WEBVTT

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Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building

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Profitable Connections, the podcast where we

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turn handshakes into opportunities and conversations

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into conversions. Today's guest is someone who

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knows how to turn strategy into results, and

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not just on paper. He's the best -selling author

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of Peak Your Profits and Bullseye, Hitting Your

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Targets at Home and at Work. His insights have

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helped entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals

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across the country and aim with precision and

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connect with intention. If you've ever wondered

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how to build a network that actually drives profits

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without wasting time and energy and sanity, this

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episode is your bullseye. We're diving deep.

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We're diving into the power of purposeful connection,

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which it means to align relationships with results

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and how you can level up your networking game

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and starting today. Jeff, I hope I didn't butcher

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that too much, but I'd like to welcome Jeff Blackman

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to my podcast. Jeff, it's so great to have you.

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Can you give us a little bit about your background?

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Thanks, Michael. Really appreciate being with

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you and your many listeners and viewers. I will

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give you the unequivocal abridged version. So

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I'm actually trained as a lawyer. I have been

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a lawyer since 1982. The good news is I have

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never practiced law. I wanted to be a litigator,

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but you quickly determine and understand that

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in law school litigators, they don't litigate.

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They want to avoid going to court because it's

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so time consuming, exhaustive, and it costs clients

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a lot of money. I go, wait a minute. The thing

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that I want to do. i'm not going to do much of

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so i really gravitated my first loves which were

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related to communications, and broadcasting.

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We also got a broadcasting background. So here

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in Chicago, and I'm talking to you from a northern

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suburb of Chicago right now, Glenview, it's what

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we call the North Shore. So from downtown Chicago,

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we are 23 miles to the north, and then a wee

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bit to the west. So from 82 through 89, I, along

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with two other partners, and then by myself,

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had a radio talk show. So just the way you and

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I are doing what we are doing today, years ago,

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it wasn't called a podcast but this is really

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radio or for that matter television and guests

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could have been literally Bruce Jenner Bruce

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not Caitlyn I knew Bruce back in the 80s a terrific

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guest Ted Koppel the broadcaster Oprah Winfrey

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in addition Walter Cronkite and we interviewed

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entertainers entrepreneurs so if somebody was

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interesting I would talk to them. Jim Lovell,

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the Apollo 13 astronaut. So I had the great pleasure

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to sit down with many folks like that, but it

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was always a compliment, my broadcasting, radio

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and TV, to what I decided to do, and that was

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speak. 1982, I really didn't know what that meant,

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but over time, clients began to define me as

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being their business growth specialist, because

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I helped them quickly. and ethically and dramatically

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grow their businesses so my clients have really

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evolved over the years but primarily now it's

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the c -suite so i'm dealing with the president

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the owner the chairman, the chairwoman, whoever

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else might be in that C -suite, VP of sales and

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marketing, chief revenue officer. So I work with

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them, and I work with their team, and we do it

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in a variety of ways. It could be speaking, training,

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consulting, ongoing learning system, and then

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we've got lots of business growth tools, but

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fortunate to have had six best -selling books,

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and then we've got audios, videos, etc., but

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all designed for one purpose, and that's to help

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people really meet and their goals and again

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quickly ethically and dramatically and the good

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news is it works because everything we do michael

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is with an unequivocal no risk assurance folks

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can go to our website and read about it i explained

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in the video if you think we're not going to

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have to generate dollars equal to or far greater

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than whatever dollars you've given us we'll give

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you all your money back And it's a bet, thankfully,

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that we've never lost because this stuff works.

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Not my opinion, but thankfully, the experiences

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of lots and lots of clients who have generated

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really remarkable results, literally generating

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hundreds of millions of dollars in new business.

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Sounds wonderful. It really does. I've been to

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your website. I've seen that the video. And I

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have nothing but to assume that everything you're

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telling us is correct. And we're going to get

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into that a little bit later on. But let's delve

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into the questions that I've come up with. Your

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book, Peak Your Profits, dives deep into strategic

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growth. How does networking play in that profitability

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formula, especially for solopreneurs and small

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business owners? Well, what's interesting about

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networking or one's network, and you have heard,

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like I have heard really now for decades, is

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that one's network is really all about their

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net worth. And it's true of any business. It's

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not just a solopreneur. It's not just a small

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business. Any individual, even if they're working

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for a large corporation, even Fortune 500, Who

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they know is absolutely crucial, but then there's

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a subtlety. When you and I first chatted several

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weeks ago, one of the things that we discussed

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is that I've returned, thankfully, to my alma

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mater. That's the University of Illinois, and

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that's in Champaign -Urbana, approximately 150

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miles south of Chicago. And our youngest daughter,

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Amanda, graduated from Illinois. My wife is also

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a graduate from Illinois, but from the medical

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center. She had a phenomenal career as an occupational

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therapist. But I always loved going back to campus

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until Amanda graduated in 2017. And then I didn't

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have a connection, but it turned out I did. I

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became very friendly with Amanda's professor,

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Tom Costello, who unfortunately has now passed

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away. But TC was a terrific guy. I went back

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for a couple of years and spoke to his College

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of Communication students, which I was a College

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of Communication student back in the 70s. And

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then I went back after that, once Tom had passed

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away, and I spoke to the kids at Geese College,

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which is the business college at the University

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of Illinois. And the kids would often say to

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me, hey, isn't it important what you know? And

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I'd say, yes and they go isn't it important who

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you know and i would say yes but those two things

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are not the most important they go what what

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do you mean i go what's really important is who

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knows you and that's what really effective networking

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is all about is who knows you yet at the same

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time what do you know about an individual so

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you can connect individuals And I do it all the

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time. One of my great joys, as my clients know,

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my juice, is when I can connect people. They

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could have totally disparate interests, but then

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something happens where they want to be able

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to chat. My brother -in -law, Alan, who's married

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to my younger sister, Tammy, who I love dearly,

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he is the president of a company called Liebermuth.

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It's a family. business that's been passed on

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through the generations they're based really

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in the south bend indiana area so alan shot me

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a text and then we spoke he said hey jb you mentioned

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something about somebody who you recently met

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in a speaking engagement he says i'd love to

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talk to that guy and i said that's easy i'll

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shoot him an email which i did and so help me

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within three minutes michael brendan responded

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and said i'd be more than happy to chat with

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him And they're scheduled to talk today. So within

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three minutes, he responded. And now they're

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planning to chat today. So I love being able

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to connect people. Doesn't have to involve me.

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Go play in the sandbox. You figure out how you

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can make things happen. And I do it. all the

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time. A client in Wisconsin, they happen to be

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lawyers. One of their attorneys, Nathan, has

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a wonderful line. He said, I want to be the go

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-to person for my clients, not just for things

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that are related to the law, but any aspect of

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their business. If I can either help them, a

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loved one, a friend, a family member, I want

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them to see me. as their go -to. And I tell the

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same thing to clients. It doesn't have to involve

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me. Use me as a resource. My business began with

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my first client when I decided not to practice

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law in the early 1980s was based upon an advertising

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fellow student that I had at the University of

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Illinois. So Robbins Ad Agency, they became a

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client of mine. And then through that contact,

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the American Medical Association became another

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client of mine. So if I take a look at my career,

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whatever success that I've had, it's really been

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based upon people who became aware of me through

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others, as well as me having the ability to introduce

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others that would benefit them. Didn't have to

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have anything to do with me, because that's just

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a quid pro quo. And that's not really being in

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a servant. so to speak, by giving of your heart

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and your mind. What can I do to help you? And

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really being serious about it. Because you and

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I both know a lot of people will use those words.

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They really don't mean it. They want to get something

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in return. Those ain't my kind of folks. Those

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ain't your kind of folks. You're absolutely right.

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And listen, having a servant's heart is, it's

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so precious to me. to be able to give and not

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to receive. I too am what's called, my clients

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and everybody else calls me a super connector

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because I, every week I say, all right, there's

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two people that I have to put together. And it's

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just that, that I put X in front of Y and I say,

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look, go ahead, do what you have to do. I back

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away and I forget about it. They both. acknowledge

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it and they talk to one another they always include

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me on an email chain which they don't have to

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do but if I do that every week I feel good because

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that's really my purpose so when I go to do my

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workshops in the companies and everything else

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it's I look to do that and it's much more fulfilling

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for me than actually going there and doing the

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breakout session, the workshops and everything

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else. That's how we met. We met through Larry

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Kaufman. Larry's been a guest on your show. Larry's

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become a dear friend over the past couple of

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years. And I met Larry through somebody else

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in business. And Larry and I didn't know each

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other. And then ironically, we discovered pretty

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quickly that years ago, he actually worked for

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my dad's accounting firm. So he was part of Blackman.

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Black and Calic has now been gobbled up by Plant

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Moran, but Larry and I didn't have that connection.

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He and I just had lunch together recently, and

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we're always looking for ways that, what can

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I do to be able to help you? And I asked Larry,

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what's going on with the kids? And I immediately

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thought of, wait a minute, here are some folks

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that I can introduce to your children that might

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help them in terms of future employment opportunities.

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And then Larry said, I've got a guy who I think

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you ought to talk to. And I'm actually talking

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to that individual later today. So I've introduced

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Larry to opportunity. He's introduced me to Larry

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to opportunity. Larry's introduced me to opportunity.

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And that's how you and I met. We met through

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Larry. And he's got a terrific book, NCG, which

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is Network Connect. And people think grow. And

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I go, no, it's give. And I often tell people,

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Michael, I go, hey, don't focus on capitalism.

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Focus on altruism. And don't focus on being selfish.

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Focus on being selfless and not what can you

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get, but what can you give? And that will really

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be far more successful for you in the short as

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well as the long term. You and I know folks go,

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I don't buy it. OK, then again, they're not our

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kind of folks. Absolutely not. And really, I

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wish I had you in my jacket pocket when I'm out

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talking. I'm not that small. You say the same

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things that I align with, that I believe in with

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my heart, and I go out and I do on a daily basis.

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So what you're saying I align with so well and

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so perfectly. But let me get to the next question.

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In Bullseye, you talk about hitting your targets

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at home and work. How can people use networking

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to align their personal and professional goals

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more intentionally? That's really an interesting

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question because the last two bestsellers, Bullseye

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was bestseller number six, and it's really more

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of an inspirational, motivational book instead

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of a real how -to book. But still, there's an

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important business lesson that comes out of it.

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The bestseller before that, the fifth edition

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of Peak Your Profits, is a real how -to in terms

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of business growth skills related to sales, marketing,

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negotiations, customer service. But what really

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both of them do deal with is to be able to hit

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a target, to be able to focus on a... bullseye

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whether it's in a recreational activity or a

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business pursuit I'll often say to folks it's

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related to the world's fastest strategic plan

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and people go but what are you talking about

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I go if you went to any major airport whether

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it's Hartsfield in Atlanta in your neck of the

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woods or oh here by me which is only 13 miles

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and 17 minutes to the south what do they ask

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you Where are you going? And imagine if you said,

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yeah, I don't know. Why don't you pick the city?

00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:06.139
What? So I'll often say to leaders, let's engage

00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:08.220
in the world's fastest strategic plan. Where

00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:11.320
are you? Where would you like to be? And how

00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:14.950
do you want to get there? And as you start to

00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:18.149
focus on those things, which is also related

00:15:18.149 --> 00:15:21.649
to being on target with networking, and one of

00:15:21.649 --> 00:15:23.129
the things that I say to folks is you've got

00:15:23.129 --> 00:15:25.309
to embrace overall what I call the three Ps.

00:15:25.470 --> 00:15:28.470
They go, what do you mean? I go, for any activity

00:15:28.470 --> 00:15:30.649
that you're engaged in, whether it's internal

00:15:30.649 --> 00:15:33.889
in terms of you perhaps as a leader or with members

00:15:33.889 --> 00:15:37.009
of your team or external, whether that's at a

00:15:37.009 --> 00:15:39.629
networking event or actually with a prospect,

00:15:39.889 --> 00:15:44.039
a customer. A client, know your purpose. That's

00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:46.399
the first P, Michael. Know your purpose. What

00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:48.460
do you want to accomplish? Not only for you,

00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:51.620
but for that decision maker or decision influencer.

00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:54.659
They go, okay, purpose, I get that. What's the

00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:57.620
second P? And I go, know your power probes. They

00:15:57.620 --> 00:16:00.820
go, what's a power probe? And I'll soon make

00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:03.220
available a power probe opportunity specifically

00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:06.460
for your listeners. But we'll delay that by a

00:16:06.460 --> 00:16:09.779
couple of minutes. A power probe is an open -ended

00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:13.019
need development question. It begins with a who,

00:16:13.059 --> 00:16:17.600
a what, a when, a where, a why, a which, a how,

00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:20.740
or here's the TED principle, T, tell me more

00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:25.139
about, E, explain to me how, and D, describe

00:16:25.139 --> 00:16:28.559
for me. You need to ask open -ended questions

00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.799
to truly understand the logic of why somebody

00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:34.799
wants to do something, as well as the heart and

00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:37.470
the tummy, that's the emotion. Because those

00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:39.549
are the two things that really influence decisions.

00:16:39.950 --> 00:16:42.710
So you've got purpose. You've got power probes.

00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:45.009
Here's the third P. And someone said, isn't that

00:16:45.009 --> 00:16:46.929
really four Ps? And I go, if you want, you can

00:16:46.929 --> 00:16:50.429
call it four Ps. And it's parade of progress.

00:16:51.029 --> 00:16:53.350
And the parade of progress is what are you doing

00:16:53.350 --> 00:16:59.049
to keep things moving forward? So if you were

00:16:59.049 --> 00:17:01.210
a prospect, we were engaged in a conversation,

00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:05.690
it would end by, Michael. Let's review my deliverables

00:17:05.690 --> 00:17:09.630
to you. Honor before blank, I will do blank.

00:17:09.849 --> 00:17:13.170
So the blank is a behavior or an action, and

00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:17.369
the second blank is a date. So what's the behavior,

00:17:17.609 --> 00:17:19.990
what's the action, and what's the date of realization?

00:17:20.390 --> 00:17:23.069
Pretty simple success formula. I will do X by

00:17:23.069 --> 00:17:27.190
Y. I will do this thing by this date. But you

00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:32.170
will also do this. to send to me by this. So

00:17:32.170 --> 00:17:35.210
now we're working in a collaborative way. And

00:17:35.210 --> 00:17:37.849
that's really what also networking is all about.

00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:40.670
It's about collaboration. It's about, in essence,

00:17:40.809 --> 00:17:44.390
partnering, networking. And do I trust this person?

00:17:44.589 --> 00:17:49.250
Because some people, they're takers. And not

00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:51.690
the kind of folks who I want to work with. But

00:17:51.690 --> 00:17:53.670
when you find someone that you can trust, and

00:17:53.670 --> 00:17:56.150
I always stress this to folks, when trust is

00:17:56.150 --> 00:18:02.640
high, what's low? Fear. When trust is high, what's

00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:08.039
low? And that's fear. So I stress to folks, closed

00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:10.400
-ended questions are okay, but that's really

00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:13.700
only related to, one, do these people qualify

00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:16.279
as a prospect? A little bit different than a

00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:18.799
networking opportunity. And the other is, if

00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:21.740
you're now pursuing an opportunity for biz dev

00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:25.400
or rainmaking, it's decision time. Thumbs up.

00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:30.819
Yay. P .O. ACH, wire, whatever it might be. And

00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:34.900
if I can share with you an opportunity for your

00:18:34.900 --> 00:18:37.980
listeners and viewers that most people go, wait

00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:40.059
a minute, I can use these immediately. And the

00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:42.740
answer is yes. So if it's cool with you, can

00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:45.079
I share that opportunity for your listeners and

00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:48.460
viewers? Absolutely. Go right ahead. So most

00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:50.359
folks, when I ask them, how many of you have

00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:53.200
got a dynamic dozen? They go, what? What are

00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:54.920
you talking about? You're talking about bagels,

00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:58.839
muffins, croissants, donuts. What's a dynamic

00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:02.579
dozen? And I go, no. A dynamic dozen is at least

00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:07.660
12 open -ended need development questions. And

00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:09.759
they begin with a who, what, when, where, why,

00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:12.420
which, how, tell me more about, explain to me

00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:15.920
how, and describe for me. And these are questions

00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.420
you would ask of a prospect. or perhaps even

00:19:19.420 --> 00:19:22.500
a current customer or current client to dig even

00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:26.359
deeper in the relationships. Most folks don't

00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.519
have a dynamic dozen. And I stress to people,

00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:31.940
once you've created your dynamic dozen, then

00:19:31.940 --> 00:19:34.900
put it on this little computer that is literally

00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:38.950
in the palm of your hand. on my smartphone and

00:19:38.950 --> 00:19:41.750
now i encourage clients to do the same i go put

00:19:41.750 --> 00:19:44.450
them in print form so you can look at them and

00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:46.970
then also put it in an audio form so you can

00:19:46.970 --> 00:19:50.930
hit play and hear you reciting your dynamic dozen

00:19:50.930 --> 00:19:55.319
that's how you get really good at that skill.

00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:58.819
And it's a skill. It is not a parlor trick. So

00:19:58.819 --> 00:20:01.819
we've had people who might hear me in the morning

00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:04.680
in a three -hour result session, and they'll

00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:06.859
send me an email and go, Jeff, that afternoon

00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:09.440
I used these questions that I had never used

00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:14.500
before, and I've got the opportunity to now help

00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:17.779
a new client. I can't believe it worked that

00:20:17.779 --> 00:20:20.160
fast. And I go, it worked that fast because you

00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:23.150
heard it, but then you used it. And I always

00:20:23.150 --> 00:20:25.170
stress to people, Michael, don't tell me what

00:20:25.170 --> 00:20:27.329
you know. Tell me what you're doing with what

00:20:27.329 --> 00:20:30.529
you know. So here's the opportunity. If anyone

00:20:30.529 --> 00:20:32.910
listening or watching would like to get what

00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:37.589
we call the Sweet 16, we will send you 16 potential

00:20:37.589 --> 00:20:40.549
power probes that you can use in your business,

00:20:40.569 --> 00:20:43.250
no matter what your business is. If you're selling

00:20:43.250 --> 00:20:47.069
a product, a service, whatever it might be, you

00:20:47.069 --> 00:20:50.630
can apply these questions immediately. All you

00:20:50.630 --> 00:20:54.650
need to do, send an email. to Cheryl, S -H -E

00:20:54.650 --> 00:20:59.529
-R -Y -L, one more time, Cheryl, S -H -E -R -Y

00:20:59.529 --> 00:21:05.670
-L, at JeffBlackman .com, J -E -F -F -B -L -A

00:21:05.670 --> 00:21:10.890
-C -K -M -A -N .com. One more time, Cheryl at

00:21:10.890 --> 00:21:15.490
JeffBlackman .com. In the subject, this way we'll

00:21:15.490 --> 00:21:17.769
know exactly where you heard about the opportunity.

00:21:18.130 --> 00:21:25.390
Simply put, Foreman Rocks. So simply put, F -O

00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:30.329
-R -M -A -N Rocks, Suite 16. We will know exactly

00:21:30.329 --> 00:21:33.190
what that means. Cheryl will then send you your

00:21:33.190 --> 00:21:38.049
Suite 16. And folks, when I've been on other

00:21:38.049 --> 00:21:41.289
interviews, have said, I've been able to now

00:21:41.289 --> 00:21:43.609
use these questions immediately and generate

00:21:43.609 --> 00:21:46.730
results. So I want your audience to be able to

00:21:46.730 --> 00:21:49.289
benefit from them as well. And the good news...

00:21:49.529 --> 00:21:56.230
It works. It does. Okay. That was way more than

00:21:56.230 --> 00:21:58.930
I even expected. So that was fantastic, Jeff.

00:21:59.390 --> 00:22:03.150
Okay. So you've mastered profitable connections.

00:22:03.490 --> 00:22:07.009
It's one powerful shift someone can make today

00:22:07.009 --> 00:22:09.829
to start attracting high value relationships

00:22:09.829 --> 00:22:15.029
instead of chasing them. So this is going to

00:22:15.029 --> 00:22:17.829
sound counterintuitive. And that is you do not

00:22:17.829 --> 00:22:22.369
make it about. You. You always make it out. That's

00:22:22.369 --> 00:22:25.950
not counterintuitive. You always make it about

00:22:25.950 --> 00:22:27.869
somebody else. It's interesting. You talk about

00:22:27.869 --> 00:22:29.809
network unleashed, and I know you don't mean

00:22:29.809 --> 00:22:35.349
it, but unleashed implies wild, running amok.

00:22:35.390 --> 00:22:37.769
It's gone awry. One of my new favorite words

00:22:37.769 --> 00:22:41.230
is cattywampus. So cattywampus is things have

00:22:41.230 --> 00:22:43.650
gone crazy, but networking is just the opposite.

00:22:43.769 --> 00:22:47.759
It's actually specific. It's precise. It's targeted.

00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:50.680
It's designed. So get really comfortable asking

00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:53.940
the question, hey, Michael, help me out. When

00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:57.099
I'm out and about in the community, who is your

00:22:57.099 --> 00:23:02.579
ideal prospect or client? So I can keep my eyes

00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:05.740
and ears open for you. That's all about you.

00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:09.619
Got nothing to do with me. So that enables me

00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:12.420
to be in the best position to go. I met this

00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:17.559
foreman guy about. six weeks ago, and now I'm

00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:21.279
going to all about you. And when you go out of

00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:23.960
your way to connect other individuals and ask

00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:28.640
for nothing in return, it becomes incredibly

00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:33.099
valuable because now they realized, oh, this

00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:35.859
person's really serious about that. They really

00:23:35.859 --> 00:23:38.279
do go out of their way to be in a position to

00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:42.319
help me. Again, no quid pro quo. It's not a barter.

00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:46.200
It's not an exchange system. They gave before

00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:48.900
they even intimated they might want to take.

00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:51.579
And that's one of the really simple things that

00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:55.720
most people do not do. And also, people think

00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:57.559
that networking is about how many people can

00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:59.160
I meet in the shortest amount of time when I'm

00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.940
at a networking event. And I go, whoa, slow down.

00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:07.839
Concentrate on meeting fewer people and dig deeper.

00:24:09.069 --> 00:24:11.609
Find out things that are important to them so

00:24:11.609 --> 00:24:13.789
you can follow up with, hey, thought you might

00:24:13.789 --> 00:24:17.430
be interested in this website. Found this story,

00:24:17.549 --> 00:24:20.569
thought you might find it interesting. Google

00:24:20.569 --> 00:24:23.130
Alerts, and I'm sure you've used Google Alerts.

00:24:23.130 --> 00:24:25.930
So I've got Google Alerts on things that I don't

00:24:25.930 --> 00:24:28.769
have an interest in, but I've got clients who

00:24:28.769 --> 00:24:31.750
do have an interest in, whatever it might be.

00:24:31.990 --> 00:24:35.230
So as a result of that, I literally might get

00:24:35.230 --> 00:24:38.319
something related to shoes. because i've got

00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:41.519
a client who's a woman who's really fun and she

00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:44.599
loves shoes so if i've been anywhere in the country

00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:46.500
and i remember gosh it's gonna be about 10 years

00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:49.220
ago i happened to pass a really cool women's

00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:52.200
shoe store in raleigh north carolina i took pictures

00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:53.640
of the shoes that were in the window and sent

00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:57.859
it to her i went some thought of you those are

00:24:57.859 --> 00:25:01.839
just little simple things that people know hey

00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:04.559
i've got top of mind awareness of something that's

00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:07.180
important to you. Got nothing to do with me,

00:25:07.220 --> 00:25:12.240
but I know that this matters to you. And that's

00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:14.640
one of the really important things when it comes

00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:17.019
to networking is what can you do that's in somebody

00:25:17.019 --> 00:25:20.359
else's best interest? And it really does absolutely

00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:24.140
nothing to do with you. Absolutely. I went to

00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:27.460
the school of hard knocks, right? I did everything

00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:30.940
wrong before I learned how to do it correctly.

00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:35.329
And I was in a mortgage industry. And I would

00:25:35.329 --> 00:25:37.789
go to a networking event. I'd come home with

00:25:37.789 --> 00:25:41.750
a shoebox filled with business cards. Look how

00:25:41.750 --> 00:25:45.869
good I did. Look how well I achieved my success.

00:25:46.369 --> 00:25:50.809
I was fantastic. I was horrible. I did it. I

00:25:50.809 --> 00:25:54.970
got the wrong way. So now when I teach networking,

00:25:55.269 --> 00:25:57.670
when I go out and teach for about a three or

00:25:57.670 --> 00:26:00.349
four hour event, I say, come back with about

00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:04.420
15 or 20 business cards. Because then you can

00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:07.700
follow up, and a follow -up is so much more important

00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:10.539
than actually meeting the person, but you can

00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:14.539
follow up properly. And everything that goes

00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:16.359
along with that. I don't want to take time out

00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:19.380
from that, but I want to tell you that I made

00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:24.359
that transition from just networking, networking

00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:29.119
at least, wildly networking, to a strategic networking

00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:33.519
module. That's how I did it. it crucial and also

00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:36.539
is you can actually be proactive before the event

00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:38.660
it depends upon what the event is but with many

00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:41.880
events for example okay these folks will already

00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:44.400
be in attendance that list is often published

00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:48.200
and you go i don't know him or her but i would

00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:50.259
like to know him or her because they've got an

00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:52.359
expertise in something that i'm really interested

00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:55.079
in you can contact that individual in advance

00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:58.339
email or telephone call and say hey i've actually

00:26:58.339 --> 00:27:01.099
been very familiar with your work for years i

00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:03.160
noticed that you will be at the upcoming yada

00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:07.839
can i buy you breakfast or lunch my treat Would

00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:10.880
love to chat with you. Now, most people are willing

00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:14.900
to give. Most successful people don't hold it

00:27:14.900 --> 00:27:17.960
close to the chest. No, I'm successful because

00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:21.420
of what I know. Ain't going to share it. Actually,

00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:26.319
just the opposite. So this weekend, if I was

00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:29.980
going to the National Speakers Association annual

00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:34.380
conference. I'm not. Why? Because our twin grandchildren,

00:27:34.700 --> 00:27:37.460
who are almost three, will be with us, so I get

00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:40.940
to play Poppy while my wife plays Nani. So I

00:27:40.940 --> 00:27:43.460
won't be at the convention, but if I was going,

00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:46.039
I would have gone, okay, who are some key folks

00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:49.279
who I would like to spend some time with, one

00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.599
-to -one, not in a fleeting in -between session

00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:56.849
moment. And I'll treat them to breakfast or lunch

00:27:56.849 --> 00:28:00.410
and just chat. Now, I will also do that with

00:28:00.410 --> 00:28:03.769
folks that I've known for years just to catch

00:28:03.769 --> 00:28:06.150
up to find out, what are you doing? What's happening

00:28:06.150 --> 00:28:08.049
in your business? And I just did that with a

00:28:08.049 --> 00:28:11.490
friend who I first met at an NSA convention in

00:28:11.490 --> 00:28:15.829
1985. So another wonderful speaker, brilliant

00:28:15.829 --> 00:28:17.569
guy, has become a dear friend by the name of

00:28:17.569 --> 00:28:19.970
Chuck Reeves. Chuck and I have now known each

00:28:19.970 --> 00:28:23.509
other for over 40 years. And he used to actually

00:28:23.509 --> 00:28:25.809
live in Atlanta. He lived in Snellville. Now

00:28:25.809 --> 00:28:28.750
he's in Arizona. But Chuck and I will get together

00:28:28.750 --> 00:28:32.730
probably two times a year and just visit. Two

00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:35.789
old buddies. And I think we spent 60, 90 minutes

00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:38.609
recently on a Zoom call just catching up. Because

00:28:38.609 --> 00:28:40.869
I might be doing something he's not. He might

00:28:40.869 --> 00:28:42.910
be doing something I'm not. Who do you know?

00:28:42.990 --> 00:28:44.930
Who can I introduce you to? And do that with

00:28:44.930 --> 00:28:47.130
friends on a regular basis. And that's really

00:28:47.130 --> 00:28:49.890
part of the fun. Because over time, you really

00:28:49.890 --> 00:28:54.660
know who you can trust. I consider that enjoyable

00:28:54.660 --> 00:28:59.220
and fun as well. Because for me, that's not work.

00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:01.559
I'm putting two people together and it's just,

00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:05.619
it's what I like to do. Okay. What's a networking

00:29:05.619 --> 00:29:09.480
myth or outdated belief that you think is actually

00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:13.759
holding people back from real success? Interesting

00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:16.880
question. And I think it really goes to self

00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:21.170
-belief. Many people have got this self. doubting

00:29:21.170 --> 00:29:24.369
reality that they've created about how difficult

00:29:24.369 --> 00:29:28.210
something is, or how challenging something is,

00:29:28.390 --> 00:29:31.950
or I'm not going to be very good at that. That's

00:29:31.950 --> 00:29:34.029
what we call, based upon work that I did with

00:29:34.029 --> 00:29:38.690
a client years ago, a CVS. And a CVS is the current

00:29:38.690 --> 00:29:43.210
view of the situation. What's the BVS? The BVS

00:29:43.210 --> 00:29:45.630
is a better view of the situation. So the current

00:29:45.630 --> 00:29:48.130
view of the situation is, boy, I can't stand

00:29:48.130 --> 00:29:51.230
events like that. I'm not very good at networking.

00:29:51.890 --> 00:29:53.789
Courage view. What's a better view of the situation?

00:29:54.069 --> 00:29:57.089
I am really excited about to meet other people

00:29:57.089 --> 00:30:01.190
who I might be in a position to help. Totally

00:30:01.190 --> 00:30:04.289
different mindset. So how are you looking at

00:30:04.289 --> 00:30:09.009
that either as an opportunity or with negativity?

00:30:09.529 --> 00:30:15.430
So mindset is absolutely... We are always going

00:30:15.430 --> 00:30:17.490
to face challenges in our lives, guaranteed.

00:30:17.869 --> 00:30:20.750
So the key question then becomes, how am I going

00:30:20.750 --> 00:30:25.289
to perceive that opportunity? One of the quotes,

00:30:25.549 --> 00:30:28.509
I'm a great big fan of quotes. My first book

00:30:28.509 --> 00:30:32.150
was the opportunity selling sales quotation book.

00:30:32.329 --> 00:30:34.970
So it took the opportunity selling business developed

00:30:34.970 --> 00:30:37.769
system that I created literally on the back of

00:30:37.769 --> 00:30:40.750
a napkin in 1985 that in the pages of peak your

00:30:40.750 --> 00:30:43.349
profits is explained in a real how to format.

00:30:43.549 --> 00:30:45.930
But in the opportunity selling quote book, which

00:30:45.930 --> 00:30:47.890
was a little guy with just quotes that reinforce.

00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:50.539
each step of the six -step business development

00:30:50.539 --> 00:30:54.319
system. What happened is I reinforced those quotes.

00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:57.359
I always look for other quotes. And John Wooden,

00:30:57.359 --> 00:31:01.279
the great basketball coach at UCLA, so he coached

00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:07.480
the men's basketball team to 10 national championships

00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:11.839
in 12 years. Seven of the 10, Michael, they were

00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:15.869
consecutive. And if I've got a challenge, and

00:31:15.869 --> 00:31:18.390
I've always had challenges, people have sometimes

00:31:18.390 --> 00:31:20.789
said, you've had a charmed life. And they've

00:31:20.789 --> 00:31:24.009
got no clue as to all the challenges that I've

00:31:24.009 --> 00:31:27.029
had to confront as an individual, as a parent

00:31:27.029 --> 00:31:29.029
with kids and medical issues or whatever it might

00:31:29.029 --> 00:31:32.210
be. But John Wooden said, things turn out best

00:31:32.210 --> 00:31:35.849
for those who make the best out of the way things

00:31:35.849 --> 00:31:39.769
turn out. And the beauty of that quote is you

00:31:39.769 --> 00:31:43.160
can control your mindset. You can control your

00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:46.460
attitude. And I find it fascinating that a lot

00:31:46.460 --> 00:31:49.400
of airports that I'm in, they've now got rocking

00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:51.740
chairs. Have you seen these rocking chairs at

00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:53.900
airports all over the country? No, I haven't

00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:57.000
seen them. So multiple airports that I've been

00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:00.359
in, they have got rocking chairs. So they're

00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:03.720
like everywhere. And I find it interesting that

00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:06.160
a place that's designed like an airport to get

00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:08.619
you from point A to point B gives you an activity

00:32:08.619 --> 00:32:12.670
to do that gets you nowhere. And that's what

00:32:12.670 --> 00:32:14.630
a rocking chair does. It gives you something

00:32:14.630 --> 00:32:18.569
to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere. That's

00:32:18.569 --> 00:32:22.049
the equivalent of worrying. Worrying is an activity,

00:32:22.269 --> 00:32:25.730
but it doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't get

00:32:25.730 --> 00:32:28.369
you closer to a solution. And when people say

00:32:28.369 --> 00:32:30.230
to me, I'm so worried about it, I go, how's that

00:32:30.230 --> 00:32:33.170
working for you? How's that helping you? And

00:32:33.170 --> 00:32:35.190
so much, again, it has to do with your mindset.

00:32:35.250 --> 00:32:37.990
This happened probably about a month ago. So

00:32:37.990 --> 00:32:41.660
a client said, I am really uncomfortable with

00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:44.539
change. People ask me to help them, either their

00:32:44.539 --> 00:32:47.279
organizations, their teams, or one -to -one coaching.

00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:49.480
So I had a client who said, Jeff, I am really

00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:51.619
uncomfortable with change. I said, how do you

00:32:51.619 --> 00:32:55.240
feel about improvement? Oh, no, I'm fine. I'm

00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:57.980
fine with that. How do you feel about enhancement?

00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:01.740
Oh, that's okay, too. How do you feel about upgrade?

00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:05.380
no issue what if we no longer talk about you

00:33:05.380 --> 00:33:07.400
changing but we talk about you making improvements

00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:12.200
enhancements and upgrades i'm good okay so he

00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:14.700
just shifted his mindset and are now using a

00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:18.119
different word or words because change he immediately

00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:22.779
we've always done it that way and that's the

00:33:22.779 --> 00:33:26.170
cvs yeah And there are three words that I always

00:33:26.170 --> 00:33:28.789
suggest to people that can be transformative.

00:33:28.990 --> 00:33:31.210
If you think something's not possible, simply

00:33:31.210 --> 00:33:33.390
have three words to your vocabulary and mindset.

00:33:33.490 --> 00:33:37.910
And that's up till now. Huh? It's not how we

00:33:37.910 --> 00:33:41.230
do things here. Up till now. We don't have any

00:33:41.230 --> 00:33:44.609
budget for that. Up till now. Our folks just

00:33:44.609 --> 00:33:48.490
are not well -trained. Up till now. And people

00:33:48.490 --> 00:33:52.019
say, but hang on. Why does it work? It's not

00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:54.680
magic. And I go, no, but it is about belief.

00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:57.859
And I tell people that belief is about confidence.

00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:01.559
Confidence comes from two Latin words, con fete,

00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:05.460
which means with faith. And if you don't have

00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:07.460
faith with you, how is anyone else going to have

00:34:07.460 --> 00:34:12.400
faith with you? Very good. Very good. I'm going

00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:16.239
to have to replay this podcast because otherwise

00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:19.800
I'd be writing notes down. feverishly and just

00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:21.820
trying to take all the notes down. So I'll list

00:34:21.820 --> 00:34:25.320
this afterwards. How do you differentiate between

00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:28.280
noise and opportunity when you're networking,

00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:33.059
especially in crowded spaces like LinkedIn or

00:34:33.059 --> 00:34:38.650
large conferences? So large conferences can be

00:34:38.650 --> 00:34:40.989
overwhelming, and that's not my word choice.

00:34:41.170 --> 00:34:43.750
Instead, it's what others say. And I never understand

00:34:43.750 --> 00:34:45.889
the word overwhelming. When people say to me,

00:34:45.929 --> 00:34:48.210
I'm overwhelmed, my immediately thought is, and

00:34:48.210 --> 00:34:50.090
again, I don't challenge them because I don't

00:34:50.090 --> 00:34:51.630
want to be rude. I go, so what are you going

00:34:51.630 --> 00:34:55.250
to do different? If you're overwhelmed, change

00:34:55.250 --> 00:35:00.949
the game plan. Change the game the way you're

00:35:00.949 --> 00:35:04.809
playing it. So a large conference, and how are

00:35:04.809 --> 00:35:07.539
we defining large? Pick a number. It's 1 ,000

00:35:07.539 --> 00:35:10.960
people. Oh, no, it's 15 ,000 people. And it's

00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:13.219
like going to college. So the University of Illinois,

00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:15.559
when I went to school, and from what I understand,

00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:17.679
it's maybe a wee bit more now, approximately

00:35:17.679 --> 00:35:22.179
35 ,000 undergrads. I didn't have daily contact

00:35:22.179 --> 00:35:27.179
with 35 ,000 undergrads. My primary contact was

00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:29.880
with my friends. It was with my fraternity brothers.

00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:32.980
It was with the sorority sisters of my wife.

00:35:33.179 --> 00:35:37.440
And it becomes really... your group your network

00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:42.300
if you will so first you go i don't need to make

00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:48.280
contact with 1500 people at this conference but

00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:51.400
i'm going to focus on these 10 or whatever it

00:35:51.400 --> 00:35:54.099
might be so again it's what are the strategic

00:35:54.099 --> 00:35:59.099
decisions that you're making and it also does

00:35:59.099 --> 00:36:03.719
with focus people are oh there's There's a shiny.

00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:06.780
Oh, no, wait. Oh, look at that shiny. So people

00:36:06.780 --> 00:36:09.760
are often easily distracted. One of the stories

00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:12.079
that I describe in Bullseye, you remember Bill

00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:15.619
Russell, the great basketball player. So Russell

00:36:15.619 --> 00:36:18.440
is one of the greatest basketball players of

00:36:18.440 --> 00:36:21.280
all time, if not the greatest Celtic of all time.

00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:24.889
Bill Russell, years ago. decided that he also

00:36:24.889 --> 00:36:27.170
wanted to be a speaker to share the message of

00:36:27.170 --> 00:36:30.630
Celtic pride. So a sports entertainment agency

00:36:30.630 --> 00:36:33.190
that was a client of mine was working with Bill

00:36:33.190 --> 00:36:35.409
and they said, Bill, you really need help with

00:36:35.409 --> 00:36:38.190
your message. And we've got a friend who also

00:36:38.190 --> 00:36:41.510
is a coach to us who helps us with business growth.

00:36:41.690 --> 00:36:44.369
He's a professional speaker as well. He can really

00:36:44.369 --> 00:36:47.289
help you with your message. So one afternoon

00:36:47.289 --> 00:36:51.010
at a Chicago hotel, I consulted with Bill Russell,

00:36:51.110 --> 00:36:54.329
about how to improve his message. And one of

00:36:54.329 --> 00:36:56.889
the stories that he told was about his ability

00:36:56.889 --> 00:37:01.829
to grab off of the defensive board a basketball

00:37:01.829 --> 00:37:05.429
and a rebound, and how he immediately would have

00:37:05.429 --> 00:37:09.670
an outlet pass that would go to Koozie or some

00:37:09.670 --> 00:37:12.809
other member of his team with just maybe one

00:37:12.809 --> 00:37:16.010
or two bounces, if that, or one more pass. Somebody

00:37:16.010 --> 00:37:19.440
was streaking to the offensive glass. two points

00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:22.599
and he did it all the time and he said most people

00:37:22.599 --> 00:37:24.960
refer to that as a blind pass he said a blind

00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:27.340
pass is stupid because a blind pass means you've

00:37:27.340 --> 00:37:29.320
got absolutely no idea where it's going you don't

00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:32.119
see anything blind pass is stupid bill russell

00:37:32.119 --> 00:37:36.059
was a really smart guy he said so jeff what i

00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:39.219
did is with his seven foot frame is he would

00:37:39.219 --> 00:37:42.780
extend his hands out as far as he could so he

00:37:42.780 --> 00:37:45.420
could still see in his peripheral vision his

00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:48.699
hands And then the next day he would extend it

00:37:48.699 --> 00:37:52.000
just a little bit further. So every day he was

00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:56.380
working on extending the view line of his peripheral

00:37:56.380 --> 00:38:00.239
vision. So what appeared to be a blind pass was

00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:03.500
not. He always knew exactly who he was passing

00:38:03.500 --> 00:38:07.000
it to. So what he did was he had extreme focus,

00:38:07.079 --> 00:38:11.679
removed distractions, and that's really important.

00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:14.079
That's one of the things that I work on with

00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:18.340
clients is, okay. If you know your purpose and

00:38:18.340 --> 00:38:21.179
you know your power probes, now let's have singular

00:38:21.179 --> 00:38:23.880
focus. That's one of the great things that Bruce

00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:25.880
Jenner did when I interviewed him. I did not

00:38:25.880 --> 00:38:29.690
interview Caitlin Marie. I interviewed William

00:38:29.690 --> 00:38:32.309
Bruce. And people have said to me, who was one

00:38:32.309 --> 00:38:34.170
of the best guests that you ever had? And I said,

00:38:34.190 --> 00:38:36.750
Barden on Bruce Jenner. And they go, why? I go,

00:38:36.789 --> 00:38:40.130
he was smart. He was friendly. He was personable.

00:38:40.349 --> 00:38:42.650
Before and after the radio interview, he hung

00:38:42.650 --> 00:38:46.190
around. He took care of signing autographs. But

00:38:46.190 --> 00:38:49.849
what Bruce Jenner did is I asked him about the

00:38:49.849 --> 00:38:54.070
gold medal that he won in 76 in Montreal in the

00:38:54.070 --> 00:38:56.329
decathlon, Michael. And here's what he said to

00:38:56.329 --> 00:39:01.579
me. I didn't win in 76. Bruce, don't mean to

00:39:01.579 --> 00:39:07.579
correct you, but you won in 76 in Montreal. Remember

00:39:07.579 --> 00:39:11.340
the flag and Olympic stadium? He says, let me

00:39:11.340 --> 00:39:13.719
tell you what I mean. And this story is actually

00:39:13.719 --> 00:39:16.960
in the pages of Bullseye. He said, Jeff, in 1972,

00:39:17.059 --> 00:39:22.039
I lost. He said, didn't place. He said, so here's

00:39:22.039 --> 00:39:24.820
what I did. I removed the faces of the gold,

00:39:24.860 --> 00:39:28.030
the silver. and the bronze medalists. And in

00:39:28.030 --> 00:39:30.449
the place of the face of the gold medalist in

00:39:30.449 --> 00:39:33.809
72, I put my face. So what I did for the next

00:39:33.809 --> 00:39:37.389
four years is I only saw one winner in 76, and

00:39:37.389 --> 00:39:40.610
that was me. That was Bruce Jenner. So first

00:39:40.610 --> 00:39:43.349
I trained my mind, and then I trained my body,

00:39:43.429 --> 00:39:46.710
and then I believed. In essence, he had confite.

00:39:46.710 --> 00:39:49.849
He was with faith. He said, so in Montreal, I

00:39:49.849 --> 00:39:53.309
simply picked up a medal I had won in my mind

00:39:53.309 --> 00:39:58.730
four years earlier. Unbelievable story. The only

00:39:58.730 --> 00:40:00.869
other story I know about belief that's any better

00:40:00.869 --> 00:40:03.750
than that is Sully Sullenberger when he landed

00:40:03.750 --> 00:40:08.110
US Airways flight 1549, January the 15th of 2009

00:40:08.110 --> 00:40:12.090
on the Hudson River. That was about belief. If

00:40:12.090 --> 00:40:14.610
he didn't believe that he could land and create

00:40:14.610 --> 00:40:16.949
the Hudson as a liquid tarmac, would have never

00:40:16.949 --> 00:40:21.469
happened. So belief is a really important aspect

00:40:21.469 --> 00:40:24.369
of anything that we choose to do to attain success

00:40:24.369 --> 00:40:27.440
in our lives. It's amazing what the mind can

00:40:27.440 --> 00:40:31.039
accomplish if you let it, if you let it. Because

00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:35.679
there really isn't anything that we, as people,

00:40:35.860 --> 00:40:39.599
can't do. And that's part of my can -do attitude.

00:40:40.159 --> 00:40:44.400
But, okay, in your experience, what's the profit

00:40:44.400 --> 00:40:47.880
leak most professionals don't realize is happening

00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:50.619
because they haven't built the right relationships?

00:40:54.450 --> 00:40:58.809
Folks have a tendency to sometimes hang on to

00:40:58.809 --> 00:41:02.829
relationships that they shouldn't. So if a relationship

00:41:02.829 --> 00:41:07.969
is not generating the right result, whether it's

00:41:07.969 --> 00:41:11.670
related to collaboration or lack thereof, or

00:41:11.670 --> 00:41:14.650
it's not generating the appropriate return on

00:41:14.650 --> 00:41:16.630
the investment of working with that individual,

00:41:16.809 --> 00:41:21.250
say goodbye. As difficult as that might be, that's

00:41:21.250 --> 00:41:23.829
external and internal, by the way. So if external

00:41:23.829 --> 00:41:28.449
relationships with clients or customers are really

00:41:28.449 --> 00:41:30.909
difficult and challenging and people are hard

00:41:30.909 --> 00:41:33.550
to work with, or you've got the wrong person

00:41:33.550 --> 00:41:36.309
and the wrong seat in your organization, wish

00:41:36.309 --> 00:41:39.429
them the best of luck. Say sayonara, arrivederla,

00:41:39.530 --> 00:41:43.570
shalom, dos vadonia, move on. And in terms of,

00:41:43.570 --> 00:41:46.050
again, avoiding distractions, we work with clients

00:41:46.050 --> 00:41:48.730
on something, Michael, called the ICP. What's

00:41:48.730 --> 00:41:51.269
your ideal customer or your ideal client profile?

00:41:52.300 --> 00:41:56.079
and let's define exactly who that is demographics

00:41:56.079 --> 00:41:59.679
psychographics infographics and we literally

00:41:59.679 --> 00:42:03.760
make a long list and i go your customers or prospects

00:42:03.760 --> 00:42:07.019
have got every right to vet you but you've got

00:42:07.019 --> 00:42:10.900
every right to vet them and if you think that

00:42:10.900 --> 00:42:15.199
they're not who you want to pursue long term

00:42:15.829 --> 00:42:18.570
long -term, because you focus on annuitization.

00:42:18.710 --> 00:42:21.289
If you only want to focus on a transaction, that's

00:42:21.289 --> 00:42:23.809
fine, but that's not what I teach my clients

00:42:23.809 --> 00:42:26.630
to do. I teach them to focus on not the transactional

00:42:26.630 --> 00:42:30.030
vendor relationship, but instead to focus on

00:42:30.030 --> 00:42:34.030
the long -term annuitized partner relationship.

00:42:34.309 --> 00:42:36.369
And they go, what's the difference? And I go,

00:42:36.489 --> 00:42:39.550
okay, listen closely. Vendors are expendable.

00:42:39.849 --> 00:42:43.429
Partners are invaluable. Vendor expendable, partner

00:42:43.429 --> 00:42:46.250
invaluable. Which do you choose to be? And that

00:42:46.250 --> 00:42:48.010
is a question, by the way, that we coach our

00:42:48.010 --> 00:42:50.210
clients to ask, which is, what would you prefer

00:42:50.210 --> 00:42:52.389
that we be, a vendor or a partner? And if they

00:42:52.389 --> 00:42:54.469
go, yeah, we just want a vendor, we're probably

00:42:54.469 --> 00:42:56.630
not the right folks for you then. Wish you nothing

00:42:56.630 --> 00:43:00.670
but the best of luck. And start to leave. Move

00:43:00.670 --> 00:43:04.550
on. Sorry, that's not what our clients value.

00:43:04.849 --> 00:43:09.250
That's not what we value. Two questions related

00:43:09.250 --> 00:43:12.769
to that really help as well, which is, what will

00:43:12.769 --> 00:43:16.260
you value most in our relationship? And how will

00:43:16.260 --> 00:43:18.679
we measure success? And by the way, you can ask

00:43:18.679 --> 00:43:22.579
those networking related as well. And you always

00:43:22.579 --> 00:43:25.579
appreciate what somebody else's appreciation

00:43:25.579 --> 00:43:28.780
is. Folks go, hang on, what do you mean? I go,

00:43:28.820 --> 00:43:30.800
if a prospective client says, Jeff, why should

00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:33.559
we work with you? I never answer from my perspective.

00:43:34.599 --> 00:43:37.380
Instead, I will say, here's what other clients

00:43:37.380 --> 00:43:40.340
say they value most in a relationship with us.

00:43:40.989 --> 00:43:44.110
And then I share something called an RBAO strategy.

00:43:44.510 --> 00:43:46.889
That's the results, the benefits, the advantages,

00:43:47.030 --> 00:43:49.590
and the outcomes. Those words, Michael, are interchangeable.

00:43:49.789 --> 00:43:52.170
So there's no distinction, but it triggers people

00:43:52.170 --> 00:43:55.170
differently. So I stress to folks, let others

00:43:55.170 --> 00:43:59.150
know what others are experiencing to be the results.

00:44:00.170 --> 00:44:02.590
The benefits, the advantages, and the outcomes

00:44:02.590 --> 00:44:05.869
of working with you, of networking with you.

00:44:06.070 --> 00:44:09.070
And then you pause and you politely ask, how

00:44:09.070 --> 00:44:11.769
do you think those similar outcomes will be of

00:44:11.769 --> 00:44:15.710
value to you? So what you've done is you've told

00:44:15.710 --> 00:44:19.489
the story based upon your experience, not your

00:44:19.489 --> 00:44:23.920
opinion, of somebody else's success. result,

00:44:23.940 --> 00:44:25.920
benefit, advantage, outcome. And then you ask

00:44:25.920 --> 00:44:28.320
somebody, how do you think those types of benefits

00:44:28.320 --> 00:44:31.199
or outcomes will help or be of value to you?

00:44:31.360 --> 00:44:34.280
And now they tell you why they want to network

00:44:34.280 --> 00:44:36.679
with you or why they want to work with you. So

00:44:36.679 --> 00:44:40.579
I will never answer, Jeff, why should we work

00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:44.219
with you from my perspective? Why? Even if I'm

00:44:44.219 --> 00:44:47.579
dead accurate, it doesn't matter. It actually

00:44:47.579 --> 00:44:51.860
reduces my credulity and veracity. I want to

00:44:51.860 --> 00:44:54.909
increase it. So I speak from somebody else's

00:44:54.909 --> 00:44:58.510
perspective, not mine, Michael. That's an avenue

00:44:58.510 --> 00:45:01.929
which I never truly thought of, you know, because

00:45:01.929 --> 00:45:06.030
when I teach networking, I never do that from

00:45:06.030 --> 00:45:08.550
the other people's perspective. Up till now.

00:45:09.070 --> 00:45:12.449
Up till now. My new phrase, by the way, up till

00:45:12.449 --> 00:45:15.989
now. So again, I'm going to have to listen to

00:45:15.989 --> 00:45:18.590
this and write down all my notes because... Me

00:45:18.590 --> 00:45:20.150
too. It sounds like there's some good stuff going

00:45:20.150 --> 00:45:22.500
on here. There's some very good stuff going on

00:45:22.500 --> 00:45:25.199
here. We could probably do this podcast for three

00:45:25.199 --> 00:45:27.440
hours, but I'm going to try to limit the time.

00:45:27.860 --> 00:45:31.199
Can you walk us through one intentional networking

00:45:31.199 --> 00:45:34.900
decision you made that paid off massively in

00:45:34.900 --> 00:45:39.000
terms of business or personal growth? That's

00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:42.780
a really interesting question. I'm going to take

00:45:42.780 --> 00:45:45.420
you back because it really changed the course

00:45:45.420 --> 00:45:48.840
of my life. So I'm going to take you back to

00:45:48.840 --> 00:45:52.869
the year 1985. In the year 1985, my wife and

00:45:52.869 --> 00:45:55.849
I were both 29 years old, and we went to our

00:45:55.849 --> 00:45:58.489
first National Speakers Association convention

00:45:58.489 --> 00:46:03.210
in Washington, D .C. At that convention, we heard

00:46:03.210 --> 00:46:08.510
Chuck Reeves speak. Subsequent to that, I contacted

00:46:08.510 --> 00:46:10.670
Chuck, and I said, the next time that you're

00:46:10.670 --> 00:46:13.369
in Chicago, can I treat you to breakfast or lunch?

00:46:13.610 --> 00:46:17.190
And I assure you, I could not afford to take

00:46:17.190 --> 00:46:20.119
him out to either breakfast or lunch. But I have

00:46:20.119 --> 00:46:23.500
now had a 40 -year relationship with Chuck. When

00:46:23.500 --> 00:46:25.679
I had the good fortune to be inducted into the

00:46:25.679 --> 00:46:28.400
National Speaker Association's Hall of Fame in

00:46:28.400 --> 00:46:31.900
2008 in New York City, Chuck, along with another

00:46:31.900 --> 00:46:34.760
dear friend, Frank Buccaro, they were my introducers.

00:46:35.699 --> 00:46:39.480
Also in 1985 at that convention, I met a woman

00:46:39.480 --> 00:46:42.099
by the name of Laura Hamilton, and she was really

00:46:42.099 --> 00:46:45.519
neat. She was fun, she was smart, and I had no

00:46:45.519 --> 00:46:48.769
clue who she worked for. It turned out she worked

00:46:48.769 --> 00:46:51.250
for a guy by the name of Bill Brooks. Bill Brooks

00:46:51.250 --> 00:46:53.849
was a founder of the Bill Brooks Group in North

00:46:53.849 --> 00:46:58.429
Carolina. And she said, I think I'd like to introduce

00:46:58.429 --> 00:47:00.750
you to Bill Brooks and someone else who I know

00:47:00.750 --> 00:47:02.989
by the name of Ron Willingham. So Bill Brooks

00:47:02.989 --> 00:47:05.369
is one of the foremost sales trainers in the

00:47:05.369 --> 00:47:08.289
world. Ron Willingham as well. And Ron created

00:47:08.289 --> 00:47:11.190
something called The Best Seller. Through that

00:47:11.190 --> 00:47:15.389
meeting of Laura, she introduced me to Ron and

00:47:15.389 --> 00:47:18.820
to Bill. And so I became part of their group

00:47:18.820 --> 00:47:22.139
of speakers, who at that time was doing a program

00:47:22.139 --> 00:47:24.380
called Slim Up and Live All Over the Country

00:47:24.380 --> 00:47:28.380
for the Shackley organization. So through that

00:47:28.380 --> 00:47:31.119
relationship, I then had a relationship with

00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:34.900
Ron Willingham for as long as he was alive. And

00:47:34.900 --> 00:47:37.320
eventually I started to create my stuff instead

00:47:37.320 --> 00:47:40.639
of relying upon Ron. Bill Brooks became really

00:47:40.639 --> 00:47:44.110
one of my very early mentors. And I remember

00:47:44.110 --> 00:47:46.250
when I was just starting this business, my wife

00:47:46.250 --> 00:47:50.710
Cheryl and I went to North Carolina to work with

00:47:50.710 --> 00:47:53.949
Bill, his wife Nancy. I said, Blackman, my office

00:47:53.949 --> 00:47:56.449
is your office. Whatever you need, ask any question,

00:47:56.650 --> 00:48:00.809
any document, any number, I'm here to help you.

00:48:01.409 --> 00:48:04.750
And Bill Brooks, when both he and Ron passed

00:48:04.750 --> 00:48:07.030
away, that was really devastating because both

00:48:07.030 --> 00:48:10.570
of those guys were incredible mentors to me.

00:48:11.119 --> 00:48:14.760
So it's really remarkable what happens when you

00:48:14.760 --> 00:48:16.579
connect with people. And that's an important

00:48:16.579 --> 00:48:20.000
word, connect. And that's why at our website,

00:48:20.119 --> 00:48:24.380
it doesn't say contact. It says connect. Is that

00:48:24.380 --> 00:48:27.019
a euphemism? Yeah. But I think it's a really

00:48:27.019 --> 00:48:30.500
good one. So that's what I stress to clients

00:48:30.500 --> 00:48:32.519
when I work with them or people who I'm speaking

00:48:32.519 --> 00:48:37.039
to in kind of a large differentiated group. I

00:48:37.039 --> 00:48:40.429
go. your website, and I looked at it, or your

00:48:40.429 --> 00:48:42.429
website, and I looked at it, you got two words,

00:48:42.550 --> 00:48:45.429
about us. And you just told the visitor, this

00:48:45.429 --> 00:48:47.690
has got nothing to do with you. It's only about

00:48:47.690 --> 00:48:50.389
us. So we don't have that language about us.

00:48:50.429 --> 00:48:53.050
Why? I think it needs to be about somebody else.

00:48:53.570 --> 00:48:55.630
And I stress that when I speak, Michael, I go,

00:48:55.630 --> 00:48:58.829
today's message is not about me. It's about you.

00:48:59.429 --> 00:49:02.190
So everything that I do today is to help you

00:49:02.190 --> 00:49:08.969
improve your business, improve your career. accelerate

00:49:08.969 --> 00:49:11.550
how you want to do what you do and why you do

00:49:11.550 --> 00:49:14.889
it and at the same time though i encourage everyone

00:49:14.889 --> 00:49:17.309
to challenge others but to also challenge themselves

00:49:17.309 --> 00:49:19.889
and i tell clients this from the beginning of

00:49:19.889 --> 00:49:22.050
my relationships with them i'm not going to appease

00:49:22.050 --> 00:49:24.099
and please you If you simply want someone to

00:49:24.099 --> 00:49:26.280
appease and please, I'm not the right guy. But

00:49:26.280 --> 00:49:28.940
I will challenge you to reconsider and re -examine

00:49:28.940 --> 00:49:31.059
and rethink how you do what you do and why you

00:49:31.059 --> 00:49:33.920
do it. Why? That'll help you generate the best

00:49:33.920 --> 00:49:37.360
result. So I push back. And I push back on CEOs

00:49:37.360 --> 00:49:40.300
of multi -billion dollar organizations. Greatest

00:49:40.300 --> 00:49:42.780
compliment. Greatest compliment I ever got from

00:49:42.780 --> 00:49:45.340
a client. Multi -billion dollar financial organization.

00:49:45.659 --> 00:49:48.440
He said to me, Blackman, what I love about our

00:49:48.440 --> 00:49:51.280
relationship is you never protect your butt.

00:49:51.769 --> 00:49:55.670
And you never kiss mine. Supreme compliment.

00:49:56.690 --> 00:49:59.150
So he knew I would always give it to him straight

00:49:59.150 --> 00:50:01.989
without ever saying, let me give it to you straight.

00:50:02.190 --> 00:50:05.230
Let me be honest, to be honest. And I hate when

00:50:05.230 --> 00:50:08.550
anyone uses that language because at some point

00:50:08.550 --> 00:50:10.329
they're going to fib to me. I don't know when,

00:50:10.369 --> 00:50:12.789
but they'll fib. So if you're honest, you don't

00:50:12.789 --> 00:50:16.730
need to identify it. Just be it. Yeah, he didn't

00:50:16.730 --> 00:50:19.760
want a yes man. No, he didn't want somebody to

00:50:19.760 --> 00:50:21.960
agree with him. He wanted somebody like you,

00:50:22.059 --> 00:50:24.780
somebody you're going to stand your ground. But

00:50:24.780 --> 00:50:26.920
if he's wrong, you're going to tell him he's

00:50:26.920 --> 00:50:31.599
wrong. And he's probably not used to that. Yeah,

00:50:31.980 --> 00:50:35.440
no, he's not. Yeah, but he valued it because

00:50:35.440 --> 00:50:37.579
he couldn't get it internally. People were concerned.

00:50:37.820 --> 00:50:40.519
I don't want to offend him. And my goal wasn't

00:50:40.519 --> 00:50:43.780
to offend him. It was to help him. And he realized

00:50:43.780 --> 00:50:47.039
that that's worth so much. And I can see how

00:50:47.039 --> 00:50:49.519
that was the greatest compliment that you could

00:50:49.519 --> 00:50:53.400
have gotten. It was. Yeah. How do you maintain

00:50:53.400 --> 00:50:58.039
authenticity and generosity in networking without

00:50:58.039 --> 00:51:04.739
becoming everybody's free consultant? Most people

00:51:04.739 --> 00:51:09.599
are really honest, reasonable people, and they

00:51:09.599 --> 00:51:13.690
do not take advantage. So one of the things that

00:51:13.690 --> 00:51:16.349
I have discovered over the decades is many people,

00:51:16.449 --> 00:51:19.050
they're looking for quick solutions. If there

00:51:19.050 --> 00:51:24.210
are any, I don't know of them. So I know of no

00:51:24.210 --> 00:51:28.789
quick solutions. And people will often say to

00:51:28.789 --> 00:51:31.570
me, man, what a gift you have in terms of your

00:51:31.570 --> 00:51:34.710
ability to use language and words. And wow, what

00:51:34.710 --> 00:51:36.989
a gift you were born with. And I go, I don't

00:51:36.989 --> 00:51:39.690
know who you're talking about, but not me. What

00:51:39.690 --> 00:51:43.929
do you mean? Two is not only in the pages of

00:51:43.929 --> 00:51:46.150
Peak Your Profits, but it's also in the pages

00:51:46.150 --> 00:51:49.090
of Bullseye. When I was a little guy, I needed

00:51:49.090 --> 00:51:51.070
speech correction lessons because I couldn't

00:51:51.070 --> 00:51:54.230
pronounce my R's and my L's. So Ms. Northrup,

00:51:54.269 --> 00:51:59.449
who was my first grade teacher, said, you need

00:51:59.449 --> 00:52:02.789
speech correction lessons, Jeff. And I went home

00:52:02.789 --> 00:52:04.750
and I said to my parents, my teacher, Ms. Northrup,

00:52:04.809 --> 00:52:07.050
she's crazy. She claims I need speech correction

00:52:07.050 --> 00:52:11.000
lessons. She is wrong. That little guy worked

00:52:11.000 --> 00:52:13.699
very hard for almost three years, Michael, until

00:52:13.699 --> 00:52:16.159
eventually he could enunciate and articulate

00:52:16.159 --> 00:52:18.860
and communicate. And obviously I'm talking about

00:52:18.860 --> 00:52:22.380
me. So that story is in Peak Your Profits and

00:52:22.380 --> 00:52:24.780
in Bullseye to talk about the significance of

00:52:24.780 --> 00:52:28.599
learning. being persistent and allowing success

00:52:28.599 --> 00:52:31.800
to happen over time and donna northrup there's

00:52:31.800 --> 00:52:34.960
also a separate story about donna in bullseye

00:52:34.960 --> 00:52:37.400
because she became a dear friend i stayed in

00:52:37.400 --> 00:52:41.539
contact with her long after first grade so i

00:52:41.539 --> 00:52:45.300
featured her in two books and i was with her

00:52:45.300 --> 00:52:49.860
just weeks before she passed away and i loved

00:52:49.860 --> 00:52:52.360
her and the title of that chapter in bullseye

00:52:52.360 --> 00:52:55.000
was called My favorite redhead, because she was

00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:58.199
this stunning redhead. She was a stunning redhead

00:52:58.199 --> 00:53:00.380
when I had her as a student. She was in her early

00:53:00.380 --> 00:53:04.219
to mid -20s. And then when she passed away, obviously,

00:53:04.340 --> 00:53:07.099
years ago, she was still a beautiful woman. And

00:53:07.099 --> 00:53:09.360
she became a dear friend. She actually called

00:53:09.360 --> 00:53:11.800
me once, and she said, you're a Cub fan. She

00:53:11.800 --> 00:53:13.739
said, I'm a Cub fan. She said, remember Mrs.

00:53:13.780 --> 00:53:16.139
Johnson? And I go, sure. She was another first

00:53:16.139 --> 00:53:19.119
grade teacher. She's got season tickets to the

00:53:19.119 --> 00:53:22.340
Cubs game. how'd you like to go to a Cubs game

00:53:22.340 --> 00:53:26.280
with your first grade teacher? And we did. She

00:53:26.280 --> 00:53:28.940
said, I'll pick you up in a limo. We'll ride

00:53:28.940 --> 00:53:32.079
down together. We will sit behind the opposition's

00:53:32.079 --> 00:53:34.519
dugout in the first row. When the game's over,

00:53:34.579 --> 00:53:37.460
we'll ride home in a limo together as well. And

00:53:37.460 --> 00:53:39.000
we did that. It was one of the most memorable

00:53:39.000 --> 00:53:42.880
days of my life. And I love my Cubbies, which

00:53:42.880 --> 00:53:47.500
is why Ernie Banks is over my shoulder. And spending

00:53:47.500 --> 00:53:49.639
the afternoon with Donna Northrup at Wrigley

00:53:49.639 --> 00:53:52.630
Field, watching my beloved Cubbies, and we got

00:53:52.630 --> 00:53:54.750
destroyed that day. I remember Roger Clemens

00:53:54.750 --> 00:53:57.710
was pitching for the Astros. We did not win,

00:53:57.889 --> 00:54:00.090
but I was with Donna Northrup, my first grade

00:54:00.090 --> 00:54:03.090
teacher. Yeah, and that's all that matters. That's

00:54:03.090 --> 00:54:04.949
all that matters. The score of the game really

00:54:04.949 --> 00:54:07.469
didn't matter. It's the whole feeling of everything.

00:54:07.670 --> 00:54:09.670
That's great. It really is. That's another important

00:54:09.670 --> 00:54:11.710
point, though. Don't keep score. What I mean

00:54:11.710 --> 00:54:16.849
is, I helped you. Time to help me. Don't keep

00:54:16.849 --> 00:54:19.769
score. Just help. Who cares if there's something

00:54:19.769 --> 00:54:22.429
coming back in your direction? Absolutely. It

00:54:22.429 --> 00:54:25.409
must help. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.

00:54:25.570 --> 00:54:29.210
I couldn't agree more. For someone who's introverted

00:54:29.210 --> 00:54:32.750
or analytical, what's your advice for building

00:54:32.750 --> 00:54:35.650
powerful connections without feeling like they

00:54:35.650 --> 00:54:39.269
have to perform? What's so interesting about

00:54:39.269 --> 00:54:41.449
that is I do a lot of work and have done a lot

00:54:41.449 --> 00:54:44.670
of work over the decades with people who are

00:54:44.670 --> 00:54:50.019
very logical. They're introverted. They're introspective.

00:54:50.119 --> 00:54:53.219
They're not ebullient. They are not really animated,

00:54:53.480 --> 00:54:57.260
just not who they are. So they need to embrace

00:54:57.260 --> 00:55:01.880
a process and a system and a methodology. So

00:55:01.880 --> 00:55:04.059
when I'm teaching them, for example, to have

00:55:04.059 --> 00:55:06.440
business growth skills or networking skills,

00:55:06.619 --> 00:55:09.639
I can share with them, here's a process, here's

00:55:09.639 --> 00:55:13.679
a system, here's a methodology. That means they

00:55:13.679 --> 00:55:17.289
will now listen. When they realize it's not that

00:55:17.289 --> 00:55:20.409
good old network or just slapping somebody on

00:55:20.409 --> 00:55:25.150
the back and they go, oh, so there's a sequence.

00:55:26.590 --> 00:55:31.510
There's a process that registers. And if it doesn't

00:55:31.510 --> 00:55:34.489
register, they won't believe. But once they believe,

00:55:34.610 --> 00:55:37.750
now they have a willingness to listen. So I make

00:55:37.750 --> 00:55:40.070
sure they understand this is no different than

00:55:40.070 --> 00:55:42.250
anything else that you've ever learned being

00:55:42.250 --> 00:55:45.000
an engineer. Anything else that you've ever learned?

00:55:45.039 --> 00:55:48.119
And so help me, you hear, this ain't rocket science.

00:55:48.420 --> 00:55:50.719
Years ago, I literally worked with a client.

00:55:51.059 --> 00:55:54.860
Everybody was a rocket scientist. They were all

00:55:54.860 --> 00:55:59.059
rocket scientists. So I had to focus on the logic,

00:55:59.139 --> 00:56:02.599
the process, the system, the methodology, the

00:56:02.599 --> 00:56:06.300
chronology as to why this made sense. And they

00:56:06.300 --> 00:56:10.960
went, okay, now we're in. They had to get past

00:56:10.960 --> 00:56:14.940
that it was something. else. They had to realize,

00:56:15.079 --> 00:56:19.320
no, this is art, but it's also science. And then

00:56:19.320 --> 00:56:22.760
they bought it. So that really goes to learning

00:56:22.760 --> 00:56:27.360
and application, trial, error, and a willingness

00:56:27.360 --> 00:56:30.639
to experiment. That's really what's important.

00:56:30.840 --> 00:56:32.880
You and I together don't have enough time to

00:56:32.880 --> 00:56:34.780
focus on the things that we've tried that have

00:56:34.780 --> 00:56:36.900
failed, but we at least have the willingness

00:56:36.900 --> 00:56:40.860
to try. That's it. That's it. That's why I went

00:56:40.860 --> 00:56:43.289
to the School of Hard Knocks. I had to do everything

00:56:43.289 --> 00:56:46.849
wrong. You and I are both graduates. Yes. Yes.

00:56:46.889 --> 00:56:50.070
Graduate of hard knocks. Okay. Listen, let's

00:56:50.070 --> 00:56:54.090
bring this podcast full circle. If you had to

00:56:54.090 --> 00:56:58.829
design a networking power hour, 60 minutes a

00:56:58.829 --> 00:57:01.570
week to move the needle, what would you include?

00:57:03.849 --> 00:57:07.989
What's the format for this power hour? It's.

00:57:08.380 --> 00:57:11.760
from soup to nuts. It's networking. That's your

00:57:11.760 --> 00:57:18.340
first thought. But if they were to go to a networking

00:57:18.340 --> 00:57:25.340
event or meeting a prospective prospect, okay,

00:57:25.420 --> 00:57:30.739
what could they do in an hour each day to help

00:57:30.739 --> 00:57:35.039
them network? So here's the good news. It might

00:57:35.039 --> 00:57:37.780
not take an hour. An hour is a long time. And

00:57:37.780 --> 00:57:40.900
I often will say to folks, most people don't

00:57:40.900 --> 00:57:43.800
obviously plan to fail, but they do fail to plan.

00:57:44.460 --> 00:57:49.079
And you with 15 minutes of strategic focus can

00:57:49.079 --> 00:57:53.619
probably accomplish a whole bunch. So an hour

00:57:53.619 --> 00:57:56.360
maybe might not be necessary, but if you go,

00:57:56.440 --> 00:57:59.559
okay, so what are the things that I need to do

00:57:59.559 --> 00:58:02.980
right now in terms of people who I think I can

00:58:02.980 --> 00:58:05.929
potentially help? How am I going to reach out?

00:58:06.030 --> 00:58:07.789
One of the things that we teach is referrals

00:58:07.789 --> 00:58:10.349
as an example. And most people don't rely upon

00:58:10.349 --> 00:58:13.070
referrals or introductions. But once we show

00:58:13.070 --> 00:58:15.050
them, again, process, system, and methodology,

00:58:15.389 --> 00:58:17.389
which is what we did with the folks at BankOne.

00:58:17.809 --> 00:58:20.789
Entire story is at the website. BankOne, we helped

00:58:20.789 --> 00:58:26.320
generate. 230 million dollars in new loan business

00:58:26.320 --> 00:58:30.400
in 23 months with zero acquisition cost they

00:58:30.400 --> 00:58:33.780
had no referrals culture drove me nuts and the

00:58:33.780 --> 00:58:35.980
good news was they had me on long -term retainer

00:58:35.980 --> 00:58:38.019
took me three years until the president said

00:58:38.019 --> 00:58:41.059
will you stop bugging me if i let you do this

00:58:41.059 --> 00:58:43.280
referrals thing and i went oh yeah i'll stop

00:58:43.280 --> 00:58:47.800
bugging you yeah so we did a pilot and the pilot

00:58:47.800 --> 00:58:50.559
was so successful he said let's roll the country

00:58:50.559 --> 00:58:55.900
which we did And we generated $230 million in

00:58:55.900 --> 00:58:59.400
new business, all from referrals in the span

00:58:59.400 --> 00:59:02.599
of 23 months. Then they sold at a premium the

00:59:02.599 --> 00:59:04.519
entire portfolio to Household International.

00:59:05.360 --> 00:59:08.280
So we taught them, here's something that you

00:59:08.280 --> 00:59:09.960
can do. It doesn't take a lot of time during

00:59:09.960 --> 00:59:12.199
the course of a day. And the same thing, you

00:59:12.199 --> 00:59:15.460
probably don't need to devote an hour. You can

00:59:15.460 --> 00:59:17.780
probably devote a really focused 15 minutes.

00:59:18.000 --> 00:59:20.739
Okay, who would I like to meet? Who can I introduce?

00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:24.099
What can I do that will really help somebody

00:59:24.099 --> 00:59:26.760
else who I know? What connections can I make?

00:59:27.079 --> 00:59:30.159
What's an industry that I like to focus on? What's

00:59:30.159 --> 00:59:32.139
the best way to meet those people? So if you

00:59:32.139 --> 00:59:34.019
take the time to, and most people don't because

00:59:34.019 --> 00:59:35.739
they're too busy running off to the next opportunity.

00:59:36.099 --> 00:59:39.739
And I tell folks, do not tell me what you know.

00:59:40.119 --> 00:59:43.320
Tell me what you will do with what you know.

00:59:44.420 --> 00:59:49.050
And that's what really is important. Often you

00:59:49.050 --> 00:59:51.610
and I both know that sometimes you go, yeah,

00:59:51.670 --> 00:59:53.949
I just can't think of anything now. Let me share

00:59:53.949 --> 00:59:56.170
with you as we get ready to wrap up something

00:59:56.170 --> 00:59:59.170
that John Pushik said. Who's John Pushik? So

00:59:59.170 --> 01:00:02.289
John is a terrific guy, became a client, president

01:00:02.289 --> 01:00:04.989
of a company called Prager Moving and Storage

01:00:04.989 --> 01:00:07.429
here in the Chicagoland area. If you need to

01:00:07.429 --> 01:00:10.030
move your house, they can help you. If you need

01:00:10.030 --> 01:00:12.429
to move your office, they can help you. When

01:00:12.429 --> 01:00:14.429
mom and dad were alive and they moved back in

01:00:14.429 --> 01:00:18.010
2008, Prager took care of the move because they're

01:00:18.010 --> 01:00:20.929
so good at what they do. So John is their leader,

01:00:21.070 --> 01:00:24.170
but he's got great biz dev skills. So here's

01:00:24.170 --> 01:00:26.670
what John says, and everybody can use this line.

01:00:26.789 --> 01:00:28.829
It doesn't matter what your business is. If someone

01:00:28.829 --> 01:00:31.250
says, John heard great things about Prager, but

01:00:31.250 --> 01:00:34.110
we're not moving the office. We're actually not

01:00:34.110 --> 01:00:37.110
moving the house. No need for your services.

01:00:37.449 --> 01:00:39.389
He doesn't go into, let me tell you what makes

01:00:39.389 --> 01:00:44.010
us great. So that he simply says, that's okay.

01:00:45.079 --> 01:00:49.659
Better that you know us and not need us than

01:00:49.659 --> 01:00:54.280
need us and not know us. How good is that, Michael?

01:00:54.940 --> 01:00:58.360
Perfect. It is. It's perfect. And when I say

01:00:58.360 --> 01:01:00.760
that in a program, folks go, slow down, say that

01:01:00.760 --> 01:01:05.780
again. Better that you know us and not need us

01:01:05.780 --> 01:01:09.340
than need us and not know us. And it's brilliant

01:01:09.340 --> 01:01:12.980
because it's so simple. What does it do? It first

01:01:12.980 --> 01:01:16.719
captures mind share. And you can't capture wallet

01:01:16.719 --> 01:01:22.289
share unless you first capture mind share. Jeff,

01:01:22.550 --> 01:01:26.269
that's great. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful

01:01:26.269 --> 01:01:30.130
it was to have you on as a guest to my podcast.

01:01:30.610 --> 01:01:33.510
If somebody wanted to get hold of you, either

01:01:33.510 --> 01:01:36.630
to ask you a question, ask you about coaching

01:01:36.630 --> 01:01:39.250
or anything else like that, what's the best way

01:01:39.250 --> 01:01:42.110
for them to get hold of you? So that's easy.

01:01:42.230 --> 01:01:44.449
First, let me encourage folks, take advantage

01:01:44.449 --> 01:01:47.809
of the Foreman Rocks Sweet 16 offer. So send

01:01:47.809 --> 01:01:51.230
that email to Cheryl, S -H -E -R -Y -L, at jeffblackman

01:01:51.230 --> 01:01:54.869
.com, subject Foreman Rocks Sweet 16, and then

01:01:54.869 --> 01:01:57.489
Cheryl will send you these 16 questions. If you

01:01:57.489 --> 01:01:59.969
want to shoot me an email, you're welcome to.

01:02:00.070 --> 01:02:06.090
Simply send an email to jb at jeffblackman .com.

01:02:06.150 --> 01:02:11.579
So my initials, jb at jeff. blackman .com. If

01:02:11.579 --> 01:02:13.739
you go to our website, you will also see a whole

01:02:13.739 --> 01:02:16.599
bunch of free goodies. So there are book excerpts,

01:02:16.639 --> 01:02:19.219
there are audio excerpts, a whole bunch of video

01:02:19.219 --> 01:02:22.500
vignettes that you can take advantage of as well.

01:02:22.860 --> 01:02:25.219
So shoot me an email if you've got a problem,

01:02:25.360 --> 01:02:26.940
you've got an opportunity, you've got an issue

01:02:26.940 --> 01:02:29.699
or a challenge. I'm here to be able to help and

01:02:29.699 --> 01:02:32.639
it is truly my pleasure to be able to help. Just

01:02:32.639 --> 01:02:35.139
let me know, hey, heard you with Michael and

01:02:35.139 --> 01:02:37.440
so that way I know immediately, ah, this is how

01:02:37.440 --> 01:02:40.780
we found each other. Great. Great. Jeff, thank

01:02:40.780 --> 01:02:43.559
you so much for coming on the podcast, and I

01:02:43.559 --> 01:02:46.159
look forward to talking to you soon. My pleasure.

01:02:46.219 --> 01:02:57.480
Thank you, Michael. Well, hold on, folks. Don't

01:02:57.480 --> 01:03:00.920
go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. David

01:03:00.920 --> 01:03:04.389
Neal, co -founder, Revved Up Kids. Revved Up

01:03:04.389 --> 01:03:07.210
Kids is on a mission to protect children and

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teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.

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They provide prevention training programs for

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children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go

01:03:18.190 --> 01:03:22.550
to revvedupkids .org. Henry Kaplan, Century 21.

01:03:23.070 --> 01:03:25.309
When it comes to making the biggest financial

01:03:25.309 --> 01:03:28.269
decision of your life, leave it in the hands

01:03:28.269 --> 01:03:31.590
of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry

01:03:31.590 --> 01:03:34.750
is a global real estate agent with Century 21,

01:03:34.949 --> 01:03:38.929
celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter

01:03:38.929 --> 01:03:41.630
where you're moving, Henry has the right connections

01:03:41.630 --> 01:03:48.610
for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888.

01:03:49.349 --> 01:03:52.329
A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such...

01:03:52.730 --> 01:03:56.050
insights today. And of course, a big shout out

01:03:56.050 --> 01:03:59.349
to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in

01:03:59.349 --> 01:04:02.250
and spending your time with us. If you're interested

01:04:02.250 --> 01:04:05.610
in my digital courses, being coached or having

01:04:05.610 --> 01:04:08.730
me come and talk to your company, just go to

01:04:08.730 --> 01:04:11.949
Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,

01:04:12.289 --> 01:04:15.590
networking isn't about being perfect. It's about

01:04:15.590 --> 01:04:18.530
being present. So take what you've learned today,

01:04:18.710 --> 01:04:21.329
get out there and make some meaningful connections.

01:04:22.059 --> 01:04:24.980
If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't

01:04:24.980 --> 01:04:28.300
forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share

01:04:28.300 --> 01:04:30.519
it with someone who could use a little networking

01:04:30.519 --> 01:04:33.519
inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going.

01:04:33.699 --> 01:04:38.219
You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube,

01:04:38.400 --> 01:04:43.039
or my website, foreman .com slash podcasts.