Shoutout to that one Tuesday in 2019 when everything clicked at the meetup

I still think back to this one Tuesday at the downtown Rotary meetup back in 2019. I had been going to these networking events for about 6 months and felt like I was just shaking hands and collecting business cards that went straight in the trash. But that day, this older guy named Dennis who runs a print shop on 118 Ave pulled me aside and said "stop talking about what you do, talk about what problems you solve." I actually tried it for the rest of the night and landed three solid leads from people who were tired of their web developer ghosting them. One of those leads turned into a contract that paid my rent for 4 months. It was just one hour but it changed how I approach every conversation now. Has anyone else had a random moment like that where one piece of advice from a stranger completely changed their game?

3 comments

3 Comments

finley_price241mo ago

Peeped this and thought "ok boomer" at first but nah Dennis actually dropped wisdom. I swear half the "advice" at these things is just people trying to sell you their course or their crappy app. But that one line about solving problems instead of pitching your service is gold. Had a similar moment at a coffee shop where some random dude told me to quit trying to impress people and just listen more. Changed my whole approach to talking to strangers at events honestly.

felix_hayes641mo ago

Ok boomer" had me laughing but yeah Dennis is the real deal. That line about problems vs services hit me hard too because I spent years at these things basically saying "hi I'm Felix and I do web stuff" like a robot. The coffee shop advice about listening more is spot on too - I used to walk into rooms thinking I had to be the smartest guy there and just talked over everyone like an idiot. Now I just shut up and nod a lot and somehow people think I'm way more competent than I actually am. Pure accidental genius on my part.

wendyk561mo ago

Lol "shut up and nod a lot" is basically my networking strategy now too. Actually had a buddy of mine try that approach at a big conference last year and he said it worked so well he accidentally ended up in a 45 minute conversation about some guy's cats. Pure chaos but apparently the cat guy referred him to three new clients later that week. Sometimes being too eager to prove yourself just backfires big time. The coffee shop wisdom is real though, half my best connections came from just letting someone else ramble while I nodded like a bobblehead.