On March 9th, the Chamber hosted its first Networking 101 event of the series in 2023. The board room was filled with 35+ participants. All eyes were on the facilitator Clint Babcock, President of Sandler Training. Babcock is a master coach, walking the room, weaving in and out of the group tables, and stopping to engage with participants one-on-one. He doesn’t just tell you how to elevate your networking techniques. Clint shows you. It’s what keeps Chamber members coming back for more. A guest in the room was Michael Manno, a Senior Analyst at Truist. This was the second time the finance professional and Emerging Leaders member participated in the series. Interviewed after the March 9th session, he said the training was everything he’d hoped for and more.
“Across the board, this has helped me hone my networking skills and develop my network. It’s phenomenal,” explained Manno. “Clint is amazing. I can’t think of a better guy to do this training. He’s so engaged, passionate and encourages us to interact with everyone. It’s part of the reason why I came back a second time.”
Asked to pinpoint top learnings from this Chamber training, Manno was quick to explain the top 3 things he’s able to do better than ever thanks to the Networking 101 series. “First, focus on having quality conversations. Early on I thought it was a numbers game where I felt I had to talk to everyone in the room. Clint taught us that it’s better to go into the room with a goal of having two – three quality conversations and focus on taking that relationship to the next step. Second, I learned to ask more questions, focus on who I’m talking to. Clint references the 70-30 rule. If you get the person you’re speaking with to talk 70% of the time, that’s an engaged person! Rather than stating what I do, because I’ve been listening to them talk about their business and their pain points, I can better understand what problems they’re facing and can tie back to my services that can help them. Third, I’ve adopted a different mindset when people ask me what I do for a living. Now, I start by putting myself in the client’s shoes, answering from the perspective of how I can help them instead of pitching a suite of services they can use. It’s a different mindset and one that leads to more successful interactions.”
The remaining sessions in the 2023 series are scheduled. Registration is now open for the next session, Return on Relationships, scheduled for April 13. There’s a Networking 101 Session planned for September 22 and Return on Relationships Session on October 13. For more information visit, https://www.tampabaychamber.com/events/.
