of leading them from one to the other. Right? Hey, I've just sent you this message, you can drop a quick email, drop a, you know, quick DM on LinkedIn or something, etc. And then say, for example, you can have a follow up of that, you know, Okay, listen, I haven't heard back from you, it's been a few days, it's been a week, you know, whatever. And I really know that, you know, this is something we need to talk about something important want to talk to you about, and that that point, you need them another, you know, short message, etc. So it's like these, these little steps that you build into your system, that will really allow you to get the most results for Category B, for example, if you're getting in touch with them once a month, well, you know, let's say you have this, like three step process will really help you it does, it doesn't take, you know, tons of extra time. But just recording a quick message, even when you're like, you know, walking around or something, just drop a quick message. And then you know, when you get a chance, you know, write a couple of lines and say, Hey, drop you that message, check it out, we have something important to talk about.

Michelle Abraham: 00:21:38

Yeah, I love it. Um, we were teaching yesterday in our master class sevens and IV 711 Four rule, which is like the seven hours of interaction across 11 touch points in four separate locations. And it's interesting how you're, you're talking, I couldn't that's for like a bot for a buyer. So I'm just thinking and networking in the business space, those two the messages and the follow up of the message like, that's, that's great, that's more touch points as more places that you can connect with and add value and be of service to someone I love that. That's great.

Tallal Gondal: 00:22:13

No worries, I honestly think that, you know, one you are trying to nurture relationships, you know, it can really be a big drain on your time and your your energy and your brainpower, right your thinking process. So just keep it simple. Right? Dropping, like, you know, somebody a 15/22, message, audio message on WhatsApp, or LinkedIn, I mean, that that's, that's something that we can all do. But if we have built that in place in our system, then you can pretty much operate on autopilot. And that's the beauty of it when you keep it simple.

Michelle Abraham: 00:22:49

Simple. So it's so interesting, because I feel like when you're it's not in front of you, or the like, there is someone that connects with a lot of people, I mean, a lot of people, and I feel like it's not in front of me to see that all the time, then it could easily escape me and someone who is super interesting that I wanted to connect with met somewhere, and then it didn't have a doubt in front of me to follow up with them. I could forget about them and be missed out on that opportunity to connect with them. So I like that I realized that a lot of these I was at an event this these guys, they had this thing where they actually took a picture of you with them and texted to you right at the event there so that they could automatically be in contact with you right from the start. I was like, that's kind of a cool idea.

Tallal Gondal: 00:23:34

Yeah, and one quick tip, I'll share with you here, Michelle, because obviously, you you, you mentioned that, you know you like to stay in touch with lots of people, but easy to miss them is the fact that you know, we all have a voice activated assistant on our phone, right? The Google assistant or the Apple assistant. And so as soon as the thought kind of pops in your head, the best thing to do is just set a reminder with the system is like remind me to you know, get in touch with Michelle, you know, tomorrow at 8am. So when I wake up tomorrow morning, ATM, there we go, I have a notification on my phone, and it's like, oh, there we go, yeah, I have to get in touch with Michelle, I'm gonna you know, send her a message. So as soon as something like that, you know, pops in your head, you can just leave, you know, record something quick with your assistant on your phone. And again, just keep it simple, you know, that that thought doesn't go astray then because you're not looking for always and I can replace my laptop in front of me, like you don't need all those things. You know, you can just record you know, just short messages, or WhatsApp or your you know, with your phone assistant, or even just drop things on your calendar. Evernote is a great piece of software where you can you know, set reminders and like, you know, build build lists, you know, for different people category ABCD just as long as you keep it simple. I think that's the most important thing because that allows you to have lots of follow through because follow through is important, right? That's the most important thing. So it just allows you to have lots of follow through I think that's that's good. apostle hmm,

Michelle Abraham: 00:25:01

those are great. I love that. And I always forget how have a great assistant, my assistant on my phone here is and I don't have to pay her much at all. It's awesome. Yeah, I always forget to use that, that little fancy little thing there on my phone. That's awesome. Thanks for the reminder. Well, till all this has been fantastic. I know our audience have gotten lots of great nuggets from you, if you could leave us with one thing that you would do it where you'd like to see people do differently in networking, that would make a difference in the way that they they conduct themselves, please share that with us. And then anything else you'd like to share with our audiences? Before we let you go?

Tallal Gondal: 00:25:40

Sure, absolutely. Michelle. So um, the one thing I would tell everybody to do is, make sure that you set the right intention. Right, set the right intention. Because you can have the best strategies, you can have the best systems, you can have the best database in the world. But that will only get you so far, if you don't have the right intention. And so, when it comes to networking, I believe it's all about human connection. And I believe that human connection can only be developed and built and nurtured through care value and service. So if you come from a place of care value and service consistently over a long period of time, how can you feel

Michelle Abraham: 00:26:25

very true. I've built my business along the way on those principles, and it served me very well. And I love I just love, like, you know, it just like the people in your network are just so cool. And you lead with those things. I think you just, you know, have such an interesting and amazing network that you're surround yourself with all the time with, you know, I hear people all the time say, Oh, I wish all the negative people would get off of Facebook, or you know, those negativity? And I'm like, I don't see any of that, because you've chosen to surround myself with or not like that at all?

Tallal Gondal: 00:26:57

Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, it's about the right intention. And then the right intention will set you on the right path. So definitely, you know, I, you know, we can we can, you know, go deeper into some of this stuff, obviously, we're running out of time, so that's fine. But really, the idea of care value and service is so important, I believe, because they talk about, you know, I, I relate to a larger framework, you know, on create value and service. And that's all to do with your heart set your mindset and your skill set. And, you know, essentially, it's those three things together that allow you to really go and build human connection, nurture those relationships. And, you know, the thing that I will share with people is that obviously, you know, the, the, the all of this is, in my book, right on the main massive hammer book is about human connection, and k values, obviously, I share strategies and tactics in there as well. And they also get access to, you know, 20 other people 20, you know, off the top, thought leaders, top experts from their fields have also contributed to the book, right? So they get insights from those guys as well. But you know, it's it all starts with intention, it's all starts with your heart, right. But if you if you have the right intention, you have your your you have your heart in the right place, then everything works out for you.

Michelle Abraham: 00:28:17

So I love it. So Tallal, can we find your book,

Tallal Gondal: 00:28:21

my book is available on Amazon, people can also go to www dot turbocharged networking.com. And they can learn more about the book there and have a bit more of a deeper dive. And if anybody wants to actually connect with me, best place to do is to LinkedIn because I hang around on LinkedIn.

Michelle Abraham: 00:28:39

Great, okay. Well, awesome Tallal, thank you so much for being here with us today. It's been so great to chat with you. And guys, go check out his book, go buy his book, and then reach out on LinkedIn and say you read his book, and leave him a review. That'd be so awesome, right? So all the all the more things you can do leading with service and care and value. So thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful Nuggets with us today.

Tallal Gondal: 00:29:02

Thank you, Michelle, for having me. And for people in the audience. You know, I would say that you Michelle comes and serves you every single time. And so I think the best thing we can do to say thank you to Michelle is to make sure that we actually leave her review. And also make sure that we subscribe. And we share these conversations with people who are close to us because I'm sure there are lots of people closer who need to hear this. So spread this message, you know, spread these conversations with other people because Michelle comes here and serves us every single time so powerfully. I think that's the least we can do so I'd strongly you know urge everybody to do the same.