1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:23,640 Hello, and welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable Connections. 2 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:24,640 Welcome. 3 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,360 I'm your host, Michael Forman. 4 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:32,440 And I'm here listening to the podcast where networking is more than just an awkward handshake 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:34,400 and bad coffee. 6 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,960 It's an art and a talent you can actually learn. 7 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:43,880 Yes, even if you're the person standing in the corner pretending to check emails, this 8 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,840 is for you. 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,680 Networking isn't just a nice skill to have. 10 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:50,680 It's a game changer. 11 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:55,240 When you get good at it, you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner. 12 00:00:55,240 --> 00:01:01,120 More connections, more opportunities, more profits, it's like unlocking a cheat code 13 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:02,680 for life. 14 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:08,920 So whether you're the life of the party or let me just stay home and text type, we've 15 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:10,120 got something for you. 16 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:16,680 So let's tune in to those awkward small talk moments and big wins. 17 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:22,080 So I would like to introduce Nicky Belou. 18 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,760 How about your last name? 19 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:25,760 Nicky Belou. 20 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:26,760 Belou, okay. 21 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:28,840 I was right. 22 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:35,160 And really he has really quite an extensive amount of experience. 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:43,320 He's a number one podcaster himself, but he's written several bestselling books. 24 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:46,120 He's a two-time New York bestseller author. 25 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:53,120 He is an in-demand and highly inspirational speaker to corporate audiences such as RBC, 26 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:59,240 Lulu Lemon, the page and Torstar Media. 27 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:05,120 He's an advisor and confidant to some of the most successful and dynamic entrepreneurs 28 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:06,840 in Canada. 29 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:14,360 So if you would not mind it too much, Nicky, just give me a small introduction for yourself 30 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:15,680 and what's going on with you. 31 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:20,200 Of connecting, how to activate profitable relationships by serving your network. 32 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,960 My co-author for that book was Kai Bjorn. 33 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:30,960 He was the country head for Canada, BNI Canada, and the man who wrote the forward to my book 34 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:37,280 is none other than the founder of BNI, business networking international, Dr. Ivan Meisner. 35 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,960 But my backstory is I'm originally an immigrant from the Middle East. 36 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,200 I actually a Christian from Iran. 37 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,240 When I was 11 years old, the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran. 38 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,200 And my late father died rest his soul. 39 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,080 He saw this was not going to be a great place to raise a Christian family. 40 00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:00,040 I mean, you think about it, being 11, being in the middle of a revolution with demonstrations 41 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:08,080 taking place in the streets, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people, rebels and 42 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,840 revolutionaries fighting against the Shah's regime. 43 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,680 And the Shah finally deciding he didn't want to kill people. 44 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:20,400 So he left the country and the army and the intelligence forces and the police forces 45 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,400 declared they were neutral. 46 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,400 And the new regime took over. 47 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:32,160 And for over a year and a half every day, people would be arrested or associated with 48 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,240 the old regime. 49 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:40,200 They'd get summary trials, kind of like the French terror during the French Revolution 50 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:46,960 and the communist terror during the Russian Revolution, the Komi Tat, the security forces. 51 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,320 And they would just execute these people by putting off against the wall and shooting 52 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:52,320 them dead. 53 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,400 Dozens, hundreds of people daily. 54 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,400 It was an occurrence that was just unbelievable. 55 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,960 And my mom and dad didn't want to freak their kids out, but they kind of looked at each 56 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,960 other and said, we got to get out of here. 57 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:08,960 We got to get out of here. 58 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:09,960 That's enough. 59 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:10,960 Yeah. 60 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:12,680 And things settled down in Iran. 61 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:21,360 But they made a plan, they packed us off initially to Greece with my mom and my two brothers 62 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:22,360 myself. 63 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:28,680 And then two years hence we came to Canada where I now live and my dad joined us. 64 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,960 And you know, at the time I was a kid, right? 65 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:32,320 I didn't know what the heck was going on. 66 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,280 I just knew I didn't want to leave my home or my friends. 67 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:43,480 But as I grew older, I started to see the incredible wisdom of what mom and dad did, 68 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,320 the incredible sacrifice they made, leaving everything they knew behind to come to a new 69 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:51,680 country to make a newer life, a better life. 70 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:59,000 And I started to see why freedom matters, why freedom is so important. 71 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,480 I think if you're an entrepreneur, the first thing you got to be is a freedom lover, a 72 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,400 philosopher of freedom. 73 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:10,280 If you don't understand freedom, how the heck can you understand entrepreneurship? 74 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:15,520 Entrepreneurship comes from freedom, free enterprise. 75 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:20,920 In the term free enterprise, the word free is prominent. 76 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:22,600 You got to understand that. 77 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:27,840 And everybody who lives here, man, you are so lucky. 78 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:31,480 You won the jackpot lottery, man. 79 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:39,000 You just did, and every single day you should get on your knees, kiss the ground, the sacred 80 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:43,520 soil of this free and great nation. 81 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:49,320 And if anybody tries to take those freedoms away from you with sweet sounding things like 82 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,560 disinformation and blah, blah, blah, no, man. 83 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:58,560 No, there's some called the First Amendment and it is beautiful, beautiful. 84 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,880 Not the First Amendment, you cannot be an entrepreneur. 85 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,480 Just remember, it's so, so important. 86 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,240 My late father, he was a free lover. 87 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:09,160 He was the greatest of men. 88 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,880 If you knew him, you were trying to find a job. 89 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:20,040 Michael, he would sit you down in his office and he would call all of his entrepreneur friends 90 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,200 until he got one of them to give you a job. 91 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:28,800 If you were trying to start a business, he would clear his calendar, sit you down, and 92 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,560 listen to what you have to say. 93 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,040 And he would give you his best feedback. 94 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,200 He'd connect you with people for capital, for clients. 95 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,920 And if you were his friend, you were trying to buy a car or a house and keep in mind, 96 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:47,680 Iran was a second world country, so the banking system wasn't as well designed and sophisticated 97 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:48,680 as here. 98 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:52,360 And they wouldn't give you quite enough money. 99 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,800 He would top you up with a loan. 100 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,600 So you could buy that car, that house. 101 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,760 And then people would try to pay him back a year or two, three, four years later and 102 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,800 he just said, get out of here. 103 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:04,800 Get out. 104 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:06,840 Sounds like a very good man. 105 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:08,080 Sounds like a good man. 106 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:09,440 The best of men. 107 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:10,840 Good on his old... 108 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:11,840 Yeah. 109 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:15,880 And people would say to me when they met me years later, because my last name is very 110 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,280 unusual, Baloo, right? 111 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,960 They'd just go, hey, Baloo, you aren't by any chance related to Napoleon Baloo. 112 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,000 And I'd go, yeah, I'm a son. 113 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,120 And they would just... 114 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:28,120 Something would come over them. 115 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:29,120 They'd get very emotional. 116 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:30,120 They'd shake my hand. 117 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:31,120 They'd give me a hug. 118 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,320 These are people I don't know. 119 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:38,080 And they'd say, I want to tell you my story of what your father did for me. 120 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,520 And I tell this story of people all the time. 121 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:43,720 And there's people that they get it. 122 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:45,720 And there's other people that just go, I don't believe it. 123 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:46,720 And I go, what do you mean you don't believe it? 124 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,360 And I go, well, my dad was like that. 125 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:50,320 So why? 126 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:51,320 What's in it for him? 127 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,000 Well, you want to know what's in it for him? 128 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,000 They go, yeah. 129 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:56,800 I said, what was in it for him? 130 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:01,080 First and foremost, is he was a devout and committed Christian man. 131 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:09,480 He believed in his heart, in his soul, in his being, that he'd been blessed by his Lord 132 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:11,480 and Savior, Jesus Christ. 133 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,640 And it was his duty to share those blessings with his fellow man. 134 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,600 Dad didn't take himself seriously, but he took that very seriously. 135 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:20,440 Very, very seriously. 136 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,840 And secondly, he did it because, well, he could. 137 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:24,840 He was rich, man. 138 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:25,840 He had money. 139 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:26,840 He was successful. 140 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,120 You know, I wanted to be like my dad. 141 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:30,120 This is my story. 142 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,360 I was raised by this incredible man. 143 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:33,960 I wanted to be like him. 144 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:35,640 And every day I sought to be like him. 145 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:40,360 When I was a kid, he would tell me, son, life's about people. 146 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:41,360 It's not about money. 147 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:42,360 I'm like, all right. 148 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:43,360 He's a business son. 149 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:45,360 It's not about money, about people. 150 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:46,360 I'm like that. 151 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:47,360 How's that work? 152 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:48,360 Not money. 153 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:49,360 There's no business. 154 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:50,360 He says, true. 155 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,000 Well, that people, there's no need for money. 156 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:57,200 He said, and you need to love on people, believe in people. 157 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,920 That man in front of you, that's someone's son, that's someone's husband, someone's 158 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,280 father, someone's brother, hero to somebody. 159 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,240 Maybe someone like you, let him down. 160 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,840 Your job is to restore his faith in humanity. 161 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:10,520 Be good to him. 162 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,680 Remember everyone needs someone to believe in him, son. 163 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:15,840 That little spark of belief you give him could turn into a roaring fire, it could change 164 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:16,840 their life. 165 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,880 That's why I do what I do. 166 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,240 The helping professions, because of my father, because I am his son. 167 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,400 All I want to do is I want to make him proud. 168 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:28,640 I want to help entrepreneurs win. 169 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:30,360 I bring freedom to them. 170 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:35,320 I remind them why it's important and I stand with them. 171 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,400 When they're lacking that little bit of belief in themselves, that's what I bring to the 172 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:40,400 table. 173 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,160 I'm looking at networking as a way to help more people. 174 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:48,720 That's beautiful, that really is, and probably leads right into your book, which we'll get 175 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,840 to in just a little bit. 176 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,640 In networking, there's a mantra. 177 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:02,080 If they know me, if they like me, if they trust me, they'll do business with me. 178 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,320 And that trust factor. 179 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:09,960 That trust factor goes such a long way and I'm sure that you've got a lot to say about 180 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,480 that trust factor. 181 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,080 Well, Michael, look at you and I today. 182 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:19,200 This podcast is an opportunity for several things. 183 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:25,040 The first one is an opportunity to give value and inspire the audience. 184 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,760 Give them something they can use. 185 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:28,760 That's number one. 186 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:29,760 That's really important. 187 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:30,760 That's why I come on shows. 188 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:37,960 Secondly, it's an opportunity on my part to make you look good, to have you be somebody 189 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,480 who's like, man, I'm glad I brought that dude on. 190 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:41,480 I want him back. 191 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:42,480 That's second. 192 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:48,200 But thirdly, this is an opportunity to create no like and trust. 193 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:53,080 In this half hour that you and I are going to spend together, we're going to get to know 194 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:54,080 each other. 195 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:58,240 We're going to get to hopefully like each other and trust each other at least a little 196 00:10:58,240 --> 00:10:59,760 bit. 197 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:04,000 This is an opportunity you and I might end up doing business together. 198 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:05,000 Maybe I'll be your client. 199 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:06,000 Maybe you'll be mine. 200 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,200 Maybe we'll collaborate on an event, a project. 201 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:11,200 Maybe I'll introduce people to you. 202 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,320 Maybe you'll introduce people to me. 203 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,560 I go on a show. 204 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:22,040 I look at it as an opportunity to give value to the audience, to make the host look good, 205 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:28,480 and to add one significant businessman or businesswoman to my network. 206 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:30,240 This is a golden opportunity. 207 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,640 I don't even have to leave my home. 208 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:36,160 The two of us are in different countries right now, and yet we're doing the no like 209 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:38,280 and trust thing through this podcast. 210 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:39,280 It's beautiful. 211 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:40,280 Absolutely. 212 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:41,280 Absolutely. 213 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,080 And that goes such a long way. 214 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:52,840 It's really easy, but I don't want my viewers to forget about the in-person networking 215 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:54,880 availability. 216 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,080 It's the in-person where you can feel the vibe of the person. 217 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,240 You can feel the vibe of the room. 218 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:07,520 When you first walk into a room, into a networking event, you see a grand amount of people. 219 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:11,440 But you go to a table, let's say, and it's only four. 220 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,480 So that's your focus. 221 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,000 And you have to work the room, so to speak. 222 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,400 But you have a very short amount of time for that. 223 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,320 So that's the main... 224 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:24,320 Absolutely. 225 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:25,320 100%. 226 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:31,800 It is absolutely very, very difficult for people to understand what it's going to take 227 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:33,920 to do business with somebody. 228 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:39,120 And I'll tell you, the most important thing from my point of view, in-person is where 229 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,280 it's at. 230 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,240 In-person is where it's at. 231 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,640 There's nothing more powerful than in-person, my brother. 232 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:48,760 Not a thing. 233 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:50,600 I love in-person. 234 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:51,800 In-person is... 235 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:53,840 I did two talks on Monday. 236 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:54,840 Okay? 237 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,000 One was in-person, one was on Zoom. 238 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,280 It was the exact same talk. 239 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:06,480 The in-person talk had nine people in the room. 240 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:11,640 Three of them signed up for a workshop I'm leading at that in-person meeting. 241 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:16,680 The Zoom meeting had 22 people in the room. 242 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:20,680 Nobody signed up for my workshop. 243 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:25,000 Same talk, delivered by the same fella, two hours apart. 244 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,600 Why did one work and the other one did not? 245 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:35,040 Very simple because being in-person lets you, as you say, feel the vibe. 246 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:43,640 And it is one of those powerful things that you and I, in-person, can totally create the 247 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:50,960 most beautiful, the most powerful personal business relationship anybody could have. 248 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:52,880 You've got to do in-person. 249 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:58,400 But I'm also saying that if you're in the podcasting world, it's a beautiful thing to 250 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:02,760 be able to meet people that you otherwise would have a difficult time meeting in-person. 251 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,360 You and I, we're not going to meet in-person today. 252 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,240 We're in different countries. 253 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:15,720 And it's a beautiful thing that we still get to do a little bit of networking today. 254 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:21,960 They said this to one of my podcast guests, and he was in Australia. 255 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:22,960 And the same thing. 256 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:29,800 We're talking as if we were right next door to one another, and we were continents away. 257 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,720 And so it's just that know you like you trust you. 258 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:40,800 And when you do this, when you do a workshop or a talk, and you do it over Zoom, you lose 259 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:47,640 that personality, I like to put humor every time that I speak. 260 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:53,760 When I do it in-person, it usually kills, okay, where you can feel the laughter of the 261 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:58,000 people in the room, and you can work off that. 262 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,360 And you can't do that with Zoom. 263 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:05,600 I say that are there 20-somethings or 30-somethings in the room? 264 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,000 And hands go up. 265 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,360 And I say, look, what I'm going to say to you is Greek. 266 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:14,480 You never heard of it. 267 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,240 And you're 40-something, 50-something, you have heard of it. 268 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,440 I'm 62 years old, okay, so I've seen a lot. 269 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:24,000 Come on, get with it. 270 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,000 And they don't understand. 271 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:30,680 They don't understand how you can network or communicate without the cell phone, without 272 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,600 the Zoom call. 273 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:38,160 You have to put all that stuff away, get in touch with somebody, be personable. 274 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,080 You can't be personable on Zoom. 275 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:43,120 Or you can, but that's not as great. 276 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:45,480 You know, there's so much more. 277 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:51,040 And that brings me, before we get, I want to hear a few excerpts from your book because 278 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,560 it sounds very interesting. 279 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,840 Let me ask you a question. 280 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:07,120 What are some challenges that business professionals face, and how can they overcome them? 281 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:13,280 Well, a lot of folks just aren't good at sales and marketing. 282 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:14,400 They're just not. 283 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,080 It scares the crap out of them. 284 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:22,360 And they especially don't want to be seen as pushy or salesy or anything like that. 285 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,840 And the problem is that that prevents them from going after business they should be going 286 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:27,840 after. 287 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:29,280 So they don't get it. 288 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,240 And then the client who could have used their help doesn't get their help. 289 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:36,280 And instead, some charlatan marketer comes in who doesn't give a good gosh darn about 290 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:37,880 whether they help you or not. 291 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:39,800 They scoop up the business. 292 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:41,760 And if they help you, it's a happy accident. 293 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:44,400 It wasn't by design. 294 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:48,680 And so the sum total of goodness in the world goes down because everybody loses in this 295 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:49,680 situation. 296 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:50,680 You lose. 297 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:51,680 You don't get the business. 298 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:52,680 The client loses. 299 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:53,680 The problem is not solved. 300 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,800 Me, I teach people. 301 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:58,400 I come from a business family. 302 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:05,120 I got my masters in my undergraduate economics and business. 303 00:17:05,120 --> 00:17:08,360 So I get business and I'm not afraid to sell. 304 00:17:08,360 --> 00:17:11,200 And you know, here's the problem with sales. 305 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,640 People don't want to reek of commission breath. 306 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:14,720 Right. 307 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,960 And so the reason is because they're putting all the attention on the other person. 308 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:19,960 I hope they like me. 309 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:20,960 I hope they buy from me. 310 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:21,960 What's going on? 311 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:22,960 What if they don't like me? 312 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:23,960 That's what gets in the way. 313 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,840 You got to take the attention off you put it on the other person and don't think of selling. 314 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:28,480 Think of serving. 315 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,360 Michael, no one wants to be sold, man. 316 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:31,360 You want to be sold? 317 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:32,720 I sure as hell don't want to be sold. 318 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:41,960 But don't you love to buy from a caring advocate, a caring servant? 319 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:48,320 That's I spend money on people that I love all the time because I know they got my best 320 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:49,320 interest at heart. 321 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:50,320 I don't mind spending money. 322 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,360 In fact, I like spending money with people like that. 323 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:54,960 That's what it's all about. 324 00:17:54,960 --> 00:18:00,760 So me just teaching this to people has helped them double, triple, quadruple their money. 325 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:02,360 So there was a fellow. 326 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:04,240 He was a relationship coach. 327 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,520 He was really good at what he did. 328 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,560 He helped men whose wives had said, bye-bye, save their marriages, man. 329 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,080 It's a big deal, right? 330 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:13,360 And he made very little money. 331 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:15,640 He was making like two man a month as a coach. 332 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,440 That's not a lot. 333 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,960 He could barely feed himself and pay the rent. 334 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:28,000 And first thing I did was I said, look, stop focusing on them, whether they're going to 335 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:29,120 buy or they're going to do this. 336 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:30,520 Just say, you want to help men? 337 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,520 It was the idea. 338 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:33,760 I said, why is that important to you? 339 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:38,920 He said, well, marriage breakups, one of the most horrible things, the person you go through. 340 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,200 But for men, it's way worse than for women. 341 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,560 Because usually it's the woman leaving and it's utterly devastating. 342 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,680 There's lots of men who even commit suicide over it. 343 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,080 I said, focus on that. 344 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:51,320 And I said, oh yeah, here's the other thing. 345 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:52,320 You're under charging. 346 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:53,320 You're going to raise your fees. 347 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:54,320 He says, oh, come on. 348 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:55,320 I can't raise my fees. 349 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:56,320 You're raising your fees. 350 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,360 You're five-folding your fees. 351 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:00,640 He freaked out when I said that. 352 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,560 I said, you can keep it for the people you're already working with, but for new people, it's 353 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:04,800 going to be five-fold. 354 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:05,800 He listened. 355 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:06,800 He was coachable. 356 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:10,440 It's a very important trait to be coachable. 357 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:18,640 Brother, he doubled his income in a week and doubled it again within a month. 358 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:23,040 So he went from two grand a month to eight grand a month in a month. 359 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:27,560 That may not sound like a lot to you. 360 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:34,600 For somebody who's damn near broke in destitute, that's a 400% increase in their income in 361 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:42,120 one month from a very simple shift in mindset and in value pricing. 362 00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:52,240 And within six months, he was doing over 10 grand a month every month, within six months. 363 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:57,520 Within a year, year and a half, he was doing 20 grand months. 364 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:04,880 Now for a coach who used to make $2,000 on a good month, that is life changing. 365 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:06,680 It's life changing. 366 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,520 Sure, it's life changing for almost anybody. 367 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:15,360 Listen, before this really gets away from us, just in three or four minutes, just give 368 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:18,440 me an excerpt from your book. 369 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,640 So look, the name of the book is Power of Connecting. 370 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:29,080 How to generate, how to activate profitable relationships by serving your network. 371 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:30,920 We talk about a few things. 372 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:35,640 So one is people are craving connection more than ever. 373 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:40,820 And part of why they don't have it is technology. 374 00:20:40,820 --> 00:20:43,240 Digital distraction is a thing. 375 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:50,880 And I go deep in the book into what has us be in the world of digital distraction. 376 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:52,280 You know what I'm saying? 377 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,640 What it's doing to people. 378 00:20:54,640 --> 00:21:01,160 Why, you know, this thing can connect us to people, but generally it's not. 379 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,080 It's keeping us from being connected to people. 380 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:12,080 And what you need to do is you need to get rid of this and do more of this. 381 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,800 And that's the truth. 382 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:23,840 And people, you know, Maya Angelou said, people don't care how much you know until they know 383 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,960 how much you care. 384 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,800 Connect with people's reasons because you connect with people for a more fundamental 385 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:37,520 reason because being stew about being alive. 386 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:41,360 You don't need to be scrolling through stupid social media as much as you are. 387 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:44,880 You just don't. 388 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:51,720 We tell people usually when they go in either one on one meeting or to a networking event, 389 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:55,960 it doesn't make a difference because the phones are always out. 390 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:02,560 But I say put the phone away, not just turn the phone over and put it on the desk, put 391 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,120 it away. 392 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:12,360 Because your goal is to give 100% of your attention to the person you're speaking with. 393 00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:16,920 So now if your phone goes off or if it just vibrates, what do you do? 394 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:18,760 You look at it. 395 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:22,000 And what does that tell the person that you're speaking to? 396 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,160 You don't have 100% of your of his attention. 397 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:33,320 So if you put that phone away, give them 100% of your attention. 398 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:42,000 And listen, as we said before, people love to buy, but they hate to be sold to. 399 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:48,320 So if you keep that in mind and you're talking with somebody and you're speaking with them, 400 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:49,600 let them speak. 401 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,240 Let them speak about themselves. 402 00:22:52,240 --> 00:23:00,800 I use an acronym called FOR, F-O-R-M, family, occupation, recreation, and a message that 403 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,520 you can get onto the same level. 404 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:09,720 And you can let them talk about their family, husband, wife, sister, brother, son, daughter, 405 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:16,480 talk about their little league experience, talk about their job or snowskating something, 406 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,400 and keep them talking about themselves. 407 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:23,960 Because as I said, people love to talk about themselves. 408 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:29,800 And when they're finished, because you're listening, then you pause. 409 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:36,240 And that is so important, because that pause tells the other person that you are listening 410 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,720 to them and you can respond. 411 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:47,000 But instead of responding with something business-like, say something, I like you. 412 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,280 I like what you're doing and how you're doing it. 413 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,240 How can I make you more successful? 414 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,720 How can I be a good referral source for you? 415 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,880 I used to come home when I was in a mortgage industry. 416 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:07,040 I used to come home with a shoebox full of business cards and say, oh, I had a great 417 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:08,040 night. 418 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,200 Did I? 419 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:16,560 Now with a three or four hour event, I come home with 15, maybe 20 business cards. 420 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:21,040 But each one of those cards, I'm starting a relationship. 421 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,640 Yeah, that's way smarter. 422 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,240 Meet people, talk to them, start a relationship with them. 423 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:28,800 That's the way. 424 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:38,880 Okay, give me one takeaway that my audience can use today or tomorrow. 425 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:45,600 So it's from the book, but if you want to grow your network, the fastest way to do it 426 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,440 is through who you already know. 427 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,880 So to just give you an example, let's say Michael, you and I knew each other for a long 428 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,280 time. 429 00:24:55,280 --> 00:25:01,200 If I wanted to meet more people like you, here's what I would do. 430 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:03,880 I'd give you a call and say, hey, Michael, it's Nicky. 431 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:04,880 We chit chat for a minute. 432 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,840 I'd say, listen, there's a purpose to my call. 433 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:12,880 I'd say, look, I really like you, I really respect you, and I want to know more people 434 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:13,880 like you. 435 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:14,880 Okay. 436 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,760 And here's what I've discovered, Michael, the best way to meet more people like you 437 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:23,440 is through you, who knows more people like you than you. 438 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:30,000 But I don't want to come here and just say, hey, man, give me one of your connections. 439 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,760 I want to be a giver first. 440 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:39,400 And I've been thinking about your business and you, and there's a fellow that I think 441 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,640 could potentially be a good prospect for you. 442 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,360 Would it be okay if I introduced this man to you? 443 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:49,040 What are you going to say? 444 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,040 You're going to say yes. 445 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:51,040 Of course you're going to say yes. 446 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:58,760 And then I'm going to say, once this conversation is over, look for an email from me introducing 447 00:25:58,760 --> 00:25:59,760 you to so-and-so. 448 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:05,880 And then I'm going to say, do me a favor, Michael, open up your phone, go into your 449 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:12,240 phone contacts, start scrolling at the top of the A's, and keep scrolling until you 450 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:17,160 come to a name that you think would be a good connection for me. 451 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:21,280 Give it similar thought as I gave to the person I'm introducing you. 452 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:22,280 You'll do that. 453 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:23,280 You'll open your phone. 454 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:24,680 You'll go to the A's. 455 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:25,680 You'll start scrolling. 456 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,120 You'll look and then you'll, at some point, there'll be a name that you wouldn't have 457 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:30,320 on your own thought of. 458 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,160 And you'll go, oh, Nicky, it's James Brooks. 459 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:34,160 James Brooks. 460 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:35,880 All right, I'm going to introduce you to James Brooks. 461 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,360 Here's why I think he'd be a good potential prospect for you. 462 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:41,360 Look for a text intro. 463 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:44,000 And I'm going to go great. 464 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,760 So as soon as the call's over, I'm going to do the text intro for the two of you. 465 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:49,880 You're going to do the text intro for the two of me. 466 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:56,920 Now you think about you doing this once a day, every day, 200 days a year. 467 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,520 What just happened? 468 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,560 You made 200 new business connections. 469 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:04,560 200. 470 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,800 Once a day, every day, 200 days a year. 471 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:20,360 Now, I don't know about you, but in my world, meeting 200 new business connections is potentially 472 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:22,800 game-changing. 473 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:30,360 All it's going to take is for one of them to open a door for me that could completely 474 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:33,960 transform the trajectory of my life and my business. 475 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:42,480 I've made introductions like that to people that have resulted in $11.5 million in profit 476 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,720 for them within four months. 477 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,000 I've made those kinds of introductions for people. 478 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:54,280 And introductions like that have been made for me that have resulted in me making millions 479 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,960 of dollars as well. 480 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:04,960 The smartest thing you and I can do is continue to get to know each other and do that for 481 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:08,960 each other within a few weeks and months once we know each other better. 482 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:09,960 Absolutely. 483 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:16,640 I'm looking forward to that, actually. 484 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,600 Nicky, you've done so much. 485 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:22,400 You've done so much. 486 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,160 How can somebody get hold of you? 487 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:31,240 What's the best way they can read about you, get hold of you, ask you a question? 488 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:32,520 What's the best way? 489 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,960 Look, there's three levels at which we can connect. 490 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:37,960 One is we can connect. 491 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:39,440 You never meet me. 492 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,720 Go on Amazon, pick up this book, 20 bucks. 493 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:44,480 It's a great book. 494 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:46,440 Teach you a few good things. 495 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:47,440 Readers are leaders. 496 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:48,440 That's one way. 497 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:50,520 We'll never meet, but you'll be connected to me. 498 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,160 Second way, go on social media. 499 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,800 Like I said, I'm the only Nicky Balu on the planet. 500 00:28:55,800 --> 00:29:02,320 If you go on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, just type in Nicky Balu and say, I heard you 501 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:03,680 on a podcast I'd like to connect. 502 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:04,680 I'll connect with you. 503 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,360 We'll be connected on social media. 504 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:09,240 We can ask questions, whatever. 505 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:10,240 Then there's the third way. 506 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:11,240 This is the deep way. 507 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,520 This is an actual honest to goodness conversation. 508 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,680 This is where real richness happens. 509 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,240 We can have this conversation in one or two ways. 510 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:27,320 I just want to connect and talk or you can go, you know what, I'm interested in finding 511 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,720 out about can you help me in my business? 512 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:39,560 Either one of these, you go to the following link, eCircleAcademy.com forward slash appointment. 513 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:44,600 You click on that link, you'll fill in your info, you'll pick a time and we'll talk. 514 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:50,760 Nicky, this has been great and we probably can go on for another two hours. 515 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:56,480 Just talking back and forth and figuring out how we can help each other with business, 516 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:02,640 how we can help my audience with business, whether they're just beginning or even though 517 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,680 they can have the biggest network. 518 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,680 There's always room for improvement. 519 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:14,160 But listen, if anybody wants to get hold of Nicky, I'm going to put all of his information 520 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:15,760 in the show notes. 521 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:21,640 So please call him, contact him and we'll all be better because of it. 522 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:22,640 All right. 523 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:23,640 Thanks, brother. 524 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:24,640 Hey, Nicky. 525 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,640 I'll see you soon. 526 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:33,320 Well, that's a wrap, folks. 527 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:38,520 A huge thank you to our special guests for sharing such incredible insights today. 528 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:44,480 And of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners for tuning in and spending 529 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:46,040 your time with us. 530 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:49,880 Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. 531 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:51,600 It's about being present. 532 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:56,920 So take what you've learned today, get out there and make some meaningful connections. 533 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:01,960 If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review and share 534 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:06,320 it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration. 535 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,600 Let's keep the conversation going. 536 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:15,360 You can find me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or my website, MichaelAForman.com. 537 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:22,600 Remember, until next time, keep practicing, keep connecting and keep building those relationships. 538 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,200 This is Michael A. Foreman signing off. 539 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:42,240 Take care and happy networking.