With Alicia Arellano and Sam Higginson

Alicia is a motivator, coach, and leader! She uses her skills to make genuine connections and turns her network into a growing community. Learn how to establish your network with Alicia’s tips on fostering authenticity, outreach, and trust.

Networking is a Process  

It’s easy to get excited about your business, but you should keep in mind that building your network takes time. It will not happen overnight, so let’s enjoy the process.

The best way to get started building your community is by gaining people’s trust through authentic, honest, and relatable conversations. Start by reconnecting with people on your social media. Even strike up a conversation with your barista and get to know them a little better. It doesn’t have to be anything extreme, especially when connecting online. Use these opportunities as a chance to check-in, say hi, and see how they are doing. Relationships take time and trust to build.

Fun Fact: People typically need around 7-10 check-ins or touch-back conversations to take place before they feel comfortable enough to jump into a commitment.

Let’s Hit the Ground Running… Today! 

Building a solid network starts with trust, so make sure you find out about them, their life, joys, and pain points before you start bringing up Zyia. Here is how you can game plan your network strategy online and in person. 

Instagram or Online: “Don’t say something online that you wouldn’t say in person.”

1. Start on Instagram by sending a message to 10-20 people in your network. These can be women from your mom’s group, runners on the marathon page, or your friends in a book club, etc.
2. Send a simple message with a ‘Hi,’ ‘How have you been?’ ‘I can’t believe your youngest just turned one last week!’ Anything that feels authentic and fosters a relationship with them. Let them know that you are interested in their life and want to learn more.
3. After they’ve answered and you’ve messaged back and forth a handful of times, start engaging with their page. Give their posts and stories a like, send comments, and stay open to more conversations with them. Again, the key is to be consistent and active on that platform.
4. After a few weeks, send them a message to check-in and ask how they are doing. Casually let them know that you’ve been thinking about them. You remember how they said they never have enough time or are having financial woes, and it made you curious if they’ve heard about Zyia before. And BOOM, you’re hitting their pain point and helping them into a solution.

Note: Do less talking and spend more time finding out what their pain points are in life. What have they been struggling with lately? This information will be your guide towards introducing Zyia to them.

In-Person:   

Whether online or in-person, your goal is to build trust, be engaged with this person’s life, and find their pain points.

1. Sometimes in-person connections can be more accessible because you may already know them through your kids’ school, friends of friends at happy hour, etc.
2. These people already have some trust in you, so now it’s time to ask about their life and make an authentic connection.
3. If you already have a great connection with them and know a bit about their pain points, dive into a conversation about Zyia. Try something like:
4. “You know I was just thinking about you the other day. I know you’ve been so busy lately with X, Y, Z. I can relate, and honestly, working on myself and my business finally helped free up some of my time. Are you familiar with Zyia?”
   
   “Hey! I know you mentioned at the last book club that money’s been tight lately. I can understand the stress of budgeting. Last year, I felt overwhelmed by past due bills, but I started working on my business and found a lot more freedom. Have you heard of Zyia?”
   
   “Hi! You mentioned the other week that you’ve been looking for a new community or group to join. Are you familiar with Zyia? It’s been an amazing community for me, and it made me think of you.”
5. All that matters is if they felt heard and understood by you, even when you bring up the pitch.

Now, suppose you are reaching out to someone that you don’t know. In this case, you would strike up a conversation at the store or with your barista. A good intro may be to lead with a compliment. For example, ask where they got that cool gym bag or tell them you like their hairstyle. Practice breaking the ice and striking up genuine conversations. As you get better at this, you can start to fish for pain points and slide in some info about your business.

Pain Points: How to Speak to Them

When you’re identifying someone’s pain point, it will most likely fall into one of these four categories: time, money, health, or community. So, whether you have a pitch ready to go or alter your pitch depending on the person, keep these four common pain points in your mind. It’s up to you whether you choose to share your story and gear it towards their problem as well. Or, if you can’t relate, then use someone else’s story. It can be about your advisor, reps, or maybe someone in your upline that had a similar problem.

It Starts With a Simple ‘Hello’

Make it simple. This relationship can be as casual and easy as you let it be, and it only takes a natural hello and introduction to get started. If you have a hard time talking to strangers, start practicing. It’s ok to feel uncomfortable at first. But, we promise that it only gets easier and better.

“Do something uncomfortable, and it may lead to something great.”

What Is The Challenge You Can Take On Today?

Work on connecting. Today, you can flex that network-building skill and get used to talking to people.

Your Homework for Today:

I want you to make at least two connections today. One must be in person, and the other will be online. You are welcome to do more if you wish but do not go overboard and overwhelm yourself. Remember to have patience, and that consistency is KEY.
Join us each Monday at 1 pm MST for our weekly trainings.