Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E79 An Interview with Jeff Grippando and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E79 An Interview with Jeff Grippando and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:17
Welcome to another episode of Networking Unleashed,
0:20
Building Profitable Connections. I'm your host,
0:23
Michael Foreman, and today we're talking about
0:26
the kind of networking that doesn't just grow
0:29
your business, it grows you as a leader. My guest
0:33
is someone who knows what it means to lead through
0:35
challenge, to mentor through uncertainty, and
0:39
to build relationships that stand the test of
0:42
time, both personally and professionally. His
0:46
experience in leadership and mentorship gives
0:48
him a front row seat to how meaningful connections
0:51
can be the difference between burning out and
0:54
breaking through. Whether you're building a business,
0:57
leading a team, or navigating life's curveballs,
1:01
today's conversation will challenge you to see
1:04
your network not just as contacts, but as catalysts.
1:08
So I'd like to introduce Jeff Gripando. He's
1:12
part of a larger company. I will let Jeff introduce
1:15
himself and give us a little taste of his background.
1:19
Welcome to the show, Jeff. Thank you, Michael.
1:22
I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Been
1:24
looking forward to this conversation for quite
1:26
some time. To talk about my background a little
1:28
bit, it's interesting. I have to say I have a
1:31
very decorated past, and I owe that to my father.
1:35
When I was in middle school, I grew up in Chicago,
1:39
Illinois. My father got transferred to Jackson,
1:41
Mississippi. I was down there for a few years.
1:44
He gets promoted again. We moved to Atlanta,
1:47
Georgia. So I'm now in my second high school
1:49
at this time. The summer between my junior and
1:53
senior year of high school, my dad comes home
1:55
and says, I just got promoted again. They want
1:57
me to run the manufacturing facility out in San
2:00
Leandro, California, which is in the Bay Area.
2:03
And we moved to California. So I went to three
2:05
high schools in my life. And the reason I bring
2:08
that up is I was forced at a really young age.
2:12
on how to make friends quickly, and you had to
2:15
put yourself out there. And I lost all fear of
2:18
being shy, timid, what have you, because if I
2:21
didn't put myself out there, I wouldn't have
2:23
friends. And so I joined every single club, played
2:27
sports, got jobs when I turned 16, and I just
2:30
started meeting people and so forth. So I ended
2:33
up going to college out in California, and I
2:35
started my career with a printing company. And
2:38
I was a salesperson out in the San Francisco
2:40
Bay Area. This is 1990, 91. And I was trained
2:45
by a very good company on how to sell print and
2:47
how to build relationships. That was really,
2:49
it was drilled into our heads very quickly. We
2:52
sell consumable products. We sell print. We sell
2:54
stuff that people have to use over and over again
2:56
to run their businesses. And so the message was
3:00
people like. they buy from people they like and
3:03
so you so the first thing you need to do is figure
3:05
out how to build a relationship and i think i
3:07
had a lot of history doing that all through my
3:09
middle school and high school and college years
3:11
obviously and i just became pretty good at it
3:15
and i knew that i wanted to learn more about
3:17
the company and work in a marketing role and
3:19
i was then transferred to chicago where our corporate
3:21
office was built I then wanted to get into a
3:24
sales management role, and I was moved out to
3:26
Denver, Colorado, where I managed our sales office
3:29
and a variety of offices in the Rocky Mountain
3:32
region. And I continued to grow in my career
3:34
around print, around branded merchandise, promotional
3:37
products, all about marketing, all about brand.
3:40
Brand was pretty much... in my DNA. I eventually
3:45
made my way back to Atlanta, Georgia, and was
3:48
fortunate enough to get promoted in running a
3:50
branded merchandise division of a billion dollar
3:52
company out of Dayton, Ohio. And that's, I would
3:56
say, really accelerated my career. across a lot
4:02
of different leadership areas, mentorship areas,
4:05
and so forth. But I would say, if you ever asked
4:07
me, when I get to retirement someday and someone
4:10
said, what was the best part of your career?
4:12
I would say, I got to travel the country and
4:15
actually work with and meet folks from some of
4:19
the largest brands in the United States. To be
4:21
able to do business with Harley Davidson, Boeing,
4:24
to do business with Jelly Belly. I've been in
4:28
the Jelly Belly plant in Vacaville, California.
4:30
California Coors Brewing Company aggressive insurance
4:33
Geico just some massive brands and some wonderful
4:36
people that I had the fortunate opportunity to
4:39
work with and and that's probably been the best
4:42
part of my career now five years ago I in the
4:45
middle of COVID I took this new position with
4:48
a company called GBS Corporation I'm the president
4:51
of our printing and promotional product division
4:54
our division is called GBS Brand Connect And
4:58
I was fortunate enough to get this position because
5:01
of an acquisition that GBS made of a boutique
5:05
agency called Atomic Wash out of Norcross, Georgia.
5:08
An agency and folks that I did business with
5:11
for at least 20 years prior to both of us becoming
5:15
a part of GBS. And it's been, the past five years
5:19
have been wonderful. Been a lot of challenges,
5:20
as you all know, since 2020. But we continue
5:23
to grow and to help. customers advance their
5:28
greatest asset, which we think is their brand.
5:31
Absolutely. And I'm in agreement with you 100
5:34
% since half of my life is branding and everything
5:39
else also. I agree 100%. So let's delve into
5:43
the question, shall we? Sure. Perfect. In your
5:46
leadership journey, how has networking played
5:49
a role, not just opportunity, but in resilience?
5:55
Oh, that's a great question. I think it's in
5:58
terms of resilience, it's and I would almost
6:01
go back to being a starting as a sales rep. It's
6:04
you're faced with rejection every single day.
6:07
We're still obviously faced with rejection and
6:10
it teaches you and it forces you to think, how
6:14
can I get into my walk in my customer's shoes,
6:16
get into their, we used to call it, get into
6:18
their odds are understanding their business.
6:21
And then being able to mentor a sales force to
6:26
think and understand the same way. No only means
6:29
no for now. That's kind of the philosophy. And
6:32
I think a lot of that comes through resilience
6:33
and not getting frustrated and so forth. But
6:36
I always like to tell my reps, and I have the
6:38
same philosophy, when you're having a bad day,
6:40
pick up the phone and call one of your best customers,
6:43
one of your best relationships you have, and
6:46
just talk about the business and their lives
6:48
and their families and so forth. Or go out and
6:51
have... dinner with them or take them to a ball
6:52
game or something. That always makes the day
6:56
better and helps you get through those tough
6:58
times when you need to be resilient and patient
7:01
and always moving forward. On top of that, to
7:04
answer your question, I think the ability to
7:06
set goals and objectives is very important too.
7:09
And before you sit down or venture out into something
7:12
new or start something different, build a goal,
7:15
build the objectives, build the action steps,
7:17
and then hold yourself accountable, hold your
7:19
team accountable to what you wrote. All goals
7:22
should be written down. You type, write them
7:24
down, type them up. They need, and they need
7:26
to be posted somewhere. And then always go back
7:29
and evaluate and review where you stand against
7:32
those goals, whether it's a weekly, monthly or
7:34
quarterly basis. I think that's very important
7:37
in anybody's leadership style. Absolutely. I
7:41
used to have a whiteboard behind my desk and
7:45
I used to put my goals up there. And I very quickly
7:48
realized that a whiteboard is erasable. So one
7:53
day when my brother, who was in the company at
7:55
the same time, changed a few of the words and
7:58
I was in trouble. But putting your goals written
8:01
down on a ball, on something, very good advice.
8:05
And that's something I think that everybody should
8:07
do. It's funny, if you came into my office and
8:11
you probably can't see it very well, but right
8:13
behind me is two whiteboards and there's every
8:16
single goal and objective for my business unit
8:20
for 2025. And I actually, which is interesting,
8:23
and I'm a big believer as a leader, manager,
8:26
what have you, your teams need to be a part of
8:28
that goal setting process. Probably in November
8:32
-ish of this year, I will gather up my director
8:35
of operations, my customer service manager, my
8:38
director of sales. I'll take a few key people
8:41
off their staffs. We'll all go into our boardroom
8:44
down the hall over here, and we'll start building
8:46
our goals and objectives for 2026. I won't erase
8:50
that until January 1st because we like to always
8:55
go back and do a quick review. How did you finish
8:58
the year? Document it. That'll all get erased.
9:01
And then everything that we worked on in November
9:02
and December will go up on that board. By January
9:05
5th, that board will be full of all of our 26
9:08
goals. So yeah, I'm the big believer in looking
9:11
at it every day. I look at that every morning.
9:13
Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely. As did I. As did
9:17
I. And in a mortgage business, I had 15 people
9:21
under me and they always saw the whiteboard when
9:25
they came into my office. They always saw my
9:27
goals and they saw that I was serious. I wrote
9:30
down my goals and I was serious. And that was
9:33
one thing that I hope that they picked up on.
9:36
Yeah. And as a manager of an operation, yeah,
9:39
that those goals and objectives. They should
9:41
cascade down to everybody. So everybody's tied
9:44
into, obviously my salespeople have specific
9:47
goals. My customer service people have specific
9:49
goals, but those goals should all bundle up,
9:53
roll up to what's on that whiteboard back there
9:55
for the entire operation. And I think over the
9:58
years, we've done a very good job of making this
10:01
a team effort, not just me. standing here as
10:05
a dictator saying we're going to do this. It's
10:06
a team effort. We win and lose as a team, not
10:09
as individuals. That's always been my philosophy.
10:12
That's key in leadership. That's key in leadership.
10:15
You want to be a team, but your team, you have
10:19
to... create other leaders you have to give them
10:22
the responsibility and so that they feel like
10:25
they are part of it and so by them feeling part
10:28
of it they're more accountable and then you can
10:31
hold them accountable so it's a whole big process
10:34
but very good that's can you share a moment when
10:39
a mentor or a key connection helped you overcome
10:42
a major obstacle Yes. And I think the example
10:48
that I'd like to give was we were challenged.
10:52
It was a promotional product customer. This was
10:55
in my previous job. We were challenged by this
10:57
organization to set up a separate operation in
11:02
Mexico City. So this organization had their headquarters
11:05
was in Chicago. They also had another headquarters
11:09
in Mexico City because that's where a lot of
11:12
the products were manufactured south of the border.
11:15
And they wanted a website, everything in Spanish,
11:19
obviously. They wanted a supply chain where they
11:24
wouldn't have to pay duties and taxes. So as
11:27
you may or may not know, a lot of our branded
11:29
merchandise items are manufactured in Asia, in
11:33
China. They come to the United States, and that's
11:36
where they're decorated and so forth. And then
11:39
if they were then shipped to Mexico, you're paying
11:42
duties and taxes. And nowadays, tariffs is the
11:45
big word of the day. But they didn't want to
11:47
have to pay that. So we had to build a supply
11:49
chain that went right from China into Mexico.
11:53
So it never touched the United States and so
11:56
forth. So it was a big challenge. And my mentor
12:00
at the time was my chief executive officer. And
12:04
he, for first, was very... negative on the fact
12:08
of sending a team down to Mexico City. They were
12:10
worried about our safety, obviously. I had never
12:13
been to Mexico City before and so forth, but
12:16
the requests kept coming from the customer that
12:19
this is something you all need to do. If you
12:21
ever want to get into the European marketplace
12:23
with us, you're going to have to start here.
12:26
After I convinced my CEO, who was a great mentor
12:29
to me, he was actually my vice president of sales
12:33
when I was a regional sales manager in Atlanta.
12:35
So I worked for him. years and he was promoted
12:37
to CEO. His leadership and mentorship around
12:41
the conversations we had of everything that we
12:44
had to get accomplished and being able to sit
12:47
down, document, meet regularly to go through
12:51
that process. He assisted in working with key
12:54
decorators here in the United States. We found
12:57
out who had operations in Mexico City and we
13:00
built a complete strategy of how we were going
13:04
to get this accomplished. Funny little story.
13:06
At the time, we only had one gentleman in our
13:09
whole company. And this is a billion -dollar
13:12
company. One gentleman that spoke Spanish. That
13:14
was bilingual. And he's actually still with this
13:18
company. He's one of their sales reps in Miami,
13:20
Florida. He's from Cuba. So when I first flew
13:25
from Atlanta down to Mexico City, he flew over
13:27
from Miami that Sunday morning. And our folks
13:30
from Chicago flew down. And we all met up at
13:32
the airport in Mexico City. And it was just classic
13:36
having him there because none of us spoke Spanish.
13:39
And it was an interesting experience. I'll admit
13:42
it was a little scary the first time because
13:44
you hear about corporate folks getting kidnapped
13:46
and this and that. And they warned us and told
13:48
us how to dress and what to do. But that mentor
13:52
was very, he's still, he's retired now, but we
13:55
still talk and stay in touch. And he's been a
13:58
mentor to myself and a lot of other people over
14:01
the years. That's probably the biggest challenge
14:04
where I needed him to assist me in my career.
14:08
Everybody needs a mentor. As big as you are,
14:10
you always have a mentor. I feel because I have
14:13
a mentor also, but I mentor other people. Okay,
14:17
so I feel like I'm in the middle. Everybody asks
14:20
me because the people who I coach and who I mentor,
14:22
they look at me and they say, who do you have?
14:24
Because if we're asking for you for problems,
14:27
who are you going to? I'm to a higher authority.
14:30
You know, that's all I say. Exactly. That's all
14:34
I know. Okay. What's the difference between managing
14:38
people and leading through relationships? Oh,
14:43
that's another good question. You know what?
14:45
I think at a very high level, when you say managing
14:48
people, that kind of strikes me as an eight to
14:50
five job. That's someone coming in, punching
14:52
the clock. Making sure that whatever needs to
14:56
get done that day is getting done and so forth.
14:58
My other mentor in my life, and he has passed
15:02
away a couple years ago, is my father. And I
15:05
mentioned my father earlier in this conversation.
15:07
And I used to go to work a lot with my father.
15:09
When I turned 16, when I was in college, I worked
15:13
at that manufacturing facility out in California.
15:16
And then my father... My father led by example
15:19
when he told me a long time ago that a good leader
15:22
is a servant to their teams. And coincidentally,
15:27
years later, I'm in Denver and I have a new vice
15:30
president of sales that I'm now reporting to.
15:33
And I remember he walked into the office in Denver.
15:35
And he'd be another mentor in my life, too. I've
15:37
got great stories about him. But he handed me
15:39
a little paperback book, and it said, a leader
15:42
is a servant. And I already had that philosophy
15:44
that was in my DNA because of my father. And
15:46
I read that book. And I'm a true believer that,
15:48
you know what? Leaders, you lead by example.
15:51
And you roll your sleeves up, and you get in
15:53
the trenches with your team. That's the one thing
15:55
I loved about my father was we lived 45 minutes
15:59
away from that plant that he was running. And
16:02
his goal was to be in that office, in the facility,
16:06
because the first shift started at 6 a .m. And
16:10
he wanted to be in the building. He wanted to
16:12
be one of the first people in there. He didn't
16:14
need to be. He probably could have showed up
16:15
at 8 o 'clock if he wanted to. But he used to
16:17
drag me, and I used to complain. Here's a high
16:19
school kid, and we're getting up at 4 .30 in
16:21
the morning and going to work every day in the
16:23
summer. I'm home for summer break during college.
16:26
But boy, he... That I saw what he did. I watched
16:30
it with my own two eyes and his people really
16:33
respected him. And because he led by example,
16:35
I think that's how I lead my life. You know what?
16:38
It's not beneath me. If we have a big kidding
16:40
job going on right now out in our warehouse here,
16:43
a hundred feet away from me. I'll go right out
16:45
there and help them get that team gets the job
16:47
done. And it doesn't matter what your title is.
16:49
You do what you need to do to get the job done.
16:53
And ultimately, we all at GBS here, my philosophy
16:56
is we work for our customers. That's who my boss
16:59
is. My boss is all those customers that we service
17:01
and have relationships with. So I think that's
17:04
the difference. Absolutely. And really. The key
17:08
to, now I'm going to combine networking with
17:11
leadership. So the key to networking, there's
17:13
a mantra, know you like you, trust you, they'll
17:16
do business with you. Everybody knows the mantra.
17:19
But when you go to a networking event, you go
17:21
with a servant's heart. You go for the act of
17:26
giving, not receiving. So everybody thinks that
17:30
you go to one of these networking events that
17:31
you're going to sell. That's the absolute wrong
17:34
idea. When you get... to having a relationship
17:38
with somebody say, you know something, I like
17:40
you. I like how you do business. How can I make
17:45
you more successful? How can I be a good referral
17:48
source for you? That usually blows them away.
17:51
You know what you do yet? And you're saying,
17:53
how can I be more successful? But that's what
17:56
you do. So that's the mindset that you get in.
17:58
So when you said having a servant's heart, it's
18:01
all over. As long as you are authentic when you
18:05
say it. And I want to tell you that there's an
18:07
old book by Ken Blanchard called The Raving Fan.
18:11
I've read other books by him, but not that one.
18:14
But okay. Yep. It's a small book. Right. I used
18:17
to give it out to realtors when I was in the
18:20
mortgage industry. It's a quick read, 45 minute
18:23
read, whatever. But it's all about customer service.
18:26
Well, I'd like to make another comment about
18:29
attending networking events because I go to quite
18:31
a bit of them throughout the year. And you're
18:34
right. I think when you first approach someone
18:36
or you meet someone, yeah, the thought process
18:38
has to be this relationship has to be mutually
18:40
beneficial. here just to sell you and sell you
18:45
gbs products and services that's it's got to
18:48
be mutually beneficial and that's about and now
18:50
what are you doing you're building relationship
18:51
you're building rapport with somebody and so
18:54
forth and that's 100 how i go into those events
18:58
and and we've had a lot of success here at gbs
19:01
doing it that way and but most people don't have
19:05
that thinking have that way of thinking and it
19:08
throws everything off. If you go in with that
19:11
in thought in your mind, then you'll be much
19:15
more successful. Yeah, I love it. That's always
19:18
been my philosophy. As you can tell earlier in
19:20
this conversation, I mentioned about all the
19:22
different places I've lived. I've traveled all
19:24
over the country for work. And again, I think
19:27
it's in my DNA that I like meeting people. I
19:30
like when I go out to dinner and if I'm alone,
19:32
I don't sit at the table by myself with my computer.
19:35
I go sit at the bar. I sit at the bar and I talk
19:37
to people and it's mutually beneficial. It's
19:40
not about me necessarily trying to sell you something.
19:42
And here's what I do. So you always have the
19:45
other person talk about. themselves. I use something
19:50
called F -O -R -M. It's family, occupation, recreation,
19:54
and a message. So you can take any, yep, you
19:59
can use it. When you speak to somebody, you have
20:03
that in mind. Husband, wife, sister, brother,
20:07
daughter, son, whatever. You can have them talk
20:10
about themselves because people love to talk
20:13
about themselves. The more that they talk, the
20:18
That barrier that they usually have between people,
20:22
that starts to come down. And that trust factor,
20:25
which is so crucial, that goes up. So you're
20:29
automatically more trusted as a networking person.
20:33
And that's before they even know what you do.
20:35
Exactly. I have another quick little funny story.
20:37
So my first day, actually, I have to say this.
20:40
This past Wednesday was June 11th. And I started
20:43
my career on, I graduated college in 1990. I
20:47
started my career on June 11th, 1990. So I just
20:50
had my 35th anniversary this past Wednesday of
20:53
being in my career, which I thought was cool.
20:55
But I remember that first day I walk into the
20:58
office at 8 a .m. in the morning and it's a sales
21:01
job. And I go into my director of sales's office
21:03
and we sit down and he starts onboarding me and
21:06
we're doing the paperwork and all that good stuff.
21:08
Then he goes, come here. And he takes me into
21:10
the conference room. sit down. And then he looks
21:13
at me and he goes, tell me something about myself.
21:16
And I'm like, looking at him like, what are you
21:18
talking about? You're my manager. You hired me
21:21
from Cal State Chico. He goes, no, tell me something
21:24
about myself. And I'm like, Dave, I don't know
21:27
what you mean. He goes, go back into my office
21:30
and sit in there for five minutes and then come
21:31
back. And I went back in his office and I started
21:34
looking around the office. I came back and I
21:36
said, okay, now I'm going to tell you something
21:39
about yourself based on what I saw in your office.
21:42
And he was a big auto racing guy, big Indianapolis
21:45
five. He had pictures of the Indy 500. He had
21:48
pictures of his family and his daughter on his
21:50
desk. And that's how you start to build rapport
21:54
with people. You're going to walk into a potential
21:56
customer's office. Talk about them. And because
22:00
like you said, Michael, people like to talk about
22:02
themselves. So I do that. I do that little trick
22:05
with any new person I hire. I bring them into
22:07
this office. We chat for a little while and then
22:09
we leave. And I say, tell me something. And if
22:11
you looked around my office, you'd see a lot
22:12
of Chicago Cubs stuff over there because I grew
22:14
up in Chicago. I'm a big golf fan. I've been
22:17
to the Masters and the Atlanta Athletic Club
22:19
and the PGA Championship back in 2011. That's
22:22
over there. Yeah. You can see things about Jeff
22:25
Rapando. And now you're starting to break ice
22:27
and build rapport with somebody. Yep. Absolutely.
22:30
Absolutely. And here's a little trick you can
22:33
give to your people, whatever. When you walk
22:36
into somebody's office and you're thinking form,
22:39
okay, that's what you're thinking. Look on the
22:41
walls, any pictures, any ideas, anything else.
22:44
But the pictures that he has on his desk, okay,
22:49
if the pictures are facing him, that's his family,
22:53
and he likes to keep them close. If the pictures
22:56
are facing out. towards you, that is an invitation
23:00
for you to ask questions about his family. I've
23:05
never heard that before. Yeah, that's okay. Yeah,
23:08
very big, very big. And that's just something
23:10
with the networking that you do. Instead of networking
23:14
events, when you're going and having a meeting
23:15
with somebody, you have about 30 seconds to check
23:19
out the walls. Is there major leagues? Is there
23:22
a youth sports, a grandson or something, something
23:26
that will tell you a musical note on the wall?
23:28
He's into music. Right. And you can talk about
23:32
that. And that's the beautiful thing. Obviously,
23:33
in 1990, cell phones weren't around quite yet
23:36
where everyone had one. There was no such thing,
23:39
obviously, as LinkedIn. So that's another tidbit.
23:42
And I do this myself because even as president
23:45
of this operation, I still prospect. Again, a
23:48
leader leads by example. Yeah, I utilize LinkedIn
23:51
all the time. Look at people's past and backgrounds
23:53
and find some common ground there. And it really
23:57
opens up that whole. process of networking and
24:00
so forth. That's true. One day you should look
24:04
at my LinkedIn profile. It's about this big.
24:07
Okay. Because it's got everything listed inside
24:09
of it. Okay. So you've mentioned others. You've
24:13
probably been mentored, which you have said before.
24:16
What makes a mentorship relationship truly powerful?
24:25
I think when that relationship maybe goes a little
24:29
bit beyond business, it becomes a little more
24:32
personal, maybe. That's, I think, when it becomes
24:35
powerful. I'm mentoring a couple of young sales
24:39
reps right now on my team. And to be able to...
24:47
almost be a part of their family it's interesting
24:50
i get asked questions and because these folks
24:53
are in their 20s and i'm in my mid to late 50s
24:56
and the questions they're asking me i've lived
24:59
those i've lived there i remember what i have
25:01
one young man who just had a baby and i go i
25:04
remember when we had our first baby and i know
25:06
what you're going through and i know you're struggling
25:09
with getting your work done because you're tired.
25:12
And actually, I was with him yesterday and we
25:14
just had a whole conversation and just some tips
25:16
that I gave him on how to get through that and
25:19
so forth because he knows it's starting to affect
25:22
his job a little bit. And so to me, that... Mentoring
25:27
typically in the beginning seems to be all about
25:29
training. I'm going to teach you something. I'm
25:31
going to show you how to get something done.
25:33
But when it becomes that next level of communication,
25:36
like I just mentioned, the relationship is growing
25:39
into areas outside of just the day -to -day business.
25:43
I think that is when it becomes powerful. Absolutely.
25:47
You have to find that fine line between business
25:50
and personal, but a true mentor. You know everything
25:55
about the person who you're mentoring and the
25:58
trials and tribulations that he's going through.
26:01
So if you can give him advice in that respect,
26:05
you become all knowing. You become bigger and
26:08
better than he even thought. And that will help
26:11
him in business even further. Okay. So some people
26:16
only network when they need something. What's
26:18
your take on networking as a long -term leadership
26:22
practice? I think my take is it's one of those
26:27
things you've got to be disciplined to the activity,
26:31
right? And it needs to be interwoven inside your
26:36
goals and objectives and your business plan.
26:38
So that whiteboard back there, there's definitely
26:40
networking objectives that you'll see up on that
26:42
board. But have fun with it. See, I like it.
26:45
I think some people look at it as a chore. I
26:48
actually enjoy it. Because I have fun with it.
26:51
I want to get out there and I want to walk into
26:54
a networking event and I got my GBS Brand Connect
26:57
shirt on and I want people to see that. I want
27:00
people to ask me, who's GBS? What do you all
27:02
do? And type of thing and so forth. So I think
27:05
it just needs to be a part of any other goal
27:08
and objective. It's just as important as us hitting
27:10
our revenue and gross profit goals. That networking,
27:13
it's just as important. And then set goals for
27:15
yourself. Yeah, I went to a networking event
27:18
in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. And my goal
27:20
was to leave that event with 10 new contacts.
27:23
And I accomplished that. It started off a little
27:27
slow. I'll be honest with you. I was a little
27:28
worried that I wasn't going to get 10 contacts,
27:30
but I stuck it out and it turned out great. I
27:33
used to go to networking when I was in a mortgage
27:34
company. I used to go to networking events and
27:37
come home with a shoebox filled with business
27:38
cards and say, look how good I did when I didn't
27:42
do good at all. Now, with a three or four hour
27:45
event, I say come back with 15, 20 business cards.
27:49
Yeah. And do your follow up. I have a whole secret
27:52
sauce for follow up. Okay. That really, you'll
27:57
know right away whether or not they are truly
27:59
interested, just a little bit interested or not.
28:03
With everything that I have, it really introduces
28:06
various ways where you will know yourself. Correct.
28:10
I know exactly what you're saying. Yeah, it's
28:13
about quality, not quantity when you go to these
28:15
events, right? Yes. Yep. Absolutely. And you
28:18
have to have fun. If you're not enjoying yourself,
28:22
that comes out. 100%. You see, I'm having a very
28:27
good time. Be yourself. Crack a joke, providing
28:31
that you're a funny person. You have to crack
28:33
a joke because nothing's worse than somebody
28:35
cracking a joke who isn't funny. You're right.
28:39
That takes the air out of the conversation or
28:41
the room real fast. Yes. Really fast. Really
28:44
fast. Okay. So for leaders facing tough times,
28:49
what role does network play in how they respond,
28:53
adapt, and grow through it? I think. Having a
28:56
solid network or even your mentors and so forth,
29:00
being able to lean on other people and past experiences
29:04
and being able to pick the phone up or send an
29:06
email, send a text to someone, hey, I'm struggling
29:09
with this right now. I'm sure you and your organization
29:13
are feeling the same pains. I'll bring up tariffs.
29:16
It's been a wild ride. I think since the start
29:20
of the year and so forth. And especially when
29:23
your business is so tied into products and services
29:26
that are coming from outside of the country.
29:29
That's been a big challenge. And I will admit,
29:32
I have talked a lot. to my network and contacts
29:35
about how they're dealing with it, what they're
29:38
learning, how they're educating their customers,
29:41
how they're trying to stay in front of it. That's
29:43
probably the best thing I can say about that
29:46
because that has become a huge topic of conversation
29:49
at a lot of events that I attend in the spaces
29:52
and areas that I run in now and so forth. Yeah,
29:54
I think to answer your question, having a broad
29:56
network, a very diversified network only can
30:01
help you. be open to the fact to reach out and
30:04
ask for help, ask questions if need be. Yeah,
30:08
I have a great many connections on LinkedIn,
30:12
but I have a certain few that ask me the questions
30:16
through LinkedIn or email because they're going
30:19
through a problem, usually a networking or communication
30:22
problem, and they want to know, is this the right
30:25
way or is there a better way to handle it? And
30:29
I answered a little bit. And they always are
30:31
appreciative. But A, I was asked. So it made
30:35
me feel good. My answer made them feel good.
30:38
It was always that type of a feeling. And they
30:42
would respect that and make my network grow.
30:46
And that's really what I'm after. Okay, so here
30:51
we go. How do you spot real connections? versus
30:55
surface -level networking, especially when your
30:58
time and energy are limited? Oh, that's a good
31:01
question. Now, we've talked a lot about when
31:05
you go to a networking event and it has to be
31:07
a mutually beneficial relationship. We did this
31:10
at GBS probably about the time I started here.
31:13
One of the first things that we had to identify
31:15
was... What is our sweet spot? What are the vertical
31:19
markets that we want to play in? What are the
31:22
products and services we want to sell in those
31:24
vertical markets? And what do we need to be smart
31:27
about? We're going to walk away or not focus
31:31
on, I would say, in our prospecting efforts.
31:34
So we built what we call a sweet spot. So when
31:37
I go to these events, especially like a chamber
31:40
event, I go to the Akron Chamber of Commerce.
31:43
I go to the Canton Chamber of Commerce here.
31:45
I've been to Youngstown as well. and so forth.
31:49
And there's all walks of life there, all different
31:51
kinds of businesses and so forth. I have an idea
31:54
of where I want to focus my time and so forth.
31:57
And I know there's other people there that want
31:59
to capture my attention, my time, if they're
32:01
selling something to me on a personal level,
32:04
because you get a lot of that, obviously. There's
32:06
insurance people there, the folks that want to
32:09
put the brain guard over your gutters, they're
32:11
all there and so forth. So I think you just got
32:14
to understand where you want to spend your time
32:16
in that two -hour session or three hours or whatever
32:19
it is. But always be nice. Always be cordial.
32:23
Speak to everybody. But then quickly pivot to
32:28
where you need to be and who you need to be speaking
32:30
to, I guess, is the best way I would say that.
32:32
Yeah. I'm laughing while you're talking because
32:35
I'm agreeing with everything that you're saying.
32:39
And, you know, I know a local chamber of commerce
32:42
is also part of that. It's like when I get up
32:44
in front of them and I say you're at a networking
32:46
table, you don't talk immediately. You don't
32:50
say anything. Wait for the conversation. Is this
32:54
a conversation that I want to become involved
32:56
with? If it's not, you politely bow out and go
33:00
to the next table. That's right. And if it is,
33:03
of course, then you stay and talk and everything
33:05
else. But you have to, it's called active listening.
33:10
You have to listen for what's going on. Is this
33:12
conversation? It's not. I'll see you later. I'm
33:16
going to the next table. You don't say that,
33:17
of course. You politely bow out and you go to
33:20
the next table. But it could be there. I had
33:22
a situation a year ago where I met some folks
33:25
and I didn't quite know. I just walked up to
33:27
the table and I started talking to them. They
33:29
represented the Akron Canton Food Bank. And now
33:33
that would not. fit a sweet spot of gbs brand
33:37
connect and so forth but i started talking to
33:39
them and it actually was mutually beneficial
33:41
because now my wife and i volunteer and time
33:45
and donations and what have you because of that
33:47
conversation i'm not selling to them we will
33:50
never sell to them and so forth but You're right.
33:54
You've got to walk into every conversation politely.
33:57
Everybody wants to talk about what they do because
34:00
it's important to them. And what they're doing
34:01
is a wonderful mission. And that was interesting,
34:04
but it had nothing to do with me selling to them.
34:06
Absolutely. The best way to go out and to network,
34:09
if you volunteer, volunteer for something, and
34:12
you go in, because eventually it'll come around,
34:15
what do you do for a living? Correct. You don't
34:18
come out and say it, but something will happen
34:20
and say, what do you do? And then you go and
34:23
start talking about it, but you're never pushing
34:25
it. You're trusted almost immediately when that
34:29
happens because you haven't pushed it. I do like
34:32
those events too, when you go and you, especially
34:35
the breakfast one. So everyone is sitting down
34:37
having breakfast around the table and you don't
34:39
know who you're necessarily sitting with. But
34:41
there's questions on the table and the table
34:44
has to, everyone has to answer the question.
34:46
So it just gets the conversation going and moving.
34:48
And then usually there's a guest presenter, but
34:51
then there's like networking afterwards, right?
34:53
So, you know, right away, okay, here's a table
34:55
of 10 people based on those questions that we
34:58
asked and we all talked. There's maybe two or
35:00
three there, but then when you get up and start
35:01
mingling, those are the ones that you're going
35:03
to talk to. And everyone goes off into their
35:05
proper areas, I would say. Absolutely. And I
35:08
like those also, by the way, the breakfast because
35:11
it's a very good icebreaker. Sometimes you need
35:15
that when you walk into an event or something.
35:18
My usually go -to sentence is, wow, that's a
35:22
nice blazer or that's a nice pair of shoes or
35:25
something. Something to break up the conversation
35:26
without saying, hey, what do you do? What do
35:31
you do? Why are you here? And what do you want
35:32
to sell me? Yeah. Usually they say, hey, you
35:34
know, what brought you here today? I said, my
35:36
2017 Dodge Ram. Right there. You know, and they're
35:40
like, what? Okay. So as a mentor, how do you
35:48
help others build confidence in reaching out
35:51
and connecting with people who seem out of their
35:55
league? Oh, that's a great question. The best
36:00
thing that I can say that I do, number one, I
36:03
like to role play a little bit first because
36:05
I have a couple of young salespeople that they're
36:08
very, it's interesting. You're in sales, but
36:11
you're uncomfortable in this environment, right?
36:14
So I like to role play it first. Let's just role
36:16
play. Pretend I'm the CEO of XYZ company and
36:19
you just came up to me at this event. So let's
36:21
role play that. And then when we go to the event
36:24
together, I have them, I'll have them tag along
36:27
with me in the beginning. They listen to me and
36:30
see what I'm doing and how I'm speaking. And
36:33
then I'll send them on their own. And I say,
36:35
okay, now you got to go over there, go to that
36:36
table way over there, and so forth. So it is
36:39
a definite process. It's a definite process in
36:42
getting people out of their shells. There's one
36:45
event that I love, and I'm going to take a couple
36:48
of my young reps to this one coming up here next
36:50
month. Akron has the Cleveland Guardians double
36:53
A baseball team is called the Akron Rubber Ducks.
36:57
And they play their stadiums right in downtown
36:59
Akron. And the Chamber of Commerce does business
37:01
at the ballpark night. And it's the best networking
37:04
event they do. They open up the out in right
37:07
field. There's like a big party patio out there.
37:10
There's like a tiki bar. And they open that up
37:13
to the chamber members. And batting practice
37:16
is going on behind you. The stadium's not, people
37:18
aren't coming in yet to the stadium because the
37:20
game's probably not starting for another two
37:22
hours. But everyone is out there on a nice late
37:25
afternoon, weeknight and having a beer and talking.
37:29
And everybody's very, we've gotten so much business
37:32
just by attending that one event because the
37:34
atmosphere, it's because of the environment.
37:36
And I'm going to take, I'm going to take my two
37:38
young reps to that here in a couple of weeks
37:40
in July and just wear shorts, wear a t -shirt.
37:44
And put your GBS ball cap on, and we're going
37:46
to go. And you're going to go, and you're not
37:48
going to hang with me. I'm going to go over there.
37:51
You're going to go over there. The other guy's
37:52
going to go over here. And yeah, and we're going
37:54
to have fun. And yeah, they got to get out of
37:56
the shell. You just got to keep forcing them
37:58
to get out of their shell. Eventually, they're
38:02
going to eke out themselves. But that's a great,
38:06
down here, a lot of the groups go to the stripers.
38:09
Yes, that's right. In Gwinnett County. Yeah.
38:11
Yeah, it's the same thing. And I used to, when
38:13
I lived in New York, we had another minor league
38:16
ballpark and we had the same events there. I
38:19
had the best time networking with everybody,
38:23
but we're having such a good time that, you know,
38:27
we're talking. And all I did was make arrangements
38:30
for meetings another time. Well, I told my young
38:36
reps, I go, isn't it easier? And if you say no,
38:38
that I'm going to be perplexed, but isn't it
38:41
easier going to a networking event and talking
38:43
to someone face to face than picking up a phone
38:45
cold and trying to call somebody? Don't you find
38:48
that to me, anything done face to face is a thousand
38:51
times easier than me picking up a phone and calling
38:53
someone cold. Absolutely. You're preaching to
38:57
the choir, Jeff. You're preaching to the choir
38:59
because that's exactly what, look, Zoom is great.
39:03
Your cell phone is great. But nothing is the
39:07
same as when you meet somebody, you feel the
39:10
vibe of the person, you feel the vibe of the
39:13
room, and it gets you juiced. You're with all
39:16
these people. There's just something about it
39:18
that you can't get through Zoom. That's right.
39:20
100%. Yep. Okay. Okay. What's one leadership
39:25
trait that makes someone magnetic in their network?
39:32
someone others want to follow or collaborate
39:34
with? What's one leadership trait that magnetic
39:40
person has that others want to follow or collaborate
39:43
with? Well, I think number one, having an outgoing
39:48
personality, having the trait of, like you said,
39:53
that I... Being a leader, you have to make hard
39:56
decisions at times. You have to make tough decisions
39:59
at times. Always be firm, be frank, be friendly.
40:05
Those are like some of the key F words that I
40:07
have. Firm, frank, friendly. Those are good leadership
40:10
traits, I think. And that makes people gravitate
40:12
to leaders and so forth. It was the four Fs,
40:18
and I can't remember the fourth one. It was firm,
40:19
frank, friendly, fair. Those are the four Fs.
40:24
Yeah. So remember that mentor I mentioned to
40:26
you way back when, early in my career? I remember
40:28
him telling me that. But those are the four F
40:31
words. And if you live your management career,
40:33
your leadership career, by those four things,
40:35
you'll be successful. I totally remember that.
40:37
Yep. I agree with that 100%. 100%. Before I ask
40:42
you this, the last question. Okay. You're successful.
40:45
You have achieved a presidential status and you're
40:49
mentoring. And I believe you're doing it the
40:52
right way just by listening to the way you're
40:54
doing it. But you had to have made mistakes.
40:58
What is one of your biggest mistakes that you
41:02
made and how did you overcome it? Oh, boy, that's
41:06
a great question. I get everybody with this question.
41:09
That is, yeah. I'm trying to think of a specific
41:11
example. Here's some mistakes that I made. And
41:14
this one happened not too long ago. As a leader,
41:17
you want to rely on the opinions of your team,
41:20
right? And we were interviewing a gentleman that
41:24
I had met previously at a lunch and had talked
41:29
to via a team's call as well. We're hiring for
41:33
a sales position. And I... My father passed away
41:38
at this time, so I had to get down to Greensboro,
41:40
Georgia. And I missed the day that all these
41:44
candidates were brought into corporate here,
41:46
and they had to go through a series of interviews.
41:49
So they were interviewing with HR, with my director
41:52
of sales, with other various leaders in the organization.
41:56
So I get back from my dad's funeral and what
41:59
have you, and it was a Friday afternoon, and
42:01
right here I'm sitting at my desk, and these
42:03
three folks that interviewed our candidates are
42:06
sitting there, and they're giving me their updates
42:09
or their feelings and opinions about the candidates.
42:12
And one of the guy that I had lunch with and
42:15
the guy that I had been talking to, and I was
42:18
very strong on, supposedly he did very poorly
42:20
that day in the interview process. So all three
42:23
of my people that said to me, don't make him
42:26
an offer. We think you ought to make this gentleman
42:28
an offer. So I listened to them. And sure enough,
42:32
we made an offer to this other gentleman. And
42:34
that guy only lasted about six months, decided
42:37
that he hated this job and went elsewhere. And
42:40
then the gentleman that we didn't make an offer
42:42
to went elsewhere and is being very successful
42:45
where he's at. And so I think the mistake that
42:48
I made was I didn't trust my gut. And that's
42:52
probably, if I sat here long enough and thought
42:55
about other mistakes, it's because I didn't trust
42:57
my gut. at that moment. And that's what caused
43:00
maybe the mistake and so forth. But that one
43:03
was more of a recent one. That one happened about
43:04
two years ago and so forth. So trust your instincts,
43:08
trust your gut. But a good leader does rely on
43:10
their people and the advice of their people.
43:12
You have to allow them to have that opportunity
43:15
to share their feelings and their thoughts. And
43:18
like I said, we build our business plan as a
43:20
team. But sometimes you, as the leader, you got
43:23
to trust your gut. And I missed on that one.
43:25
I swung and missed that one. Yep. Oh, absolutely.
43:28
You take what everybody's telling you of your
43:31
team, and you have to digest it and think about
43:35
it, but you put it up against your gut, what
43:38
you truly believe in. And sometimes it may go
43:41
their way. Sometimes it may not. You, as a leader,
43:45
have to make that decision. Right. Yeah, that's
43:48
a good question. That's a hard one. Yeah, of
43:49
course it's a hard one. That's why I asked you.
43:52
Okay, so bring in this podcast full circle. If
43:55
you could challenge every listener to take one
43:59
bold networking step this week, what would it
44:03
be? I think the bold step I would say in a networking
44:09
is... Look for a networking opportunity that's
44:14
not traditional. Maybe do something that, and
44:17
this is a bold step for me too, do something
44:20
outside of the norm. Like we all go to, it's
44:23
easy to go to chamber events or other networking
44:26
events and so forth. But maybe the bold step
44:29
is network, network in a new place. Maybe it's
44:33
church. Maybe I... Try something new. And I'll
44:36
challenge myself to do the same thing. Typically,
44:39
when I go to church and I leave church, you're
44:42
talking to people more on a personal level, family,
44:45
friends kind of level. Maybe turn that more into
44:49
a networking opportunity, something a little
44:52
bit different. I don't know if that's the right
44:55
place, but yeah. Without being salesy. Without
44:58
being salesy. Yes. Yep. Yeah. Maybe just do something
45:01
that you never have done before. That's considered
45:04
networking and putting yourself out there. So
45:07
that's great. That's great. Jeff, I got to tell
45:09
you, I can probably talk to you for another two
45:12
hours. This is great. This is great. But if somebody
45:18
wants to get hold of you, get hold of GBS or
45:21
something that you have to offer them, what's
45:23
the best way for them to get hold of you? Well,
45:26
I like people. Number one is I like getting emails.
45:29
And I don't mind giving my cell phone number
45:31
out. You want the best way to get a hold of me
45:33
is my cell phone. And I respond to everybody.
45:36
I have this little weird. knack of, I don't go
45:39
to bed at night until I clean my entire email
45:42
inbox out. I don't leave stuff in there. That's
45:45
after dinner, I'm just cleaning up the day. I
45:48
will respond to you. So my email is a great place.
45:50
And then even my cell phone number is a great
45:52
place to get ahold of me. I'll put that into
45:54
the show notes. Okay. Okay. People will have
45:57
it. Okay. Great. Jeff, I'm telling you again,
46:00
this was a great, you're a great guest and I
46:03
look forward to talking to you soon. I like talking
46:06
about work all the time. You could call me out.
46:07
I'm a big green egg guy like this weekend. I
46:10
know it's Father's Day, but my kids don't live
46:11
in Ohio, so I won't see them. But I'll be outside
46:14
on my green egg smoking something and talking
46:17
to someone, I'm sure, about whatever. Yeah, that's
46:19
what happens on weekends for me. I'm sure. Okay,
46:25
Jeff, I'll talk soon. I'd like to. Yeah. Happy
46:29
Father's Day to your audience. And Michael, this
46:31
was wonderful. Thank you very much. Thank you.
46:36
Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's
46:40
hear from our sponsors. David Neal, co -founder
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No matter where you're moving, Henry has the
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right connections for you. You can contact Henry
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at 561 -427 -4888. A huge thank you to our guests
47:33
for sharing such insights today. And of course,
47:36
a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners,
47:40
for tuning in and spending your time with us.
47:43
If you're interested in my digital courses, being
47:46
coached or having me come and talk to your company,
47:49
just go to Michael and fill out the request form.
47:53
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
47:56
It's about being present. So take what you've
47:59
learned today, get out there and make some meaningful
48:02
connections. If you've enjoyed this episode,
48:05
please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a
48:08
review and share it with someone who could use
48:11
a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the
48:14
conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
48:17
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48:22
.com slash podcasts.