Cultivating Purposeful Connections with Michael Roderick – 025

I don’t even know where to begin. Do you want to have a referable brand?

How about creating an amazing network of people that can send you business?

Listen in to my interview with Michael Roderick. This guy has been around. He isn’t chopped liver. And he isn’t chop suey. I don’t know if he eats chopped salads.

But he is one smart dewd. Michael is the man.

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President, and various professionals, one or more of which are or have been Krane Financial Solutions clients. However, nothing stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Michael Roderick miraculously went from high school English teacher to Broadway producer in under two years. Eventually, he decided to develop a workshop on networking which grew into a full time consulting practice and that became Small Pond Enterprises. Most recently, Michael founded The Connecting Connectors Conference (ConnectorCon). Michael works with his clients to curate, extend, and leverage their existing networks for the purpose of getting higher paid engagements, speaking opportunities and becoming thought leaders in their industry. He offers coaching services to clients who want to change their game, uplevel their thinking, invest back into their community, and create success.
**SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE VIDEO!**

What even IS a referrable brand?

For quite awhile now, the notable marketing trend has been being “different.”
The problem with being different is that companies are now being advised on “different” content and advertising which ends up looking uniform. It doesn’t get noticed or cut through the noise.
The solution is referability.
A referrable brand is when a company representative doesn’t even need to be in the room to market their brand because their concepts are embedded in the minds of several people.
It is important to prioritize your intellectual property and figure out how to break it down into terms that are easy to share with others.

Defining Your Brand

The decision must be made if the brand is YOU or if you are behind the curtains and the brand is your ideas and services.
Since most professionals and their business expertise is not in branding, outside consultation is often necessary.
It is possible to define the parts of business which are uniquely you, but when it comes to your ideas it is difficult to catch an objective glimpse at your best and brightest offerings to describe and market.
There are a lot of people who think they should be serving a particular market because it’s what they want, but the offer that they have is actually not as attractive for that market as it would be for another market.

The Key to Building Your Network

Most people already have a base of people around them. The critical step in networking is understanding who those people are and what it is they’re looking for. How can you help them achieve what they are looking for?
Networking is not about you. It is about getting to know your network.
When you become responsible for helping someone achieve their goals, that becomes something worth talking about to other people (referability).
A person who has a giver attitude when networking and carefully curates their circle will be the most successful networker.
Whatever it is that you’re trying to accomplish, there is somebody out there who has accomplished it already who can teach you so it will take you significantly less time to accomplish that thing.
Just like in primitive times, if you do not have a tribe you cannot thrive. Other people have the keys and connections to solve what you need in their pockets.

Over-extend vs. Over-deliver

Because of coronavirus, there is an influx of emails, webinars, zoom calls, etc. people are being invited to. Do them all and you will over-extend.
When you over-extend, it becomes impossible to over-deliver. You can either help an extraordinary number of people in a small way, or you can help a small number of people in an extraordinary way.
Be as disciplined as possible when making decisions, accepting invites, and deciding who is most appropriate for your circle.
Time is not something you can make more of. Before you make a decision you have to weigh it against what you are missing by making that decision whether it be money or an experience.
The OCG Framework:
Opportunity: An opportunity comes your way which you can take full advantage of to over-deliver.
Coincidence: An opportunity comes your way you can’t really over-deliver on, just someone thought of you…but it is better suited for someone else in your circle then…
Turn it into a GIFT for them and relieve yourself of the commitment.

Managing Relationships Like a Boss

To build trust in a relationship you must be very consistent and dependable.
There are two steps to blowing people’s minds. Step one is you do what you say you’re going to do and step two is that you do it in a timely manner.
Set up a relationship tracking system. There are relationships that require a frequent contact status, an every now and then contact status, and a rarely contact status. Utilize a spreadsheet to track introductions and your contact plan.
Find a way to get in front of your contacts without actually having to be there like an email campaign or a Facebook group.
To ensure your interactions with clients are meaningful check in on the personal aspects of their lives and well-being (especially during this time).
Think about the entire scope of a client’s business and needs, that way if there’s a service you don’t personally offer but know someone in your circle who does, you can make referrals to further assist.

Best Quotes:

“The main driver of business was the idea of like stand out, be different from the competition and all these different types of things. But the problem is because everybody started teaching people formulas about how to be different.” (3:45)

“When you have a referable brands, people talk about you. When you’re not in the room, you no longer have to be there because your ideas and your concepts are so embedded in their brain that it’s like a jingle from a TV show that you just like can’t get out of your head.” (4:03)

“There are a lot of people who think that they should be serving a particular market because it’s what they want. But the offer that they have, the thing that they’re putting out there, is actually not a fit for that market or not as attractive for that market as it would be for another market.” (10:26)

“It’s not about what you do, it’s about what you do for others. If you’re not clear on the transformation that you’re making for people, the thing that you’re doing that’s causing their lives to be better, to help them become that better future version of themselves, then you are going to be in a place where you’re constantly trying to convince people of your value as opposed to literally just showing.” (11:07)

“You can either help an extraordinary number of people in a small way, or you can help a small number of people in an extraordinary way. You can’t do both.” (25:27)

“There’s two steps to blowing people’s minds. And step one is you do what you say you’re going to do and step two is that you do it in a timely manner.” (32:17)