Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Are you a B2B business owner or leader who attends conferences and networking events, but struggles to translate those opportunities into meaningful connections and qualified referrals? Do you wish you could genuinely expand your professional network without feeling transactional or overwhelmed?
Welcome to Mastering Conference Networking, hosted by Catherine Brown, founder of the Good Humans Growth Network. Catherine, an accomplished entrepreneur, community facilitator, and author of How Good Humans Sell™, is here to transform the way you approach in-person events.
Move beyond collecting business cards and discover how to truly engage, create reciprocal value, and make your time at any business event incredibly productive. If you're ready to master the art of strategic networking and elevate your business development through genuine human connection, this podcast is for you.
Ep04
===
Introduction to Lisa McGuire
---
[00:00:00]
Catherine Brown: Welcome back. I'm so excited to introduce you today to my friend Lisa McGuire. Friendly reminder that in these episodes we're talking about how business owners show up at conferences, networking events, those things that some people love and some people hate. And so for this, episode, I'm so pleased to introduce you to [00:01:00] my friend Lisa McGuire.
She's going to tell you a little bit about herself, and one thing that I'm so looking forward to is this topic of personal brand. So if you wonder, what does a personal brand have to do with networking, just buckle up because here we go. Lisa's got all kinds of tips and suggestions for you, so you can show up the way that you're hoping to at your next event and make the impression that you hope to.
So Lisa, please tell them a little bit about yourself.
Lisa McGuire: Well, Catherine, thank you so much for this session today. So, as you said, I am Lisa McGuire. I do help people become unforgettable by aligning their personal brand with the story that their presence tells whether they're in the room or not. I specialize in helping purpose-driven professionals navigate visibility, especially in high stake settings like conferences where authenticity can be your most powerful networking strategy.
Catherine Brown: Hmm. So I'm of a certain age [00:02:00] where the term personal branding is associated in my mind with influencers, and some people are reluctant to call themselves influencers.
Defining Personal Branding
---
Catherine Brown: So before we dive in too far, let's talk about first how we define personal branding. For the rest of the time we're talking here. Why do you think it's misunderstood, and what do you mean when you say it, Lisa?
Lisa McGuire: Yes, so Catherine, I am also of that particular generation. We do share that, and you're exactly right. I started using this term, you know, probably four to five years ago, and what I would see is. I would say people would roll their eyes or they'd back off and like, that's not me. I'm not the influencer. I'm not there to promote myself and be this person, to put myself out there of, Hey, look at me.
The Importance of Character in Personal Branding
---
Lisa McGuire: But really the definition, the typical definition of personal branding is who people say you are when you're not in the room.
Catherine Brown: Hmm.
Lisa McGuire: But I'd like to take that a bit further because I think when you [00:03:00] look at the breadth of what it entails, it includes your expertise, includes your point of view, which a lot of people don't see that part of it, but it is a huge opportunity and window. It's also your personality and it's your character. So if you take those four components, expertise point of view. Personality and character. You see, you can really present a very rich perspective of what that is.
Catherine Brown: How would you say, Lisa, that that is different than the way many other people refer to personal brand?
Lisa McGuire: I think most people look at personal branding as how do I position myself as an expert to make myself look important or be memorable.
They tend to really shy away from the personality piece. They don't understand how to use the character piece and leverage it, which I think that is a huge opportunity point of view.
Many people don't go there because [00:04:00] they've never even thought about stepping outside what industry best practices or thinking about things in a little bit different way that may make them a bit controversial. But yet memorable?
Catherine Brown: Yes. Well, especially with the phrase good humans, which is our aspirational identity, we're moving toward the idea that your character is a component of your brand is so interesting to me. And so we'll dive into like, how would a person see that quickly? This series is about.
Networking Strategies and First Impressions
---
Catherine Brown: How you wanna show up what you do before you go, while you're there and after.
And I think it's so interesting to think about being this deliberate about how you come across even how can a person judge character that quickly? We know we're making these snap judgements, and yet we're not always very deliberate about the planning side of that.
Lisa McGuire: so the question about how you can make character deliberate is I find that when you include storytelling. [00:05:00] Within your content where someone can understand how you interacted with the customer, how you followed up with someone, where you drew the line, because it did not align with your values. That is that that undertone of character that you don't have to be blatant about, but you do pick it up where people say, I really like that person, and it's because we do have those similar values.
Catherine Brown: Isn't that interesting that we could win others over? Through a normal conversation where we're actually expressing a boundary. That's what I hear you saying is that particular story example was a boundary. Right. It's so interesting. It's it's amazing. It's amazing.
Lisa McGuire: Yes. And I have
Catherine Brown: Okay.
Lisa McGuire: seen people maybe even just make an off the cuff remark about, you know, when I show up that way, nobody's gonna tell me to do something like that. And immediately there is a filter in my mind where. [00:06:00] I'm saying I either agree with that or I don't agree with it, and how violently I am on either side of it will immediately tell me whether or not I'm interested in working with that person.
Because to me, out of this four parts, expertise, point of view, personality and character, if your character does not check the box for me where I can validate with some of those other things, then it's a no. And that is a really critical piece that people aren't thinking about.
Catherine Brown: Yes. I'm also thinking Lisa, like probably the most traditional application of people thinking about conferences, networking events, chamber events, cocktail parties, they're thinking about connecting with their buyer in the room. And so you see where this matters. Now many of the things we do in the Good Humans Growth Network are really B2B two B, so we are.
Building an impression for someone who we hope will will bring us into their account. It's interesting to think about how, even in the less [00:07:00] understood way of why those stories matter, this is very important in our world, probably less understood on that B two, B2B piece for many people.
I think that's a mic drop moment. I think that's so powerful.
Lisa McGuire: And I think that point, Catherine, is, if I'm going to put my reputation on the line to introduce you to my client or to someone in my network, I do not want you representing me in a way. That someone's gonna come back to me later to say, what were you thinking? Or who is that? Where did you find that person? You wanna present someone that you are very proud to have part of your network that you know will align with the same level of deliverability, the same level of quality, customer service, caring, all of those things. You want someone who's going to make you look better.
And so as you're speaking with people, [00:08:00] one thing that is going on in my screening. I be proud to present this person someone to make a referral to them? That's going to make me look just as good as the work that they deliver.
Catherine Brown: We have had some conversation in this series about having. A ridiculously simple value proposition for someone to be able to make that referral. How important? It's that they can repeat it. We think a lot about the way our business cards look before we go. We think about if we're gonna have a postcard with a we're really into QR codes right now, right?
Like QR code leads to a quiz or a video or a way to get to know me so you can remember who we were later. And those are all important practices, right? The, your, your brand palette, all those things matter. But we're talking about things that are really beyond that. What else would you advise a person consider before a high stakes event that they were attending?
[00:09:00] Let's say they're a speaker, or that they aspire to be a speaker, or they really wanna meet some critical contacts for for their future. What else should they ask themself or think about? That's not that merch, copy, print. Not that we don't also need that, but we're talking about beyond that.
Lisa McGuire: So I think the question is, what is it that you want people to think about you when your name comes up
Catherine Brown: Okay.
Lisa McGuire: the conference? Like what do they want? What do you want them to remember about you? And I know yesterday, even in a LinkedIn post, you put, you know, what is it like I Am you? You finished the sentence.
I am. And I think you said I am a builder. Right?
Catherine Brown: I had a dream. I was a builder. I was like, that's so interesting. Yeah. Yeah.
Lisa McGuire: yeah. It was really great. But what I have learned about myself after working with client, after client and really understanding what is the distinctive value I bring to the table. So I am a strategic advisor, but I [00:10:00] act as a mirror. what I have done is find these little mirrors, they're like magnets. And I could put it on my business card. As a way to remember and differentiate myself. Why does she have that mirror there, right? Like it's something to be remembered by, if it's something you know, I often talk about bringing humanity back to business. I have this little heart shaped stress ball. has that printed on bring humanity back to business? What do we do as humans? We're stressed, right? So this is something that can sit by their computer monitor, right? That they can remember me by every time they look at that there, there's my name coming to top of mind because I've given them something that they can use and a reminder they are human too. So that would be a couple of examples, but really, what do you wanna be remembered for? Why do you want them to call you? And so, you know, whether it's you're a speaker and you're, you're having a [00:11:00] walkup song that's got the vibe of how you wanna be remembered. it's your brand colors. And I remember Joe Pelusi, I don't know if you know Joe Pelusi, but Back Content Marketing World 2010, I still remember this.
Cleveland, Ohio. He had a bright orange flaming suit because that was the brand color of content marketing world, and you couldn't miss him anywhere. He wore it every day, right of the conference. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really did. But just really think about like, what do you wanna be top of mind? And I would also add to this, Catherine, there is a saying, and I can't remember the exact saying, but you know, it's not what you say and it's not what you do, but it's how you make people feel. So you need to think about how do you want people to feel after a conversation with you.
Catherine Brown: That's wonderful. So lemme repeat back a few key things because there's so much rich content in what you're [00:12:00] saying. What I take from that is even with the merchandising examples that you gave. You are wanting to reflect values and characters, and it probably ties back to a story. If you have a chance to work a mirror example into that story, then the mirror will remind them of that when they see it.
Lisa McGuire: Yes.
Catherine Brown: And this idea of that people remember how you made them feel. Again, how, what is the way you want your. Your values, your attention to them, how do you want that to stick in their mind? It could be as simple as, so let's just give some bad examples real quick before we move on.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah.
Catherine Brown: If you are talking with someone and they are looking around your shoulder for who else they know in the room,
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: an example of you did not make me feel good because it made me feel like I wasn't important in that moment.
Right. These subtle things, right? Can they hold your gaze? You and I are, you know, speaking virtually, so in order to hold your gaze, I'm staring in the circle on the camera and I've trained myself to do [00:13:00] that so that it looks like I'm looking at you because I would be looking in your eyes if I were with you face to face.
So practicing doing that and keeping a gaze, not for a weird amount of time, but for. A reasonable amount of time, you have a quick look away, look back. All these things that actually are privileging the person in front of you. Those things are worth practicing if they're a struggle for you because those expressions are reflecting your brand.
Lisa McGuire: And, and I think one other thing to follow up on that, particularly in, your realm of sales in your experience, I once brought. Someone to a referral partner. I was sitting in on the meeting and the referral partner would not stop talking and later my client said. I think he's a nice guy, but he didn't listen to the thing I had to say.
I'd ask a question and he went completely off on a different tangent [00:14:00] and he said, I think he likes hearing himself speak. So I thought that would be something that maybe we need to work on. Right. What do you, you want people to know that they've been heard?
Catherine Brown: It's such a strange phenomenon that in selling, people think they have to get everything out when they're the seller, but you can do not that much. Qualifying sometimes on that first call, if the other person does a lot of talking, they'll feel connected to you and think your bio will think that you're interesting.
It's the craziest, it's the craziest paradigm shift that it takes a long time for people to understand. Same true face-to-face in these events. Whoever gets to tell the most stories, feels the most special. It's so interesting. So.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah, it took me a while to figure that one out.
Catherine Brown: I know, and I, I have a lot of words. I wake up with a lot of words every day, my, my family, kids about it, but I really have to discipline myself in those situations.
Sometimes I'll even count in my head and just make sure that I only make a comment [00:15:00] or interject every third time I feel like it because my instincts are to show enthusiasm and jump in. I might actually be curtailing their story or doing something that doesn't leave them with the impression that I want when it, in fact, my heart was to say, oh, yes, yes, yes, I agree with you, but it can come across as too interrupting too frenetic, right?
I wanna have a, a more chill energy, so I have to be really deliberate about holding myself back in those situations because I learned that about myself Now.
Visibility Reluctance and Overcoming It
---
Catherine Brown: Lisa, you have coined a term that I want you to teach the audience about this visibility reluctance, and I think it's just so easy. We already talked about sales and and sales situations.
I do believe it is easier for some people than others to go into situations where they're gonna walk in a room where they only know a handful of people, or it's the first time they've attended something. This is more difficult for some people than others, and yet, I'm gonna guess that visibility reluctance is.
A [00:16:00] broad term that could apply to any number of people because of different circumstances. So teach us about that. And why, why it matters.
Lisa McGuire: So I first came across this when I was working with clients and I'd ask, are you posting on LinkedIn? Oh, no, no, I can't do that. I knew the importance of doing it because I had been through this myself. So back when I started my business back in 2018, I knew that I was going to need to be present on LinkedIn, so I would get on and I would. You know, like something I would, I would start with that and then I got brave and I would maybe comment, but it was a good year before I had the courage to post anything. And I'm getting to the conference too. So this
Catherine Brown: Okay.
Lisa McGuire: all tie in. Yes, it is a progression. So think about this, like I am behind my computer, just afraid to even click a like, right? And so I wrote a post for LinkedIn it took me two months, [00:17:00] 60 days before I had the courage to hit post on it. And do you know what happened? Nothing. No one came after me. No one criticized me. No one said, who are you to say that? No one followed up with me later. Like nothing like people. I will say people started engaging the more I did it.
And then I thought, what was I thinking? Like, what was I afraid of? This also led to a conversation I had during, the time of COVID. I know you and I were both active on, Clubhouse and I had a friend who I was, we were going to host a room right. And do this. And we, we'd been doing that for a couple of sessions and he had an idea that we should get on and do another project that involved video.
Now he's a videographer, and when he came up with this project, I visibly backed away from the screen, right? he said, I sense the idea. You don't think it's a good idea? And I said, no. And he said, why? I came up with all of these reasons, [00:18:00] but here's what he said. That changed my mind and everything I did after that, he said, your person is looking for you, and how are they going to find you if you're hiding? So I went from visibility, reluctant visibility as service. I have identified seven different stages that it takes someone to get there, but I wanna encourage people that being invisible and being silent, whether it's online or whether it's in a room at a conference, does not help you, but it really doesn't help your client.
That client or that referral partner is looking for you. And if you're hiding, how are they going to find you?
Catherine Brown: Hmm. Do you think. You said that people are motivated to move out of visibility, reluctant. Do they decrease their visibility reluctance because their belief in the value of what they're [00:19:00] selling get grows? Or do you think it's doing the reps and practicing even though they're scared? Or do you think it's clarity of their goals?
Like I'm wondering how a person moves through that because. We know, for example, that on LinkedIn, I haven't heard the latest statistics, but I've heard something like. Only 10%, even like and comment of all the subscribers to LinkedIn. And then you go to a really small percent of who actually posts, and I think that percent's 2%.
That might not be right, but it's something pretty dramatic like that. So we can use like Dinner Pro as a proxy, or it could be just being willing to go to events like the kinds of events this podcast is for, right? Cocktail parties, chamber events, networking things. You're gonna have to meet new people.
How does the person move out of that? What do you see moves the needle for them?
Lisa McGuire: You know, so I'm gonna use, since we're talking about conferences, I'm gonna talk about the in-person event, right? And I remember when I started my business, my former boss said, well, [00:20:00] you know, you're gonna have to go network. And he knew that would be like the kiss of death to me, because the last thing I wanted to do was to walk into a room full of strangers, where I thought the goal was to hand out all of your business cards. then I flipped it, I thought. I don't think anybody else in there is really excited to be here either. So let's all let, let's just kind of have that as the baseline what if you make the goal is to meet one interesting person that you wanna have a follow-up conversation with. And a really easy way to do it.
You know, as we know, you walk in, you go find the beverages, find the food. Great place to stand is after everybody's collected that and start a conversation not with who are you or what do you do? It might even be, is this the first time you've been here? Or how do you know the host? Or what are you excited about? What are you working on right now? You know, I've not been here before, do you? Can you introduce me to someone? Because everyone is in that same situation where we have to kind of be a little bit hesitant, but then break the [00:21:00] ice. I also know someone that always takes a wingman with them to a networking event or a conference, so then they're playing and working the room and they're never standing there alone with a drink in their hand.
Catherine Brown: Yes, yes. There's so many implications to visibility, reluctance, whether it's online or in person.
The Power of Pre-Conference Activities
---
Catherine Brown: I even think it matters because I think about how we'll make up stories in our head that'll keep us safe and keep us from having to do things that we don't wanna do. So an example would be some of the events that you and I do together through the Good Humans Growth Network.
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: have a lot of pre-conference activities. We have a lot of opportunities to help people not have to walk in the room and not know someone. So you can begin connecting ahead of time That's on purpose to help all parties make the most of the experience. But a person, I'm surprised sometimes how often people will sign up and not participate in the pre-conference activities.
And sometimes they're holding onto the idea that I'm gonna just show up and make [00:22:00] the most of it while I'm there
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: and kind of treat it like a more transactional experience. And the thing is that when you do that, you have these biases. It it affects, it affects even how you view a space when you walk in because.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah.
Catherine Brown: If you have a low expectation and you have a frame, then you'll engage with people accordingly. And so what I love about this conversation with personal brand is that it's very reflective. It's saying,
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: do you wanna be perceived? Slow down and think about this, and what action are you going to have to take?
That's different if you're refining the way you want that to be received, you have to be much more thoughtful about it.
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: I love that. It's kind of like the term metacognition. We're thinking about what we're thinking about.
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: inviting people to do that.
I think that's really fun.
Lisa McGuire: It really is.
The Importance of Energy and Presence
---
Lisa McGuire: And I think the other thing I want to just encourage people to do is think about the energy when you walk in the room and the energy you have with a conversation with someone. we've met people who you've walked [00:23:00] away from and just felt like it was like a wet dish re right?
Like just didn't have a great vibe with him, The conversations that we have that are memorable are the people who are not trying to perform but are instead present.
Catherine Brown: Hmm.
Lisa McGuire: They don't feel like they have to bring their performance and proving to the conversation hold space. To allow you to speak, to allow you to bring forth what your essence is, it's that vibrational resonance that we have, that we really take with us and carry it forward.
Catherine Brown: And what I want the audience to hear is that this energy and essence is probably the opposite of what you might think. Like as Lisa's talking, I took a deep breath. Breathe in through my nose, out through my mouth as if I were doing a meditation video. Right. Just, just even thinking about this [00:24:00] concept of slowing down and being present makes me wanna do that even in this interview, and that's what we're inviting people to do.
We're saying yes, there'll be loud music. Yes. There'll be a lot of people talking around you. You get an opportunity to zone in on what's right in front of you. Make that person the center of your universe for that time and relax. Choose to relax in their presence. Take a deep breath. Choose to relax that calmness.
First of all, it's like when you speak and you practice speaking slowly, and then you get on stage and you speed up. So I would even say you could practice being what you might consider overly relaxed, and it's not gonna be a problem in the moment because the energy of the room is gonna pick things up.
But we're inviting people not to feel transactional, not to feel rushed. What would it mean to have fewer, more important conversations where you could say, who else [00:25:00] are you hoping to meet here? Meet here. If, if I meet that person, I'll bring them to you. Let's, let's make a pact to introduce one another.
Let's help each other out. This is what we're here for. If people aren't willing to do things like that, you're not in the right room. That's what I'm gonna say. You're not in the right room.
Lisa McGuire: Right, exactly. And I love that idea of who are you looking for? And when I find that person, I'm going to make the introduction to you. And then what happens, Catherine, is instead of those people in the room being your prospects, they become a member of your sales team. They're your advocates. You know, if I know you're looking for me, then. I will be looking for you. That's a way we can help each other and there's no better feeling than to know that you have contributed to help somebody move forward. 'cause it's all gonna come
Catherine Brown: That's right. This thing of reciprocity is a law of the universe. It's a principle that seems to transcend. All cultures and all [00:26:00] time, and it's not a one for one but it will come back somehow. And when you believe that you project a such a positive energy that makes people want to do that, makes them want to help you.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah.
Catherine Brown: That's wonderful. Okay.
Building Trust Through Digital Presence
---
Catherine Brown: Now I would be remiss to have such a strong LinkedIn user on and not ask a little bit about your digital presence. So what would you say to our listeners about how your digital presence needs to align with your in-person? I mean, we know that's true, but how does one do that?
Lisa McGuire: You know, I run into this all the time, Catherine. So you know, people who feel like, you know, I've got a great in-person networking process. build relationships. But what we know is, so when someone meets you, what are they going to do? They're probably gonna connect with you on LinkedIn. Well, if you go on LinkedIn and it looks like you haven't been on there for the last three years and your profile photo is from 10 years ago, they're not really even sure [00:27:00] it's you. they go to your website and it looks like it was from MySpace era, like the, the quality. You know, again, if they've met this very polished person, very confident, and you go online and you look at that representation is not the same thing.
It makes you question the experience. So when we have the consistency of how we show up online, you know, whether it's through a podcast, whether it's posting, whether it's even replying to the comments in your post, the more consistency we have, the more trust we build. And how does that convert, that converts into, oh, if I'm going to refer you to someone, I can be confident you're going to follow up. I can be confident you're going to speak to them in a way that I'm going to be proud to refer you. Again,
Catherine Brown: Hmm.
Lisa McGuire: even your [00:28:00] comments can reveal your character, and I have seen some post where people will get on and they lower their performance and maybe a little bit authentic comes out they step over the line and because it is written. You're not sure the tone of intention of it and you've just dashed your brand. So be very careful. And when you do have something written online, what I would suggest is read it out loud you hit send because it may not always come out the way that you intended and have somebody else look at it of does it match the level that you want to convey?
Catherine Brown: Those are great practices. That's really helpful. And let's say too for our audience, that we do not believe that you have to be everywhere. You pick, pick a couple things that you
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: enjoy well enough to [00:29:00] persevere. If that is to do a podcast and to have a certain niche with that, then you wanna do that faithfully for a long time.
That's how you increase in the rankings, and that's where you direct people. And if you have a particular social channel that you prefer over others, or you are gonna really invest in your newsletters. I mean, I know people that have. Like, they're just normal people in my mind. They're not famous, famous people, but they have tens of thousands of people on their email list because they drive everyone to that and they.
They provide a lot of value. And so that is a place where they've invested and when you want to get to know that person better, you know what to follow. So I don't think you have to be on everything, even if you pay someone to do it, it's too hard. Most of us listening are small business owners and it's just too hard to be everywhere.
Nobody does that. They pick a couple things where the people they wanna reach are there, whether those are their referral partners. Or their buyers or both and just keep going. Keep going with it. So I think [00:30:00] it's about consistency on fewer channels, and it's not about being everywhere all the time.
That's important too, because if you spread yourself too thin, that has a negative effect on your brand as well.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah, absolutely. Pick the hill that you wanna die on and plant your flag firmly.
Catherine Brown: Mm-hmm. Exactly.
Reinventing Yourself Authentically
---
Catherine Brown: So Lisa, let's talk about, my last question here is that you help people reinvent themself and show up with more authenticity. I've really enjoyed watching your marketing career pivot and,
Even become more deliberate about this practice. I just wanna mention that I've enjoyed that so much.
And so for someone who feels like they're evolving or outgrowing their old identity,
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: what opportunity we have when we're in transition.[00:31:00]
And so we can feel good about it. 'cause this could, this could be weird too, right? We don't want it to be weird.
Lisa McGuire: Right. You don't wanna come in as a completely different persona to complete like too much of a change to shock people as you do. But what I would encourage people is look at who you are now and what are the parts that no longer feel aligned. A lot of the people that I work with will come to me and they'll say, I'm just ready to burn my business down, or. I played the game, I did what I was asked to do, and I feel like there's something more. Is this all there is? Right? And so my question is, let's not burn it all down, let's go ahead and look at what are the pieces that you feel that you align with, and what are the pieces no longer resonate with you? And so if we look at that, okay, what do we wanna capture? What do we wanna keep? And then imagine who is that future person? Who is that future
Catherine Brown: Hmm.
Lisa McGuire: You know? Does that person walk in with, I call it the is she Energy, [00:32:00] right? Like when somebody walks in and you say, who is she? Do you wanna walk in with a, who is she or who is he Energy? And let's say that you do well. What does that require of
Catherine Brown: Hmm.
Lisa McGuire: Does it require you to stand up straighter? Does it require you have a very finite, elevator speech? Does it ask you to wear clothing in a certain way? And I don't want to ask people to go in and just like totally change yourself.
But let's pick one or two
Catherine Brown: Hmm.
Lisa McGuire: that you may do differently. Maybe you change the routine of how you get ready in the morning, because as you step into that future self as you're trying it on, as you're maybe wearing a new type of outfit or you've got a couple of different ways to speak, this is a great testing ground to see how people will respond to different ways that you talk about yourself from different ways that you talk about clients. You can try story. [00:33:00] It's great for A, B, and C testing. I mean, use that to your advantage. And does it feel good?
Catherine Brown: Lisa, what you're saying makes me think of the be do, have model, and the way I understand this, as I hear coaches and personal development people talk about this model is that as you grow in confidence about who you want to be and how you want to come across, that affects the actions you'll try on the things you'll.
Attempt the risks you'll take how you make the decision of how to show up in this case, in these networking experiences. And then the have is what outcome that will bring because of those activities.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah.
Catherine Brown: It reminds me of, I'll tell you a quick story. It reminds me that when I started my business, so I started my first business in 2002.
I had two little boys at the time, and when I got my youngest one into half day kindergarten, I was really starting to go out and network. I was working the [00:34:00] whole time from home before that, but I literally was in sweats. Before video was cool, just pounding away at my computer, on my phone, right?
So I decided I need to get some clothes. I joined a women's only Mastermind group. I started networking in the town I lived in at the time, and I started just watching those women around me because I used to have a closet full of suits when I was in consulting sales. And I would travel all the time, but it'd been, I had a couple kids since then, probably 10 pounds heavier since then, you know, and, and.
Had to think about how to reinvent myself. And what I did is I started watching the women that I really admired, who felt like they were ahead of me in some respects, and yet weren't so far ahead of me, that it felt discouraging and unattainable.
Lisa McGuire: Mm-hmm.
Catherine Brown: I remember coming home and telling my husband that there was a woman that had a PR firm.
Beautiful woman 10 years older than I am. So at this time, back then, I'm doing math. I'm in my early thirties at this time. well, she's in her early [00:35:00] forties at that time, and I just thought she was so lovely, so smart, and I noticed, I literally just watched. How she dressed and how she carried herself and who her friends were.
And I just became a student of this woman. And let me mention, she had impeccable character too, so she wasn't, you know, she wasn't a shallow or hollow person. But I came home to my spouse and I said, I need a cashmere sweater. And I, we didn't spring for cashmere at that time. My husband was an untenured college professor and I wasn't making that much money when I first started out.
And I said, I need a cashmere sweater. And he said, whatcha talking about? And I said, you know, the sweaters that this woman wears convey everything I wanna convey. And I didn't know I was gonna tell you this story, but it's such a funny example. But because they're beautiful, they're soft and they're beautiful, it's a little bit of luxury, but sort of accessible luxury.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah.
Catherine Brown: You know, in my mind at the time, what would've been a crazy extravagant expense, but they were, [00:36:00] it was a level up of how I had expected to turn up to this business casual event. Okay. What does that term mean? It's very confusing for women. So I literally watched her and I thought, she wears a lot of cashmere.
And there was something about her that, for me, now this is gonna be true for all of our audience, but for me, this woman became a model where I thought I'd like to be more like her. And there's something about the way she dresses and carries herself that is modeling the kind of leader I would like to be.
I can still be feminine. I can still love beautiful things. And she ran just an amazing, big agency and has since sold her firm, like for a really nice exit. So she was able to embody these seemingly in my mind at that time, dual characteristics of very feminine, very attractive and very smart, and very strong leader, and a good negotiator all in one.
And I thought, how can I become more like that? Because I needed a model, right? So.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah.
Catherine Brown: Now she had a [00:37:00] PR firm, and you better believe those decisions were all deliberate. But I didn't even really, really appreciate it at the time. I just found myself feeling attracted to her and thinking, I wanna be more like you.
And so it might be as simple as some of those decisions, right? The appointments you make, the choices you make to what you wear, how you do your hair, or like you said, how you stand, how you interact. It's worth studying.
Lisa McGuire: Yeah, and even who you surround yourself with. So I know a recent conference I went to could have hung out with my group of, of buddies, but what I did is I intentionally. Chose not to do that because I didn't wanna fall into this comfort zone. I was trying to position myself in a different way, and it, it made it uncomfortable for me that I had to stretch myself.
I, I couldn't hide back with the group. put myself in a situation where I had to speak to people. I had to be confident about what I was doing, and it really helped me grow.
Catherine Brown: [00:38:00] So great. I love those examples. In one case I was mimicking some things I admired about someone else. In another case you said, to serve this next transition for me, I need to stand. Differently. And I love that.
Final Thoughts and Resources
---
Catherine Brown: What else, Lisa, wrapping up, what else would you want to leave our audience with and how can they learn more about you and follow up?
Lisa McGuire: Yeah. The thing I would love for people to understand is, you know, when you see someone who you do admire, didn't get that way overnight. It is one baby step at a time. It is trying something and being willing to get in the messy middle. And if it doesn't feel right, well then. Step back and ask why. if you're really looking at what is the personal brand you want to have, and for me, I am leaning really hard right now into authenticity when expertise is no longer enough because AI is an expert as
Catherine Brown: Hmm.
Lisa McGuire: We have to figure out who it is we really are. And [00:39:00] so I would encourage people to do that work to understand who they really are.
And I, and you know, I don't want you to think, well, I already know who I am, but who are you underneath that person of who you were told to be. That is the work that I do. So if anyone has any in interest in pursuing that even to have an introductory call, I'd be more than happy to do that. You can find me on LinkedIn.
My website is lisa mcguire.com and I do have a little podcast called Your Passion, purpose, and Personal Brand that you can learn a little bit more about me by listening to that.
Catherine Brown: I wanna give a shout out for Lisa's podcast. I would say that every person she has on talks about these topics in different ways, such that every episode I've ever listened to and I've listened to many of them, there's something that is a. Confidence instilling clarifying force for me, because they're coming from a certain angle that while you're listening, your brain [00:40:00] is also asking, who am I?
Where am I going? What do I want? You're sorting that while you're listening, and so I wanna give a shout out that I think yes, following you there is a, is a great outcome for people and I know that many will do that. So thank you so much for helping people think about how to maximize their experiences at these events and it's always a pleasure to collaborate with you.
So thank you.
Lisa McGuire: Thank you so much, Catherine. This was so much fun. I really appreciate you having me.