Con Sotidis walks through how to network effectively in the NDIS sector. Ask about people's work, use LinkedIn as your business card, and focus on relationship selling over the hard pitch. Listen for collaboration opportunities and lead with authenticity.
Hello, welcome, welcome back to my YouTube channel or LinkedIn, wherever you're watching this. We're back here for another one of your Do Your Job Part 2. Yes, Part 2, and there's a lot of parts to Do Your Job, but let's start with the second part. Now before we get started, just let you know I was away for a few days, went down to Hobart for a special occasion. Magnificent. You want to meet the Hobart Do yourself a favor, like our old friend Molly would say, and get down and visit Hobart. It's good to see parts of Australia and also good to support local Australian restaurants, hotels, and various events. So go for it. Now let's get back, let's get back to the, the main point here we want to discuss. So do your job, part 2. Before I went down to Hobart, I decided to venture to an event. What the event was, irrelevant, and we're not here to talk about the event, not here to critique the event. In fact, the event was very, very good. But if you're going to be a BDM, an RM, a partnership manager, a business owner going to the events, you need to have a strategy, you need to have an approach. At least practice a process, but more importantly, listen, digest, process, and then react or follow up. So one of the first things, of course, that we all get when we go to events is, how can you help me? Well, you know what, guys, I'm an NDIS business consultant. I don't run a provider company. I'm not a physio, nothing like it. I'm not a masseur. I'm not an OT. I wouldn't even know what muscle is what. So first things first, I've got no referrals for you. Okay, let's put it out there. Secondly, don't approach me with, how can you help me? Do you have any referrals for us? No, no, no. Approach me and even other providers with the opening phrase being, hi, I'd love to know more about what you do. I'd love to know what you are specialising in. I'd love to know what particular areas, sectors of the disability sector you focus on. I'd love to know more about Once you start the conversation focusing on the individual, that will create a genuine conversation between the two of you. Don't pull out your business card straight away. In fact, don't pull it out at all. Get yourself a kick-ass LinkedIn profile. Come and see me. And just share your LinkedIn profile. Your LinkedIn profile is your business card. Yes, we all give our business cards, and I, I can see them phasing out over the next number of years. Your LinkedIn profile is your business card. Pull that out, show them, be proud of what you're showing them, be proud of the profile you've got, as you should articulate everything about you, the services you provide, but more importantly, you should articulate the value you add. So when you approach a BDM, or when you're at a particular event, hey, tell me more about you. Well, we do this, this, and this. We focus on this, this, and this. But also, I'd love to hear about what you guys do as well. And when they go to pull out that business card, say, let's do it easier. Let's do it on LinkedIn. That way I can send you A request, I can then send you some information if you give me permission to, and then we can continue the conversation on LinkedIn because that's where real connections occur. Emails, no. Telephones, yes. The telephone is that secondary or third cadence after the connection on LinkedIn. Also, when you do go to these events, listen. I'm an NDIS business consultant. When you ring me up after the event, don't ask me if I'm a support coordinator, especially even after I've given you my card and my card states specifically what I do— LinkedIn and AI strategist at the moment, focusing on quite a bit in the NDIS sector. Don't ask me How many clients or participants I have, because I've got none. But what you can ask me is, how wide is your network, Con? Give me a glimpse inside of the variety of people you are connected with. Do you have any who are working in this particular sector? Do you have any work in this particular area of the NDIS? Do you know any plan managers? Do you know any SCs, Con? And if you do, how can we work together for you to introduce me to them, and how can I help you? Because remember, it's going to be a win-win situation for everyone. We are in the relationship selling business. We are selling a relationship. We're not selling a widget. We're not selling a system. We're not selling a car. We are selling a relationship. And relationships are built on a number of aspects: authenticity, credibility, and integrity. If you pursue conversations with those 3 things in mind, you'll go a long way in the NDIS sector. So do your job, do your job properly, approach each conversation with a question seeking to learn more only. And when only the individual asks, what do you do, then you come in with offering your 30-second pitch and then suggest the best way to go forward is connect on LinkedIn because LinkedIn allows you to continue the conversation in a real-time fashion, to be able to send documents and to send videos and interact. And when you are in conversation, listen. What does this person do? Okay, start thinking, how can I collaborate with this person? Not what can I take from this person, not what can I milk from this person. How can I collaborate with this person? How can I make this a win-win for both of us? Do your job. Till next time, see you soon.
