The New Rules of Business Networking with Joe Mindak

Allen Kopelman (0:00)

Welcome to The Biz-to-Biz Podcast, your number one source for all business news.

SPEAKER_2 (0:04)

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Allen Kopelman (0:13)

Hey, everybody. Welcome to B2B Vault, The Biz-to-Biz Podcast, coming to you today with Joe Mindak from Noladex. And we're going to talk about a new way to network. And just so you know, B2B Vault, The Biz-to-Biz Podcast is sponsored by Nationwide Payment Systems and our new payment gateway, NPS1, which can do everything Stripe can do and more. So book a demo at nationwidepaymentsystems.com.

So Joe, welcome to the podcast. Tell us, introduce yourself to the audience.

Joe Mindak (0:53)

All right. Well, first of all, I see your Dolphin's helmet there and I'm a Jets fan.

Sorry. Although we really suck, so I don't think you look too. Well, we are ranked the worst in the NFL by the New York team last year. We have the ranking to be the top worst team in the league. So yeah, thanks for having me. So my name is Joe Mindak. I'm one of the co-founders of Noladex and Noladex, for people who don't know what that stands for, is your networking Rolodex. Some younger people out there that might not have ever had a Rolodex. I still remember mine sitting in my desk in my first business and going through. But yeah, so we built the software to really monetize communities. We're really trying to change the way networking is done.

Our whole philosophy is connectors get paid.

If you're a good connector, you've been out there for a while making all these introductions and just getting nothing in return.

We built a platform where you could say, hey, if I give you a lead, Allen, that turns into business, I should get paid on that. That's pretty simple. A lot of people, people we talk to that are those good connectors. Like, wait a second, you're telling me you're going to pay me for my referrals? I've been trying to get paid for a long time. We take the whole awkwardness out of going back to you after and saying, wait a second, I heard you just closed that $100,000 deal. How about a little something for the efforts? No, it is built-in, it is contracted out. You know before you make that introduction that whoever is the other person you're referring to has their payment percentage in the platform. Says, I'll pay 5%, 10%, 12%. It's all set up, you don't have to worry about it. You make the introduction, that person takes it from there, and what it really does is incentivize your community. I mean, I've been in groups my whole life, and yeah, look, you do it to hopefully get a reciprocal referral back, but it just doesn't happen. Now, it's like, hey, I'll keep that flywheel going, I'll keep sending you business, Allen, because every time I send you and you close a deal, you're paying me a referral fee, I'm happy to keep sending you business. Even if you don't give me any business back, it's okay. I'm making money by getting you business.

Allen Kopelman (3:01)

Networking has been around for a long time. People are used to going to networking groups, you're going to your chamber, you're going to BNI, Toastmasters, your Rotary Club, all these different networking outlets.

But the thing is, when you go out and you're doing networking, it's like there's not a like, it's like an unwritten rule not to give people money. Right? Right. It's never discussed, right? Oh, should you be giving somebody money who's given you a referral? Right? It's never discussed and it's not put out there like in the open, like, oh, maybe you should be given the, you know, and then it's poor, more or less like up to people to make those individual arrangements. And what you're doing on your platform, and you know, just so everybody knows, I'm in a group and we'll post some information in the show notes. I'm in a group that's using Noladex. And I said, you know, this is definitely like a new way how to network with other business owners, right?

And be upfront about, okay, this is what I do and this is what I'm willing to pay somebody if you make a referral.

SPEAKER_2 (4:29)

Right.

Allen Kopelman (4:30)

And it just takes the awkwardness out of like, you know, meeting somebody at a networking event and then go, hey, I can refer you this guy and you know, how much money are you going to give me? Right? This removes all the awkwardness out of doing that.