Episode 291
291: Creative Networking Strategies Lead to Bigger Opportunities
Sometimes connecting with the right people means thinking outside the box.
In this podcast short, Melissa and Doreen explore creative LinkedIn networking strategies that go beyond the usual approach, including connecting with clients through their foundations to uncover unexpected opportunities. Melissa shares practical tips for identifying key contacts and mastering upstream and downstream relationship-building to create a meaningful, results-driven network.
Want fresh ideas on how to fill your network with impactful connections. Listen in!
Topics discussed in this episode:
- networking
- networking with foundations
- starting conversations
- network growth
- business relationships
- think outside the box
- impactful connections
- client discovery
- finding clients
- LinkedIn™
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Mentioned in this episode:
https://burnouttoallout.co/botao-live-2025/
Transcript
Melissa Henault:
Hi. Doreen, my friend, you are next. Hi.
Doreen:
Hi. Hi. I can't remember what I wrote for my question. I think it was about top down, up down. So my question was, how do I talk to foundations and whether I should talk to foundations? Because you mentioned doing a top down and an up down or whatever. I can't remember. Upstream, downstream. Don't speak to some of these athletes.
Doreen:
So I was thinking part of it was maybe because a lot of the athletes have foundations. And should I even think about that at the moment? Because the profile is all directed to the professional athlete. But I'm wondering if I wanted to get to the athlete from a down up stream thing? But if I speak to the foundations, because often they have youth sports, and they don't even really quite know what to ask.
Melissa Henault:
So great question. What Doreen is alluding to, for those of you who are like, what is she talking about? What we're always talking about with with network growth on LinkedIn is it's not just the end customer. Right? It is who touches your customer upstream and downstream, so no matter what your industry is. So maybe if you're an interior design, right, you may be thinking about the general contractor and the architect. No matter what industry you're in, who's touching that client upstream and downstream? So she's talking about professional athlete, and who's that professional athlete working with upstream that she can make connections with or downstream that she can make connections with to work her way through with her business. Let me reframe or make sure I'm hearing you correctly. How can I network with foundations that are affiliated with these athletes on LinkedIn? Is that what I'm hearing?
Doreen:
Yeah. And how do I even start the conversation?
Melissa Henault:
Yeah. So, again, this is where going off the platform hot minute is gonna be your best friend. Go to Google, and you could, like, literally Google athletes and foundations. Because, first of all, you need to find out get a good list of athletes and foundations, and then go back to LinkedIn to see which of those foundations has a profile on LinkedIn and or who is the chair, the president, who leads those foundations. Many times, people who lead the foundations are the ones with active LinkedIn accounts.
Doreen:
What I'm saying.
Melissa Henault:
Uh-huh. And those are the people you wanna interact with. I know that you're in the bone biomechanics of the human body. So it's just how can you introduce yourself in a way that's just kind of fun and curious on LinkedIn?
Doreen:
I'm based in Boston. So Drew Holiday is in Boston. Him and his wife, they have a foundation, and they do a lot of stuff, social impact, but they also do a lot. They also he also has a youth athletic team. And that's how I actually got involved in it because an ex NBA athlete wanted to learn about my stuff for a youth athletic team. But it kind of died a death because he died.
Melissa Henault:
Oh, gosh.
Doreen:
He asked me to take my knowledge and bring it to market. That's really how I pivoted from yo the Yoga Mat business to being in the education space. So I think that's
Melissa Henault:
where you introduce yourself and the connections and just say that you have a growing network in the professional athlete arena where you're you have a growing business where you serve and collaborate with professional athletes and that you would like to connect with them. I think the key is just giving a little bit of your background and, like, why the connection makes sense. This is your wheelhouse. This is who you work with. I like to use the word synergistic. I'm looking to connect and find synergistic opportunities to support each other. That really resonates on LinkedIn. People are really kind and courteous on LinkedIn.
Melissa Henault:
And if you can just come at it from a lens of, hey. I'm just looking to be synergistic and find ways that I can collaborate with what I have to offer.
