Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Amber Gaige and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Amber Gaige and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

• 0:17
  Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
• 0:20
  Connections, the show where real conversations
• 0:23
  turn into real results. I'm Michael Foreman,
• 0:27
  and today we're stepping into a fast -moving
• 0:29
  space where AI meets digital marketing, entrepreneurship
• 0:34
  meets creativity, and relationships still sit
• 0:39
  at the center of it all. My guest today lives
• 0:42
  in that world every day. helping business owners
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  grow with smart tech while keeping their conversations
• 0:49
  human. We're talking about how connections are
• 0:52
  built in a digital age, how entrepreneurs stay
• 0:58
  visible without losing their voice, and why trust
• 1:01
  still beats the tool in every box. And yes, we're
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  even bringing in a special co -star, her dog,
• 1:10
  Echo Whiskey. Because sometimes the best lessons
• 1:14
  and connections come on four legs. If you care
• 1:17
  about growth, real relationships, and staying
• 1:20
  ahead without losing what makes you, you're in
• 1:23
  the right place. I'd like to welcome to the podcast,
• 1:27
  Amber. I am so glad that you made it here for
• 1:31
  the podcast. And I would like you just to introduce
• 1:34
  yourself and give us a little background of how
• 1:37
  you got where you are today. Hello, Michael.
• 1:40
  I'm so privileged to be your guest today. I really
• 1:43
  love the work that you're doing and I appreciate
• 1:45
  the plug for my precious Roddy. He's the best
• 1:48
  doggie in the whole wide world. So I'm a third
• 1:52
  generation entrepreneur and I'm a plumber's daughter.
• 1:56
  And so I grew up in the blue collar world and
• 1:58
  in the blue collar trade. So much so that in
• 2:01
  the days of Nextel, two -way radios and maps
• 2:04
  goes, we were dispatching trucks before it was
• 2:07
  cool. I'll say that. And that is what instilled
• 2:11
  the work ethic for me to go out on my own. That
• 2:15
  is what taught me that marketing cannot be ethereal.
• 2:18
  It must be practical. And that is what inspired
• 2:22
  me to pursue the very best solutions in technology
• 2:25
  and AI for the benefit of our agency clients
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  today. That's great. I'm really looking forward
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  to this podcast because everybody uses AI to
• 2:38
  a certain extent. I use AI as a tool. Just one
• 2:42
  of my many tools that I have to go out and network
• 2:45
  and communicate. So I'm really looking forward
• 2:48
  to everything that we're going to talk about.
• 2:50
  You work at the crossroads of AI marketing and
• 2:54
  business ownership. How has technology changed
• 2:58
  the way real relationships are built today? Technology
• 3:04
  is at the heart of almost every conversation
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  that you have at business networking events.
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  Technology rules our lives, as we found out from
• 3:12
  the recent Verizon outage where all of our cell
• 3:14
  phones on the Verizon platform did not work for
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  24 hours. Technology is the driving force and
• 3:20
  differentiator between businesses today. And
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  so I personally believe that technology being
• 3:27
  that great differentiator is also the great unifier,
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  because when you work with people who are forward
• 3:35
  thinking, passionate about business growth and
• 3:37
  risk takers, then they are usually early adopters
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  of technology as well. But the speed of light
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  that technology is advancing is absolutely new
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  to those of us that grew up. Prior to the internet
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  and cell phones, am I allowed to say that and
• 3:54
  share my age? Facts are facts. Go ahead. Yeah,
• 3:57
  yeah. So I just think we have to embrace or get
• 4:01
  left behind. Yeah, I use the pandemic as a line
• 4:05
  in the sand. Before the pandemic, networking
• 4:10
  was really transactional. I have a widget, you
• 4:13
  have $3. You give me $3, I'll give you the widget
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  and case closed, customer moves on. Ever since
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  the pandemic, the relationship has become more
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  important. And I think AI has contributed to
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  making it easier to keep those relationships
• 4:32
  going. So I firmly believe in what you're talking
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  about. Many people use... Oh, go ahead. I was
• 4:41
  just going to say, I also believe that COVID
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  and the pandemic taught us that... technology
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  can empower and strengthen relationships in a
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  way that we really took for granted previously.
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  Absolutely. I'm here talking to you. You're in
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  Texas. I'm in Georgia. And I'm talking to you
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  like you're sitting right next to me. So that
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  is just one platform with the AI that we can
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  turn to. And what we're trying to do, I'm trying
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  to. Take everybody out of their houses, out of
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  their homes, put them face to face with people,
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  get them back to nurturing those relationships
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  that it really counts, really means. But I digress.
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  I don't want to go there. Okay. Many people use
• 5:29
  digital tools to reach more people. Few use them
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  to connect better. What separates the two? I
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  believe what separates the two is the way that
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  you use digital tools. You can reach more people
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  and still not make connection. You can reach
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  more people and still not make a sale, and especially
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  in the business world. So the use of the digital
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  tools in line with the offerings and services
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  of a company is what becomes of paramount importance
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  when you're talking about digital tools and marketing
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  for return on your investment. It's not enough
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  just to treat ChatGPT like Google. That's kids
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  play. My nine -year -old can do that. What you
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  have to understand is that with digital tools,
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  AI can be utilized to develop your audience and
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  prepare them for a sale before they're even aware
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  of your brand. Yes, yes. Very true. Very true.
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  Okay. When entrepreneurs rely too much, on automation,
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  what usually gets lost and how can they bring
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  it back? I think that's a great question because
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  when entrepreneurs rely too much on digital tools
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  and they lose sight of their personal brand and
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  authenticity, then they become, I'm going to
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  say they become just another brand, just another
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  part of the buzz, just another part of the noise.
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  And it's important to understand that the one
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  thing that technology will never replace is the
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  critical thinking capability of people and the
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  fact that people do people with those that they
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  know and trust. And so as an entrepreneur, you
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  have to maintain this fine balance of utilizing
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  technology to empower your sales. and your marketing
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  while still maintaining the personal branding
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  that keeps you local, powerful, and approachable.
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  Absolutely. And the word authenticity gets thrown
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  around a little bit too much, right? Everybody
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  wants to become that authentic self. But the
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  true thing I believe that separates us from AI,
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  that's emotion. And emotion is the main cog that
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  holds you together and makes you that authentic
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  self. AI can tell you what you are, what you
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  do, and actually reproduce you and your voice
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  and everything else. It can't yet, anyway, bring
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  in that emotion. And that emotion drives a lot
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  of sales, right? And the positioning and the
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  nuances behind branding. is what will convey
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  emotions and evoke emotions and opinions in potential
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  clients or existing clients. So knowing how to
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  pick your colors, establish your brand voice,
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  put them into play of your tech -based platforms
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  in a way that is consistent, clear, and evocative
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  is, again, what creates a better opportunity
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  for success. Absolutely. And when you look at
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  the commercials that are being produced now,
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  it's those commercials that create those emotional
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  draw. My wife can't watch a dog food commercial
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  without crying. She just YouTube. So it's that
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  kind of emotion that AI can't bring in. Not yet,
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  anyway, but they can't bring in. So that's really
• 9:13
  a big difference. You've built connections in
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  fast moving spaces. What habits help relationships
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  last when everything else keeps changing? I think
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  we touched on this a little bit with the emotions.
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  I think people are not going to care about you
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  until they know that you care about them. Everyone
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  wears a silent sign around their neck that says,
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  make me feel special. So I think the habits that
• 9:39
  we develop are intentionality, frequency of communication.
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  Heartfelt touches and messages. I still handwrite
• 9:46
  notes every single week in my business to clients
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  and to connections and the stack of business
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  cards that I keep on my desk of people. When
• 9:54
  I go to events, I'm going to write them a handwritten
• 9:56
  card. I'm not going to send them a LinkedIn introduction.
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  Usually I'll do both. So I think the habits of
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  maintaining those opportunities to out serve
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  one another are what really helped to establish
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  and maintain those meaningful. connections i'm
• 10:12
  going to give away advice all day long i'm always
• 10:15
  going to try and bring value to a conversation
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  i'm going to lift people up it's those kinds
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  of opportunities to give back into your networking
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  community that position your reputation as a
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  giver and not just a one -sided transaction you
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  hit on so many things that are So correct that
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  I can't begin to tell you how much I am right
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  behind you, right? Between giving the thank you
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  notes, between the giving. When you go to a networking
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  event, you're going with a servant's heart. You're
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  going to give and not receive. Bob Berg, who's
• 10:55
  a famous author and speaker and everything else.
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  He does that. He's been for 25 years. He's been
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  talking, going on stages, saying that you have
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  to give first before you receive. Be a connector.
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  And he's made the whole career of this. And it
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  was really nice. I had him on a podcast a few
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  weeks ago, and he was just sensational. But it's
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  true. And everything you're doing. I teach, I
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  coach, I mentor, and I teach everything that
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  you just said. So I'm just so happy with your
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  answer. We knew we had alignment prior to the
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  podcast, but birds of a feather flock together.
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  Absolutely. Absolutely. What's one moment where
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  a genuine connection mattered more than any campaign
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  system or strategy? Oh, goodness. It's hard to
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  pick just one because I think genuine connection
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  is what keeps us all in business if you look
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  at it. I'm going to give an example of my friend
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  who is now in political office. When I was a
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  very young mother, I took my son to a chiropractor's
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  office because he was born without the ability
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  to turn his neck to one side. And because of
• 12:14
  that, we had some health concerns for my son.
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  And the precious woman behind the counter who
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  was the receptionist was beyond compassionate
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  and helpful. Anytime that he spit up, anytime
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  I was running late, anytime we needed to book
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  an appointment, she knew my name, my son's name,
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  my insurance information, and the intentionality
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  of her service was unparalleled. Fast forward,
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  my son is now nine years old. And yesterday,
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  I got a phone call from this same person who
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  said, Amber, I don't know if you remember me
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  or not, but I am running for reelection. And
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  I have found myself in need of a messaging strategist.
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  And when I looked up on ChatGPT, the top strategic
• 13:02
  experts in our city, your name came up. And I
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  know you probably don't remember me, but would
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  you be willing to take on my account? And the
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  fact that we had formed a connection nine years
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  prior brought me business yesterday with someone
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  who I hope to serve throughout her political
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  career. So you never know when it's going to
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  come back around, whether or not it's a big ticket
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  item or not. My name awareness and her reputation
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  is what brought the business opportunity together.
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  Absolutely. And I can't. put enough behind what
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  you just said. I can't drive it home enough because
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  the little things you do, when I tell all my
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  students, my clients, everybody, I say, you know
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  what, give a little bit more, give a little patience,
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  give a little information, give whatever you
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  can. If they want from what you're trying to
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  sell, they're going to buy. Okay. Or if they
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  want more information. But it doesn't take very
• 14:08
  much for you to give that information to them,
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  right? If one of my clients was interested in
• 14:16
  a company, I say contact them on LinkedIn. Contact
• 14:20
  the person that you want to contact and ask him,
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  say, look, can I call you for 15 minutes? I want
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  to pick your brain. They'll be more than happy
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  to give you everything. Plus, it's an amazing
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  thing. And if more people thought the way you
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  and I feel, I think the world would be a much
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  better place. Oh, we'd certainly have fewer confrontations,
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  wouldn't we? If we could just stop and take some
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  of the hyper -emotionalism out of it and realize
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  we're just humans trying to find common ground.
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  Just trying to get along. That's exactly what
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  we're trying to do. Yeah, while using technology,
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  right? To do it better and faster. While using
• 15:00
  technology. Yes, yes. Should business owners
• 15:04
  use AI to support conversations without turning
• 15:08
  them into copy and paste interactions? This is
• 15:13
  the temptation when you utilize certain plugins
• 15:15
  and automations is that it feels robotic. So
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  I believe, and we coach our clients to use technology
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  for automation, for streamlining, but to program
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  the technology to be personalized. So it doesn't
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  take that much more time for you to personalize
• 15:35
  your responses by putting someone's first name
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  in there. Michael, thanks for reaching out. How
• 15:40
  can we be of service to you? Instead of you've
• 15:42
  reached far beyond marketing, what's your marketing
• 15:45
  problem? So you personalize it. You customize
• 15:49
  your responses. You offer things earlier in the
• 15:53
  conversation that will solve the most common
• 15:56
  problems that your audience faces. You are warming
• 16:00
  up an audience with educating them about how
• 16:05
  you make their life better. But you duplicate
• 16:07
  your efforts. through automations and platforms
• 16:11
  that will take you further faster. So again,
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  I run a very lean, mean marketing machine with
• 16:18
  my team and we serve a lot more clients than
• 16:21
  we would be able to if we didn't have plugins,
• 16:25
  automations, and things like that, that tech
• 16:28
  powers. It's so true. And companies now are doing
• 16:35
  more with less and they're actually more efficient.
• 16:39
  with the less than having more people. That's
• 16:43
  creating an atmosphere where people like you
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  and I, whether we have a two, three, four, even
• 16:49
  five person company, we make the assumption or
• 16:53
  have the people look at us and say, oh, wait,
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  you're ahead of a bigger company. You're 10 people,
• 16:59
  15 people. And I'm like, oh, yeah, sure, sure.
• 17:02
  Meanwhile, it's me and three other people. But
• 17:04
  that's how it all works. But it's to make you.
• 17:08
  better. It's not to replace anything that you're
• 17:11
  saying or doing, but just to make it better.
• 17:14
  And you're right, the personalization of it,
• 17:17
  just that little bit, that little touch of Amber,
• 17:20
  this is Michael, and yada, yada, yada, just to
• 17:23
  make it personal. A great example of this, Michael,
• 17:26
  is I recently met the incomparable, brilliant,
• 17:31
  beautiful Vera Stewart. And Vera is based in
• 17:35
  Augusta, Georgia, and she is the premier caterer
• 17:38
  for the Masters Tournament. And Vera has had
• 17:41
  her creations in Goldman Sachs and in Neiman's,
• 17:46
  and she had three SKUs in Costco. She started
• 17:48
  out in Augusta, Georgia, as a home economics
• 17:51
  teacher, and she has built a 44 -year career
• 17:55
  on culinary arts, hospitality, and excellence.
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  And I will tell you that her business empire
• 18:04
  is so impressive. But in the course of the conversation
• 18:09
  with Vera while she was signing my cookbooks,
• 18:11
  she continued to impress upon me and the audience
• 18:16
  at the importance of customer service, personality
• 18:20
  profiling your employees, never compromising
• 18:24
  on quality, no matter what it is that you're
• 18:26
  doing. Have you ever read the book, The Raving
• 18:30
  Fan? Oh, one of my favorites. Okay. Because I
• 18:35
  used to be in the mortgage industry and I must
• 18:38
  have bought 25 of those books. And I used to
• 18:41
  hand them to all my realtors whenever they're
• 18:44
  having a problem or as a small gift. It's out
• 18:47
  of print already, but I still have five left.
• 18:50
  And I just, it's a quick read and it just teaches
• 18:54
  you the basics of customer service. 100%. Raving
• 18:58
  Fans, The One Minute Manager. Yep, absolutely.
• 19:03
  I have all my shelf. I have all my shelf. Okay.
• 19:07
  Okay. In digital marketing, attention is easy
• 19:11
  to get and hard to keep. What makes someone worth
• 19:15
  staying connected? What makes someone worth staying
• 19:20
  connected to after the first interaction? You
• 19:24
  should always stay connected. It's a mutual decision.
• 19:28
  So if that person elects out of your communication,
• 19:31
  you're not going to force them to communicate
• 19:33
  with you. But I believe that when you continuously
• 19:37
  reach out and you continuously provide value,
• 19:41
  people intrinsically want to stay connected.
• 19:43
  So when you're looking at things like digital
• 19:46
  marketing, whether you're running ads on Facebook
• 19:49
  or YouTube, or you're establishing an email campaign,
• 19:53
  or you are talking on a chat bot. The primary
• 19:57
  reason to stay connected is brand awareness and
• 20:01
  opportunity so that you are in a prime position
• 20:04
  to be remembered when that person is ready to
• 20:06
  buy. And that equates to frequency overreach.
• 20:10
  So over communicating both in person and in digital
• 20:15
  marketing is hugely important. What would you
• 20:19
  say to somebody who has a huge LinkedIn following?
• 20:24
  I have 10 ,000 people that I'm connected to.
• 20:27
  How big would you say I should keep my circle,
• 20:30
  my sphere of influence, so that I can keep up
• 20:35
  on those interactions? Especially in light of
• 20:39
  today's conversation, I would say there's no
• 20:41
  reason to shrink your circle. Just employ some
• 20:45
  technology to help you stay in front of all of
• 20:47
  them. I don't think you have to decrease. I don't
• 20:49
  think that just because you're reaching the masses,
• 20:51
  you have to decrease the quality. of your communication.
• 20:55
  That's the basis of technology and AI. So I tell
• 21:00
  my clients all the time, the wider the net you
• 21:03
  cast, the more opportunities you bring in. But
• 21:07
  the more narrowed you are in your approach, the
• 21:11
  faster you are to bring someone around to doing
• 21:15
  business with you because you have highly vetted
• 21:17
  them. So is it a numbers game or is it a quality
• 21:21
  game? Frequency over reach, quality over quantity.
• 21:25
  These are the consistent conversations that keep
• 21:27
  marketing companies in business because every
• 21:30
  client has a different desire. Our job is to
• 21:33
  create the right mix to generate the success
• 21:35
  definition that the client has. Yes, I could
• 21:40
  agree. A thousand percent, I agree. Okay, entrepreneurship
• 21:44
  can feel lonely. How has networking shaped your
• 21:51
  growth when things felt uncertain? Oh, when did
• 21:56
  things feel uncertain as an entrepreneur, Michael?
• 22:00
  Absolutely. We're the last to get paid and the
• 22:03
  first to hear about the problem. God bless all
• 22:05
  entrepreneurs everywhere. I think networking
• 22:08
  is what brings entrepreneurs solitude and friendships.
• 22:12
  And I think that there is networking, again,
• 22:16
  for the sake of business transaction. And then
• 22:19
  there was networking for the sake of connection.
• 22:21
  I am incredibly picky about where I spend my
• 22:25
  time networking. I am not a serial networker.
• 22:28
  I can't be. I'm a mother and I'm a business owner
• 22:30
  and I'm a rotting owner. So I don't have to be
• 22:33
  home petting my dog then out until midnight.
• 22:35
  I guess it's boring in that way. But I think
• 22:38
  that networking with like -minded professionals.
• 22:41
  whether it's an industry group or a shared clientele
• 22:45
  group, allows entrepreneurs to realize that they
• 22:49
  are not alone. I was at a wine bar yesterday,
• 22:51
  I'll give you an example, with a fellow female
• 22:53
  business owner who has also been in business
• 22:55
  for over 10 years. And we were just sitting at
• 22:58
  the table before our Chamber of Commerce event,
• 23:00
  and she said, I am so tired of reinventing myself.
• 23:04
  For 10 years, I've been reinventing my business
• 23:07
  and reinventing myself. And my comment to her
• 23:11
  was, when you stop reinventing yourself, you
• 23:14
  might as well close your doors because you are
• 23:17
  always going to be reinventing an offer, a strategy,
• 23:21
  a product or a service. And that is what entrepreneurship
• 23:26
  is about. It's about lifting each other up, sharing
• 23:29
  common concerns, finding solutions together and
• 23:33
  serving one another. So I believe that entrepreneurship
• 23:36
  requires. a huge community somehow of people
• 23:42
  that are going to lift that entrepreneur up and
• 23:45
  keep them encouraged. If it's a beat down, entrepreneurship
• 23:48
  is not for the faint of heart. Absolutely. I
• 23:52
  actually, I run a networking group, a weekly
• 23:55
  networking group from 5 .30 to 7 o 'clock at
• 24:00
  night. And between 17 and 20 businesses come
• 24:04
  together. And we talk about, we do networking
• 24:07
  and everything else. But about the last 15 minutes
• 24:10
  or so, I say, okay, what frustrates you the most?
• 24:15
  And then what excites you the most? Every week
• 24:18
  is different, of course. It's getting through
• 24:21
  certain problems. There are 17 business minds
• 24:25
  in that room. So if you have a problem, who better
• 24:31
  to answer those problems than other... business
• 24:34
  owners like yourself. And that's what keeps me
• 24:37
  going. We have a great time. We have a great
• 24:39
  time. Phenomenal. Phenomenal. Let's talk Echo
• 24:43
  Whiskey for a moment. What has your dog taught
• 24:47
  you about patience, presence, or connection that
• 24:52
  shows up in business too? Well, my dog is perfect.
• 24:55
  He has no faults. So when you want to look at
• 24:58
  the model of patient's connection and purpose,
• 25:01
  you just look at his little chocolate cover eyes
• 25:03
  and you go, yes, you are absolutely right about
• 25:06
  that. Let me give you a duck foot. Absolutely.
• 25:09
  They say dogs are a man's best friend. I think
• 25:13
  that when you look at companionship from a dependence
• 25:17
  perspective, who would lay down their life for
• 25:20
  you. If you ever needed them to. And that's why
• 25:23
  I'm a Rottweiler owner, because I believe in
• 25:25
  a strong working dog. I'm sorry. I know I'm five
• 25:27
  foot tall, but I don't have time for a little
• 25:29
  dog. Sorry. Give me a real dog. I shoot big guns.
• 25:33
  I got a big dog. I drink big whiskey. Anyway,
• 25:35
  but I think when you look at the perspective
• 25:37
  of power versus dependence and servanthood, there
• 25:43
  is a beautiful continuity in the two. Be powerful,
• 25:46
  but give love. Be consistent, but have boundaries.
• 25:51
  Understand that you can provide peace and protection,
• 25:55
  but also offer a sense of companionship and truth.
• 26:00
  And I think that's what we get when we have relationships
• 26:03
  with others. And also when we recognize, even
• 26:08
  as pet owners, that these are powerful creatures
• 26:12
  that still rely on us for their well -being.
• 26:15
  And it's really an amazing connection that we
• 26:19
  have. to steward our relationships yeah i'm a
• 26:24
  dog owner myself and i the longest time i went
• 26:28
  without i think was a year and a half that was
• 26:30
  after one dog passed away it took me about a
• 26:33
  year to a year and a half to adjust to her being
• 26:37
  missed it was like a piece of me was torn out
• 26:40
  so we finally got a puppy and now she's about
• 26:43
  five months old But yeah, if she was around,
• 26:48
  I would show her to you. She's probably upstairs
• 26:50
  with my wife. But it's just, it's an incredible
• 26:53
  thing that you, the love and affection you can
• 26:58
  get, but the protection you can get. And it's,
• 27:01
  you, in business, you find like minds, right?
• 27:07
  And you don't want yes men. You want people that
• 27:10
  are actually going to give you constructive criticism.
• 27:15
  but they'll lay down their life for you. Absolutely.
• 27:18
  So that's what a true friend, a true cohort is.
• 27:21
  And I couldn't agree more. But I had to do that
• 27:25
  question for Echo Whiskey. I'll let him know.
• 27:29
  How did you come up with the name Echo Whiskey?
• 27:32
  Okay, so here's a funny story for you. So I come
• 27:35
  from a military family and I see your veteran
• 27:37
  logo and thank you for your service because our
• 27:39
  military families are the backbone of America.
• 27:42
  And so my nephews are Marines and my grandfather
• 27:45
  was in the Navy. And so military is just part
• 27:49
  of who we are. And I unfortunately did not serve.
• 27:53
  I was the creative type who decided she was going
• 27:55
  to be an opera singer and tour the world. And
• 27:57
  I did that for a time, but found out quickly
• 27:59
  it doesn't pay the bills. So my artistic operatic
• 28:03
  side came out when I had to pick a name for my
• 28:05
  buddy. And I was going to name him Avic Von Century,
• 28:09
  which meant my eternal guardian because Avic
• 28:11
  is the word of eternal in German. But it is spelled
• 28:15
  E -W -I -G. Okay. Okay. And so military call
• 28:23
  letters, Echo, Whiskey, India. So instead of
• 28:28
  Avic. He is Echo Whiskey. And as soon as I saw
• 28:33
  it, I knew it was associated with the military.
• 28:36
  Just because I phonetically spelled the alphabet.
• 28:41
  So I knew automatically. So I had to ask. Okay,
• 28:45
  so let's bring this podcast full circle. If you
• 28:49
  could change one belief people have about networking
• 28:53
  in a tech -driven world. What would it be, and
• 28:57
  why does it matter now? Connection, I think we've
• 29:01
  established in our time together today that connection
• 29:03
  matters more than ever. Genuine connection is
• 29:06
  hard to find, and technology is what empowers
• 29:09
  us to have both. I think what we have to change
• 29:12
  is the opinion that tech is going to replace
• 29:14
  connection. It never will. Tech is going to empower.
• 29:18
  Tech is going to allow us to have more connections,
• 29:20
  just like it's allowing us to connect today.
• 29:22
  But it will never replace. Like you said earlier,
• 29:25
  emotion, it will never replace connection that
• 29:29
  is human. And it's never going to change the
• 29:32
  way that people choose to make their buying decisions.
• 29:38
  Because even digitally, I would argue that you
• 29:41
  have to feel a connection with a brand, even
• 29:44
  if it is purely for your own self -betterment.
• 29:47
  If you are not feeling connected to the product
• 29:50
  or purpose, you're not going to spend your money
• 29:53
  on it. So don't assume that tech replaces connection.
• 29:57
  Tech underscores connection and allows you to
• 30:00
  do it more efficiently and on a broader scale.
• 30:05
  Absolutely. Absolutely. Amber, we probably could
• 30:09
  talk for another two hours about this or a multitude
• 30:12
  of things, but time constraints. If somebody
• 30:16
  wants to get hold of you, either just to talk
• 30:19
  to you, be consulted by you, or ask you about
• 30:22
  your companies. Where should they go? You're
• 30:25
  welcome to find me on LinkedIn, Amber Gage, G
• 30:28
  -A -I -G -E. You're welcome to go to our website
• 30:31
  and take advantage of our free quiz to assess
• 30:33
  what marketing you currently have. That's www
• 30:36
  .farbeyondmarketing .com. You're welcome to follow
• 30:40
  us across all the social channels. We'd be very
• 30:42
  happy to connect. That's wonderful. That's what
• 30:47
  happens when technology, creativity, and real
• 30:51
  connection come together. You don't grow a business
• 30:54
  through clicks alone. You don't build trust through
• 30:58
  tools alone. You don't build it though, how you
• 31:02
  show up online. You build it through how you
• 31:06
  show up online and in person. Take one idea from
• 31:11
  today's episode and try it in your next conversation.
• 31:14
  Watch how people respond when you bring more
• 31:17
  presence, more curiosity, and a little more heart
• 31:21
  into the room. If this episode made you think,
• 31:24
  smile, or see networking in a new way, share
• 31:27
  it with someone who's building something of their
• 31:29
  own. And be sure to follow Networking Unleashed,
• 31:32
  Building Profitable Connections, so you never
• 31:34
  miss a conversation that helps you grow the right
• 31:37
  way. I'm Michael Foreman, and remember, your
• 31:40
  next connection right, your next connection.
• 31:43
  might come from the last place you expect, sometimes
• 31:46
  even from a dog named Echo Whiskey. Amber, this
• 31:52
  was just a wonderful time. I thank you so much
• 31:54
  for coming on my podcast. It was my humble privilege,
• 31:58
  Michael. Take care. Well, hold on, folks. Don't
• 32:05
  go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. David
• 32:09
  Neal, co -founder, Revved Up Kids. Revved Up
• 32:12
  Kids is on a mission to protect children and
• 32:15
  teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.
• 32:19
  They provide prevention training programs for
• 32:22
  children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go
• 32:26
  to revvedupkids .org. Henry Kaplan, Century 21.
• 32:31
  When it comes to making the biggest financial
• 32:33
  decision of your life, leave it in the hands
• 32:36
  of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry
• 32:39
  is a global real estate agent with Century 21,
• 32:43
  celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter
• 32:47
  where you're moving, Henry has the right connections
• 32:49
  for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888.
• 32:57
  A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such...
• 33:00
  insights today. And of course, a big shout out
• 33:04
  to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in
• 33:07
  and spending your time with us. If you're interested
• 33:10
  in my digital courses, being coached or having
• 33:13
  me come and talk to your company, just go to
• 33:16
  Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,
• 33:20
  networking isn't about being perfect. It's about
• 33:23
  being present. So take what you've learned today,
• 33:26
  get out there and make some meaningful connections.
• 33:30
  If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't
• 33:33
  forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share
• 33:36
  it with someone who could use a little networking
• 33:38
  inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going.
• 33:41
  You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube,
• 33:46
  or my website, foreman .com slash podcasts.