Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Amber Gaige and Michael A Forman

 Welcome to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections. The show where real conversations turn into real results. I'm Michael Foreman, and today we're stepping into a fast moving space where AI meets digital marketing entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship meets creativity and relationships still sit at the center of it all.

My guest today lives in that world every day helping business owners grow with smart tech while keeping their conversations human. We're talking about how connections are building are built. In a digital age, how entrepreneurs stay visible without losing their voice, and why? Trust still beats the toolbox, the tool in every box.

And yes, we're even bringing in a special CoStar, her dog echo whiskey because sometimes the best lessons and connections come on four legs. If you care about growth, real relationships, and staying ahead without losing what makes you. You're in the right place. I'd like to welcome to the podcast, Amber. I am so glad that you made you made it here for the podcast.

And I would like you just to introduce yourself and give us a little background of where, how you got where you are today. Hello, Michael, I'm so privileged to be your guest today. I really love the work that you're doing, and I appreciate the plug for my precious Roddy. He's the best doggy in the whole wide world.

Of course. So I am a third generation entrepreneur. And I'm a plumber's daughter and so I grew up in the blue collar world and in the blue collar trades so much so that in the days of Nextel, two-way radios and maps GOs, we were dispatching trucks before it was full. I'll say that. And that is what instilled the work ethic for me to go out on my own.

That is what taught me that marketing cannot be ethereal, it must be practical, and that is what inspired me to pursue the very best solutions in technology and AI for the benefit of our agency clients today. That's great, and I'm really looking forward to this podcast because everybody uses AI to a certain extent.

I use AI as a tool, just one of my many tools that I have to go out and network and communicate. So I'm really looking forward to everything that we're gonna talk about. You work at the crossroads of AI marketing, and business ownership. How has technology changed the way real relationships are built today?

Technology is at the heart of almost every conversation that you have at business networking events. Technology rules our lives, as we found out from the recent Verizon outage where all of our cell phones on the Verizon platform did not work for 24 hours. Technology is the driving force and differentiator between businesses today, and so I personally believe that technology being that great differentiator is also the great unifier because when you work with people who are forward thinking, passionate about business growth and risk takers, then they are usually early adopters of technology as well.

But the speed of light that technology is advancing is. Absolutely new to those of us that grew up prior to the internet and cell phones. Am I allowed to say that and share my age? Facts or facts? Go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. So I just think we have to embrace or get left behind. Yeah. I used the pandemic as a line in the sand before the pandemic Networking was really transactional.

I have a widget. You have $3, you give me a $3, I'll give you the widget and case closed, customer moves on. But ever since the pandemic, the relationship has become more important, and I think AI has contributed to making it easier to keep those relationships going. So that I firmly believe in what you're talking about.

Many people use, oh, go ahead. Oh, sorry. Oh, I was just gonna say, I also believe that COVID and the pandemic taught us that technology can empower and strengthen relationships in a way that we really took for granted previously. Absolutely. I'm here talking to you. You're in Texas AM in Georgia. And I'm talking to you like you're sitting right next to me. So that is just one platform with the AI that we can turn to and what we're trying to do, really, I'm trying to take everybody out of their houses, out of their homes, put them face to face with people, get them back to nurturing those relationships that it really counts, really means.

But I digress. I don't want to go there. Okay. Many people use digital tools to reach more people for you. Use them to connect better. What separates the two? I believe what separates the two is the way that you use digital tools. You can reach more people and still not make connection. You can reach more people and still not make a sale, and especially in the business world.

So the use of the digital tools in line with. The offerings and services of a company is what becomes of paramount importance when you're talking about digital tools and marketing for return on your investment. It's not enough just to treat chat, GPT, like Google, that's kids play. My 9-year-old can do that.

What you have to understand is that with digital tools, AI can be utilized to develop your audience and prepare them for a sale before they're even aware of your brand. Yes. Yes. Very true. Very true. Okay. When entrepreneurs rely too much on automation, what usually gets lost and how can they bring it back?

I think that's a great question because when entrepreneurs rely too much on digital tools and they lose sight of their personal brand and authenticity, then they become, stagnant, I'm gonna say they become just another brand, just another part of the buzz. Just another part of the noise. And it's important to understand that the one thing that technology will never replace is the critical thinking capability of people and the fact that people do people with those that they know and trust.

And so as an entrepreneur. You have to maintain this fine balance of utilizing technology to empower your sales and your marketing while still maintaining the personal branding that keeps you local, powerful and approachable. Absolutely. And the word authenticity gets thrown around a little bit too much, right?

Everybody wants to become that authentic self, but the true thing, I believe that separates us from ai, that's emotion. Emotion is the main cog that, that holds you together and makes you that authentic self. AI can tell you what you are, what you do and actually reproduce you and your voice and everything else, but it can't it can't yet anyway, bring in that emotion and that emotion drives a lot of sales.

And the positioning and the nuances behind branding is what will convey emotions and evoke emotions and opinions in potential clients or existing clients. So knowing how to pick your colors, establish your brand voice, put them into play of your tech-based platforms in a way that is consistent, clear, and evocative.

Is again what creates a better opportunity for success. Yeah, absolutely. And when you look at the commercials that are being produced now, it's those commercials that create those emotional draw. My wife can't watch a dog food commercial without crying. She just, you two, so it's that kind of emotion that AI can't bring in. Not yet anyway, but they can't bring in. So that's really a big difference. You've built connections in fast moving spaces. What habits help relationships last when everything else keeps changing? I think we, we touched on this a little bit with the emotions.

I think people are not going to care about you until they know that you care about them. Everyone wears a silent sign around their neck that says, make me feel special. So I think the habits that we develop are intentionality. Frequency of communication, heartfelt touches and messages. I still hand write notes every single week in my business to clients and to connections and the stack of business cards that I keep on my desk of people.

When I go to events, I'm gonna write them a handwritten card. I'm not gonna send them a LinkedIn introduction. Usually I'll do both. So I think the habits of maintaining those opportunities to OutServe one another. Are what really helped to establish and maintain those meaningful connections.

I'm going to give away advice all day long. I'm always gonna try and bring value to a conversation. I'm going to lift people up. It's those kinds of opportunities to give back into your networking community that position your reputation as a giver and not just a one-sided transaction. You hit on so many things that are.

So correct that I can't begin to tell you how much I am right behind you, right? Between giving the thank you notes between the giving. When you go to a networking event, you're going with a servant's heart. You're going to give and not receive. Bob Berg who's a famous author and speaker and everything else.

He does that. He go, he is been for 25 years, he's been talking, going on stages, saying that you have to give first before you receive, be a connector. And, he's made the whole career of this. And it was really nice. I had him on a podcast, a few weeks ago, and he was just sensational.

But it's true. And everything you're doing, I teach, I coach, I mentor, and I teach everything that you just said. So I'm just so happy with your answer. We knew we had alignment prior to the podcast, but Yes. Birds with feather Glock together. Absolutely. Absolutely. What's one moment where a genuine connection mattered more than any campaign?

System or strategy? Oh goodness. It's hard to pick just one because I think genuine connection is what keeps us all in business. If you look at it I'm gonna give an example of. My friend who is now in political office when I was a very young mother, I took my son to a chiropractor's office because he was born without the ability to turn his neck to one side.

And because of that, we had some health concerns for my son and the precious woman behind the counter who was the receptionist. Was beyond compassionate and helpful anytime that he spit up. Anytime I was running late, anytime we needed to book an appointment, she knew my name, my son's name, my insurance information and the intentionality of her service was unparalleled.

Fast forward, my son is now nine years old, and yesterday I got a phone call from this same person. Who said, Amber, I don't know if you remember me or not, but I am running for reelection and I have found myself in need of a messaging strategist, and when I looked up on chat, GPT, the top strategic experts in our city, your name came up and I know you probably don't remember me, but would you be willing to take on my account?

The fact that we had formed a connection nine years prior, brought me business yesterday with someone who I hope to serve throughout her political career. So you never know when it's gonna come back around. Whether or not it's a big ticket item or not. My name, awareness and her reputation is what brought the business opportunity together.

Absolutely. And I can't. Put enough behind what you just said. I can't drive it home enough because the little things you do, when I tell all of my students, my clients, everybody, I say, you know what, give a little bit more. Give a little patience. Give a little information. Give whatever you can if they want.

From what you're trying to sell they're gonna buy, okay? Or if they want more information, but it doesn't take very much for you to give that information to them, right? If one of my clients was interested in a company, I say, contact them on LinkedIn. Contact the person that you want to contact and ask him, say, look, can I call you for 15 minutes?

I want to pick your brain. They'll be more than happy to give you everything plus. So it's an amazing thing. And if more per, more people thought the way you and I feel, I think the world would be a much better place. Oh, we'd certainly have fewer confrontations, wouldn't we? If we could just stop and take some of the hyper emotionalism out of it and realize we're just humans trying to find common ground.

Just trying to get along. Just that's exactly what we're trying to do. While using technology right, to do it better and faster while using technology? Yes. Yes. Should business owners use AI to support conversations without turning them into copy and paste interactions? This is a temptation when you utilize certain plugins and automations, is that it feels robotic.

So I believe, and we coach our clients to use technology for automation, for streamlining, but to program the technology to be, personalized, so it doesn't take that much more time for you to personalize your responses by putting someone's first name in there. Michael, thanks for reaching out. How can we be of service to you instead of you've reached far beyond marketing?

I. Your marketing problem. So you personalize it. You customize your responses. You offer things earlier in the conversation that will solve the most common problems that your audience faces. You are warming up an audience with educating them about how you make their life better, but you duplicate your efforts.

Through automations and platforms that will take you further faster. So again, I run a very lean, main marketing machine with my team and we serve a lot more clients than we would be able to if we didn't have plugins, automations and things like that, that tech powers it's so true. And companies now.

Have are doing more with less. And they're actually more efficient with the less than having more people. So that's creating an atmosphere where people like you and I, whether we have a 2, 3, 4, even five person company. We give the make the assumption or have the people look at us and say, oh, wait, you're a head of a bigger company.

You're 10 people, 15 people. And I'm like, oh, yeah sure. Sure. Meanwhile, it's me and three other people. But that's how it all works. But it's to make you better. It's not to replace. Anything that you're saying or doing, but just to make it better.

And you're right, the personalization of it, just that little bit, that little touch of, Amber, this is Michael, and yada, yada, yada. Just to make it personal, a great example of this, Michael, is I recently met the. Incomparable, brilliant, beautiful Vera Stewart. And Vera is based in Augusta, Georgia, and she is the premier caterer for the masters tournament.

And Vera has had her creations in Goldman Sachs and in Neiman's, and she had three SKUs in Costco. She started out in Augusta, Georgia as a home economics teacher, and she has built a 44 year career. On culinary arts, hospitality, and excellence. I will tell you that her business empire is so impressive.

But in the course of the conversation with Vera, while she was signing my cookbooks, she continued to impress upon me and the audience at the importance of customer service personality, profiling your employees, never compromising on quality, no matter what it is that you're doing. Have you ever read the book, the Raving Fan?

Oh, one of my favorites. Okay. Because I, I used to be in the mortgage industry and I must have bought 25 of those, books. And I used to hand them to all my realtors whenever they're having a problem, or as it's a small gift and it's not a print already, but I still have five left. And I just, it's a quick read and it just teaches you the basics of customer service. Hundred percent raving fans and one minute manager. One manager, all these? Yep. Absolutely. I have wall on my shelf. I have wall on my shelf. Me too. Okay. Okay. In digital marketing, attention is easy to get and hard to keep.

What makes someone worth staying connected? What makes someone worth staying connected to after the first interaction? You should always stay connected, but it's a mutual decision. So if that person elects out of your communication you're not gonna, force them to communicate with you.

But I believe that when you continuously reach out. You continuously provide value. People intrinsically want to stay connected. So when you're looking at things like digital marketing, whether you're running ads on Facebook or YouTube, or you're establishing an email campaign or you are talking on a chat bot, the primary reason to stay connected is brand awareness and opportunity so that you are in a prime position to be remembered when that person is ready to buy.

And that equates to frequency overreach. So over communicating both in-person and in digital marketing is hugely important. What would you say to somebody who has a huge LinkedIn following? Okay. I have 10,000 people that I'm connected to. How big would you say I should keep my circle, my sphere of influence?

So that I can keep up on that in those interactions. Especially in light of today's conversation, I would say there's no reason to shrink your circle. Just employ some technology to help you stay in front of all of them. I don't think you have to decrease. I don't think that just because you're reaching the masses, you have to decrease the quality of your communication.

That's the basis of technology and ai. So the, I tell my clients all the time, the wider, the net you cast, the more opportunities you bring in, but the more narrowed you are in your approach. The faster you are to bring someone around to doing business with you because you have highly vetted them. So is it a numbers game or is it a quality game?

Frequency overreach, quality over quantity. These are the consistent conversations that keep marketing companies in business because every client has a different desire. Our job is to create the right mix to generate the success definition that the client has. I was like, I could agree a thousand percent.

I agree. Okay. Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship can feel lonely. How has networking shaped your growth? When things felt uncertain? Oh, when did things feel uncertain? As an entrepreneur. Michael? Absolutely. We're the last to get paid and the first to hear about the problem. God bless all entrepreneurs everywhere.

I think networking is what brings entrepreneurs solitude and, friendships and I think that there is networking again for the sake of business transaction, and then there was networking For the sake of connection, I am incredibly picky. About where I spend my time networking. I am not a serial networker.

I can't be, I'm a mother and I'm a business owner and I'm a rotting owner, so I, I don't wanna be home petting my dog and, out until midnight. Guess boring in that way. But I think that networking with like-minded professionals. Whether it's an industry group or a shared clientele group allows entrepreneurs to realize that they are not alone.

I was at a wine bar yesterday, I'll give you an example, with a fellow female business owner who has also been in business for over 10 years, and we were just sitting at the table before our Chamber of Commerce event and she said, I am so tired of reinventing myself. For 10 years, I'd been reinventing my business and reinventing myself.

And my comment to her was, when you stop reinventing yourself, you might as well close your doors because you are always going to be reinventing an offer, a strategy, a product, or a service. And that is what entrepreneurship is about. It's about lifting each other up, sharing common concerns, finding solutions together.

Serving one another. So I believe that entrepreneurship requires a huge community somehow of people that are gonna lift that entrepreneur, entrepreneur up and keep them encouraged because it's a beat down ship is not for the pain of heart. Absolutely. I actually, I run a networking group, a weekly networking group from five 30 to seven o'clock at night.

And between 17 and 20 businesses come together and we talk about we do networking and everything else, but about the last 15 minutes or so, I say, okay, what frustrates you the most? And then what excites you the most? Every week is different of course, it's getting through certain problems.

There are 17 business minds in that room. So if you have a problem, who better to answer those problems than other business owners like yourself? And that's what keeps me going, we have a great time. We have a great time. Phenomenal. Phenomenal. What, let's talk echo whiskey for a moment.

What has your dog taught you about? Patience, presence, or connection? That shows up in business too. My dog is perfect. He has no faults. So when you do wanna look at the model of patient's connection and purpose, you just look at his little chocolate cover eyes and you go yes, you are absolutely right about that.

Let me give you a duck foot. Absolutely. But I think, they say dog dogs are a man's best friend. I think that when you look at companionship from a dependence perspective. Who would lay down their life for you if you ever needed them to. And that's why I'm a Rottweiler owner. 'cause I believe in a strong working dog.

I'm sorry, I know I'm five foot tall, but I don't have time for a little dog. I, sorry. Give me a real dog. I shoot big guns. I got a big dog. I drink big whiskey anyway, but I think when you look at the perspective of power versus dependence and servanthood. Is a beautiful continuity in the two. Be powerful, but give love.

Be consistent, but have boundaries. Understand that you can provide peace and protection, but also offer a sense of companionship and truth. And I think that's what we get when we have relationships with others and also when we recognize even as pet owners, that. These are powerful creatures that still rely on us for their wellbeing, and it's really an amazing connection that we have to steward our relationships.

Yeah I'm a groner myself and I think the longest time I went without, I think it was a year and a half, that was after one dog passed away. It took me about a year to a year and a half to adjust. To her being missed. I, it was like a piece of me was torn out, so we finally got a puppy and now she's about five months old.

Aw. But yeah if she was around, I would show it to you. She's up probably upstairs with my wife, but it's just, it's an incredible thing that you the love and affection you can get, but the protection you can get. And it's. You. You in business, you find like minds, right? And you don't want yes men, you want people that are actually going to give you constructive criticism, but they'll lay down the life for you. Absolutely. So that's what a true friend, a good, true cohort is. And I couldn't agree. I couldn't agree more. I, but I had to do that question for echo whiskey.

I'll let him know. I'll let him, how did you come up with the name Echo Whiskey? Okay, so here's a funny story for you. So I come from a military family and I see your veteran logo and thank you for your service because our military families are the backbone of America. And so my nephews are Marines and my grandfather was in the Navy.

And so military just part of who we are. And I unfortunately did not serve. I was the creative type who decided she was gonna be an opera singer and tour the world. And I did that for a time, but found out quickly it doesn't pay the bills. So my artistic operatic side came out when I had to pick a name for my buddy, and I was going to name him Avic Von, which meant my eternal guardian, because eVic is the word of eternal in German, but it is spelled EWI.

G. Okay. Okay. And so military call letters echo whiskey, India. So instead of Avic, he is echo whiskey. And as soon as I saw it, I knew it was associated with the military. Just, I just because of phonetically spelling the alphabet, so I just, I knew automatically, so I, yeah, I had to ask. Yeah. Okay, so let's bring this podcast full circle.

If you could change one belief people have about networking in a tech-driven world, what would it be and why does it matter now? Connection, I think we've established in our time together today that connection matters more than ever. Genuine connection is hard to find, and technology is what empowers us to have both.

I think what we have to change is the opinion that tech is gonna replace connection. It never will. Tech is going to empower. Tech is going to allow us to have more connections just like it's allowing us to connect today. But it will never replace. Like you said earlier, emotion, it will never replace connection that is human and it's never going to change the way that people choose to make their buying decisions because even digitally, I would argue that you have to feel a connection with a brand, even if it is purely for your own self betterment if you are not feeling connected to the product or purpose.

You are not gonna spend your money on it, so don't assume that tech replaces connection, tech underscores connection, and allows you to do it more efficiently and on a broader scale. Absolutely. Absolutely. Amber, we probably could talk for another two hours about this or multitude of things, but time constraints.

If somebody wants to get hold of you, either just to talk to you, be consulted by you, or ask you about your companies, where should they go? You're welcome to find me on LinkedIn. Amber Gage, G-A-I-G-E. You're welcome to go to our website and take advantage of our free quiz. To assess what marketing you currently have, that's www.farbeyondmarketing.com.

And you're welcome to follow us across all the social channels. We'd be very happy to connect. That's wonderful. That's what happens when technology, creativity, and real connection come together. You don't grow a business through clicks alone. You don't build trust through tools alone. You don't build it.

Though how you show up online, you build it through how you show up online and in person. Take one idea from today's episode and try it in your next conversation. Watch how people respond when you bring more presence, more curiosity, and a little more heart into the room.

If this episode made you think, smile or see. Networking in a new way. Share with someone who's building something of their own and be sure to follow Networking unleashed, building profitable connections so you never miss a conversation that helps you grow the right way. I'm Michael Foreman, and remember your next connection, right?

Your next connection might come from the last place you expect sometimes even from a dog named Echo Whiskey. Amber. This was just a wonderful time. I thank you so much for coming on my podcast. It was my humble privilege. Michael, take care.

 Well, hold on folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. David Neal, co-founder Revved Up Kids. Revved Up Kids is on a mission to protect children and teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. They provide prevention, training programs for children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go to RevD up kids.org.

Henry Kaplan Century 21. When it comes to making the biggest financial decision of your life, leave it in the hands of a proven professional. Henry Kaplan Henry is a global real estate agent with Century 21, celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter where you're moving, Henry, has the right connections for you.

You can contact Henry at 5 6 1- 4 2 7- 4 8 8 8.

  a huge thank you to our guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. If you're interested in my digital courses being coached or having me come and talk to your company, just go to MichaelAForman.com and fill out the request form.

Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. It's about being present. So take what you've learned today, get out there and make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review. Share it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration.

Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website michaelaforman.com/podcast.

Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.

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