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

Transcript

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

0:14
Okay, hey everybody welcome back to networking
0:18
unleashed building profitable connections I'm
0:21
your host Michael Foreman and today we're diving
0:24
into the intersection of Technology and human
0:28
connection. Let's be honest social media is louder
0:32
than ever Google decides who gets found and now
0:36
AI is writing half the internet So where does
0:39
that leave real connection? How do we build relationships,
0:43
not just reach? My guest today knows that better
0:47
than most. He's mastered how to combine social
0:51
media strategy, Google business profiles, and
0:55
AI to protect, sorry, to help professionals stand
1:00
out, stay visible, and most importantly, stay
1:04
human in a digital world. If you've ever wondered
1:08
how to turn your online presence into genuine
1:12
opportunity, this is the episode you'll want
1:14
to lean into. So let's get into it. This, I'd
1:19
like to introduce Sean Boyle. He is my next guest
1:22
on the podcast. I am so happy to have you here,
1:25
Sean, and please introduce yourself and tell
1:29
us how you got here. Thank you, Michael. Wow.
1:32
It's quite an introduction. I appreciate that.
1:35
Yeah. Co -founder Momentum, we're a marketing
1:37
company based in Philadelphia, seven -figure
1:39
company, been around for a decade. This is actually
1:41
our one -year anniversary this month, which is
1:44
super, super exciting. And yeah, we actually
1:47
help Michael a lot of small businesses, primarily
1:49
service businesses with their overall digital
1:52
marketing. So I'm really excited to chat with
1:54
you about that today. Great. That's great. Your,
1:58
what you do is so needed in today's society because
2:04
of what's happening with AI. AI is a new buzzword
2:08
and everybody don't, they don't know how to use
2:11
it as a tool, but how to remain human. And that's
2:15
really what you're all about. So I have about
2:18
10 or so questions in an era where algorithms
2:22
decide who sees what. How can business owners
2:26
make sure real people, not just the platform,
2:30
see and connect with them? It's a good question.
2:35
If we're talking overall digital presence, I
2:37
think it really just starts from a fundamental
2:39
reason of if you need a plumber, God forbid,
2:42
if you need someone to fix your roof, whatever
2:44
it is, I think the majority of people, Michael,
2:46
are still going to Google to find that. And then
2:49
if you're able to be found on search, if I was
2:52
to do a Google search, for instance, best plumbers
2:56
in Philadelphia, right? Something like that.
2:58
And I can find a business that is having a lot
3:01
of good reviews, that's posting to the profile,
3:03
that's topical. Maybe they've won a couple of
3:05
awards and they're very high. A lot of the times
3:08
I'm actually going to contact that business first.
3:10
So it's one of those things that we can go into
3:12
it. There's so many different things that a business
3:15
can do to actually get a higher ranking locally
3:19
on Google. But I think with all this AI, it doesn't
3:22
matter really. Local search is still one of those
3:25
things that people are going to manually search
3:26
it or maybe do a voice search. And that's how
3:29
they're going to be able to be found. Do you
3:32
find that a lot of people are searching on, let's
3:35
say, chat GPT first and then going to Google?
3:40
It's an interesting thing, right? Because Google
3:42
has their own AI platform with Gemini. And if
3:45
you were to Google best plumbers in Philadelphia
3:47
with ChatGPT, it's probably going to give you
3:49
a list of about five plumbers in Philadelphia
3:51
with all their accredited ratings and whatnot.
3:54
Gemini is going to do the same thing too. And
3:56
even more, what's interesting, Gemini on Google
3:59
is going to give you the pros and the cons of
4:02
that business. Maybe there's a review that's
4:04
buried that the businesses try to cover up, which
4:07
actually is a really helpful review. Oh, maybe
4:08
they're actually not the company you thought
4:10
they were. So it's interesting, man. For ChatGPT,
4:14
People are starting to search more on AI. I personally,
4:17
and myself, I think it just has a better overall
4:20
playground of more resources. It's going to pull
4:23
more resources out there for you, obviously.
4:25
But the kingpin is still Google until ChatGPT
4:28
takes over. But I think we're heading that way.
4:30
It's really interesting. I think so. I think
4:32
we're moving closer and closer. I deal with an
4:36
AI person and his partners out in California
4:39
and everything, and I write articles for them.
4:42
He works very closely with Google and Gemini.
4:47
And he's telling me all about how people are
4:49
beginning to search on Gemini or chat GPT before
4:55
they search on regular Google. And that just
4:59
blew my mind that they've come such a long way.
5:02
OK, so you've worked with both Google business
5:06
profiles and social media. Where do you see the
5:10
biggest missed opportunity for professionals
5:12
trying to build relationships online? Not just
5:17
visibility That's a great question If you're
5:23
not just talking about visibility and you're
5:25
just trying to become more authentic I think
5:29
social media is the biggest miss on a lot of
5:32
service businesses because a lot of the time,
5:34
and I don't know how you feel about this, Michael,
5:36
but when I see a service area business, for the
5:38
most part, they're just posting pictures of before
5:41
and after photos, which are important. Don't
5:43
get me wrong. But to actually be able to have
5:46
the owner of said business make content, head
5:49
talking reels of them saying, hey, here are like
5:51
five ways you can actually save 10 grand on your
5:54
roof or something like that. Right. If they're
5:55
a roofer, that's going to mean so much more.
5:58
to build that relationship rather than just seeing
6:01
a bunch of posts, graphic design posts, static
6:04
posts that really don't do much for you. So I
6:06
think business owners need to get out of their
6:08
shell so to speak. It's funny, I was talking
6:10
to an owner the other day and the only thing
6:12
that's holding them up from doing social media
6:14
is their own fear of, oh, how am I going to be
6:17
perceived? And I told him, listen, his name's
6:19
John. I said, John, listen, man, I've probably
6:22
made a couple thousand videos and I'm not Joe
6:24
Rogan over here. I'm not the best public speaker
6:26
in the world. Far from it, but we all stink when
6:30
we first start so as soon as you can get over
6:32
that fear and just start You're going to immediately
6:35
start to improve know your cadences on how you
6:38
talk And go from there and that kind of set them
6:40
over the edge and we're going to be doing some
6:41
work with them Yeah, that's a great question.
6:43
I can't believe you said what you said because
6:46
you were so on point With it, you know, i'm a
6:50
public speaker. I go out and I teach I go into
6:53
workshops and I teach them about truly networking
6:56
and what you said falls right in line with everything
7:01
just like that. I tell everybody, look. Go out
7:05
and start networking. Just go out and start.
7:07
Doesn't make a difference how good you are because
7:09
the first and second time you go out, you're
7:12
going to suck. It's going to be horrible. You're
7:14
going to be bad, but you're going to learn from
7:17
those mistakes and you'll get better and better.
7:20
And that's why I agree with you 100 % on what
7:24
you were saying. So that's very good. Many people
7:28
post content, but never actually connect through
7:31
it. Sound familiar? What separates social posting
7:35
from social networking? And how can someone bridge
7:39
that gap? I don't know where you got your questions
7:42
this morning, but I love them. They're actually
7:45
making me think, which is good. It's a new thing.
7:48
So picking up where I left off, I think to take
7:50
it a step further, it's one thing to make that
7:54
relationship, right? But to have a networking
7:57
component to it as well. I think the next step
8:00
with social media, not just posting, is really
8:04
engaging your audience and drawing new potential
8:07
people to it. And I'm not just talking about
8:09
leads for the business, I'm talking about potential
8:11
connectors, potential partners, even just people
8:13
who are maybe entrepreneurs or people who like
8:15
your content, right? What I have done myself,
8:17
and there's really three things that I think
8:18
you can do, first thing you can do is go live.
8:22
Go live on your social media platforms. I personally
8:25
myself go live on YouTube at least twice a day.
8:28
And it's not a huge crazy audience, but it's
8:30
one of those things where I actually do love
8:31
to interact with people. I feel like you do build
8:34
a good relationship and a couple of people actually
8:36
tell their friends and then it starts to accumulate,
8:38
right? So that's the first thing. Second thing
8:40
is you got to get, you have to get in the DMS
8:43
and you have to respond to questions and build
8:45
relationships that way. I see far too many business
8:47
owners when I go to their social media profile
8:49
and they've been doing it for years. I can't
8:51
tell you how many times, Michael, I've actually
8:53
seen probably close to the dozens of messages
8:55
that are unread and non -messaged of potential
8:58
leads, potential connectors and stuff like that.
9:00
And it's absolutely crazy. And then the third
9:02
thing I think is, and this might go a little
9:04
kind of a tough to do if you're like a typical
9:06
service area business, but. host somewhat like
9:09
of a workshop. It doesn't need to be in person.
9:11
It can be like another live stream, but host
9:13
a workshop on, okay, here's exactly how you can
9:15
save money doing this, or here's where you want
9:17
to look out doing that. I think it's so imperative
9:20
to just go beyond the scope of just posting to
9:23
post. You want to put your live stream out there.
9:26
You want to connect with your audience. And I
9:27
feel as time goes on, if your content is good,
9:30
you're going to get people to talk to their friends,
9:32
talk to their family, and they're going to be
9:34
able to join your live streams and be one of
9:36
your audience members too. I absolutely agree.
9:39
Again, I absolutely agree with what you're saying
9:42
because that interactivity between yourself and
9:45
your either client or proposed client or to be
9:50
client, you have to give them a little something.
9:52
You have to give them value. You have to say
9:54
you need to trust me because of this. And how
10:00
can somebody turn around and trust you if they
10:04
don't know about you? Right. So if you do these
10:07
live workshops, you're giving them something.
10:10
Look, you're telling me how I can save money
10:12
if I change this switch out and I do it like
10:15
this. That's free. That's all the work you have
10:18
to do. But I have so much more to give you. That's
10:22
why I want you to call me. Yes, I agree 100 percent.
10:25
So if you're going to continue to do this and
10:28
I'm going to continue to do it. Agree 100%. This
10:31
is going to go nowhere. All right. So let's get
10:34
controversial here, Michael. Let's get controversial.
10:36
Okay. AI has made content creation faster than
10:41
ever, but often less human. How do you think
10:45
entrepreneurs can use AI without losing their
10:49
authenticity or voice? Can I curse in the show
10:54
or no? No. Okay. I think it's total bullshit
10:57
on how AI kind of works, man. And let me just
11:00
get this off my chest. I feel like business owners,
11:02
they rely way too much on AI to do so many different
11:06
things with the business. And let me explain.
11:08
Wanted to directly answer your question. One
11:10
of the main things that I think people miss on
11:13
is language, just personal language that we're
11:15
using now and make it feel like you're actually
11:17
talking to a human being with AI specifically.
11:20
I'll tell you, one of the clients I was just
11:22
talking today, before they came onto us, Michael,
11:24
They used every single blog and every single
11:28
webpage with ChatGPT. Now, don't get me wrong,
11:31
ChatGPT is good to have somewhat of an idea.
11:34
I'm not saying it's terrible to use, but you
11:36
do get penalized with Google. You do get, has
11:39
almost like a robotic voice. There's no personality
11:41
to it really, truth be told, in my opinion. Maybe
11:44
some of it's good, but I don't know, it definitely
11:45
could be better. I think AI is way too much overused
11:49
with that specifically. Business owners need
11:52
to use it as a little bit of a guide. And then
11:54
go back in and essentially reword certain things
11:57
to make it sound more like them. And I think
11:59
over time, I don't know, it's probably going
12:02
to be just as it's going to sound just like us.
12:04
We're going to put out the words that we use,
12:05
our cadence, our vocabulary, and it's going to
12:07
sound exactly like us. But for the time being,
12:09
I think they need to switch that a little bit.
12:11
So it sounds just a little bit better and come
12:13
off more authentic. Absolutely. AI has to be
12:17
used as a tool. right? And in our work belt.
12:22
And when we need to use AI, we can bring out
12:25
that tool, use it, but then we have to change
12:29
it. It's a good base, right? And we have to add
12:32
what we really want to do or add our own being
12:36
as part of it. And then it becomes a true article
12:41
or something that you're trying to post about.
12:44
I write for several articles on AI. It's known
12:49
throughout speaker edge .io is one of them. I
12:53
write an article for them three times a week
12:55
and it's all AI generated, right? But I have
13:00
to go out of it and I have to put in a little
13:02
bit of what I do, make it me. So it gives me
13:06
a good base, but I can't just print it and let
13:09
it go out. So it, it's very useful for what you,
13:16
for what you want to use it for. but you need
13:19
to use as a base, not anything else. And you
13:22
need to put in your own words, but that's me.
13:25
Okay. How important is Google business? Okay.
13:31
How important is a Google business profile today
13:34
for personal brands and small business owners
13:37
who rely on networking and referrals? I like
13:43
to make the analogy and this just came to me.
13:45
I really haven't used it before, but I guess
13:46
I'll use it on the show. It's like having a website
13:49
back in the 90s or early 2000s. It's one of those
13:52
things that this is, you have to have it. You
13:55
absolutely have to have a GPP. And if you don't
13:57
have it, you're going to severely get left in
13:59
the dust, right? And to use any example ever,
14:02
it's okay if you're out with your wife, girlfriend,
14:04
whatever it is, and you're looking to get a nice
14:06
Italian restaurant. I think we all like Italian
14:08
food for the most part. And if you try to find
14:10
a nice restaurant, what do you do? You go on
14:11
Google, you find a bunch of Google business profiles
14:14
that are nice Italian restaurants. You check
14:15
out the ambiance, the vibe, the food, maybe the
14:18
menu, right? And I think you can apply that to
14:21
so many other businesses. I think the thing that
14:24
I wouldn't recommend is if you have more of a
14:27
product type company, maybe you can have a Google
14:30
profile for like your HQ, which is still maybe
14:33
applicable, but I recommend everybody get one.
14:35
Truth be told, I have one. I have a Sean Boyle
14:38
one marketing consultant in Philadelphia, and
14:40
then I have a Momentum one in Philly as well.
14:42
That's like the main agency one. So if you're
14:45
an owner, specifically with marketing or anything
14:48
with like marketing or branding, I would highly
14:51
recommend it to make a company one and then potentially
14:53
even make a personal one as well. If you have
14:56
a service area business and you're not in marketing
14:58
like myself, just make one for the business and
15:01
you'll be good to go. Okay and you're speaking
15:05
basically for the owners of the business, right?
15:10
You don't want all the employees to make one
15:12
for the company also and make them make one for
15:16
themselves. So it's strictly for the owners to
15:20
do that. Am I correct? Correct. Yeah, you don't
15:24
want the employees to make their own company
15:26
profile because that's they're all going to be
15:28
suspended. You might be able to get back in the
15:30
day. You might be able to get away with that,
15:32
but not anymore. Yeah, that's a good distinction.
15:34
Yeah, Google getting a little smart for that.
15:38
OK. What does I'm sorry. What role does consistency
15:43
play in digital marketing? I'm sorry. Let me
15:46
start again. What role does consistency play
15:50
in digital networking? And what's a realistic
15:54
rhythm for busy professionals who don't want
15:58
to live online? Another good question. I'll just
16:03
tell you from my own experience, Michael, after
16:06
COVID, things got weird, right? With networking,
16:08
I think we can all agree where we have these
16:10
kind of like in the past, I would have actually
16:12
gone to your maybe studio or whatever. And this
16:15
is fine. Like, I love this kind of environment.
16:16
But what I like to do is this. I like to hop
16:19
on one digital podcast, like The Self, a great
16:21
show, every week. And then I also like to do
16:24
one networking event every single week as well.
16:27
And it just so happens there's actually an event
16:29
later on. That's why I'm all suited up. I think
16:32
it's very important to do both at the same time.
16:36
You want to leverage the technology that we have,
16:38
but you also want to get out there in your neighborhood.
16:39
You can't grow your business if people don't
16:41
know who you are. Crazy statement, right? But
16:44
it's like, you got to get out there. And post
16:45
COVID, I think so many people just rely on the
16:49
virtual. like speed networking sessions, but
16:52
it really doesn't get anywhere. Maybe it will,
16:54
but it's not as authentic as going to a bar and
16:57
having a beer with somebody, going to a restaurant
16:59
where there's an event and like eating with somebody
17:01
and actually knowing and getting to know them.
17:03
I think that's so important to be able to get
17:05
out of your shell a little bit on both sides
17:07
and do something in person and then do something
17:10
digital as well. I think that's a great way.
17:14
And when you brought up the pandemic that really,
17:17
for me as a public speaker, I use that as a line
17:21
in the sand. Before the pandemic, things were
17:26
transactional, right? You have three widgets.
17:30
I have $10. I'll buy the three widgets. I built
17:32
my customer list and things were going great.
17:36
After the pandemic, when people were shut inside
17:39
and slowly getting back out, it's become more
17:43
relational and people, you have to get to know.
17:46
I used to be in the mortgage business. And I
17:49
used to go to a networking event, come home with
17:51
a shoe box filled with business cards and say,
17:54
look how good I did. And when really it was horrible.
17:59
I have to know. And now when I teach, when I
18:02
coach people, when they go to a three hour, four
18:05
hour event, I tell them, look, come back with
18:08
15 business cards, maybe 20, because that will
18:13
tell you that you had a real conversation with
18:16
them. And there's things to do with the business
18:19
card and how to follow up. Follow up is so much
18:23
more important than actually meeting the person.
18:25
It's unbelievable. But that's where businesses
18:28
fail. They don't follow up properly. And half
18:32
of my workshop is helping them how to follow
18:36
up. But getting back to my point, the relationship
18:41
side of things. And you go out and you network
18:44
every single week. Networking is the base of
18:50
all businesses. That's how well you network.
18:53
And that's where I make my money, of course.
18:56
It's what you have to do. Let's talk connection
19:00
versus conversation. How do you design online
19:05
content that builds trust first and still drives
19:10
business? I think when I'm creating content,
19:14
I'm always trying to have my client It's mind
19:17
when I'm making content. So for instance, talking
19:20
about Google business profiles, right. For me,
19:23
you know, I don't care what really is in it.
19:26
For me, it's what's in it for the client or what's
19:28
in it for the person viewing my stuff. So I try
19:30
to make myself as valuable as possible to answer
19:33
said questions. So a perfect example of that,
19:36
Michael, would be if I'm making a reel, which
19:38
I do a lot about suspended Google profiles, right.
19:42
The most viewed. Real and YouTube video I think
19:45
I have currently on my page is talking about,
19:48
hey guys, here's a free way where you can actually
19:51
reinstate your suspended Google profile. I gave
19:53
three things. It's 10 minutes long on the video,
19:56
about 30 seconds short on the real, and it's
19:58
actual value. It's stuff that genuinely works.
20:01
I can't tell you how many times, not to toot
20:02
my own horn, I've gotten comments that say, oh
20:05
my gosh, thank you so much. I don't know what
20:06
I would be able to do. Now I'm able to get revenue.
20:08
I'm able to have the business. Before, if we
20:11
didn't have the profile, we would have been goners.
20:13
We would have been out of business. So it really
20:15
gives me a lot of joy to be able to build that
20:18
trust with somebody because I'm giving that value.
20:20
And then what I like to do is just keep adding
20:23
as much value as possible. And then at the end
20:26
of my content, which I don't do often, if people
20:28
are watching my stuff, what I'll do is I will
20:31
then say, Hey guys, if you need professional
20:34
digital marketing that you can't do yourself
20:36
because it's a time versus money thing, if you
20:38
have the time, Save your money, do it yourself.
20:40
If you don't have the time, and I think some
20:42
owner operators who run surface area businesses,
20:45
Michael, don't have that time, then it would
20:47
be a good way to explore a conversation about
20:50
marketing. And then I'll give my email and phone
20:51
number, then we'll schedule a call. So I think
20:53
that's how I like to tailor content. Way too
20:55
many people, I think, just don't. They either
20:58
do these silly TikTok trends. They focus more
21:01
on their accolades instead of actually answering
21:04
questions. And I think if the business owner
21:06
is able to pivot and add just more value and
21:08
think of the end consumer first, they're going
21:11
to be surprised how many clients they actually
21:13
end up getting. I think it's starting to move
21:16
in that direction. It's starting to move. OK,
21:19
look, I do my social media. I post on social
21:22
media four times a day. I use a program called
21:27
Opus Clips. It breaks up the podcasts that I've
21:31
been on and I break it up and I post two of them,
21:34
four posts per day. And it takes me about 10
21:37
minutes total for me to do all that posting.
21:40
So it doesn't really require a whole lot of time,
21:43
but it's me interacting, it's me talking like
21:47
with you and giving great advice and things like
21:51
that. I'm not just saying, hey, look at me. This
21:55
is me. This is a picture before and after you
21:58
don't want to see a picture before I'm horrible
21:59
But you have to realize that I say this in jest
22:04
but it's so Real because I think it's coming
22:08
around. I think business owners are looking to
22:10
it saying, okay, you know what I see this I trust
22:14
him now networking is very big Know you like
22:17
you trust you they'll do business with you Know
22:21
you as easy Everybody knows you Like you and
22:25
that narrows it down a little bit but trust you
22:29
that's a big thing and The more that the person
22:32
can trust you the more the wall between you come
22:36
down Then that's where you're gonna find your
22:39
business Okay You've been the rock you've seen
22:45
the rise of AI tools promising to automate connection
22:50
Where should we embrace automation, and where
22:53
does it destroy the human side of networking?
22:59
I think probably the biggest misfire with AI
23:03
is probably on LinkedIn. And it's tough, right?
23:07
Because for me, and probably for you as well,
23:09
like... I am inundated with messages, Michael,
23:12
on a day -to -day basis of an AI tool sending
23:15
a message through some hot woman's, hot girl's
23:19
profile that I'm like, oh, yeah, I see what they're
23:21
doing. And I've done a similar strategy in the
23:22
past. And it just, sometimes it works. Sometimes
23:25
you get people. There's, in my opinion, going
23:28
back to your point on when you're networking,
23:30
come home actually with less cards, meaning you
23:32
had more of a conversational relationship. In
23:35
my opinion, and maybe I'm a little old school
23:36
with this, for better or for worse, I like to
23:39
pick maybe whatever number you want to throw
23:42
out. And I like to just generally have a connection
23:45
with that. person and talk with them and actually
23:47
have a conversation specifically on LinkedIn.
23:50
I think for other tools like cold email, yeah,
23:53
AI is great. You can use Apollo. Apollo has a
23:55
lot of great tools. It's a cold email sender.
23:57
You can scrape data from that. That's for cold
23:59
email. I think that works and answers your question.
24:01
Fine. But specifically for LinkedIn, if you're
24:03
trying to build connections and if you really
24:06
talking about liking and trusting the person.
24:08
I'm not going to have much trust from getting
24:11
like a very generic message, and I can just clearly
24:15
see that it's AI for the most part. Now, granted,
24:18
to play devil's advocate, some of those messages
24:20
are very captivating. They are very good. They
24:22
do take time to put out. And sometimes I have
24:25
a hard time actually understanding what's AI
24:27
and what's not. But the ones that I know are
24:29
AI are really bad. They just completely turned
24:32
me off. So I think to answer your question, I
24:36
don't have Honestly, the best answer for that
24:38
on LinkedIn, I have more of a manual approach,
24:40
but I think both things are needed. I think you
24:42
need to have some AI automation, some sort of
24:46
capacity as well as the human element. So I think
24:48
we lose that with all this technology that we
24:50
have. I always found that on LinkedIn, I don't
24:54
have a very big following. I have about 9 ,000
24:57
connections on LinkedIn. And whenever I try to
25:01
approach anybody that I'm interested in, I always
25:04
try to bring value to the conversation. I never
25:08
talk business. If I'm trying to, let's say I'm
25:11
trying to get into this roofing company, I'll
25:14
always bring in, oh, here's the difference between
25:16
metal roofs and non -metal roofs. And it's a
25:20
very interesting article. I will attach that
25:22
and say, hey, I thought of you when I was reading
25:25
this, here's this information. And that's it.
25:29
And I'll do that two or three times. And then
25:32
I'll say, hey, did you like those articles? How
25:34
about a cup of coffee? You know, it's just, and
25:37
slowly work into it. I found that was the best
25:40
way to approach a business that I'm trying to
25:44
get work from. So, yeah. I think that's a great
25:48
idea. And sometimes I do too, Michael is very
25:51
much similar to what you just do is almost like
25:54
a lead magnet. Give value. Like if someone, for
25:57
instance, is maybe they're a service area business
26:00
and they don't have the best website or they
26:02
don't have the best Google profile, say Hey,
26:04
John Smith balls. Here's a quick video I made
26:07
on how to have a better Google profile. I think
26:09
you might need it. I checked out your profile
26:10
and there's a couple of things wrong. Here's
26:12
a free video where you can just do it yourself.
26:13
And I've seen a lot of people take a lot of advice
26:16
from that video and just build a better relationship
26:18
with me and be able to trust me. Yeah. I love
26:20
your strategy. It works. That works. How do you
26:23
personally use your own content and Google presence
26:27
to initiate conversations that turn into genuine
26:31
business relationships? Yeah, I like it. I'm
26:35
gonna enjoy answering this question. So I'll
26:38
give you the whole Rundown of what I do like
26:41
the whole funnel, right? So a majority of the
26:45
leads I get that are organic if they're not coming
26:48
to the website and I'm not talking about referrals
26:51
just talking about like YouTube and the content
26:53
I'm creating are from social media and YouTube
26:55
specifically YouTube in general, right? Someone
26:58
will find one of my videos using the suspended
27:01
Google business profile example They'll go to
27:04
my video They'll watch it. Perhaps maybe they'll
27:07
try the strategy and maybe a couple days later
27:09
They're like shucks. This is like really freaking
27:11
hard and I don't have the time to deal with this
27:14
Let me call Sean up. Let me see how this goes.
27:16
I'll get the phone call I'll put them into our
27:18
CRM and then i'll kind of walk them through the
27:20
next step in process and That's really what i've
27:22
done for the last kind of several years Michael
27:24
is offer that value Where people can then go
27:27
and contact me and then it's hey, like I said
27:29
earlier, it's a time versus money thing if you
27:31
have the time Go and try to do it yourself. If
27:33
you don't have that level of expertise and you
27:36
have a little bit of money, but you don't really
27:37
have that time, then let's have a conversation.
27:39
But I always try to advise on what the owner
27:43
can do for free first rather than just go and
27:47
pitch my product or service on that call. So
27:50
that's really what I do. That's a great way to
27:52
be. Great way to be. Okay. Let's bring this podcast
27:55
full circle. Looking ahead. Where do you see
27:59
the balance between AI -driven visibility and
28:02
authentic people -driven networking? And what
28:05
should professionals start doing now to stay
28:08
ahead of the curve? That's a great question.
28:12
I contemplate this a lot of what AI looks like
28:15
in the future, and it's somewhere between robots
28:19
attacking us or what we have now or something
28:21
in between. But I think really What you should
28:25
do is if you're not really up to speed with AI,
28:28
even if you don't own a business, even if you
28:31
are really in the know, get in the know because
28:33
it's going to be something very prominent that's
28:36
going to pop up. It's like the AI .com bubble.
28:39
It's like the Google business profiles and how
28:41
important that is. AI is the next thing. And
28:43
it's not just the next thing. It's going to be
28:45
with us for forever moving forward, in my opinion.
28:49
read up on articles, go on Chat GPT, and maybe
28:52
you can do this weekly. This is what I like to
28:55
do myself, Michael, to stay in the know with
28:57
my busy schedule, is I'll just type in Chat GPT,
28:59
what does AI look like in the future for 2026?
29:03
Or how is AI going to be used for Google, Meta,
29:07
Apple? How are all these things going to come
29:08
together? And maybe just one week, maybe on Saturday
29:11
morning, whatever, when you have time. drink
29:13
your cup of coffee in the morning and just read.
29:15
And I think that's one of the best ways where
29:16
you can stay informed. It's pretty obvious, but
29:19
I feel like if you don't know, one of the easiest
29:22
ways is to get informed, make your own decision,
29:24
make your own opinion and try to use AI however
29:27
you see fit. So getting in the know is the first
29:30
step in my opinion. That's great. That's great.
29:33
Okay. And there it is. Proof that real networking
29:36
isn't about chasing clicks or followers. It's
29:40
about creating connection. with intention. Big
29:44
thanks to my guests for dropping serious insights
29:46
on it today. If you found value in this episode,
29:50
share it with someone who's ready to elevate
29:52
their online presence. Make sure that you're
29:55
subscribed so you never miss what's next on Networking
29:59
Unleashed, building profitable connections. Until
30:02
next time, get visible, get connected, and go
30:05
make it profitable. So before we leave, Sean,
30:09
if somebody wants to get hold of you because
30:11
they need your wonderful marketing strategy,
30:15
how can they get hold of you? So what they can
30:18
do is just go to YouTube. It's obviously trying
30:20
to pump up my YouTube subscribers and just type
30:23
in Momentum 360 on YouTube. We've about 7000
30:27
subs. Get a bunch of free value. Watch my videos.
30:30
I put my phone number and email so you guys can
30:32
contact me if you need. But get a lot of free
30:34
value. Enjoy my content and hopefully you can
30:36
grow your business. That's great Sean and thank
30:39
you again for coming on my podcast Well, hold
30:47
on folks don't go anywhere let's hear from our
30:50
sponsors David Neil co -founder revved up kids
30:55
Revved Up Kids is on a mission to protect children
30:58
and teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and
31:02
trafficking. They provide prevention training
31:04
programs for children, teens, and adults. To
31:08
learn more, go to RevvedUpKids .org. Henry Kaplan,
31:13
Century 21. When it comes to making the biggest
31:16
financial decision of your life, leave it in
31:19
the hands of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan.
31:22
Henry is a global real estate agent with Century
31:25
21, celebrating his 41st year in business. No
31:29
matter where you're moving, Henry has the right
31:32
connections for you. You can contact Henry at
31:36
561 -427 -4888. insights today. And of course,
31:46
a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners,
31:49
for tuning in and spending your time with us.
31:52
If you're interested in my digital courses, being
31:55
coached, or having me come and talk to your company,
31:58
just go to Michael and fill out the request form.
32:02
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
32:06
It's about being present. So take what you've
32:08
learned today, get out there, and make some meaningful
32:11
connections. If you've enjoyed this episode,
32:15
please don't forget to subscribe, leave us a
32:17
review, and share it with someone who could use
32:20
a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the
32:23
conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
32:26
Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website, foreman
32:31
.com slash podcasts.