Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Malcolm Reid, Sr and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Malcolm Reid, Sr and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

• 0:15
  Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
• 0:18
  Connections, the show where relationships, not
• 0:21
  noise, create real business growth. I'm your
• 0:24
  host, Michael Foreman, and today we're going
• 0:27
  to shake up a few assumptions. Small business
• 0:30
  owners are overwhelmed with advice. Post more,
• 0:34
  brand harder, be everywhere, build an audience
• 0:37
  first, and hope business follows. Yet many people
• 0:41
  doing all of that still aren't getting the opportunities
• 0:44
  they expected. My guest today has taken a very
• 0:48
  different path. He's built a seven -figure business
• 0:51
  without depending on constant social media posting.
• 0:55
  He believes much of what entrepreneurs taught
• 0:58
  about branding misses the mark, and he's speaking
• 1:01
  directly to why so many business owners are frustrated
• 1:04
  with the gurus. Today, we're talking about trust.
• 1:08
  real relationships, and why networking done correctly
• 1:12
  can outperform attention -seeking marketing.
• 1:16
  If you want clients instead of just clicks and
• 1:20
  conversations that actually lead somewhere, you're
• 1:23
  in the right place. So let's get into it. I'd
• 1:26
  like to welcome to the podcast today, Malcolm
• 1:29
  Reed, Malcolm Reed Sr. And I would just like
• 1:32
  for you to give us a little taste of how you
• 1:35
  got where you are today. First of all, Michael,
• 1:37
  thank you so much for having me. I'm really looking
• 1:39
  forward to our conversation today. And that's
• 1:42
  a great question. If I could sum it up, lots
• 1:45
  and lots of failure. And when I say that, failure
• 1:48
  doesn't mean that you actually failed. It means
• 1:50
  you took some actions, the things you didn't
• 1:53
  necessarily work out, and there were lessons
• 1:55
  that were learned from that. And just by constantly
• 1:58
  getting up, trying the next thing until we figured
• 2:00
  out exactly what worked. Absolutely. I profess
• 2:04
  that I went to the school of hard knocks. I learned
• 2:09
  how to do everything wrong before I got it correct.
• 2:13
  And I got all the bumps and bruises by falling
• 2:16
  down, but I got up one more time than when I
• 2:19
  fell down. Yeah. So that told me everything.
• 2:22
  Yeah, same here. And the thing is, with my background
• 2:24
  growing up in the slums and streets of Baltimore,
• 2:27
  being a successful business owner wasn't one
• 2:29
  of the things on my radar. I was just... To make
• 2:32
  it to 16 years old, that was a feat in and of
• 2:35
  itself. And unfortunately, Michael, I do believe
• 2:38
  people are products of their environment. You
• 2:40
  can't control where you're born. You can't control,
• 2:42
  though, what you do once you get to an age of
• 2:44
  understanding. And so I was just like all the
• 2:47
  people around me. I sold drugs. I went to prison.
• 2:50
  I dropped out of high school. And then I realized
• 2:52
  afterward that, you know what? I'm not a victim.
• 2:56
  I still have choices to make. And so when I decided
• 3:00
  to do something different, only then could I
• 3:03
  realize that, you know what? You can make a big
• 3:06
  impact in this world. You can share the challenges
• 3:09
  from your story with people. Although it's my
• 3:11
  story, it's right. It's about me, but it's not
• 3:13
  for me. There's other people who don't believe
• 3:15
  that they're valuable or they're good enough.
• 3:18
  And I'm here to prove that again, where you came
• 3:20
  from doesn't matter. It's what you choose to
• 3:22
  do when you. finally understand right from wrong
• 3:27
  and what you make of it. And so really that was
• 3:29
  a big part of my story because I'm pretty relentless.
• 3:33
  Absolutely. And that's great. It sounds like
• 3:35
  it was a great story. And I'm sure if we had
• 3:37
  the time, I want to hear all about it. Okay.
• 3:40
  Because listen, that's very interesting. I too
• 3:43
  came from a very poor environment in Rockland
• 3:47
  County in New York. I could say I didn't go to
• 3:50
  prison and I didn't sell drugs. But just about
• 3:53
  everything else was me. And I made the different
• 3:56
  decisions. I decided to go into the military.
• 3:58
  And when I came out, I was a changed person.
• 4:02
  But anyway, okay. So you talk about business
• 4:06
  owners being exhausted by fake gurus. From a
• 4:10
  networking perspective, how can professionals
• 4:13
  quickly tell who's credible and who's just performing?
• 4:18
  One thing we all have is a sixth sense. Michael,
• 4:21
  how you get around somebody and after a few seconds,
• 4:24
  something just feels off. Listen to yourself.
• 4:28
  We have that for a reason. A lot of times because
• 4:32
  we may want something or we have a certain ideology,
• 4:35
  we lead with that versus what our good common
• 4:38
  sense tells us. If your common sense says run.
• 4:42
  Right. And it's typically just because something.
• 4:46
  looks good. It looks shiny and it sounds good.
• 4:50
  Doesn't mean it always is good. And so the best
• 4:52
  advice I would give is trust yourself, trust
• 4:55
  your gut and your instinct is there for a reason.
• 4:58
  Yeah. I, I have learned to trust myself and I
• 5:02
  gave myself what's called a 24 hour rule. I don't
• 5:06
  make any decisions right then and there. I wait
• 5:08
  24 hours. I think about it. I look at it from
• 5:11
  all points of view. I make the decision. That's
• 5:14
  where I've grown to, and that's not where I started.
• 5:18
  Because I started with, oh, that's great. Okay,
• 5:20
  I'll do it. And that was it. What behaviors in
• 5:24
  networking conversations quietly signal expertise
• 5:28
  versus self -promotion? People who are experts,
• 5:33
  number one, they don't do a lot of talking. They
• 5:36
  do a lot of listening. And the other thing I
• 5:39
  noticed as well, too, Michael, is... People that
• 5:42
  are experts, they give. They're not there to
• 5:45
  take. You meet those people that they have these
• 5:47
  slick little lines that talk about who they are,
• 5:50
  but then they're asking for something. I found
• 5:53
  that people are successful. It allows you to
• 5:55
  be more of who you already are. And most successful
• 5:58
  people are givers. Listen, what you just said
• 6:02
  speaks volumes. It really does. Because from
• 6:05
  a networking point of view, and listen, I'm a
• 6:07
  networking strategist. I always do everything
• 6:10
  by networking. And if you go to a networking
• 6:13
  event, you always look to give and not receive.
• 6:17
  It's called having a servant's heart. Absolutely.
• 6:20
  And it takes all the pressure off your shoulders.
• 6:22
  Don't worry, I don't have to sell. All I have
• 6:24
  to do is I want to connect two people together.
• 6:27
  Oh, that's great. And it's such a difference.
• 6:30
  And it makes you the expert instead of a follower.
• 6:35
  Exactly. I agree with that wholeheartedly. And
• 6:37
  again, you can tell immediately. Again, when
• 6:40
  people talk too much, first of all, we tune out.
• 6:46
  But a giver. has a listening ear and you're looking
• 6:51
  for an opportunity to support that person. And
• 6:53
  I'm the same way, Michael, like when you have
• 6:56
  people that have morals, values, they're ethical,
• 6:58
  they're authentic. You just can't teach that,
• 7:01
  but you can feel it when you're around it. And
• 7:03
  so that kind of what stands out in networking
• 7:06
  situations for me. It does. And what you also
• 7:09
  said was right on point. It's the listening.
• 7:13
  You have to be a good listener. You don't talk.
• 7:16
  And that's one of the mistakes I made years ago.
• 7:20
  And one thing I teach now or what I coach people
• 7:23
  for is when you walk up to a table or a situation,
• 7:27
  you don't say a word. You listen. You listen.
• 7:31
  You pause after you listen. There's a whole thing
• 7:34
  to it, but that's what you have to do. So again,
• 7:37
  you hit the nail right on the head. You've grown
• 7:40
  a seven -figure business without relying on social
• 7:43
  media posting. What replaced it and how did relationships
• 7:48
  play a role? I believe everything starts with
• 7:53
  relationships. You cannot be successful by yourself.
• 7:57
  You need to have other people around you that,
• 8:01
  because we're not all experts at everything.
• 8:03
  And I just believe networking, building true,
• 8:06
  meaningful relationships. That's the first thing.
• 8:10
  How we did it is, and of course we made lots
• 8:12
  of mistakes, Michael. What we see around us is
• 8:15
  we hear branding. You got to get the right logo,
• 8:18
  the right colors and all these things. And then
• 8:20
  you have to be everywhere. See, that's applicable
• 8:23
  for the large businesses. People, companies like
• 8:27
  Geico and some of these other large companies,
• 8:29
  they have. billion dollar marketing budgets.
• 8:31
  And so what the small business owner is doing,
• 8:34
  they're making the mistake of emulating the tactics
• 8:37
  that the big boys are doing and they don't have
• 8:40
  the budgets to compete. So when it comes to a
• 8:43
  small business owner, listen, we can't force
• 8:46
  our solution down the throat of the marketplace.
• 8:48
  All we can do is harness what the marketplace
• 8:50
  already wants. And so there's a formula that
• 8:53
  I use. It's called the conversion formula. And
• 8:55
  it's simple. It's four steps and it works like
• 8:57
  this. See, a person already has a problem and
• 9:01
  they don't want the problem. So that's the first
• 9:03
  step is I must be able to identify their problem
• 9:07
  and speak it in a way that they emotionally attach
• 9:10
  to it. Step two, there's a solution, Michael,
• 9:12
  that they're looking for and they can't find
• 9:14
  it. And so I have to be able to articulate that
• 9:17
  solution, again, in a way that's meaningful for
• 9:20
  them. Then I have to educate them that our service
• 9:23
  is far superior to the competition in every way.
• 9:26
  And then make them an offer that's so irresistible
• 9:28
  they can't say no because it solves their problem.
• 9:31
  The offer, though, doesn't have to be monetary.
• 9:34
  It could be something that they can do right
• 9:36
  now to get a victory. And so I truly believe,
• 9:40
  Michael, that if you cannot identify your target
• 9:42
  market and identify a clear solution to their
• 9:45
  challenge, there's no way you should be online.
• 9:48
  There's more noise. There's more people. So you
• 9:51
  have to do that offline first. And once you are
• 9:54
  very good at not only identifying it, but fulfilling
• 9:57
  on what you promise, when you do that, people
• 10:00
  can't. be quiet about what you do. They tell
• 10:03
  everyone about how well you solve their problem.
• 10:07
  And then that cycle builds momentum that you
• 10:09
  just can't stop. And that's how we did it. Absolutely.
• 10:13
  And that sounds great. It sounds great. And it's
• 10:16
  a good thing that this is a recording. Otherwise,
• 10:18
  I'd be writing down everything by notes. Okay.
• 10:22
  Okay. Why do many entrepreneurs confuse visibility
• 10:26
  with trust? And how does that affect the way
• 10:30
  that they network? I believe that's intentionally
• 10:33
  done by the large social media networks. The
• 10:36
  art of connecting with human beings, like really,
• 10:39
  like I know growing up in our time, we went outside.
• 10:42
  We had real meaningful connections with other
• 10:45
  people. And so now what they've done is they've
• 10:48
  made people have this false sense of belief that
• 10:51
  the more likes, the more followers, the more
• 10:55
  relevant I am. And the herd mentality that we
• 10:59
  are. We follow and we believe that our relevance
• 11:02
  comes from that. And it doesn't. It's artificial.
• 11:06
  And so that has now people's focus has shifted
• 11:10
  to let me take 67 selfies until I get the perfect
• 11:14
  angle. And then let me clean it up with a filter
• 11:16
  so I look perfect. And let me craft the perfect
• 11:19
  life for people. It's a facade. And so. To me,
• 11:24
  that blocks authentic connection. It blocks people
• 11:28
  being vulnerable and showing up for who they
• 11:31
  really are. So I believe the power of networking
• 11:33
  is like we're doing now. Two human beings that
• 11:36
  are flawed, yet having an open, vulnerable conversation
• 11:39
  that others can benefit from. That's irreplaceable.
• 11:44
  Absolutely. And the one -to -one, the person
• 11:47
  -to -person, AI is the term that's being thrown
• 11:50
  around. That's a tool. Listen, it's a good tool,
• 11:53
  but it's a tool. It can't replace you. And even
• 11:57
  though we're doing this through Zoom, there's
• 12:00
  a person behind the camera. And you have to remember,
• 12:03
  you have to make a connection with that person.
• 12:07
  And listen, if you're in person, then you can
• 12:10
  pick up the vibe of the person, the vibe of the
• 12:13
  room. You know what I'm talking about. You can't
• 12:16
  necessarily do that through Zoom. But look, we're
• 12:20
  talking right now. And I know immediately, Malcolm,
• 12:23
  you're my type of person. I can hang with you
• 12:26
  anytime. Feel the same way. And I could just
• 12:29
  do that, okay? There are some people that, like,
• 12:33
  remember the Jetsons? She had a little thing
• 12:35
  in front of her face. Oh, yes. And that's what
• 12:37
  they do. That's what they do. And there's really,
• 12:40
  there's no place where we're coming back to a
• 12:43
  time when we have to go face -to -face with people.
• 12:47
  Yeah. And it feels very important. And honestly,
• 12:50
  that's why I'm in business. I go across the country
• 12:53
  talking about this and teaching people how to
• 12:56
  properly network. That means face -to -face.
• 13:00
  I love it. Okay. If branding isn't what people
• 13:05
  think it is, what actually makes someone memorable
• 13:08
  when they meet you in person? I truly believe
• 13:13
  how you make a person feel. They're not going
• 13:16
  to remember the conversation, but there's certain...
• 13:19
  Like I said, there was this thing that someone
• 13:23
  told me that said, everyone brings sunshine when
• 13:26
  they enter a room. Some because they left and
• 13:30
  others because they showed up. And Michael, when
• 13:33
  you meet a person, it only takes a few seconds
• 13:36
  before something feels off or you're pulled in.
• 13:40
  You know what? I would love to get to know that
• 13:43
  person. And it comes just down to being authentically
• 13:46
  you. However quirky I am and my little things
• 13:50
  that I have about me makes me authentically Malcolm.
• 13:53
  And the same with you. And I believe that's the
• 13:55
  part that so many people are trying to be someone
• 13:58
  they're not. And then there's something that's
• 14:00
  off and it's not congruent with who you are.
• 14:03
  So that's what I believe. When you just show
• 14:05
  up, here I am, flawed and all, people can relate
• 14:09
  to that because we're all flawed, right? Absolutely.
• 14:13
  Absolutely. I think that's the key. I always
• 14:16
  tell everybody when they walk into a networking
• 14:20
  event or they're meeting somebody one -on -one,
• 14:22
  what's the last thing that you want to talk about?
• 14:26
  Business. No. You just take business, throw it
• 14:29
  right out the window. Talk about anything else.
• 14:31
  I use a formula that I came up with. Form. F
• 14:35
  -O -R -M. Family. Occupation. recreation, and
• 14:40
  a certain message, right? Talk to them about
• 14:42
  their husband, wife, sister, brother, son, daughter,
• 14:45
  whatever. Talk about youth sports. Talk about
• 14:48
  something, anything, and that will get them.
• 14:52
  Remember, there's an old saying, know you like
• 14:54
  you, trust you. This is with you. You're getting
• 14:58
  to that trust factor, and that trust factor is
• 15:01
  going up, and that wall between the two of you
• 15:03
  is coming down. And people become more free and
• 15:07
  more authentic. And you'll get to really see
• 15:10
  what they're about. So true. And I have an actual
• 15:14
  formula that I use. It's interesting. It's called
• 15:16
  love. I love to love on people. And L is listen.
• 15:21
  So a step is when I listen. Then I can go to
• 15:24
  O, which is open dialogue. How do I open dialogue?
• 15:27
  It's by asking questions. But the questions I'm
• 15:30
  asking, Michael, are to V, verify that what they
• 15:34
  said, I understood it, not what went through
• 15:37
  my filter and changed before I E, engage with
• 15:40
  them. And so that allows us to not have anything
• 15:44
  that's misinterpreted because you could say something
• 15:47
  and I heard it completely different, but I want
• 15:49
  to make sure that what you said, I understood
• 15:51
  it the way you meant it. before I can then engage
• 15:54
  in a deeper, meaningful conversation. So I love
• 15:57
  to just show love and love on people. And it
• 16:00
  accomplishes something very similar to form.
• 16:02
  I love form. Very similar, very similar. But
• 16:05
  what's the key thing you just said is that you
• 16:09
  have to listen. You listen to them. And here's
• 16:12
  the important part. After you finish listening,
• 16:14
  you pause. Just for that half a second. Because
• 16:17
  that tells the other person that you've listened
• 16:21
  to them. And you repeat back some of what they
• 16:23
  said. And you say, all right, if I get this right,
• 16:26
  if I understand this correctly, X, Y, Z. Yes.
• 16:29
  Oh, yeah, sure. And also, make sure that they
• 16:34
  are the only person in the room. There can be
• 16:36
  50 people standing behind them. Have your eyes
• 16:40
  wander. Look them in the eye. Square. Talk to
• 16:44
  them. Even if the person is walking behind them
• 16:48
  that you really want to talk to and you've been
• 16:50
  trying to corner for years. You better not peek,
• 16:54
  right? Better not. Better not. Okay. What mistakes
• 17:00
  do professionals make when they treat networking
• 17:03
  like an audience instead of a relationship? The
• 17:08
  biggest mistake is they're trying to take. They
• 17:11
  go in with a motive. Here's their plan before
• 17:14
  they left home. I want to see how many people
• 17:16
  I can sell to or how many people are my customer.
• 17:21
  So they load up with these business cards and
• 17:23
  they say, yeah, call me. Let's get together.
• 17:26
  And they're taking. That's a big mistake. Or
• 17:29
  they believe that taking the time to go meet
• 17:33
  people in person is a waste of time. And so they
• 17:37
  either won't do it or they're not doing it properly.
• 17:40
  And it's a huge mistake. I believe your value
• 17:43
  is in your network. And a lot of times it's not
• 17:46
  that connection you made. It's who they know
• 17:49
  and who they know. And nothing beats a personal,
• 17:53
  favorable introduction. Hey, you know what? I
• 17:57
  know you need a network. I know Michael Foreman.
• 18:01
  Let me introduce you to him. Nothing beats that.
• 18:03
  But if you're all about yourself, as we talked
• 18:06
  about before, and you're just trying to figure
• 18:08
  out what you can take from the room or take from
• 18:10
  that person, you don't have a network. You have
• 18:13
  nothing. You remember when I said that I went
• 18:17
  to the school of hard knocks, right? I was in
• 18:20
  the mortgage industry. I walked into a room,
• 18:22
  networking event, and I came home with 200. business
• 18:28
  cards. And I said, look how good I did. And I
• 18:33
  did horrible. Now the fact of the matter is if
• 18:37
  I go to a networking event, I come back with
• 18:40
  maybe 15 business cards because I know that I
• 18:44
  spoke with that person. I had some sort of relationship
• 18:48
  with that person. I'm going to follow up with
• 18:50
  what we were talking about the way that I hear
• 18:53
  a way that I can remember that I take their business
• 18:56
  card. I turn it over. I write down the date,
• 19:00
  the name of the function, and something we spoke
• 19:03
  about. When I follow up, there's a whole secret
• 19:05
  sauce for following up, of course. But when I
• 19:08
  follow up, I turn that over and say, oh, that's
• 19:10
  right. That's what we talked about. I put that
• 19:12
  in the correspondence. Little tricks of the trade,
• 19:15
  but it gets you where you want to go. Yeah. I
• 19:18
  have a little process that I use, and it's called
• 19:21
  the three H's. I start off with a handshake.
• 19:23
  Now that we've touched, we've established a physical
• 19:26
  connection. That's a handshake we introduce.
• 19:29
  And I do a high five really quick. Now, no one,
• 19:33
  Michael, can resist a high five. It's positive.
• 19:36
  And so the next thing, they high five. And as
• 19:38
  soon as the high five is done, the third H, I
• 19:41
  give them a hug. And now that we've embraced
• 19:45
  beyond just the distant, how are you? What do
• 19:48
  you do? I only. connect with people I plan to
• 19:52
  talk to. So I tell them, smile. I take their
• 19:55
  photo. I put their information in my phone. And
• 19:59
  to your point, instead of on the back of the
• 20:01
  business card, I write a couple of notes in my
• 20:03
  phone that reminds me of key information about
• 20:07
  them. And I book an appointment on the spot,
• 20:09
  Michael. For 15 minutes, I want to talk to them
• 20:12
  to find out what I can do to provide value for
• 20:16
  them. And so that way I'm not chasing people.
• 20:19
  Like I said, we just shook, we embraced. I have
• 20:21
  their number. We book a call on the spot. And
• 20:23
  I found that when I do that, and again, my motive
• 20:26
  when I get on that call is to see what can I
• 20:28
  do to help support this person and further what
• 20:31
  they're doing and help them out. It's helped
• 20:33
  me meet so many wonderful people. Hopefully that's
• 20:37
  helpful for someone out in the audience today.
• 20:40
  Absolutely, because I do it in a similar way,
• 20:45
  except what I say to them is, how can I make
• 20:50
  you more successful? How can I be a good referral
• 20:54
  source for you? And if I did my job correctly,
• 20:58
  Mike, I don't know what the hell you do yet,
• 21:00
  and you're already trying to make me more successful.
• 21:03
  Yes. Yeah, that's it. That's the art of giving.
• 21:07
  I'm telling you, the two of us, we should go
• 21:09
  together and write a book. I'm going to tell
• 21:11
  you, you're my brother from another mother, because
• 21:13
  this is too synergistic. You've got to be. You've
• 21:17
  got to be. I'm telling you. This is great. This
• 21:20
  is great. How can small business owners build
• 21:24
  a strong referral network without constantly
• 21:28
  creating online content? Yeah. The thing is,
• 21:32
  have you ever eaten at a really good restaurant?
• 21:36
  Once or twice? Yeah, once or twice. You'll tell
• 21:39
  everybody. You'll tell your friends, hey, you
• 21:41
  need to go check out ABC Restaurant. It's amazing.
• 21:44
  I believe that if you aren't excellent at delivering
• 21:48
  what you say that you're going to do, you shouldn't
• 21:51
  do it. But when you know for certain that a person
• 21:54
  is going to be better off than they met you when
• 21:56
  they get your product or service, at that point
• 22:00
  of sale, Find out from them who do you know that
• 22:04
  can benefit just as much as you have from us
• 22:08
  being connected. And I always promise there's
• 22:10
  no hard sale. I hate the salesy sleazy type of
• 22:13
  thing. It's like we're going to treat them just
• 22:15
  like they're a part of the family because it's
• 22:17
  all about how can we help support them. So having
• 22:20
  a built in referral process allows you to be
• 22:25
  able to expand your network. just from pleasing
• 22:28
  the people that are already doing business with
• 22:30
  you. I don't believe that referrals is something
• 22:32
  haphazard. I believe that it's a systemized way
• 22:35
  that you track and measure because when you do
• 22:38
  well and you do good by others, they'll gladly
• 22:41
  let people that they care about know about you.
• 22:43
  It's the reluctance to tell others when your
• 22:46
  product or service is mediocre. So again, when
• 22:49
  you know what you're doing is going to benefit
• 22:51
  that person in a better way than before they
• 22:53
  met you. I believe becomes your obligation to
• 22:56
  help as many people as you possibly can and nothing
• 22:59
  better than a great word of mouth. Absolutely.
• 23:02
  My mentor was also doubles of my business coach.
• 23:07
  The one thing that I was lacking when I first
• 23:10
  started was the process. I didn't have the process.
• 23:13
  I was trying to get referrals and all the, there
• 23:16
  was no set process. And he said, look, you'll
• 23:20
  never know unless you ask. All they can do is
• 23:23
  say, I'll find out, or I don't know, or something
• 23:26
  like that. Or, oh, I do have somebody. But if
• 23:29
  you don't ask, then you'll never find out. Exactly.
• 23:33
  Right. What does authentic authority look like
• 23:37
  in a real -world conversation, not curated online?
• 23:44
  It's happening literally right in front of our
• 23:46
  eyes, between you and I. We're having a conversation.
• 23:50
  There are no scripts. It's open and vulnerable.
• 23:53
  That's what it looks like. It looks like whoever
• 23:56
  you are, be somebody important, be yourself.
• 24:00
  It's okay. And again, Michael, you can't teach
• 24:04
  it, right? You don't have to be what social media
• 24:08
  or society says you should be. And you can feel
• 24:12
  it. You just can feel it. It oozes from a person
• 24:15
  when you talk to them and they're just being
• 24:18
  authentically themselves. You also can tell when
• 24:21
  someone's trying too hard, too. Can't you? Oh,
• 24:24
  yeah. It takes no work to be you. And the world
• 24:31
  truly values when someone is just who they are.
• 24:36
  Like I said, I go all over and I speak about
• 24:38
  networking and how to do it and everything. I
• 24:41
  always try to put humor into what I'm talking
• 24:44
  about because they will remember the humorous
• 24:48
  parts and they'll forget everything else that
• 24:50
  I'm teaching them. But my humor is generally
• 24:53
  self -deprecating. So I'm not going to upset
• 24:57
  anybody else. but me. And everybody has a good
• 25:00
  laugh and it's all right. It's all on me. I make
• 25:03
  several faces and it's all, but they tend to
• 25:06
  remember that because it's a different part of
• 25:08
  their brain. Yes. And if I'm doing a workshop,
• 25:12
  then I throw it in there three or four times.
• 25:14
  So it helps them understand and they can be more
• 25:18
  themselves. And that's the key to everything.
• 25:20
  I love that. Okay. For someone overwhelmed by
• 25:25
  marketing advice. What simple networking habit
• 25:28
  consistently produces real business opportunities?
• 25:35
  I believe that, first of all, because there's
• 25:38
  so much noise, people don't know where to start,
• 25:41
  what's going to be effective, none of that. But
• 25:44
  remember earlier, we were talking about understanding
• 25:46
  who your client is and the number one problem
• 25:49
  that you solve for them. Part of that becomes
• 25:52
  the psychographics of understanding where do
• 25:55
  they go for advice? What are the books that they're
• 25:57
  reading? Who do they look up to as influencers?
• 26:01
  And so when you start finding out all these things
• 26:03
  about the person, not just the demographic, but
• 26:05
  the psychographics, what's keeping them up at
• 26:07
  night? What do they fear most? Then you show
• 26:10
  up where they are. If you're going to where they're
• 26:13
  looking for support and you can articulate in
• 26:17
  a authentic way how you can be of success. You
• 26:21
  only need that one channel. You don't have to
• 26:23
  be everywhere. You just have to be in the right
• 26:26
  place where people are already seeking. Remember,
• 26:29
  they're looking for a solution. They can't find
• 26:31
  it. Show up as the solution. Give. Remember,
• 26:35
  an offer so compelling, they can't say no. Give
• 26:38
  to them. Give them things that they can do that's
• 26:40
  practical, that gets them closer to solving that
• 26:43
  challenge. You will have more clients than what
• 26:46
  you could ever imagine if you just take the time
• 26:48
  and do that type of research. I just want to
• 26:52
  add just one little bit to what you said, because
• 26:55
  what you said is perfect. It's exactly what should
• 26:57
  be done. You are a problem solver. They have
• 27:01
  a problem. You want to solve that problem, but
• 27:05
  it doesn't end there. What I try to teach is
• 27:09
  that there's a problem and you solve it, but
• 27:13
  you don't want to meet them here. You want to
• 27:15
  meet them here, somewhere else. You want to meet
• 27:18
  where they're going. Yes. And not just solve
• 27:21
  their problem, but because if you meet where
• 27:23
  they're going, then you're the solution and you're
• 27:26
  the help along the way. Yes. Great point. And
• 27:30
  the other thing to that, Michael, is what I've
• 27:31
  found is that only one to three percent of the
• 27:35
  marketplace at any given time is ready to buy.
• 27:39
  The other 97 % to 99%, they're on the buyer's
• 27:42
  journey. They're gathering research. They're
• 27:43
  looking for information. If you can enter the
• 27:47
  conversation while they're on the buyer's journey,
• 27:50
  when they get to the point of choosing who they're
• 27:53
  going to do business with, if you're the person
• 27:55
  feeding them all the information along the way,
• 27:58
  More than likely, it's always going to be you.
• 28:01
  Most small business owners treat 100 % of the
• 28:03
  market like they're ready to buy today. And that
• 28:06
  creates friction. It's why people hate talking
• 28:09
  to salespeople because they treat them all like
• 28:11
  they're ready right now. And most people aren't.
• 28:13
  I have, there's a saying that I do in all my
• 28:16
  presentations. And I usually wind up with this
• 28:19
  saying. People love to buy, but they hate to
• 28:24
  be sold to. They hate it. And I bring up a car
• 28:28
  dealership. And do you want to have that salesperson?
• 28:33
  Hey, this is a Mustang. This is a 2026 Mustang.
• 28:36
  It has this, comes in various colors. You can
• 28:38
  see it even does your lunch. It's incredible.
• 28:41
  Or do you want the guy to walk up to you and
• 28:43
  say, hey, my name is Michael. If you have any
• 28:45
  questions, I'm right over there. It's a different
• 28:48
  mindset. But that one line, I have it in every
• 28:52
  one of my presentations. People love to buy.
• 28:57
  Yes. Need to be sold to. So true. So let's bring
• 29:01
  this podcast full circle. If you could give one
• 29:05
  networking rule that outperforms branding tactics,
• 29:09
  posting schedules and growth hacks, what would
• 29:13
  it be? I would say, first of all, show up. Show
• 29:20
  up as and then when you get there, show up as
• 29:23
  the authentic version of you. That's the second
• 29:26
  thing. The third thing, be prepared to give.
• 29:29
  And the fourth thing, follow up. People are busy.
• 29:32
  All of us have things happen in our lives. Follow
• 29:35
  up with that person and let them see that you
• 29:37
  truly are authentic about helping them. And by
• 29:40
  being persistent like that, again, because you're
• 29:42
  not taking, you can build more meaningful relationships.
• 29:46
  Absolutely. I couldn't have said it better. What
• 29:48
  you just said is in my presentation, right? Everything
• 29:52
  you've said is in my presentation. It's great.
• 29:55
  I love to hear all of this. Malcolm, this was
• 29:58
  absolutely great. If somebody wanted to get a
• 30:01
  hold of you, if somebody wants you to coach them,
• 30:04
  teach them, or tell them what to do, what's the
• 30:07
  best way to get a hold of you? Yeah. The thing
• 30:09
  is, Michael, you know how we're talking about
• 30:11
  how we show up authentic. We're very particular
• 30:13
  about who we engage with. They have to be people
• 30:16
  who have morals, values, ethics. They're authentic.
• 30:19
  Those are the people that I want to connect with.
• 30:21
  And what I want to do is in my book, it's called
• 30:24
  Massive Action. It talks about how a small business
• 30:27
  owner can find six figures of hidden revenue
• 30:30
  in their business without marketing or ads. And
• 30:33
  so because of your podcast and you having me
• 30:35
  as a guest. for any of your guests that want
• 30:38
  to get a copy of it, just go to 100K, so 100K,
• 30:43
  leak, L -E -A -K .com. And you'll get a copy
• 30:47
  of my book and it'll show you that extra 100
• 30:49
  grand that's hiding in your business that doesn't
• 30:51
  require increasing marketing spend. Great. Malcolm,
• 30:55
  this was just great. This episode is a great
• 30:59
  reminder that business still runs on trust, clarity,
• 31:03
  and real relationships. Attention fades quickly,
• 31:07
  but meaningful conversations and strong connections
• 31:10
  keep working long after the meeting ends. If
• 31:14
  today's conversation made you rethink how you
• 31:17
  show up, who you listen to, or who you build
• 31:20
  credibility with, take one action this week.
• 31:24
  Reach out to somebody. Start a real conversation
• 31:27
  and focus on the relationship instead of the
• 31:31
  impression. And if you got value from this episode,
• 31:34
  make sure you follow and subscribe to Networking
• 31:37
  Unleashed, building profitable connections so
• 31:40
  you can keep getting practical insights on networking
• 31:43
  and communication. Also, share with a business
• 31:46
  owner who's tired of chasing trends and ready
• 31:49
  to build something real. If you want help strengthening
• 31:53
  your communication, your relationships, or the
• 31:56
  way you position yourself in conversations, Visit
• 31:59
  foreman .com to learn how I work with professionals,
• 32:02
  teams, and organizations. Until next time, be
• 32:06
  genuine, be clear, and build connections that
• 32:09
  actually turn into opportunity. Malcolm, thank
• 32:12
  you again for coming on the podcast. You were
• 32:15
  sensational. Thanks for having me, my friend.
• 32:18
  This was a lot of fun. Absolutely. Well. Hold
• 32:26
  on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's hear from
• 32:29
  our sponsors. David Neal, co -founder Revved
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  Up Kids. Revved Up Kids is on a mission to protect
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  financial decision of your life, leave it in
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  the hands of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan.
• 33:01
  Henry is a global real estate agent with Century
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  21, celebrating his 41st year in business. No
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  matter where you're moving, Henry has the right
• 33:11
  connections for you. You can contact Henry at
• 33:15
  561 -427 -4888. A huge thank you to our guests
• 33:21
  for sharing such insights today. And of course,
• 33:25
  a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners,
• 33:28
  for tuning in and spending your time with us.
• 33:31
  If you're interested in my digital courses, being
• 33:35
  coached or having me come and talk to your company,
• 33:38
  just go to Michael and fill out the request form.
• 33:41
  Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
• 33:45
  It's about being present. So take what you've
• 33:48
  learned today, get out there and make some meaningful
• 33:51
  connections. If you've enjoyed this episode,
• 33:54
  please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a
• 33:57
  review and share it with someone who could use
• 34:00
  a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the
• 34:03
  conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
• 34:06
  Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website, foreman
• 34:11
  .com slash podcasts.