Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / Building Relationships & Leveraging LinkedIn Connections with Kelvin Joseph

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Building Relationships & Leveraging LinkedIn Connections with Kelvin Joseph · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

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3, 10, 1, 0, ignition, liftoff,
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Ending small business failure.
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Welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast with a number 1 small business expert Melinda Emerson.
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Bolinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
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you need to succeed and live the life you've dream of.
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Now here's the small Biz lady herself.
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Melinda Emerson.
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Hi, everybody.
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I'm Melinda Emerson.
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Small Biz lady, and welcome to small biz chat, you know, small biz chat started as a little
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tweet chat over 10 years ago on Twitter.
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But we have evolved.
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And, listen, we have an amazing show for you tonight, but let me tell you first about why we
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do Smolpers, Ted.
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We created small business satellite because we wanted to have an opportunity for small
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business owners to get peer to peer device in a safe environment without having to pay a coach
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or a mentor.
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And we really wanted to have people, you know, have an opportunity to ask questions and get
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information that they don't even know that they need to know yet.
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The mission of small business chat is to end small business failure, and that has been our
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mission since day 1.
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Now, let me tell you a little bit about what our goal is.
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We wanna give you tools and tips and information so that you can have the
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opportunity take your business to the next level by hearing advice from top experts.
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So with that, I am so excited to welcome to our show tonight Kelvin Joseph.
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He is the CEO of CoolKel Marketing.
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Kevin helps companies from new startups to fortune 500 maximize their sales by executing
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marketing strategy that will communicate their cool.
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I wanna hear about this.
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Alright.
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Now He, Inc.
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Magazine recognized him as one of their top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 list in the same year as
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Mark Zuckerberg.
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So, obviously, they saw potential income.
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Calvin is LinkedIn B2B Marketing Influencer is a great sports marketing background, and he is
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a member of the American Advertising Federation's trendsetters.
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Alright, Mister Cool.
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Cal himself, Calvin Joseph, well too small, but chat live.
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Here I am.
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Let's go.
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Alright.
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Alright.
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Well, listen.
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You know, your core expertise is marketing.
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And, you know, marketing has really fundamentally changed quite a bit in the last 5
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to 7 years in particular.
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What what is your take on that?
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Well, decision makers have become obsessed with business outcomes.
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They're obsessed with with growth.
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So marketing used to be like an art form.
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It's more like a science right now at big companies chief marketing officers have 18
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months to turn their vision into some results.
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And if you're a small business out there, you know, if you hire a marketing professional, you
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want an immediate return on your investment.
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So that's changed marketing because it's very it's not It's not a artsy thing anymore.
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It's like, I need results now.
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Mhmm.
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I've actually read something on LinkedIn that you said that marketing has really become
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synonymous.
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With authenticity.
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Can you can you expand on that a little bit?
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Yes.
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Well, the reason why being authentic is so important is because your personal brand and
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your company brand.
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That's really your reputation.
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There's too much transparency to trick the consumer.
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You have to be authentic.
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You have to have a real value proposition.
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You can't just, even if you trick someone, into buying your product or service.
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It's not a long term strategy.
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You actually have to be the brand.
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You actually have to provide real value And if you don't, you will lose.
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Right.
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Because somebody can go right to social media and torture brand in seconds.
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Right?
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You know, give them a bad experience.
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They will let the world know.
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Right?
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They say, when people have a good experience, when they tell 1 or 2 people, when somebody has
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a bad experience, they tell 10 people.
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So And on social media, you know, if you're somebody like me or you, you know, I got
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300,000 followers on Twitter, so people don't mess with me.
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You know what I mean?
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But, I can I can imagine that, you know, luckily, I don't use my powers for Evoah?
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I do wanna say that publicly, but, you know, I mean, I could.
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And so the point is is that you do have to be careful But now one of the other things that
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I've I've read that you write, you said that the 4th industrial revolution is really big
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data.
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And artificial intelligence.
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But, you know, when you say big data to a small business, they're looking at you, like, what's
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up, doc?
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I'm trying to make payroll on Friday.
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Like, you know, what How how can a small business owner compete or really even leverage
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any kind of AI or, you know, big data tools?
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The reality is that you might not be able to play that game.
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It's it's it's the old thing.
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You might have to move like a speedboat And you'll beat the Titanic every time if you're
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able to have personalization, customization, and specialization.
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The reality is as a small business, do not try to be a jack of all trades.
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Just be that that master of 1.
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And that's how you compete with these big guys because they're spread out too thin, and we
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could just go in right in there and kill them.
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Okay.
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Alright.
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So you say speedboat because they are the Titanic.
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Okay.
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All the big marketing budget and stuff, they're the Titanic, and I'm I'm out here at my
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speedboat, but I I can still beat them.
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Okay.
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I I'm I'm gonna internalize that.
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Alright.
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So so what do you think is the best way for small business owners to grow their sales?
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We're all in the relationship business.
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Doesn't matter what we do and what industry we're in.
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Relationships are so important.
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And if you wanna grow your business, we need to make friends before we need anything.
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That's critical.
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Because a lot of small businesses, cash is tight.
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There's a lot of pressure to get things done, and we live in the the hearing right now.
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But the reality of it is is that we can't rush this thing.
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You have to have a real value proposition and real value to people.
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But if you wanna have sales quickly, you don't wanna become a used car salesman.
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Most small businesses, some of them turn their business into into a a collection agency.
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What's a collection agency?
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They only call you for one thing.
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They want money now.
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So if you wanna be a bill collector and turn your business into a bill collector, that is
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the fastest way to run yourself out of business.
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It's insane.
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Make friends before you need anything, then introduce them to each other.
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Add value and don't expect anything in return.
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And you are winning the long term.
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Don't get desperate.
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Right.
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Because every everybody can smell fear and desperation.
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Right?
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Dogs, children, people.
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Everybody can smell it.
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So
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Right.
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Where?
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Bad bad energy, bad mojo.
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Right?
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So how do you think if if people shouldn't be calling on the phone when they need business,
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What what how could they attract new customers as opposed to chasing them?
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Melinda, if I call you,
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I'm a salesman.
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People don't trust salesman, but if you call me now, I'm an expert.
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When you're an expert, that speeds up the relationship building process.
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People call me.
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It's like, how can I help you?
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What motivated you to call me today?
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If I call them, they're like, what do you want?
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I'm busy.
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So the reality of it is is that we have to attract customers instead of chasing them
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because people do not want to be sold to, but They love to buy.
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That's profound, or is that a preacher's message on Sunday?
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I'm not really sure.
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But, okay, Let me let me let me keep going with you, though.
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So, you know, if if you want to attract new customers, you wanna add value before you wanna
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make a a selling relationship, then that means you gotta get into social selling.
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That means you gotta be out here, drawing attention to yourself, and And I know that
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you're really, really big on LinkedIn, and you believe that that is the primo social selling,
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you know, sort of like platform, especially if you're selling b to b.
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Tell me tell me how social selling has impacted your business and how you've been able to
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leverage it.
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Well, I I was a late adapter I actually didn't believe in social media.
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I'm kinda old school.
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Oh, that's blast from this.
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Are you serious?
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Oh my god.
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I'm like, I'm a walkie talkie social brand going.
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What did he say?
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Oh my god.
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Okay.
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What?
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Actually, like, I I'm applying for the Guinness Book of World Records because I have the
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largest LinkedIn following without having any other social media account.
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I have not.
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I have no Facebook.
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No Instagram.
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I'm not gonna snap you.
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None of that is happening.
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So you can only find me on LinkedIn, and I have about I have about 40,000 professionals with a
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secondary reach of 100,000,000 people.
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So it it's pretty interesting that has really helped my brand.
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And The reality of it is it's what helped me to leave running a huge company to betting on
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myself.
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Having that social media support behind me and building myself as a brand.
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Alright.
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So when did you get on LinkedIn?
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Cause I wanna know how long did it take you to get 40,000 and first connections on LinkedIn.
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That's a lot of that.
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I don't even have MA.
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I mean, I got 15,000, and I thought that was like a eight 1 plat of account.
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So how when did you get on LinkedIn?
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2 years ago.
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And you got 40,000 connections?
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Well, you've been working looking like a job.
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I mean, that's crazy.
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Okay.
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Alright, sir.
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I was like,
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I mean, I'll be out to
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you then.
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Yes.
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Did you wanna make that?
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What are you even doing?
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Like, that's crazy.
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So when I would ask you another question, though, How can small business owners leverage
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LinkedIn?
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Like, like, how did you do it?
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Because that that that I I need to understand.
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Like, how did you do it?
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You know, on LinkedIn, I cheated a little bit.
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I was walking around with celebrities doing interviews and and taking pictures with with
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celebrities with which made people think I was interesting.
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So, you know, I spent a lot of my time in sports marketing, celebrity marketing.
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So if you're with if you're with Chloe Kardashian, that people, you know, that kinda
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get into it.
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It's interesting.
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I see.
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I see.
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Alright.
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So so you you you leverage the the celebrity influencers to get your game going.
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I see.
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I see you.
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Alright.
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So let's talk about how people follow-up on LinkedIn because same people do, like, some
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creepy weird stuff on LinkedIn.
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Like, the the second after I connect to them, then they sent me some whole, like, long
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diatribe pitch like through LinkedIn.
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Does that really work or like, what is the proper way to follow-up with people with new
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connections on LinkedIn?
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Yeah.
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A lot of people treat LinkedIn like like a cheap date.
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It's almost like hey, they connect with you.
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And then next thing you know, it's like it's like, you have to check if you're pregnant
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because these people I mean, they're all over you.
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Never do that.
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Never ever do that.
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I mean, if you're a small business and you do that, man, I feel like this should be I used to
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be kicked off the platform.
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I mean, it doesn't work.
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We're in a relationship business.
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So if if the if I meet you and you're all over me, that I mean, it it's unattracted.
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It's unappealing.
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It's like, it's it's sleazy.
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So Oh.
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The best way to do use LinkedIn is to build yourself as an expert in your niche.
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I call it the cool.
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Every company needs to have a value proposition something that they're passionate about,
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something they're really, really good at when it can bring value to the marketplace.
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And all you should be doing the only follow-up on Lincoln you should be doing is when you're
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helping and adding value.
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You should never be asking for anything.
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People will call you when it's appropriate.
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And the right people.
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So I I try to play a volume game.
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I do respond to every message and I respond to every comment that someone gives me.
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And I give everybody the the same respect My idea is if you help a thousand people, you only
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need about 3 of them to turn into a real business for you.
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And you can't get three people out of a 1000 to be attracted to you, you're doing something
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wrong.
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Well, you know what?
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I think that preach right there.
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Alright.
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Look, we're gonna go to break right now, but when we come back, we're gonna talk more with
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Kelvin Joseph.
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He's gonna talk more about this cool thing he's got going on.
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I'm Melinda Emerson's small biz lady, and we will be right back.
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Hi.
13:13
I'm Melinda Emerson small biz lady.
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I know you might be thinking about quitting your business and going back into corporate
13:19
America, but wait.
13:20
Before you give up, my new book fix your business could give you a whole new lease on
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life.
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My twelve piece of running a successful business will walk you through step by step how
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so much more.
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Grab a copy today, affix your business, and get your life back.
13:42
Hi, everybody.
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Welcome back to Small Bishop.
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I'm Melinda Emerson Smallbiz lady, and we have been talking with Kevin Joseph, and he is gonna
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keep going.
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Right now, Kevin, I wanna come back to you and talk about influencer marketing is is an imp
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and I know that you're a B2B LinkedIn marketing influencer.
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I'm a small business influencer.
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You know, Is that what everybody should be trying to be now?
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Can everybody be an influencer?
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Well, the thing is is that you don't have to be a big influencer but you should be an expert in
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whatever your value proposition is.
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Even if you have a small following, I mean, for me, I don't I don't need thousands of
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customers.
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I I could do great with just a handful, you know, or 2 handfuls.
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So you don't necessarily need to be millions of followers where it means nothing.
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You need to have a nice niche and be the expert in your niche.
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And when people say your name, it, it actually means something specific.
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Instead of a jack of all trades, It'll be a master one.
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Alright.
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Alright.
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I like it.
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So let's switch gears.
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I wanna talk to you about event marketing because I know you actually do event marketing
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in kind of a really interesting way.
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So why is event marketing so powerful and how have you been able to leverage it for yourself?
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Event marketing is very powerful because We're all busy.
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We're really busy.
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So if I don't know you, I don't like you, I don't trust you.
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I'm not doing any business with you.
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So if you ask me to have a meeting, that's almost like asking someone you don't know on a
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date.
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It's awkward.
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I don't know you, and maybe, you know, you wanna get to know me.
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Great.
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It's weird.
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But if I ask you to come to a party where other CEOs are gonna be at the party, or a dinner for
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for 10 influencers or 10 decision makers in your area.
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I wanna come to that dinner because I could do business at that dinner.
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And it's not just talking to you who I don't know.
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Maybe later after we get to know each other, then I'm ready for that, that, that intense one
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on one.
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But before that, like, I can get home to my kids instead of having 10 dinners with with
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separate people, just to get one of them to do business with me, I'll have one dinner with 10
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CEOs, introduce them to each other, And at the end of the night, they're all saying, who
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cares?
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That guy is really cool.
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I love it.
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I love it.
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Alright.
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But now what's the hardest part.
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I getting people to come to this dinner is is tough.
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Like, you know, with audience development is a challenge no matter how you do event.
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Marketing.
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So what what's your secret to get get X Y Z CEO that you don't know that well to come to your
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dinner party?
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Well, since they don't know you yet, they might not wanna just come because of you and your
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company and your value proposition.
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I have found that if I could get one big name to come, other people wanna come and and rub
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shoulders with that big name.
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So sometimes it's just getting one domino to fall and getting, well, you know, so and so is
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gonna be there and so and so.
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And then they wanna do business.
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So I only want decision makers.
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I don't wanna be in a room with a bunch of salesmen, and nobody's buying.
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Right.
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Right.
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You gotta be in the room with decision makers.
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Alright.
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Last question.
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What is the best business advice you've ever been given?
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Marketing advice?
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Well, a lot of times marketing Again, you should be about just the brand, but we gotta
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get results.
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I got bills.
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You know, we gotta make sales.
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So marketing is just a nice way of saying long term sales focus.
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And We need to draw customers to us.
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We need to be the brand.
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We need to be chased instead of chasing people.
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And the reality is happiness is success.
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And when your humility exceeds your ability, that's when you win.
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I love it.
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What is your favorite podcast?
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Tell me.
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Go.
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Gary V.
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Gary V's podcast.
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You can take all that, Kirsten.
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Okay.
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Good for you.
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Alright.
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I can't I can't listen to him.
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But, anyway, alright.
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What is your favorite business app?
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Favorite business app is the Cash App.
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Send me my money.
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Of course,
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Of course you would send that.
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Of course you would send that.
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Alright.
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Alright.
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We're almost out of time.
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Alright, Calvin.
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What's your favorite business book?
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My my favorite that got me started is Rich Dad Poor Dad and Robert Kywasaki and just gets you
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with the entrepreneurial mindset that real hustle.
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But I I also love getting to yes, on negotiation, a lot of business people split the
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difference and and leave a lot of money on the table.
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I never split the difference I win most of the time.
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Of course, you don't.
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Of course, you don't.
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Right.
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Alright.
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Anyway, listen.
18:42
Thank you so much for being on small voice chat live tonight.
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Thank you all for joining me.
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And please head over to my blog.
18:49
Succeed as your own boss.com.
18:50
You can get more information on tonight's guest And thank you all for watching Smallish Chat
18:55
Live.
18:56
It is my honor privilege to be your small business lady, and the goal of Smallish Chat is
19:01
to end Small Business failure, and I will leave you with this.
19:05
You never lose in business.
19:06
Either you win or you learn.
19:08
Good night, everybody.
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See you next time.
19:11
Thank you for listening to the Small Biz Chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
19:16
For more resources and small business success strategies, visit succeed as your own boss.com.
19:23
Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday.