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Hey there - it's Brian 👋

Who’s in your network will make or break your business.

You need peers to share the business ideas you post online so your Micro-MVPs get more views, and your peers share lessons from their experience so you don’t make the same mistakes they did.

So today I’ll show you the DM formula I used to get “big names” on Zoom (even when I was a “nobody”) and build my peer network:

• Formulas to make value-added comments (every time)
• The 3 messages that make people feel you’re valuable to them
• Real behind the scenes DM screenshots

Stay until the end to vote on next week’s topic.

Let’s make your business an outlier: 👇

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How I went fishing with the CFO of a 300,000 person business (when I was a “nobody”)

I was just out of college. I was a nobody at GE, a company of 300,000 people. But this nobody persuaded the CFO to go fishing (3 times).

It got me hooked on building a network with people far beyond my “status.”

When I moved to Deloitte, I turned the skill into a more organized system.

It worked. I met with the head of the strategy group. He moved me in his team to do my dream work.

About a year ago. I restarted my career again.

I was a nobody in the internet business world.

But I knew to grow my business, I needed to grow my network.

So I made my list of business accounts I wanted to meet:

Those numbers were the size of their Twitter account at the time (when I barely had 900 followers).

So they had no reason to talk to me.

Since then:
• Shreyas and I worked on a course together.
• Barrett and I got beers in Boston (and is now one of my closest friends).
• Dave and I got lunch together.

Here’s the “secret.”

It doesn’t matter how “far ahead” other founders / business owners are. Make every interaction with you something they value and befriending them happens naturally.

I won’t get into my whole system today, but I’ll show you one part: how I use DMs on socials to get anyone on Zoom (who is active online).

I’ll use examples from my creator business but this process works for you if you have a service, product, B2B, B2C. Anything.

So let’s dive in.

The formula to get anyone on Zoom

The goal: get their attention in a way that makes them think you’re valuable to them and feel they need you in their network.

Here’s the 3 steps:

Turn on notifications so you know when they post, be one of the first ones to leave a value-added comment. Do this 3 - 5 times. Then, give them more value in the DMs (related to one of their posts). Suggest to give them even more value in a video call.

That’s it.

You goal for every interaction is to make them look good. Solve THEIR problems and they’ll wonder where you’ve been all their lives.

So let’s make it easy for you to send valuable messages, and show you some examples:

The 3 messages that make people feel you’re valuable to them

Valuable messages (comments or DMs) can be 3 things:

These comments show how much you have to offer the person you want to meet.

Post any of these 3 consistently and people reading them will think you’re smart (and want you in their network).

Post these comments on 3 - 5 of the author’s posts, then move to the DMs.

Keep the DMs simple

The person you’d love to meet already knows you from your value-added comments. Move to the DMs to so it feels more personal.

Keep the DMs simple.

Your goal is to build rapport, find out what they’re focused on in their business, and solve that problem for them on a video call.

I’ll share real screenshots from how I built relationships. These are related to my business (creators in the business space), but the same process applies to you connecting with people in your industry (customers, suppliers, other founders).

Example DM #1: Shreyas Doshi

I commented on 3 of Shreyas’ posts. Then, he asked a question about customer segments. I commented with a new perspective, then elaborated in the DMs.

The open-ended question is critical.

I found out he was focused on a customer segmentation problem. So we hopped on the phone to work through it.

Example DM #2: Barrett O’Neill

I had been adding value-added business comments to Barrett’s posts for a few weeks.

Then, I saw him post about a trip to Texas. I used to live in Dallas.

So I quickly took the opportunity to comment with restaurant recommendations.

Then set a reminder to follow up after his trip.

Then, I moved the chat from a “where do you live” conversation (at the time, “South End” in Boston) to a business discussion on Zoom:

Look for opportunities to help (even if it’s not business related).

Example DM #3: Connecting Maria Gilinski and Shannon Marie

Connecting people is a cheat code because you’re giving value to TWO people in one action.

You see a post where the author talks about something they’re focused on. The, comment that you know someone who helps with that thing.

The trick: make sure you talk to BOTH people before connecting them. It has to be exciting to both people, not just one.

Then, DM both of them with the introduction.

The more valuable their relationship is, the stronger your connection with the author.

It’s a win-win.

Boom! That’s it.

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See you next Thursday 👋

Brian
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