Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E82 An Interview with Philip Masiello and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E82 An Interview with Philip Masiello and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:17
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
0:20
Connections. I'm your host, Michael Foreman,
0:23
and today we're diving into the space where innovation
0:26
meets intention. My guest is a powerhouse entrepreneur
0:31
who's built brands, scaled businesses, and embraced
0:35
the future of AI and e -commerce, all without
0:38
losing sight of what really drives growth, connection.
0:42
We're talking about what makes a modern entrepreneur
0:45
successful, how to build a brand that actually
0:48
resonates, and why networking is still one of
0:51
the most profitable tools in your arsenal, even
0:55
an algorithm -driven world. Whether you're launching
0:59
your first venture or ready to level up your
1:01
digital presence, this conversation will challenge
1:04
you to think bigger, connect deeper, and grow
1:07
smarter. And I would like to introduce Phil to
1:12
my entire audience. He has quite a background.
1:16
I'm going to let him share that with you. Phil,
1:18
welcome to the podcast. Hi, thanks, Michael,
1:21
and I appreciate you having me on. My pleasure.
1:25
So you want to give us a little bit insight into
1:27
your background? Oh, sure. I founded my first
1:32
business when I was 27 years old. It was a complete
1:36
and utter disaster. I was a failure at leadership
1:38
and a failure at process management and just
1:42
every mistake that you could possibly make, I
1:44
made. And after about three years, I finally
1:47
said enough is enough. I'm not accomplishing
1:50
what I want to accomplish. And I sold the business,
1:52
took whatever money I had left and moved to Maryland
1:54
and went to University of Maryland and got my
1:57
master's degree in finance and marketing. But
2:01
I didn't go to... to graduate school because
2:03
I felt like I needed more education. I went there
2:05
because I felt like I needed to think differently,
2:07
which I did. And while I was there, I got involved
2:11
with a small specialty food chain in Washington,
2:14
DC. I invested a little money. We grew that business
2:17
to 12 stores. Plus we had made a couple of purchases,
2:20
acquisitions of other companies. And that really
2:23
taught me about. entrepreneurship, capital raising,
2:27
and things like that. Then I founded another
2:29
company called The Daily Market after we sold
2:31
Sutton Place. And I founded The Daily Market,
2:34
which were grab -and -go meal stores. And then
2:37
we founded a website for selling meals online.
2:40
This is at the dawn of e -commerce. And that
2:44
got a lot of attention. We got a lot of attention
2:46
from consumers, and we got a lot of attention
2:48
from the industry. And we wound up getting acquired
2:52
by a supermarket chain. And so I went to work
2:56
for them for about two years. I am not a good
2:58
employee. I am, I think, too far outside the
3:02
box for any company to deal with. And so I did
3:06
my two years, helped them accomplish what they
3:09
needed to accomplish. And then I went and I built
3:11
a skincare line with a woman named Carol Alt.
3:15
which we launched on the shopping channels here
3:17
and internationally. And then we eventually grew
3:20
that to be on Amazon. We were on in Ulta Beauty,
3:23
Sephora, all the big beauty chains. We exited
3:26
that and I founded a shaving brand, which was
3:31
good. We were a little bit ahead of ourselves,
3:34
but the industry got very hot and we got acquired
3:37
very quickly, which I felt was a little too quick.
3:40
And then... Our partner in that was one of the
3:43
major razor companies. And after we got acquired,
3:46
they came to me and said, we don't know anything
3:49
about direct -to -consumer. We'd love to figure
3:52
out how we can have you help us. We need to build
3:55
websites that are consumer focused. We need to
3:57
be able to sell to consumers. All we ever know
4:00
how to do is sell to the supermarkets, drug chain.
4:02
And so I started helping them. And that was the
4:06
launching point of what I have today, which is
4:08
Crunch Growth Revenue Acceleration Agency. I
4:11
never planned on being an agency. It just became
4:13
that out of that conversation. And so from there
4:18
on, we help brands today scale on multiple platforms,
4:22
whether it's e -commerce, brick and mortar, whatever.
4:25
We place advertising. We run social media for
4:28
them. And we're a full -service agency. We do
4:32
short -form, long -form video. We build sites,
4:35
host sites, manage sites. So that's what we do.
4:38
Right. That's quite an extensive background.
4:41
And that's why I'm glad that I didn't attempt
4:43
to say it because I would have butchered it.
4:45
All right. So I'm so glad that you told everybody
4:49
or explained to everybody what it was. So let
4:52
me just delve into these questions and just give
4:56
me your best answers. Sure. In your experience,
5:00
what separates successful entrepreneurs from
5:04
those who struggle? And where does networking
5:07
fit into that equation? Yeah, that's a great
5:10
question. So I think most successful entrepreneurs
5:15
are able to take in criticism, whether it's from
5:20
their customers or whether it's from outside
5:23
sources, and reflect on it in an attempt to get
5:27
better and constantly improve. Because I think
5:30
entrepreneurs, and I was guilty of this. my first
5:33
startup, I think entrepreneurs think sometimes
5:36
that they have the answer to everything or they
5:39
have to have the answer to everything and they
5:40
don't. As far as networking goes, it's always
5:43
good to surround yourself with people that are
5:47
going to be honest with you and give you their
5:49
honest feedback and help you think through. They
5:53
don't have to give you the answer. They just
5:54
have to help you think through. So the ability
5:56
to network. and listen to what other people have
5:59
gone through and be able to bounce ideas off
6:03
and talk openly about what struggles that you're
6:06
having or the positives, negatives, and share
6:09
that information, whatever's positive or negative
6:11
that you do, share that with others, I think
6:14
is invaluable for entrepreneurs. So the whole
6:17
relationship building, not only with your clients
6:20
and your customers, but also with outside sources
6:23
helps you become a better manager, a better person,
6:25
a better entrepreneur. and be able to see problems
6:29
before they occur. Absolutely. I couldn't agree
6:33
with you more. And that whole, that the entrepreneur
6:37
has to know everything is a fallacy. So you just
6:41
have to, but I consider myself, they call me
6:45
a super connector, but I'm a connector. I see
6:48
two people, I do one person with a problem, one
6:51
person with an answer. I put them together and
6:54
I back away. Because I've done my job. I've done,
6:57
I've, look, I've put those two together. I'll
7:00
let them, if they're successful, fine. If not,
7:02
that's fine too. I did my job. But I don't have
7:06
the answer for everybody, but I may know somebody.
7:09
Sure. And it increases our network. So it goes
7:13
more and more. And I can really go into that
7:15
with you even further, but I'm not going to because
7:17
I have more questions. Okay. Before a brand becomes
7:21
scalable, it has to become known. How important
7:25
is relationship building when launching or growing
7:28
a personal or business brand? In today's environment,
7:33
I don't care if you're building a personal brand
7:37
or you're building a consumer product brand or
7:40
you're building a B2B brand. I don't care. I
7:43
just actually just wrote a book on this whole
7:45
subject, which is the why behind the buy. And
7:48
the reason is. You have to make a connection
7:50
with your customer, with your prospect. Today,
7:54
people want to know who they're buying from,
7:56
and they want to know what you stand for and
7:58
what you're all about. It's not like the old
8:00
days. Anybody who's marketing the way that people
8:02
were marketing 20 years ago or 30 years ago,
8:05
you're dead in the water because today's consumer,
8:08
again, I don't care whether it's a business consumer,
8:10
a client for coaching, somebody who you want
8:13
in your network, they want to know. who you are
8:16
and what you're all about. And so you have to
8:18
build that relationship before you can move further.
8:21
Same thing with building a brand, especially
8:24
when building a brand is all about, it's centered
8:26
upon something. So if it's your personal brand,
8:29
that brand is centered upon you. So you can't.
8:32
You have to be able to express who you are, what
8:35
your mission is, how you're going to help people
8:37
and why they should get involved with you. And
8:39
that's the big thing is why should a customer
8:41
buy your product in your consumer product brand?
8:44
Why should someone do business with you if you're
8:47
a business brand? Why should someone do business
8:49
with you if you're a personal brand? So you have
8:51
to get that across and the way you do it. Today,
8:54
we have tools like short form video, long form
8:56
video. It gives us the ability to communicate
8:59
who we are, what we're all about, and why you
9:01
should buy from us. Absolutely. Again, I couldn't
9:05
agree with you more. And it's just because every
9:08
time that you're explaining an answer to one
9:11
of these questions, I'm agreeing with you 100%.
9:14
And I very rarely do this, by the way. I'm agreeing
9:17
with you 100%. And I could pick out pieces of
9:20
what you're talking about and talk for an hour.
9:23
about it. So you're right on the mark with everything.
9:27
You're at the intersection of AI and e -commerce.
9:31
Yes. How is tech changing the way we network
9:34
and build relationships? And where does the human
9:37
touch still matter most? Yeah. We hear so much
9:42
about AI every day, about how AI is going to
9:44
take jobs away or how AI is going to do this
9:47
job or this job. The way that we approach it
9:50
in our business is, again, You have to build,
9:54
you have to be authentic and you have to build
9:56
a relationship with someone. So can AI be a tool
9:59
that you can use in your arsenal to build a website?
10:03
Absolutely. To build your content? Absolutely.
10:06
You can use that as a tool, but you have to put
10:08
a human touch to it. If I went in and said to
10:11
ChatGPT, hey, write a description of who Phil
10:15
is. It would write a great description, but I'm
10:18
not going to take that right out of ChatGPT and
10:20
give it to somebody. I'm going to tweak it. I'm
10:23
going to give it to an editor. I'm going to give
10:25
it to somebody else to look at because it has
10:27
to be personalized. It can't be machine driven.
10:29
I'm not a fan today of the images that come out
10:33
of AI. I think that there's still a lot of work
10:36
to do. It'll get there eventually. But your imagery
10:39
has to be authentic. I'm not going to put up
10:41
an avatar of Phil or create a video using AI
10:45
of Phil just because it can take my picture and
10:48
turn me into an avatar. I'm not going to do that.
10:51
I may use AI to script what I want to say, and
10:55
then I'll go and film it. So all these pieces,
10:58
these touch points that we're using, whether
11:00
we're talking to customers, prospective customers,
11:02
clients, whatever it is. coaching, you have to
11:06
be authentic. And so you have to take what AI
11:09
gives you. It's going to get you 50 to 60 % of
11:12
the way there, but you have to bring it home
11:14
authentically. You have to take what it gives
11:16
you, tweak it and make it your own to be able
11:19
to communicate with someone. I agree. AI is a
11:23
tool. It's one in your tool belt and you use
11:27
it when you have to, but it's true. I write an
11:31
article on four different platforms. I use AI
11:35
to give me the general idea, but I still have
11:39
to go in and still write the majority because
11:42
it's not who I am. It's not from me. It's from
11:46
AI, but I have to make it more personal. So again,
11:51
I agree with you 100%. OK, this is getting a
11:55
little redundant, but I agree with you. I will
11:57
tell you one thing, though, for everybody, because
11:59
everybody, whether you're a personal brand, whatever
12:01
you're doing, social media, you're doing ads,
12:03
you're doing writing or whatever. The one thing
12:07
that AI is phenomenal at is the analytical part
12:11
of data and the ability to take huge amounts
12:14
of data and give you an answer as to a path to
12:18
follow to make to get even better. So that part
12:21
of AI, I think, is. Yeah, I agree. The AI is
12:26
a tool, but it's a greater tool than a lot of
12:30
the other tools in your tool belt. So if you're
12:33
making X amount of dollars or you have a certain
12:36
place, you have to use AI and it will launch
12:40
you. But again, you need that personal touch.
12:43
You need to show them this is you because they're
12:47
not buying because I coach many students. I go
12:50
on to the circuit. do conferences and things
12:53
like that. But they don't want to see a robot
12:56
up there. I have to go in there. I have to give
12:58
them stories. I have to give them a little bit.
13:00
I have to interact. And that's me. That's just
13:02
me. But that's what it's good for. So how did
13:06
networking help you build your first big win?
13:10
And how do you approach it differently now that
13:13
when your brand was established? My first big
13:18
win. I would say, was the daily markets. And
13:22
that came out of working for another company.
13:25
And what I learned, there were some really smart
13:27
people that started the specialty food company.
13:30
And they were real estate guys, actually. They
13:33
were developing something and they needed a really
13:35
high -end grocery store. And so these were like
13:38
15 ,000, 20 ,000 square foot specialty food stores,
13:42
like you would see in New York City with Balducci's
13:44
and all. And they taught me. I worked very closely
13:47
with the CEO and they taught me that you have
13:51
to listen and you have to talk to people and
13:54
listen to them. And they're going to tell you
13:57
what they need from you and what they expect
14:01
from you. And then you can deliver. But if you
14:04
go in there thinking that you're going to do
14:06
all the talking and you're going to tell them
14:08
what you're going to deliver, then you're going
14:10
to fall on deaf ears. I've always carried that
14:14
forward. And so whether I'm building a consumer
14:17
product brand or whether I'm focused on myself
14:19
or whether I'm focused on a business, you have
14:22
to listen. You have to listen to your customers.
14:24
You have to listen to your clients. You have
14:26
to listen to your prospects. You have to listen
14:28
to the people in your groups. So I find myself,
14:31
I just came back from a conference in Florida
14:34
just yesterday. And I found myself sitting in
14:39
that room, listening. to every single person
14:43
who was speaking and writing down notes about
14:46
each one of them so that I could, when there's
14:50
that off time, when you're engaging together,
14:53
I knew what I wanted to talk to them about. And
14:55
I could bring up the fact that, hey, you said
14:58
this, and I find that interesting. First thing
15:00
that does is they realize, oh, you really listened
15:04
to me. And the second thing is you're really
15:06
interested in what I have to say. And so they're
15:09
more apt to give you even more. So you have to,
15:12
it's really a two -way street of networking with
15:15
people. You have to listen and hear what they
15:17
have to say. And then you can better help present
15:21
yourself in a way that you can help them at another
15:25
point. That's sort of the point of networking.
15:28
It's two -way street. That's very true. There
15:31
is a term that you can use for that listening.
15:35
It's called active listening. So that you just
15:38
listen to what you don't want to. The next thing
15:41
you say isn't the next thing that you want to
15:44
say. It's you have to respond to what they're
15:47
saying. Easy way is to repeat part of what they
15:51
said to you and then continue on and finish what
15:56
they were saying. So you're listening to them
15:57
because you are a problem solver. OK, you're
16:01
going to solve their problem. The only way that
16:04
you're going to. solve their problem is if you
16:07
listen to them so if you listen to them you and
16:10
listen every time you go into networking and
16:14
whether it's a networking event or a conference
16:16
or anything else there's something called a servant's
16:19
heart you have to go in with a servant's heart
16:21
and what that is it's like what can I do for
16:25
you how can I make you more successful And it
16:30
usually blows a person away. I don't even know
16:32
what you do yet. And you're asking me what's
16:35
going on. But it builds up that level of trust.
16:39
Know you like you trust you. They'll do business
16:42
with you. So you're increasing level of trust.
16:45
Sometimes you have 30 seconds, a minute, five
16:48
minutes to build that level of trust. But you
16:51
have to build it just enough where they're actually
16:53
open to what you're saying. Yep. So that's all
16:58
part of it. It's all part of it. Okay. So in
17:02
brand building, people buy the story before they
17:06
buy the product. How can entrepreneurs use networking
17:10
to shape their narrative? Yeah, that's a great
17:14
question. It's really no different, right? You're
17:17
talking to people. When you're building a brand,
17:21
you've figured out who your target persona is,
17:25
your customer. You built this persona so you
17:27
can speak in the language that they want to hear,
17:30
that they speak in. If I have a product that's
17:34
geared towards people that are between 20 and
17:36
35, there's a different speak than if I have
17:39
a product or a brand that I'm speaking to people
17:42
over 50. So it's the same thing with entrepreneurs.
17:45
You have to know who your audience is and what
17:47
you're trying to accomplish with that audience.
17:49
Are you just trying to let everybody know? Believe
17:54
me, I see entrepreneurs like this. You're just
17:55
trying to let everybody know that you're the
17:57
greatest in the world. You're going to speak
17:59
away, but people are going to shut you down because
18:02
they get tired of hearing that. So the same thing,
18:07
you're telling a story, you're telling a narrative,
18:09
you're telling your story, but you have to be
18:11
humble about it or get across what you think
18:14
is interesting for them. So I did a speech in
18:17
February at an entrepreneur event and I started
18:21
out. And told them my backstory. But I said,
18:24
I founded 10 different businesses, but only four
18:27
have been successful. And I'll tell them, and
18:30
I tell them exactly why I failed. I'm telling
18:34
them that not because of any other reason than
18:38
I'm going to try and help them to understand
18:39
that failure is a part of growth and you should
18:44
never be ashamed of failure. You don't have to
18:46
have all the answers. As an entrepreneur, it's
18:48
okay to fail. I failed because I got myself into
18:51
things that I shouldn't have been involved in
18:53
or at the time it wasn't right for me. You have
18:55
to know your audience. It's the same thing. You
18:57
have to know your audience. You have to build
18:59
a persona and you have to get across what you
19:01
think is going to be interesting enough. help
19:03
them. And that's storytelling. Absolutely. And
19:07
storytelling is a very big part of your presentation.
19:11
Now, people remember the stories. Absolutely.
19:16
They're not going to remember what you talk about,
19:18
but they're going to remember the stories. Yes.
19:20
So if your story resonates with them, then they'll
19:25
pay a little more closer attention to you. So
19:28
one thing leads into the other, but that's a
19:30
very big part of it. And when I go on stage,
19:33
that's the first thing I do is I hit them with
19:34
a story. I get them involved and it becomes that
19:37
type of talk. But listen, I've been an entrepreneur.
19:41
I've been six, seven businesses and four or five
19:47
succeeded. Two or three definitely did not succeed.
19:51
But I learned so much more from my failures than
19:55
my successes. Yeah. Just like I opened up with
20:00
you at the start of my first business when I
20:01
was 27, and I say it's a complete disaster. But
20:04
that disaster, I still carry that disaster with
20:06
me to this day. The lessons I learned about leadership,
20:10
communication, process management, all those
20:12
things that I failed at, I make sure that I don't
20:15
fail at them again. I fail at other things, but
20:18
I don't fail at humans. That's right. We won't
20:21
get into that. But you have to learn, when I
20:25
speak to my corporate clients, the difference
20:28
between leadership and being a boss. You have
20:31
to have the confidence in who you are and what
20:36
you do in order to become a better leader. If
20:40
you're insecure, you can be the boss and tell
20:43
people what to do and be afraid that they're
20:46
going to come for your job. Yeah. Being a leader
20:49
is teaching them what you do. Yeah. It's not.
20:52
So that's all right. That's again, that's another
20:55
conversation we can have for another hour, but
20:57
we're not going to have it. Okay. So what's your
21:01
strategy for maintaining strong relationships
21:04
with strategic partners, collaborators, or even
21:08
customers? especially in a digital first world?
21:12
I think that in some ways, the digital first
21:17
world enables us to be more in communication
21:23
or build relationships stronger than in the past.
21:28
And the reason is because... I can send a message.
21:32
I can send an email. If I think about something
21:34
for you, I can send a message to you immediately.
21:37
The one thing that I like to do is share information.
21:41
If you're linked up with me, for example, and
21:45
I know what you do and we've talked and we're
21:48
in a business relationship and I see something
21:52
that comes across that has to do with your industry.
21:56
I'll send it to you and say, hey, I saw this.
21:58
I don't know if you saw it, maybe you didn't,
21:59
but I thought this was interesting about your
22:01
business. So I like to constantly give information
22:05
or give ideas or give thoughts. Or link people
22:09
up and say, hey, hey, guy, I just had so and
22:14
so on my show. And I think you guys should talk
22:16
because they're both doing the same type of thing.
22:18
And I like doing that. And I think people appreciate
22:20
it because it's not one way. I'm not asking them
22:22
for something. There may be a time when I may
22:24
ask them for a little help on something that
22:26
I'm working on. But I built up so much relationship
22:30
capital with them because I constantly give.
22:33
And then there's usually no reason why they won't
22:36
want to help me. But then. They feel like we
22:39
know each other. I'll even give you an example
22:41
on LinkedIn. We do outreach for our business
22:44
on LinkedIn and we target specific people and
22:47
I never go heavy into the ask right away. It's
22:52
usually, hey, let's hook up. Then I'll, once
22:54
I learn about them, I'll send them something
22:57
about their industry. I'll even make comments
23:00
on some of their posts now that we're linked
23:01
up. And then by the time I ask for a meeting,
23:05
which may be six or seven weeks after, they feel
23:09
like we know each other because we've done all
23:12
this. They feel like, oh, we're friends. So I
23:14
think in some ways, the digital side of it enables
23:17
us to get a little bit closer to people if you
23:19
use it correctly. Yeah, always if you use it
23:22
correctly. But that's called building your social
23:24
capital. You have a lot of capital and you have
23:27
to build it. And this is all social capitals.
23:29
But what you're doing is you're... bringing value
23:32
to that relationship. And what you're doing also
23:36
is you're saying, okay, this other person, that
23:39
article or something else that have you seen
23:42
it, you're adding value to your brand. Sure.
23:46
And what you're doing and when they accept it,
23:48
you're increasing your social capital. So everything
23:51
works with one another. And the fact that you
23:54
don't ask for a meeting till three or four or
23:58
five times in. That's perfect because you've
24:02
increased your social capital to such a point
24:04
where they almost say, I almost have to talk
24:08
to him because he turned a lot of that in. And
24:11
then it's, of course, it's up to you on what
24:14
you do with that. But that's exactly what I talk
24:17
about regarding LinkedIn. One of my coaching
24:21
clients yesterday, I told him exactly that scenario
24:25
with LinkedIn. Because that's one of the social
24:28
soft touches you can do with an existing client.
24:31
Sure. And I told him the same thing about building
24:35
his social capital. And he quickly says, I got
24:38
to write that down. It's so important. No, it's
24:41
not for you just to write down. It's for you
24:42
to believe it. Yeah. And to do it. Okay. So many
24:47
entrepreneurs underestimate the power of peer
24:50
networks. How do you find or build? A circle
24:54
that truly pushes you forward. Yeah. So there
24:59
are, I think that entrepreneurs should get involved
25:03
in masterminds or academies, leadership groups,
25:09
even if it's online. There's groups out there
25:11
like EO, Entrepreneurs Organization, or YPO,
25:14
Young Presidents Organization. You know, those
25:16
kinds of groups where you're going to be in with
25:18
peers. And that allows you to network with them
25:24
and also bounce ideas and things off of them
25:28
because now you're getting a closer relationship.
25:31
You're getting sort of a one -on -one relationship
25:33
with them. And so then they become your friends.
25:36
And so they have experiences or shared experiences
25:40
that you may have. They may have had the same
25:44
stumbling block that you have. So the ability
25:47
to use that is, I think, is just you can't even
25:51
measure how great that is. I think sometimes
25:54
entrepreneurs, again, they feel like they should
26:00
have all the answers and they don't need outside
26:03
help because. It's their business and nobody
26:06
knows what they're going to go through and nobody
26:09
knows what they're going through. But the reality
26:11
is, no, everybody knows what you're going through.
26:14
Everybody who's an entrepreneur who's built a
26:15
business or built a personal brand knows exactly
26:17
what you're going through because we've all gone
26:19
through it. So why not share with others? And
26:22
so sometimes it takes a little bit of time for
26:25
entrepreneurs to get over that hurdle. But once
26:27
they do, they find the relationship part of it
26:30
just valuable. Yeah, again, it's resorts to that
26:34
trust factor. If I can trust you that you went
26:39
through the same thing and you're not just blowing
26:41
smoke up my dress, it's okay. So he's been through
26:45
it. So you know what? Maybe I can ask him. And
26:49
another thing is when you are on LinkedIn and
26:52
you have a problem and you post it or not post
26:55
to a group, when you ask somebody for their advice,
27:00
They are more than willing to give you their
27:02
advice because you're coming to them. Okay, he
27:05
thinks that I'm the professional or I have a
27:07
good take on this. So I'm going to give him my
27:11
advice and more advice, of course. Obviously,
27:13
you take it, you figure it out. But that's one
27:17
of the best ways to get through your problem.
27:19
AI is revolutionizing efficiency. But can it
27:26
ever replace the connection we get from one -to
27:29
-one networking? No. We build chatbots. We use
27:34
chatbots for customer service interactions. We
27:37
use chatbots in some of the outreach pieces.
27:41
But it's only, like I said, it's going to get
27:44
you to a certain point. So we use AI and chat
27:48
and language models to get maybe to answer questions
27:53
that people have basically. questions to get
27:56
you to the point where you're going to get a
27:59
phone call or you're going to get on with them.
28:01
But you can't use AI. And I don't think we ever
28:05
will use AI. to make the decisions or to be able
28:09
to talk with someone. I've been on plenty of
28:12
phone calls with you're calling customer service
28:14
and you can tell it's AI and you can speak normally
28:17
and all that. But again, it's designed to weed
28:20
it out or segment you or lead you to the final
28:23
answer. What are you calling about? Is it your
28:26
account? Is it this? That stuff is great, right?
28:29
It gets you to the right person so that they
28:31
can solve your problem. But if you think that
28:34
You're going to be able to just answer everybody's
28:37
questions. I don't see it. And how are you going
28:39
to network with AI? It has its place. But again,
28:44
you can't take away the human element of what
28:48
we do every day, whether it's talking to clients,
28:50
talking to customers, talking to prospects, talking
28:53
to a networking group. AI is just never going
28:57
to replace that. No, I, listen, that's one thing
29:01
I promote whenever I go out and talk, of course,
29:03
but the networking events, the networking between
29:06
people, you have to be able to pick up the vibe
29:09
of the person, the vibe of the room. And you
29:13
can't do that through AI. You have to do that
29:15
in personal networking, whether you're in a room
29:18
filled with 300 people or just one -on -one,
29:21
you can't pick up on that if you're not there.
29:25
And so you'll always need, plus, you know what?
29:28
We're human beings. We need the physical touch.
29:30
We're not going to survive unless we have it.
29:34
So that's another thing. I'll tell you one thing
29:36
that I tested the last two meetings I was at,
29:41
and they were small groups, 25, 30 people and
29:45
entrepreneurs and brand builders. And I got the
29:48
list of the signups of the attendees from the
29:53
sponsor of the show. And I took that list and
29:56
I ran it through AI and said, just give me a
30:00
quick five sentence synopsis of each of these
30:04
people. And all I'm trying to do there is to
30:08
be able to now make a deeper connection. So when
30:10
I walk up to somebody and I say, oh, you're Ann?
30:14
Oh, you did blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
30:16
blah. Am I correct? Is that you? And then all
30:18
of a sudden they're taken off guard like, oh,
30:20
he knows. How does he know me? How does he know
30:22
anything about me? And it changed. the whole
30:25
dynamic of the discussion. Because I'm talking
30:28
about before the meetings all start, when you're
30:31
just mingling and you're, when you can walk up
30:33
to somebody and say, hey, I know a little bit
30:35
about you. I'd like to know more. I noticed that
30:37
you did this. How was that? It just completely
30:40
disarms people. And they're impressed that you
30:43
bothered to find out something about them. And
30:46
then they can just talk. And then, and I love
30:49
that when you can get people to just start talking
30:50
about themselves. So that was one thing I did.
30:53
But again, I didn't use AI to talk to the person.
30:58
I used AI just to give me five simple facts about
31:01
the person, which I thought was really an interesting
31:03
way of starting. It is. And I use something called
31:07
F -O -R -M. It's family occupation. recreation,
31:13
and a message. And I have that in the back of
31:16
my head for every networking event, because people
31:21
love to talk about themselves. And the more you
31:24
get them to talk about themselves, the stronger
31:27
that level of trust is. Father, mother, sister,
31:32
brother, husband, wife, son, daughter, talk about
31:34
that, right? Or talk about, oh, you like to go
31:37
skiing or boating or playing baseball or something?
31:41
Talk on that. Don't talk business because the
31:45
more you talk about business, the less they're
31:48
going to pay attention to you. The more you talk
31:50
about themselves and let them talk, the more
31:54
that trust factor is and the easier it will be
31:58
for you to have that conversation at a later
32:01
time. So when you try to make that cup of coffee
32:04
meeting, it'll be a lot easier after that form
32:09
meeting. Yeah. OK, so how do you recommend early
32:16
stage founders start networking if they feel
32:20
like they have nothing big to offer yet? I think
32:25
you always have something big to offer. You just
32:27
don't see it. And it always comes out. It always
32:30
comes out in the first meeting. So the first
32:32
thing I one of the things that I see that's been
32:36
a great thing for young entrepreneurs are the
32:39
accelerator and. accelerator programs and or
32:44
co -working spaces because they wind up going
32:48
to the same place every day and it's probably
32:50
10 or 15 or 20 other startups in there and you're
32:54
forced almost to network within that group and
32:58
they always have networking events and they always
33:02
have speakers and things so guys and gals who
33:06
start businesses or early stage are in those
33:09
places and they wind up talking. And then they
33:13
realize after about a month or so that they really
33:15
do have something to offer. Somebody might come
33:18
to them and say, ask the same question that somebody
33:20
else asked about their business. So I think that
33:23
they just have to, you have to get over yourself
33:25
and just take it, take that step, find the group
33:28
that you want to be with, whether it's at. an
33:32
incubator or an accelerator, or maybe it's an
33:35
online leaders academy or any group that you
33:39
can get involved with. Even if you're just going
33:42
to listen in the beginning, get involved and
33:45
then start adding to the conversation and you'll
33:47
find that you have a lot to offer. Yeah, always.
33:51
And if you think about it, as you said, you have
33:54
a lot. Because you're not there because you said
33:57
you woke up one morning and said, I'm going to
33:59
start a business. What am I going to do? So you
34:01
had to put some thought behind it. You had to
34:03
create the business in your, at least in your
34:06
head first. So if you go to that networking event,
34:09
that's what you're talking about. So you do have
34:12
something to offer. And of course, at that event,
34:15
you can see what sticks, what doesn't stick,
34:18
what they say, what they don't say. And that
34:20
starts your progression. But you always have.
34:24
something to talk about. And for some of us,
34:27
we don't shut up, but that's besides the point.
34:29
So let's bring this podcast full circle. Okay,
34:33
I'm gonna ask you the last question. If someone
34:36
listening is ready to build their brand, grow
34:39
their business, and expand their network, what's
34:43
the first bold move you challenge them to take
34:46
this week? The first bold move. So they're trying
34:50
to grow their business, build a brand. then the
34:54
first bold move I would make would be to get,
34:58
I would get into a group of like -minded people,
35:03
entrepreneurs, people who have done it before,
35:05
whoever, whatever your focus is. If you're building
35:07
a brand, you're building a business, you're building
35:10
your network or your coaching business, personal
35:13
brand, whatever it is, get into a group of like
35:16
-minded people. that are going down the same
35:19
path as you, and just say, hey, this is what
35:23
I'm doing. Do you have any advice for me? And
35:26
then just sit back and listen. Because people
35:29
are always going to give you advice if you ask
35:30
for it. But that's the first bold move, I would
35:33
say. A lot of people don't want to do that because
35:35
it puts you in a... puts you in a vulnerable
35:37
position. You feel like now they're going to
35:40
think that I don't know what I'm doing or I don't
35:42
have a clue, but none of us do. We don't know
35:44
what we're doing half the time. And so that's
35:46
why it's important to network with people because
35:49
somebody has gone through it and said, these
35:51
are the 10 mistakes I made. If you want to ask
35:53
me. about how to build a brand. And I will tell
35:57
you, I will always start out and tell you about
35:59
all of my failures and why I think you shouldn't
36:02
go down that path. And here's, after all those
36:05
failures, here's what I would do. Very good.
36:08
Phil, I can tell you, I can go on for another
36:11
two hours talking about all this stuff with you.
36:14
You're a great guest to have on. And I thank
36:17
you for it. But if somebody wanted to get hold
36:20
of you, either to be coached, they have a question
36:24
about opening a business or a brand or anything
36:26
like that, what's the best way that they can
36:28
get hold of you? They can reach me at, I have
36:31
two different websites. One is crunchgrowth .com,
36:34
which is for the business. And you can reach
36:37
me there, Phil at Crunch Growth. I have philmassiello
36:39
.com. You can reach me there, phil at philmassiello
36:42
.com. You can hit me up on LinkedIn. I'm active
36:44
on LinkedIn, social media. phil massiello so
36:48
that's you can always feel free to reach out
36:50
people do it all the time they send me dms i'm
36:53
i try to be approachable i mean i get back to
36:55
you right away but i'll eventually get back to
36:57
you that's great great phil i can't thank you
37:01
enough for coming on the podcast and i hope to
37:04
talk to you soon yeah thank you michael it was
37:06
fun i appreciate it good questions okay good
37:09
well Hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's
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at 561 -427 -4888. A huge thank you to our guests
38:09
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38:12
a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners,
38:16
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38:18
If you're interested in my digital courses, being
38:22
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38:25
just go to Michael and fill out the request form.
38:29
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
38:32
It's about being present. So take what you've
38:35
learned today, get out there and make some meaningful
38:38
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38:41
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