Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E85 An Interview with Jeff Blackman and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E85 An Interview with Jeff Blackman and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:15
Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building
0:18
Profitable Connections, the podcast where we
0:21
turn handshakes into opportunities and conversations
0:24
into conversions. Today's guest is someone who
0:28
knows how to turn strategy into results, and
0:32
not just on paper. He's the best -selling author
0:35
of Peak Your Profits and Bullseye, Hitting Your
0:39
Targets at Home and at Work. His insights have
0:42
helped entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals
0:45
across the country and aim with precision and
0:49
connect with intention. If you've ever wondered
0:52
how to build a network that actually drives profits
0:55
without wasting time and energy and sanity, this
1:00
episode is your bullseye. We're diving deep.
1:05
We're diving into the power of purposeful connection,
1:08
which it means to align relationships with results
1:12
and how you can level up your networking game
1:15
and starting today. Jeff, I hope I didn't butcher
1:19
that too much, but I'd like to welcome Jeff Blackman
1:22
to my podcast. Jeff, it's so great to have you.
1:26
Can you give us a little bit about your background?
1:29
Thanks, Michael. Really appreciate being with
1:31
you and your many listeners and viewers. I will
1:34
give you the unequivocal abridged version. So
1:39
I'm actually trained as a lawyer. I have been
1:42
a lawyer since 1982. The good news is I have
1:46
never practiced law. I wanted to be a litigator,
1:51
but you quickly determine and understand that
1:53
in law school litigators, they don't litigate.
1:56
They want to avoid going to court because it's
1:59
so time consuming, exhaustive, and it costs clients
2:04
a lot of money. I go, wait a minute. The thing
2:06
that I want to do. i'm not going to do much of
2:09
so i really gravitated my first loves which were
2:13
related to communications, and broadcasting.
2:16
We also got a broadcasting background. So here
2:19
in Chicago, and I'm talking to you from a northern
2:21
suburb of Chicago right now, Glenview, it's what
2:25
we call the North Shore. So from downtown Chicago,
2:28
we are 23 miles to the north, and then a wee
2:31
bit to the west. So from 82 through 89, I, along
2:35
with two other partners, and then by myself,
2:38
had a radio talk show. So just the way you and
2:40
I are doing what we are doing today, years ago,
2:43
it wasn't called a podcast but this is really
2:46
radio or for that matter television and guests
2:50
could have been literally Bruce Jenner Bruce
2:54
not Caitlyn I knew Bruce back in the 80s a terrific
2:57
guest Ted Koppel the broadcaster Oprah Winfrey
3:01
in addition Walter Cronkite and we interviewed
3:05
entertainers entrepreneurs so if somebody was
3:08
interesting I would talk to them. Jim Lovell,
3:12
the Apollo 13 astronaut. So I had the great pleasure
3:16
to sit down with many folks like that, but it
3:19
was always a compliment, my broadcasting, radio
3:21
and TV, to what I decided to do, and that was
3:25
speak. 1982, I really didn't know what that meant,
3:29
but over time, clients began to define me as
3:32
being their business growth specialist, because
3:36
I helped them quickly. and ethically and dramatically
3:38
grow their businesses so my clients have really
3:41
evolved over the years but primarily now it's
3:45
the c -suite so i'm dealing with the president
3:47
the owner the chairman, the chairwoman, whoever
3:52
else might be in that C -suite, VP of sales and
3:55
marketing, chief revenue officer. So I work with
3:59
them, and I work with their team, and we do it
4:01
in a variety of ways. It could be speaking, training,
4:04
consulting, ongoing learning system, and then
4:07
we've got lots of business growth tools, but
4:09
fortunate to have had six best -selling books,
4:12
and then we've got audios, videos, etc., but
4:15
all designed for one purpose, and that's to help
4:18
people really meet and their goals and again
4:21
quickly ethically and dramatically and the good
4:24
news is it works because everything we do michael
4:28
is with an unequivocal no risk assurance folks
4:31
can go to our website and read about it i explained
4:33
in the video if you think we're not going to
4:36
have to generate dollars equal to or far greater
4:38
than whatever dollars you've given us we'll give
4:40
you all your money back And it's a bet, thankfully,
4:43
that we've never lost because this stuff works.
4:47
Not my opinion, but thankfully, the experiences
4:50
of lots and lots of clients who have generated
4:55
really remarkable results, literally generating
4:58
hundreds of millions of dollars in new business.
5:04
Sounds wonderful. It really does. I've been to
5:08
your website. I've seen that the video. And I
5:11
have nothing but to assume that everything you're
5:14
telling us is correct. And we're going to get
5:18
into that a little bit later on. But let's delve
5:21
into the questions that I've come up with. Your
5:24
book, Peak Your Profits, dives deep into strategic
5:28
growth. How does networking play in that profitability
5:32
formula, especially for solopreneurs and small
5:36
business owners? Well, what's interesting about
5:40
networking or one's network, and you have heard,
5:43
like I have heard really now for decades, is
5:46
that one's network is really all about their
5:48
net worth. And it's true of any business. It's
5:53
not just a solopreneur. It's not just a small
5:56
business. Any individual, even if they're working
5:59
for a large corporation, even Fortune 500, Who
6:03
they know is absolutely crucial, but then there's
6:06
a subtlety. When you and I first chatted several
6:10
weeks ago, one of the things that we discussed
6:12
is that I've returned, thankfully, to my alma
6:14
mater. That's the University of Illinois, and
6:16
that's in Champaign -Urbana, approximately 150
6:20
miles south of Chicago. And our youngest daughter,
6:25
Amanda, graduated from Illinois. My wife is also
6:29
a graduate from Illinois, but from the medical
6:31
center. She had a phenomenal career as an occupational
6:33
therapist. But I always loved going back to campus
6:37
until Amanda graduated in 2017. And then I didn't
6:42
have a connection, but it turned out I did. I
6:44
became very friendly with Amanda's professor,
6:47
Tom Costello, who unfortunately has now passed
6:50
away. But TC was a terrific guy. I went back
6:54
for a couple of years and spoke to his College
6:57
of Communication students, which I was a College
7:00
of Communication student back in the 70s. And
7:03
then I went back after that, once Tom had passed
7:05
away, and I spoke to the kids at Geese College,
7:09
which is the business college at the University
7:12
of Illinois. And the kids would often say to
7:14
me, hey, isn't it important what you know? And
7:19
I'd say, yes and they go isn't it important who
7:23
you know and i would say yes but those two things
7:27
are not the most important they go what what
7:30
do you mean i go what's really important is who
7:33
knows you and that's what really effective networking
7:37
is all about is who knows you yet at the same
7:41
time what do you know about an individual so
7:45
you can connect individuals And I do it all the
7:49
time. One of my great joys, as my clients know,
7:52
my juice, is when I can connect people. They
7:56
could have totally disparate interests, but then
7:58
something happens where they want to be able
8:01
to chat. My brother -in -law, Alan, who's married
8:04
to my younger sister, Tammy, who I love dearly,
8:06
he is the president of a company called Liebermuth.
8:09
It's a family. business that's been passed on
8:12
through the generations they're based really
8:14
in the south bend indiana area so alan shot me
8:17
a text and then we spoke he said hey jb you mentioned
8:21
something about somebody who you recently met
8:23
in a speaking engagement he says i'd love to
8:26
talk to that guy and i said that's easy i'll
8:29
shoot him an email which i did and so help me
8:33
within three minutes michael brendan responded
8:37
and said i'd be more than happy to chat with
8:39
him And they're scheduled to talk today. So within
8:42
three minutes, he responded. And now they're
8:45
planning to chat today. So I love being able
8:48
to connect people. Doesn't have to involve me.
8:51
Go play in the sandbox. You figure out how you
8:54
can make things happen. And I do it. all the
8:57
time. A client in Wisconsin, they happen to be
9:00
lawyers. One of their attorneys, Nathan, has
9:03
a wonderful line. He said, I want to be the go
9:06
-to person for my clients, not just for things
9:09
that are related to the law, but any aspect of
9:12
their business. If I can either help them, a
9:14
loved one, a friend, a family member, I want
9:18
them to see me. as their go -to. And I tell the
9:21
same thing to clients. It doesn't have to involve
9:23
me. Use me as a resource. My business began with
9:28
my first client when I decided not to practice
9:31
law in the early 1980s was based upon an advertising
9:37
fellow student that I had at the University of
9:39
Illinois. So Robbins Ad Agency, they became a
9:44
client of mine. And then through that contact,
9:48
the American Medical Association became another
9:52
client of mine. So if I take a look at my career,
9:55
whatever success that I've had, it's really been
9:57
based upon people who became aware of me through
10:01
others, as well as me having the ability to introduce
10:04
others that would benefit them. Didn't have to
10:07
have anything to do with me, because that's just
10:10
a quid pro quo. And that's not really being in
10:14
a servant. so to speak, by giving of your heart
10:18
and your mind. What can I do to help you? And
10:20
really being serious about it. Because you and
10:23
I both know a lot of people will use those words.
10:25
They really don't mean it. They want to get something
10:28
in return. Those ain't my kind of folks. Those
10:30
ain't your kind of folks. You're absolutely right.
10:34
And listen, having a servant's heart is, it's
10:38
so precious to me. to be able to give and not
10:43
to receive. I too am what's called, my clients
10:48
and everybody else calls me a super connector
10:50
because I, every week I say, all right, there's
10:55
two people that I have to put together. And it's
10:59
just that, that I put X in front of Y and I say,
11:03
look, go ahead, do what you have to do. I back
11:05
away and I forget about it. They both. acknowledge
11:09
it and they talk to one another they always include
11:12
me on an email chain which they don't have to
11:15
do but if I do that every week I feel good because
11:21
that's really my purpose so when I go to do my
11:25
workshops in the companies and everything else
11:27
it's I look to do that and it's much more fulfilling
11:32
for me than actually going there and doing the
11:36
breakout session, the workshops and everything
11:38
else. That's how we met. We met through Larry
11:41
Kaufman. Larry's been a guest on your show. Larry's
11:44
become a dear friend over the past couple of
11:46
years. And I met Larry through somebody else
11:50
in business. And Larry and I didn't know each
11:53
other. And then ironically, we discovered pretty
11:55
quickly that years ago, he actually worked for
11:58
my dad's accounting firm. So he was part of Blackman.
12:03
Black and Calic has now been gobbled up by Plant
12:06
Moran, but Larry and I didn't have that connection.
12:09
He and I just had lunch together recently, and
12:12
we're always looking for ways that, what can
12:14
I do to be able to help you? And I asked Larry,
12:17
what's going on with the kids? And I immediately
12:19
thought of, wait a minute, here are some folks
12:21
that I can introduce to your children that might
12:23
help them in terms of future employment opportunities.
12:26
And then Larry said, I've got a guy who I think
12:29
you ought to talk to. And I'm actually talking
12:32
to that individual later today. So I've introduced
12:35
Larry to opportunity. He's introduced me to Larry
12:38
to opportunity. Larry's introduced me to opportunity.
12:41
And that's how you and I met. We met through
12:42
Larry. And he's got a terrific book, NCG, which
12:46
is Network Connect. And people think grow. And
12:48
I go, no, it's give. And I often tell people,
12:53
Michael, I go, hey, don't focus on capitalism.
12:56
Focus on altruism. And don't focus on being selfish.
13:00
Focus on being selfless and not what can you
13:04
get, but what can you give? And that will really
13:07
be far more successful for you in the short as
13:10
well as the long term. You and I know folks go,
13:13
I don't buy it. OK, then again, they're not our
13:17
kind of folks. Absolutely not. And really, I
13:20
wish I had you in my jacket pocket when I'm out
13:23
talking. I'm not that small. You say the same
13:30
things that I align with, that I believe in with
13:33
my heart, and I go out and I do on a daily basis.
13:37
So what you're saying I align with so well and
13:40
so perfectly. But let me get to the next question.
13:43
In Bullseye, you talk about hitting your targets
13:46
at home and work. How can people use networking
13:50
to align their personal and professional goals
13:53
more intentionally? That's really an interesting
13:56
question because the last two bestsellers, Bullseye
14:00
was bestseller number six, and it's really more
14:02
of an inspirational, motivational book instead
14:05
of a real how -to book. But still, there's an
14:07
important business lesson that comes out of it.
14:09
The bestseller before that, the fifth edition
14:12
of Peak Your Profits, is a real how -to in terms
14:16
of business growth skills related to sales, marketing,
14:20
negotiations, customer service. But what really
14:23
both of them do deal with is to be able to hit
14:27
a target, to be able to focus on a... bullseye
14:31
whether it's in a recreational activity or a
14:33
business pursuit I'll often say to folks it's
14:36
related to the world's fastest strategic plan
14:38
and people go but what are you talking about
14:41
I go if you went to any major airport whether
14:45
it's Hartsfield in Atlanta in your neck of the
14:48
woods or oh here by me which is only 13 miles
14:52
and 17 minutes to the south what do they ask
14:55
you Where are you going? And imagine if you said,
14:59
yeah, I don't know. Why don't you pick the city?
15:02
What? So I'll often say to leaders, let's engage
15:06
in the world's fastest strategic plan. Where
15:08
are you? Where would you like to be? And how
15:11
do you want to get there? And as you start to
15:14
focus on those things, which is also related
15:18
to being on target with networking, and one of
15:21
the things that I say to folks is you've got
15:23
to embrace overall what I call the three Ps.
15:25
They go, what do you mean? I go, for any activity
15:28
that you're engaged in, whether it's internal
15:30
in terms of you perhaps as a leader or with members
15:33
of your team or external, whether that's at a
15:37
networking event or actually with a prospect,
15:39
a customer. A client, know your purpose. That's
15:44
the first P, Michael. Know your purpose. What
15:46
do you want to accomplish? Not only for you,
15:48
but for that decision maker or decision influencer.
15:51
They go, okay, purpose, I get that. What's the
15:54
second P? And I go, know your power probes. They
15:57
go, what's a power probe? And I'll soon make
16:00
available a power probe opportunity specifically
16:03
for your listeners. But we'll delay that by a
16:06
couple of minutes. A power probe is an open -ended
16:09
need development question. It begins with a who,
16:13
a what, a when, a where, a why, a which, a how,
16:17
or here's the TED principle, T, tell me more
16:20
about, E, explain to me how, and D, describe
16:25
for me. You need to ask open -ended questions
16:28
to truly understand the logic of why somebody
16:31
wants to do something, as well as the heart and
16:34
the tummy, that's the emotion. Because those
16:37
are the two things that really influence decisions.
16:39
So you've got purpose. You've got power probes.
16:42
Here's the third P. And someone said, isn't that
16:45
really four Ps? And I go, if you want, you can
16:46
call it four Ps. And it's parade of progress.
16:51
And the parade of progress is what are you doing
16:53
to keep things moving forward? So if you were
16:59
a prospect, we were engaged in a conversation,
17:01
it would end by, Michael. Let's review my deliverables
17:05
to you. Honor before blank, I will do blank.
17:09
So the blank is a behavior or an action, and
17:13
the second blank is a date. So what's the behavior,
17:17
what's the action, and what's the date of realization?
17:20
Pretty simple success formula. I will do X by
17:23
Y. I will do this thing by this date. But you
17:27
will also do this. to send to me by this. So
17:32
now we're working in a collaborative way. And
17:35
that's really what also networking is all about.
17:37
It's about collaboration. It's about, in essence,
17:40
partnering, networking. And do I trust this person?
17:44
Because some people, they're takers. And not
17:49
the kind of folks who I want to work with. But
17:51
when you find someone that you can trust, and
17:53
I always stress this to folks, when trust is
17:56
high, what's low? Fear. When trust is high, what's
18:02
low? And that's fear. So I stress to folks, closed
18:08
-ended questions are okay, but that's really
18:10
only related to, one, do these people qualify
18:13
as a prospect? A little bit different than a
18:16
networking opportunity. And the other is, if
18:18
you're now pursuing an opportunity for biz dev
18:21
or rainmaking, it's decision time. Thumbs up.
18:25
Yay. P .O. ACH, wire, whatever it might be. And
18:30
if I can share with you an opportunity for your
18:34
listeners and viewers that most people go, wait
18:37
a minute, I can use these immediately. And the
18:40
answer is yes. So if it's cool with you, can
18:42
I share that opportunity for your listeners and
18:45
viewers? Absolutely. Go right ahead. So most
18:48
folks, when I ask them, how many of you have
18:50
got a dynamic dozen? They go, what? What are
18:53
you talking about? You're talking about bagels,
18:54
muffins, croissants, donuts. What's a dynamic
18:58
dozen? And I go, no. A dynamic dozen is at least
19:02
12 open -ended need development questions. And
19:07
they begin with a who, what, when, where, why,
19:09
which, how, tell me more about, explain to me
19:12
how, and describe for me. And these are questions
19:15
you would ask of a prospect. or perhaps even
19:19
a current customer or current client to dig even
19:22
deeper in the relationships. Most folks don't
19:26
have a dynamic dozen. And I stress to people,
19:29
once you've created your dynamic dozen, then
19:31
put it on this little computer that is literally
19:34
in the palm of your hand. on my smartphone and
19:38
now i encourage clients to do the same i go put
19:41
them in print form so you can look at them and
19:44
then also put it in an audio form so you can
19:46
hit play and hear you reciting your dynamic dozen
19:50
that's how you get really good at that skill.
19:55
And it's a skill. It is not a parlor trick. So
19:58
we've had people who might hear me in the morning
20:01
in a three -hour result session, and they'll
20:04
send me an email and go, Jeff, that afternoon
20:06
I used these questions that I had never used
20:09
before, and I've got the opportunity to now help
20:14
a new client. I can't believe it worked that
20:17
fast. And I go, it worked that fast because you
20:20
heard it, but then you used it. And I always
20:23
stress to people, Michael, don't tell me what
20:25
you know. Tell me what you're doing with what
20:27
you know. So here's the opportunity. If anyone
20:30
listening or watching would like to get what
20:32
we call the Sweet 16, we will send you 16 potential
20:37
power probes that you can use in your business,
20:40
no matter what your business is. If you're selling
20:43
a product, a service, whatever it might be, you
20:47
can apply these questions immediately. All you
20:50
need to do, send an email. to Cheryl, S -H -E
20:54
-R -Y -L, one more time, Cheryl, S -H -E -R -Y
20:59
-L, at JeffBlackman .com, J -E -F -F -B -L -A
21:05
-C -K -M -A -N .com. One more time, Cheryl at
21:10
JeffBlackman .com. In the subject, this way we'll
21:15
know exactly where you heard about the opportunity.
21:18
Simply put, Foreman Rocks. So simply put, F -O
21:25
-R -M -A -N Rocks, Suite 16. We will know exactly
21:30
what that means. Cheryl will then send you your
21:33
Suite 16. And folks, when I've been on other
21:38
interviews, have said, I've been able to now
21:41
use these questions immediately and generate
21:43
results. So I want your audience to be able to
21:46
benefit from them as well. And the good news...
21:49
It works. It does. Okay. That was way more than
21:56
I even expected. So that was fantastic, Jeff.
21:59
Okay. So you've mastered profitable connections.
22:03
It's one powerful shift someone can make today
22:07
to start attracting high value relationships
22:09
instead of chasing them. So this is going to
22:15
sound counterintuitive. And that is you do not
22:17
make it about. You. You always make it out. That's
22:22
not counterintuitive. You always make it about
22:25
somebody else. It's interesting. You talk about
22:27
network unleashed, and I know you don't mean
22:29
it, but unleashed implies wild, running amok.
22:35
It's gone awry. One of my new favorite words
22:37
is cattywampus. So cattywampus is things have
22:41
gone crazy, but networking is just the opposite.
22:43
It's actually specific. It's precise. It's targeted.
22:47
It's designed. So get really comfortable asking
22:50
the question, hey, Michael, help me out. When
22:53
I'm out and about in the community, who is your
22:57
ideal prospect or client? So I can keep my eyes
23:02
and ears open for you. That's all about you.
23:05
Got nothing to do with me. So that enables me
23:09
to be in the best position to go. I met this
23:12
foreman guy about. six weeks ago, and now I'm
23:17
going to all about you. And when you go out of
23:21
your way to connect other individuals and ask
23:23
for nothing in return, it becomes incredibly
23:28
valuable because now they realized, oh, this
23:33
person's really serious about that. They really
23:35
do go out of their way to be in a position to
23:38
help me. Again, no quid pro quo. It's not a barter.
23:42
It's not an exchange system. They gave before
23:46
they even intimated they might want to take.
23:49
And that's one of the really simple things that
23:51
most people do not do. And also, people think
23:55
that networking is about how many people can
23:57
I meet in the shortest amount of time when I'm
23:59
at a networking event. And I go, whoa, slow down.
24:03
Concentrate on meeting fewer people and dig deeper.
24:09
Find out things that are important to them so
24:11
you can follow up with, hey, thought you might
24:13
be interested in this website. Found this story,
24:17
thought you might find it interesting. Google
24:20
Alerts, and I'm sure you've used Google Alerts.
24:23
So I've got Google Alerts on things that I don't
24:25
have an interest in, but I've got clients who
24:28
do have an interest in, whatever it might be.
24:31
So as a result of that, I literally might get
24:35
something related to shoes. because i've got
24:38
a client who's a woman who's really fun and she
24:41
loves shoes so if i've been anywhere in the country
24:44
and i remember gosh it's gonna be about 10 years
24:46
ago i happened to pass a really cool women's
24:49
shoe store in raleigh north carolina i took pictures
24:52
of the shoes that were in the window and sent
24:53
it to her i went some thought of you those are
24:57
just little simple things that people know hey
25:01
i've got top of mind awareness of something that's
25:04
important to you. Got nothing to do with me,
25:07
but I know that this matters to you. And that's
25:12
one of the really important things when it comes
25:14
to networking is what can you do that's in somebody
25:17
else's best interest? And it really does absolutely
25:20
nothing to do with you. Absolutely. I went to
25:24
the school of hard knocks, right? I did everything
25:27
wrong before I learned how to do it correctly.
25:31
And I was in a mortgage industry. And I would
25:35
go to a networking event. I'd come home with
25:37
a shoebox filled with business cards. Look how
25:41
good I did. Look how well I achieved my success.
25:46
I was fantastic. I was horrible. I did it. I
25:50
got the wrong way. So now when I teach networking,
25:55
when I go out and teach for about a three or
25:57
four hour event, I say, come back with about
26:00
15 or 20 business cards. Because then you can
26:04
follow up, and a follow -up is so much more important
26:07
than actually meeting the person, but you can
26:10
follow up properly. And everything that goes
26:14
along with that. I don't want to take time out
26:16
from that, but I want to tell you that I made
26:19
that transition from just networking, networking
26:24
at least, wildly networking, to a strategic networking
26:29
module. That's how I did it. it crucial and also
26:33
is you can actually be proactive before the event
26:36
it depends upon what the event is but with many
26:38
events for example okay these folks will already
26:41
be in attendance that list is often published
26:44
and you go i don't know him or her but i would
26:48
like to know him or her because they've got an
26:50
expertise in something that i'm really interested
26:52
in you can contact that individual in advance
26:55
email or telephone call and say hey i've actually
26:58
been very familiar with your work for years i
27:01
noticed that you will be at the upcoming yada
27:03
can i buy you breakfast or lunch my treat Would
27:07
love to chat with you. Now, most people are willing
27:10
to give. Most successful people don't hold it
27:14
close to the chest. No, I'm successful because
27:17
of what I know. Ain't going to share it. Actually,
27:21
just the opposite. So this weekend, if I was
27:26
going to the National Speakers Association annual
27:29
conference. I'm not. Why? Because our twin grandchildren,
27:34
who are almost three, will be with us, so I get
27:37
to play Poppy while my wife plays Nani. So I
27:40
won't be at the convention, but if I was going,
27:43
I would have gone, okay, who are some key folks
27:46
who I would like to spend some time with, one
27:49
-to -one, not in a fleeting in -between session
27:52
moment. And I'll treat them to breakfast or lunch
27:56
and just chat. Now, I will also do that with
28:00
folks that I've known for years just to catch
28:03
up to find out, what are you doing? What's happening
28:06
in your business? And I just did that with a
28:08
friend who I first met at an NSA convention in
28:11
1985. So another wonderful speaker, brilliant
28:15
guy, has become a dear friend by the name of
28:17
Chuck Reeves. Chuck and I have now known each
28:19
other for over 40 years. And he used to actually
28:23
live in Atlanta. He lived in Snellville. Now
28:25
he's in Arizona. But Chuck and I will get together
28:28
probably two times a year and just visit. Two
28:32
old buddies. And I think we spent 60, 90 minutes
28:35
recently on a Zoom call just catching up. Because
28:38
I might be doing something he's not. He might
28:40
be doing something I'm not. Who do you know?
28:42
Who can I introduce you to? And do that with
28:44
friends on a regular basis. And that's really
28:47
part of the fun. Because over time, you really
28:49
know who you can trust. I consider that enjoyable
28:54
and fun as well. Because for me, that's not work.
28:59
I'm putting two people together and it's just,
29:01
it's what I like to do. Okay. What's a networking
29:05
myth or outdated belief that you think is actually
29:09
holding people back from real success? Interesting
29:13
question. And I think it really goes to self
29:16
-belief. Many people have got this self. doubting
29:21
reality that they've created about how difficult
29:24
something is, or how challenging something is,
29:28
or I'm not going to be very good at that. That's
29:31
what we call, based upon work that I did with
29:34
a client years ago, a CVS. And a CVS is the current
29:38
view of the situation. What's the BVS? The BVS
29:43
is a better view of the situation. So the current
29:45
view of the situation is, boy, I can't stand
29:48
events like that. I'm not very good at networking.
29:51
Courage view. What's a better view of the situation?
29:54
I am really excited about to meet other people
29:57
who I might be in a position to help. Totally
30:01
different mindset. So how are you looking at
30:04
that either as an opportunity or with negativity?
30:09
So mindset is absolutely... We are always going
30:15
to face challenges in our lives, guaranteed.
30:17
So the key question then becomes, how am I going
30:20
to perceive that opportunity? One of the quotes,
30:25
I'm a great big fan of quotes. My first book
30:28
was the opportunity selling sales quotation book.
30:32
So it took the opportunity selling business developed
30:34
system that I created literally on the back of
30:37
a napkin in 1985 that in the pages of peak your
30:40
profits is explained in a real how to format.
30:43
But in the opportunity selling quote book, which
30:45
was a little guy with just quotes that reinforce.
30:48
each step of the six -step business development
30:50
system. What happened is I reinforced those quotes.
30:54
I always look for other quotes. And John Wooden,
30:57
the great basketball coach at UCLA, so he coached
31:01
the men's basketball team to 10 national championships
31:07
in 12 years. Seven of the 10, Michael, they were
31:11
consecutive. And if I've got a challenge, and
31:15
I've always had challenges, people have sometimes
31:18
said, you've had a charmed life. And they've
31:20
got no clue as to all the challenges that I've
31:24
had to confront as an individual, as a parent
31:27
with kids and medical issues or whatever it might
31:29
be. But John Wooden said, things turn out best
31:32
for those who make the best out of the way things
31:35
turn out. And the beauty of that quote is you
31:39
can control your mindset. You can control your
31:43
attitude. And I find it fascinating that a lot
31:46
of airports that I'm in, they've now got rocking
31:49
chairs. Have you seen these rocking chairs at
31:51
airports all over the country? No, I haven't
31:53
seen them. So multiple airports that I've been
31:57
in, they have got rocking chairs. So they're
32:00
like everywhere. And I find it interesting that
32:03
a place that's designed like an airport to get
32:06
you from point A to point B gives you an activity
32:08
to do that gets you nowhere. And that's what
32:12
a rocking chair does. It gives you something
32:14
to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere. That's
32:18
the equivalent of worrying. Worrying is an activity,
32:22
but it doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't get
32:25
you closer to a solution. And when people say
32:28
to me, I'm so worried about it, I go, how's that
32:30
working for you? How's that helping you? And
32:33
so much, again, it has to do with your mindset.
32:35
This happened probably about a month ago. So
32:37
a client said, I am really uncomfortable with
32:41
change. People ask me to help them, either their
32:44
organizations, their teams, or one -to -one coaching.
32:47
So I had a client who said, Jeff, I am really
32:49
uncomfortable with change. I said, how do you
32:51
feel about improvement? Oh, no, I'm fine. I'm
32:55
fine with that. How do you feel about enhancement?
32:59
Oh, that's okay, too. How do you feel about upgrade?
33:02
no issue what if we no longer talk about you
33:05
changing but we talk about you making improvements
33:07
enhancements and upgrades i'm good okay so he
33:12
just shifted his mindset and are now using a
33:14
different word or words because change he immediately
33:18
we've always done it that way and that's the
33:22
cvs yeah And there are three words that I always
33:26
suggest to people that can be transformative.
33:28
If you think something's not possible, simply
33:31
have three words to your vocabulary and mindset.
33:33
And that's up till now. Huh? It's not how we
33:37
do things here. Up till now. We don't have any
33:41
budget for that. Up till now. Our folks just
33:44
are not well -trained. Up till now. And people
33:48
say, but hang on. Why does it work? It's not
33:52
magic. And I go, no, but it is about belief.
33:55
And I tell people that belief is about confidence.
33:58
Confidence comes from two Latin words, con fete,
34:01
which means with faith. And if you don't have
34:05
faith with you, how is anyone else going to have
34:07
faith with you? Very good. Very good. I'm going
34:12
to have to replay this podcast because otherwise
34:16
I'd be writing notes down. feverishly and just
34:19
trying to take all the notes down. So I'll list
34:21
this afterwards. How do you differentiate between
34:25
noise and opportunity when you're networking,
34:28
especially in crowded spaces like LinkedIn or
34:33
large conferences? So large conferences can be
34:38
overwhelming, and that's not my word choice.
34:41
Instead, it's what others say. And I never understand
34:43
the word overwhelming. When people say to me,
34:45
I'm overwhelmed, my immediately thought is, and
34:48
again, I don't challenge them because I don't
34:50
want to be rude. I go, so what are you going
34:51
to do different? If you're overwhelmed, change
34:55
the game plan. Change the game the way you're
35:00
playing it. So a large conference, and how are
35:04
we defining large? Pick a number. It's 1 ,000
35:07
people. Oh, no, it's 15 ,000 people. And it's
35:10
like going to college. So the University of Illinois,
35:13
when I went to school, and from what I understand,
35:15
it's maybe a wee bit more now, approximately
35:17
35 ,000 undergrads. I didn't have daily contact
35:22
with 35 ,000 undergrads. My primary contact was
35:27
with my friends. It was with my fraternity brothers.
35:30
It was with the sorority sisters of my wife.
35:33
And it becomes really... your group your network
35:37
if you will so first you go i don't need to make
35:42
contact with 1500 people at this conference but
35:48
i'm going to focus on these 10 or whatever it
35:51
might be so again it's what are the strategic
35:54
decisions that you're making and it also does
35:59
with focus people are oh there's There's a shiny.
36:03
Oh, no, wait. Oh, look at that shiny. So people
36:06
are often easily distracted. One of the stories
36:09
that I describe in Bullseye, you remember Bill
36:12
Russell, the great basketball player. So Russell
36:15
is one of the greatest basketball players of
36:18
all time, if not the greatest Celtic of all time.
36:21
Bill Russell, years ago. decided that he also
36:24
wanted to be a speaker to share the message of
36:27
Celtic pride. So a sports entertainment agency
36:30
that was a client of mine was working with Bill
36:33
and they said, Bill, you really need help with
36:35
your message. And we've got a friend who also
36:38
is a coach to us who helps us with business growth.
36:41
He's a professional speaker as well. He can really
36:44
help you with your message. So one afternoon
36:47
at a Chicago hotel, I consulted with Bill Russell,
36:51
about how to improve his message. And one of
36:54
the stories that he told was about his ability
36:56
to grab off of the defensive board a basketball
37:01
and a rebound, and how he immediately would have
37:05
an outlet pass that would go to Koozie or some
37:09
other member of his team with just maybe one
37:12
or two bounces, if that, or one more pass. Somebody
37:16
was streaking to the offensive glass. two points
37:19
and he did it all the time and he said most people
37:22
refer to that as a blind pass he said a blind
37:24
pass is stupid because a blind pass means you've
37:27
got absolutely no idea where it's going you don't
37:29
see anything blind pass is stupid bill russell
37:32
was a really smart guy he said so jeff what i
37:36
did is with his seven foot frame is he would
37:39
extend his hands out as far as he could so he
37:42
could still see in his peripheral vision his
37:45
hands And then the next day he would extend it
37:48
just a little bit further. So every day he was
37:52
working on extending the view line of his peripheral
37:56
vision. So what appeared to be a blind pass was
38:00
not. He always knew exactly who he was passing
38:03
it to. So what he did was he had extreme focus,
38:07
removed distractions, and that's really important.
38:12
That's one of the things that I work on with
38:14
clients is, okay. If you know your purpose and
38:18
you know your power probes, now let's have singular
38:21
focus. That's one of the great things that Bruce
38:23
Jenner did when I interviewed him. I did not
38:25
interview Caitlin Marie. I interviewed William
38:29
Bruce. And people have said to me, who was one
38:32
of the best guests that you ever had? And I said,
38:34
Barden on Bruce Jenner. And they go, why? I go,
38:36
he was smart. He was friendly. He was personable.
38:40
Before and after the radio interview, he hung
38:42
around. He took care of signing autographs. But
38:46
what Bruce Jenner did is I asked him about the
38:49
gold medal that he won in 76 in Montreal in the
38:54
decathlon, Michael. And here's what he said to
38:56
me. I didn't win in 76. Bruce, don't mean to
39:01
correct you, but you won in 76 in Montreal. Remember
39:07
the flag and Olympic stadium? He says, let me
39:11
tell you what I mean. And this story is actually
39:13
in the pages of Bullseye. He said, Jeff, in 1972,
39:17
I lost. He said, didn't place. He said, so here's
39:22
what I did. I removed the faces of the gold,
39:24
the silver. and the bronze medalists. And in
39:28
the place of the face of the gold medalist in
39:30
72, I put my face. So what I did for the next
39:33
four years is I only saw one winner in 76, and
39:37
that was me. That was Bruce Jenner. So first
39:40
I trained my mind, and then I trained my body,
39:43
and then I believed. In essence, he had confite.
39:46
He was with faith. He said, so in Montreal, I
39:49
simply picked up a medal I had won in my mind
39:53
four years earlier. Unbelievable story. The only
39:58
other story I know about belief that's any better
40:00
than that is Sully Sullenberger when he landed
40:03
US Airways flight 1549, January the 15th of 2009
40:08
on the Hudson River. That was about belief. If
40:12
he didn't believe that he could land and create
40:14
the Hudson as a liquid tarmac, would have never
40:16
happened. So belief is a really important aspect
40:21
of anything that we choose to do to attain success
40:24
in our lives. It's amazing what the mind can
40:27
accomplish if you let it, if you let it. Because
40:31
there really isn't anything that we, as people,
40:35
can't do. And that's part of my can -do attitude.
40:40
But, okay, in your experience, what's the profit
40:44
leak most professionals don't realize is happening
40:47
because they haven't built the right relationships?
40:54
Folks have a tendency to sometimes hang on to
40:58
relationships that they shouldn't. So if a relationship
41:02
is not generating the right result, whether it's
41:07
related to collaboration or lack thereof, or
41:11
it's not generating the appropriate return on
41:14
the investment of working with that individual,
41:16
say goodbye. As difficult as that might be, that's
41:21
external and internal, by the way. So if external
41:23
relationships with clients or customers are really
41:28
difficult and challenging and people are hard
41:30
to work with, or you've got the wrong person
41:33
and the wrong seat in your organization, wish
41:36
them the best of luck. Say sayonara, arrivederla,
41:39
shalom, dos vadonia, move on. And in terms of,
41:43
again, avoiding distractions, we work with clients
41:46
on something, Michael, called the ICP. What's
41:48
your ideal customer or your ideal client profile?
41:52
and let's define exactly who that is demographics
41:56
psychographics infographics and we literally
41:59
make a long list and i go your customers or prospects
42:03
have got every right to vet you but you've got
42:07
every right to vet them and if you think that
42:10
they're not who you want to pursue long term
42:15
long -term, because you focus on annuitization.
42:18
If you only want to focus on a transaction, that's
42:21
fine, but that's not what I teach my clients
42:23
to do. I teach them to focus on not the transactional
42:26
vendor relationship, but instead to focus on
42:30
the long -term annuitized partner relationship.
42:34
And they go, what's the difference? And I go,
42:36
okay, listen closely. Vendors are expendable.
42:39
Partners are invaluable. Vendor expendable, partner
42:43
invaluable. Which do you choose to be? And that
42:46
is a question, by the way, that we coach our
42:48
clients to ask, which is, what would you prefer
42:50
that we be, a vendor or a partner? And if they
42:52
go, yeah, we just want a vendor, we're probably
42:54
not the right folks for you then. Wish you nothing
42:56
but the best of luck. And start to leave. Move
43:00
on. Sorry, that's not what our clients value.
43:04
That's not what we value. Two questions related
43:09
to that really help as well, which is, what will
43:12
you value most in our relationship? And how will
43:16
we measure success? And by the way, you can ask
43:18
those networking related as well. And you always
43:22
appreciate what somebody else's appreciation
43:25
is. Folks go, hang on, what do you mean? I go,
43:28
if a prospective client says, Jeff, why should
43:30
we work with you? I never answer from my perspective.
43:34
Instead, I will say, here's what other clients
43:37
say they value most in a relationship with us.
43:40
And then I share something called an RBAO strategy.
43:44
That's the results, the benefits, the advantages,
43:47
and the outcomes. Those words, Michael, are interchangeable.
43:49
So there's no distinction, but it triggers people
43:52
differently. So I stress to folks, let others
43:55
know what others are experiencing to be the results.
44:00
The benefits, the advantages, and the outcomes
44:02
of working with you, of networking with you.
44:06
And then you pause and you politely ask, how
44:09
do you think those similar outcomes will be of
44:11
value to you? So what you've done is you've told
44:15
the story based upon your experience, not your
44:19
opinion, of somebody else's success. result,
44:23
benefit, advantage, outcome. And then you ask
44:25
somebody, how do you think those types of benefits
44:28
or outcomes will help or be of value to you?
44:31
And now they tell you why they want to network
44:34
with you or why they want to work with you. So
44:36
I will never answer, Jeff, why should we work
44:40
with you from my perspective? Why? Even if I'm
44:44
dead accurate, it doesn't matter. It actually
44:47
reduces my credulity and veracity. I want to
44:51
increase it. So I speak from somebody else's
44:54
perspective, not mine, Michael. That's an avenue
44:58
which I never truly thought of, you know, because
45:01
when I teach networking, I never do that from
45:06
the other people's perspective. Up till now.
45:09
Up till now. My new phrase, by the way, up till
45:12
now. So again, I'm going to have to listen to
45:15
this and write down all my notes because... Me
45:18
too. It sounds like there's some good stuff going
45:20
on here. There's some very good stuff going on
45:22
here. We could probably do this podcast for three
45:25
hours, but I'm going to try to limit the time.
45:27
Can you walk us through one intentional networking
45:31
decision you made that paid off massively in
45:34
terms of business or personal growth? That's
45:39
a really interesting question. I'm going to take
45:42
you back because it really changed the course
45:45
of my life. So I'm going to take you back to
45:48
the year 1985. In the year 1985, my wife and
45:52
I were both 29 years old, and we went to our
45:55
first National Speakers Association convention
45:58
in Washington, D .C. At that convention, we heard
46:03
Chuck Reeves speak. Subsequent to that, I contacted
46:08
Chuck, and I said, the next time that you're
46:10
in Chicago, can I treat you to breakfast or lunch?
46:13
And I assure you, I could not afford to take
46:17
him out to either breakfast or lunch. But I have
46:20
now had a 40 -year relationship with Chuck. When
46:23
I had the good fortune to be inducted into the
46:25
National Speaker Association's Hall of Fame in
46:28
2008 in New York City, Chuck, along with another
46:31
dear friend, Frank Buccaro, they were my introducers.
46:35
Also in 1985 at that convention, I met a woman
46:39
by the name of Laura Hamilton, and she was really
46:42
neat. She was fun, she was smart, and I had no
46:45
clue who she worked for. It turned out she worked
46:48
for a guy by the name of Bill Brooks. Bill Brooks
46:51
was a founder of the Bill Brooks Group in North
46:53
Carolina. And she said, I think I'd like to introduce
46:58
you to Bill Brooks and someone else who I know
47:00
by the name of Ron Willingham. So Bill Brooks
47:02
is one of the foremost sales trainers in the
47:05
world. Ron Willingham as well. And Ron created
47:08
something called The Best Seller. Through that
47:11
meeting of Laura, she introduced me to Ron and
47:15
to Bill. And so I became part of their group
47:18
of speakers, who at that time was doing a program
47:22
called Slim Up and Live All Over the Country
47:24
for the Shackley organization. So through that
47:28
relationship, I then had a relationship with
47:31
Ron Willingham for as long as he was alive. And
47:34
eventually I started to create my stuff instead
47:37
of relying upon Ron. Bill Brooks became really
47:40
one of my very early mentors. And I remember
47:44
when I was just starting this business, my wife
47:46
Cheryl and I went to North Carolina to work with
47:50
Bill, his wife Nancy. I said, Blackman, my office
47:53
is your office. Whatever you need, ask any question,
47:56
any document, any number, I'm here to help you.
48:01
And Bill Brooks, when both he and Ron passed
48:04
away, that was really devastating because both
48:07
of those guys were incredible mentors to me.
48:11
So it's really remarkable what happens when you
48:14
connect with people. And that's an important
48:16
word, connect. And that's why at our website,
48:20
it doesn't say contact. It says connect. Is that
48:24
a euphemism? Yeah. But I think it's a really
48:27
good one. So that's what I stress to clients
48:30
when I work with them or people who I'm speaking
48:32
to in kind of a large differentiated group. I
48:37
go. your website, and I looked at it, or your
48:40
website, and I looked at it, you got two words,
48:42
about us. And you just told the visitor, this
48:45
has got nothing to do with you. It's only about
48:47
us. So we don't have that language about us.
48:50
Why? I think it needs to be about somebody else.
48:53
And I stress that when I speak, Michael, I go,
48:55
today's message is not about me. It's about you.
48:59
So everything that I do today is to help you
49:02
improve your business, improve your career. accelerate
49:08
how you want to do what you do and why you do
49:11
it and at the same time though i encourage everyone
49:14
to challenge others but to also challenge themselves
49:17
and i tell clients this from the beginning of
49:19
my relationships with them i'm not going to appease
49:22
and please you If you simply want someone to
49:24
appease and please, I'm not the right guy. But
49:26
I will challenge you to reconsider and re -examine
49:28
and rethink how you do what you do and why you
49:31
do it. Why? That'll help you generate the best
49:33
result. So I push back. And I push back on CEOs
49:37
of multi -billion dollar organizations. Greatest
49:40
compliment. Greatest compliment I ever got from
49:42
a client. Multi -billion dollar financial organization.
49:45
He said to me, Blackman, what I love about our
49:48
relationship is you never protect your butt.
49:51
And you never kiss mine. Supreme compliment.
49:56
So he knew I would always give it to him straight
49:59
without ever saying, let me give it to you straight.
50:02
Let me be honest, to be honest. And I hate when
50:05
anyone uses that language because at some point
50:08
they're going to fib to me. I don't know when,
50:10
but they'll fib. So if you're honest, you don't
50:12
need to identify it. Just be it. Yeah, he didn't
50:16
want a yes man. No, he didn't want somebody to
50:19
agree with him. He wanted somebody like you,
50:22
somebody you're going to stand your ground. But
50:24
if he's wrong, you're going to tell him he's
50:26
wrong. And he's probably not used to that. Yeah,
50:31
no, he's not. Yeah, but he valued it because
50:35
he couldn't get it internally. People were concerned.
50:37
I don't want to offend him. And my goal wasn't
50:40
to offend him. It was to help him. And he realized
50:43
that that's worth so much. And I can see how
50:47
that was the greatest compliment that you could
50:49
have gotten. It was. Yeah. How do you maintain
50:53
authenticity and generosity in networking without
50:58
becoming everybody's free consultant? Most people
51:04
are really honest, reasonable people, and they
51:09
do not take advantage. So one of the things that
51:13
I have discovered over the decades is many people,
51:16
they're looking for quick solutions. If there
51:19
are any, I don't know of them. So I know of no
51:24
quick solutions. And people will often say to
51:28
me, man, what a gift you have in terms of your
51:31
ability to use language and words. And wow, what
51:34
a gift you were born with. And I go, I don't
51:36
know who you're talking about, but not me. What
51:39
do you mean? Two is not only in the pages of
51:43
Peak Your Profits, but it's also in the pages
51:46
of Bullseye. When I was a little guy, I needed
51:49
speech correction lessons because I couldn't
51:51
pronounce my R's and my L's. So Ms. Northrup,
51:54
who was my first grade teacher, said, you need
51:59
speech correction lessons, Jeff. And I went home
52:02
and I said to my parents, my teacher, Ms. Northrup,
52:04
she's crazy. She claims I need speech correction
52:07
lessons. She is wrong. That little guy worked
52:11
very hard for almost three years, Michael, until
52:13
eventually he could enunciate and articulate
52:16
and communicate. And obviously I'm talking about
52:18
me. So that story is in Peak Your Profits and
52:22
in Bullseye to talk about the significance of
52:24
learning. being persistent and allowing success
52:28
to happen over time and donna northrup there's
52:31
also a separate story about donna in bullseye
52:34
because she became a dear friend i stayed in
52:37
contact with her long after first grade so i
52:41
featured her in two books and i was with her
52:45
just weeks before she passed away and i loved
52:49
her and the title of that chapter in bullseye
52:52
was called My favorite redhead, because she was
52:55
this stunning redhead. She was a stunning redhead
52:58
when I had her as a student. She was in her early
53:00
to mid -20s. And then when she passed away, obviously,
53:04
years ago, she was still a beautiful woman. And
53:07
she became a dear friend. She actually called
53:09
me once, and she said, you're a Cub fan. She
53:11
said, I'm a Cub fan. She said, remember Mrs.
53:13
Johnson? And I go, sure. She was another first
53:16
grade teacher. She's got season tickets to the
53:19
Cubs game. how'd you like to go to a Cubs game
53:22
with your first grade teacher? And we did. She
53:26
said, I'll pick you up in a limo. We'll ride
53:28
down together. We will sit behind the opposition's
53:32
dugout in the first row. When the game's over,
53:34
we'll ride home in a limo together as well. And
53:37
we did that. It was one of the most memorable
53:39
days of my life. And I love my Cubbies, which
53:42
is why Ernie Banks is over my shoulder. And spending
53:47
the afternoon with Donna Northrup at Wrigley
53:49
Field, watching my beloved Cubbies, and we got
53:52
destroyed that day. I remember Roger Clemens
53:54
was pitching for the Astros. We did not win,
53:57
but I was with Donna Northrup, my first grade
54:00
teacher. Yeah, and that's all that matters. That's
54:03
all that matters. The score of the game really
54:04
didn't matter. It's the whole feeling of everything.
54:07
That's great. It really is. That's another important
54:09
point, though. Don't keep score. What I mean
54:11
is, I helped you. Time to help me. Don't keep
54:16
score. Just help. Who cares if there's something
54:19
coming back in your direction? Absolutely. It
54:22
must help. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.
54:25
I couldn't agree more. For someone who's introverted
54:29
or analytical, what's your advice for building
54:32
powerful connections without feeling like they
54:35
have to perform? What's so interesting about
54:39
that is I do a lot of work and have done a lot
54:41
of work over the decades with people who are
54:44
very logical. They're introverted. They're introspective.
54:50
They're not ebullient. They are not really animated,
54:53
just not who they are. So they need to embrace
54:57
a process and a system and a methodology. So
55:01
when I'm teaching them, for example, to have
55:04
business growth skills or networking skills,
55:06
I can share with them, here's a process, here's
55:09
a system, here's a methodology. That means they
55:13
will now listen. When they realize it's not that
55:17
good old network or just slapping somebody on
55:20
the back and they go, oh, so there's a sequence.
55:26
There's a process that registers. And if it doesn't
55:31
register, they won't believe. But once they believe,
55:34
now they have a willingness to listen. So I make
55:37
sure they understand this is no different than
55:40
anything else that you've ever learned being
55:42
an engineer. Anything else that you've ever learned?
55:45
And so help me, you hear, this ain't rocket science.
55:48
Years ago, I literally worked with a client.
55:51
Everybody was a rocket scientist. They were all
55:54
rocket scientists. So I had to focus on the logic,
55:59
the process, the system, the methodology, the
56:02
chronology as to why this made sense. And they
56:06
went, okay, now we're in. They had to get past
56:10
that it was something. else. They had to realize,
56:15
no, this is art, but it's also science. And then
56:19
they bought it. So that really goes to learning
56:22
and application, trial, error, and a willingness
56:27
to experiment. That's really what's important.
56:30
You and I together don't have enough time to
56:32
focus on the things that we've tried that have
56:34
failed, but we at least have the willingness
56:36
to try. That's it. That's it. That's why I went
56:40
to the School of Hard Knocks. I had to do everything
56:43
wrong. You and I are both graduates. Yes. Yes.
56:46
Graduate of hard knocks. Okay. Listen, let's
56:50
bring this podcast full circle. If you had to
56:54
design a networking power hour, 60 minutes a
56:58
week to move the needle, what would you include?
57:03
What's the format for this power hour? It's.
57:08
from soup to nuts. It's networking. That's your
57:11
first thought. But if they were to go to a networking
57:18
event or meeting a prospective prospect, okay,
57:25
what could they do in an hour each day to help
57:30
them network? So here's the good news. It might
57:35
not take an hour. An hour is a long time. And
57:37
I often will say to folks, most people don't
57:40
obviously plan to fail, but they do fail to plan.
57:44
And you with 15 minutes of strategic focus can
57:49
probably accomplish a whole bunch. So an hour
57:53
maybe might not be necessary, but if you go,
57:56
okay, so what are the things that I need to do
57:59
right now in terms of people who I think I can
58:02
potentially help? How am I going to reach out?
58:06
One of the things that we teach is referrals
58:07
as an example. And most people don't rely upon
58:10
referrals or introductions. But once we show
58:13
them, again, process, system, and methodology,
58:15
which is what we did with the folks at BankOne.
58:17
Entire story is at the website. BankOne, we helped
58:20
generate. 230 million dollars in new loan business
58:26
in 23 months with zero acquisition cost they
58:30
had no referrals culture drove me nuts and the
58:33
good news was they had me on long -term retainer
58:35
took me three years until the president said
58:38
will you stop bugging me if i let you do this
58:41
referrals thing and i went oh yeah i'll stop
58:43
bugging you yeah so we did a pilot and the pilot
58:47
was so successful he said let's roll the country
58:50
which we did And we generated $230 million in
58:55
new business, all from referrals in the span
58:59
of 23 months. Then they sold at a premium the
59:02
entire portfolio to Household International.
59:05
So we taught them, here's something that you
59:08
can do. It doesn't take a lot of time during
59:09
the course of a day. And the same thing, you
59:12
probably don't need to devote an hour. You can
59:15
probably devote a really focused 15 minutes.
59:18
Okay, who would I like to meet? Who can I introduce?
59:22
What can I do that will really help somebody
59:24
else who I know? What connections can I make?
59:27
What's an industry that I like to focus on? What's
59:30
the best way to meet those people? So if you
59:32
take the time to, and most people don't because
59:34
they're too busy running off to the next opportunity.
59:36
And I tell folks, do not tell me what you know.
59:40
Tell me what you will do with what you know.
59:44
And that's what really is important. Often you
59:49
and I both know that sometimes you go, yeah,
59:51
I just can't think of anything now. Let me share
59:53
with you as we get ready to wrap up something
59:56
that John Pushik said. Who's John Pushik? So
59:59
John is a terrific guy, became a client, president
1:00:02
of a company called Prager Moving and Storage
1:00:04
here in the Chicagoland area. If you need to
1:00:07
move your house, they can help you. If you need
1:00:10
to move your office, they can help you. When
1:00:12
mom and dad were alive and they moved back in
1:00:14
2008, Prager took care of the move because they're
1:00:18
so good at what they do. So John is their leader,
1:00:21
but he's got great biz dev skills. So here's
1:00:24
what John says, and everybody can use this line.
1:00:26
It doesn't matter what your business is. If someone
1:00:28
says, John heard great things about Prager, but
1:00:31
we're not moving the office. We're actually not
1:00:34
moving the house. No need for your services.
1:00:37
He doesn't go into, let me tell you what makes
1:00:39
us great. So that he simply says, that's okay.
1:00:45
Better that you know us and not need us than
1:00:49
need us and not know us. How good is that, Michael?
1:00:54
Perfect. It is. It's perfect. And when I say
1:00:58
that in a program, folks go, slow down, say that
1:01:00
again. Better that you know us and not need us
1:01:05
than need us and not know us. And it's brilliant
1:01:09
because it's so simple. What does it do? It first
1:01:12
captures mind share. And you can't capture wallet
1:01:16
share unless you first capture mind share. Jeff,
1:01:22
that's great. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful
1:01:26
it was to have you on as a guest to my podcast.
1:01:30
If somebody wanted to get hold of you, either
1:01:33
to ask you a question, ask you about coaching
1:01:36
or anything else like that, what's the best way
1:01:39
for them to get hold of you? So that's easy.
1:01:42
First, let me encourage folks, take advantage
1:01:44
of the Foreman Rocks Sweet 16 offer. So send
1:01:47
that email to Cheryl, S -H -E -R -Y -L, at jeffblackman
1:01:51
.com, subject Foreman Rocks Sweet 16, and then
1:01:54
Cheryl will send you these 16 questions. If you
1:01:57
want to shoot me an email, you're welcome to.
1:02:00
Simply send an email to jb at jeffblackman .com.
1:02:06
So my initials, jb at jeff. blackman .com. If
1:02:11
you go to our website, you will also see a whole
1:02:13
bunch of free goodies. So there are book excerpts,
1:02:16
there are audio excerpts, a whole bunch of video
1:02:19
vignettes that you can take advantage of as well.
1:02:22
So shoot me an email if you've got a problem,
1:02:25
you've got an opportunity, you've got an issue
1:02:26
or a challenge. I'm here to be able to help and
1:02:29
it is truly my pleasure to be able to help. Just
1:02:32
let me know, hey, heard you with Michael and
1:02:35
so that way I know immediately, ah, this is how
1:02:37
we found each other. Great. Great. Jeff, thank
1:02:40
you so much for coming on the podcast, and I
1:02:43
look forward to talking to you soon. My pleasure.
1:02:46
Thank you, Michael. Well, hold on, folks. Don't
1:02:57
go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. David
1:03:00
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Kids is on a mission to protect children and
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They provide prevention training programs for
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When it comes to making the biggest financial
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of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry
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where you're moving, Henry has the right connections
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for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888.
1:03:49
A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such...
1:03:52
insights today. And of course, a big shout out
1:03:56
to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in
1:03:59
and spending your time with us. If you're interested
1:04:02
in my digital courses, being coached or having
1:04:05
me come and talk to your company, just go to
1:04:08
Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,
1:04:12
networking isn't about being perfect. It's about
1:04:15
being present. So take what you've learned today,
1:04:18
get out there and make some meaningful connections.
1:04:22
If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't
1:04:24
forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share
1:04:28
it with someone who could use a little networking
1:04:30
inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going.
1:04:33
You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube,
1:04:38
or my website, foreman .com slash podcasts.