Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Prosper Taruvinga and Michael A Forman

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections. I'm your host, Michael Foreman, and today we're diving into something. Every entrepreneur, coach, and consultant needs to hear how to take control of your message, your platform, and your profits. My guest today is on a mission to help businesses.

To help business owners escape the content hamster wheel. The grind of posting nonstop, but feeling like nobody's really listening. Here's the creator of the own. Your media framework, a system that shows you how to magnetically. Attract your ideal clients and build media assets you actually own, not rent from an algorithm.

If you've ever felt invisible online or wondered why your message isn't sticking, you're about to find out how to change that. For good. So let's jump in. I'd like to introduce today, prosper. I'm not gonna try his last name because I'm going to butcher it all right. But I would like to welcome Prosper to my podcast and just listen.

We're old buddies. I was on his podcast. We've had a very good relationship and I can't wait to get this podcast started. So prosper. Welcome. Give us a little bit about your background and what brought you here today. Fantastic. Now, Michael, thank you so much. And just to take you off the hook a little bit, even my little girls don't know how to say their last name and they're supposed to leave with it for the rest of their lives.

So it's one of those things, but I really appreciate being on your show and I really appreciate, you having been on my podcast as well and as have, as you have said, that we work with small to medium businesses to help them pretty much own their media. And what we mean by that is when you are creating, like you're creating right now, if you don't take full ownership of this content, if you put it on any other platform, did you know.

That platform now owns that piece of content and they can do what they may with it. Now, I came about this Michael, I don't know if in 2020. So while everybody else was busy coughing into their elbows and socially distancing, I. Actually lost control of my Facebook. I won't go into the details of what happened but up until now I still feel like that was something to do with Facebook itself because.

I didn't get that two FA notification that somebody had hacked from the outside, so we tried to retrieve the account but to no avail. So I completely lost that account. But to give you context as to what I had put in there, so it maybe say seven or so years prior to that, I just arrived in Australia.

I knew no one and all I had done in that particular time was try to network and. At least start something off my own. And during that time, I used Facebook as my hub. So I'd created groups. I was doing Facebook Lives. I had a very good following, all right, in that particular time. So to just have all of that taken away from you with no recourse, no explanation, nothing.

It just put me on a very. Low, mode. So I thought all I had built had been lost. But then as time went on, I started creating a podcast where I just thought, you know what, maybe this could be a different way of getting people to tune in. And while I was doing that, I would create it like we are doing right now, recording on Zoom, and make sure that I saved the files and then distributed it to different other places.

So with that in mind, now. It really dawned on me that yes, you can create just like anybody else, but if you protect your assets, all right? And then choose what platform to distribute to them. You might be banned from a social media platform because the algorithm has changed or they just don't like what you're talking about, and that happens to a lot of people.

You are not starting from scratch. So I then went on a journey and I proved the concept for myself where I've built a podcast that you've been on, and I think we've got over 2000 episodes where I'm speaking to. Coaches, consultants, and you can imagine with that massive body of work, if all of that just gets wiped off any platform that will devastate anyone.

So now I'm helping people like yourself and other, people that are out there creating because every piece of content that you create becomes an asset and you can reuse it again so that you don't cons consistently have to be repeating yourself. And if. You now have that confidence.

It grows your, first of all competence and then it also grows your credibility in the marketplace because you've got this massive body of work that, you've created, and this is not just in business, I don't know if you've also seen or heard how Taylor Swift has actually become the biggest pop star is because she owns the rights to her content.

Alright? So in the music world, if you are a pop star, whatever it is these layers to who owns the lyrics, who owns the sound. You might just be the worker who does the shorts. Because of your character. And that's the same around most of the things that we do. So when you really step back and then look at what am I creating and do I want this to last forever, then it will be imperative for you to own your media.

And that's the journey I'm on, Michael. To just help people realize that aspect of content creation. That's fantastic. And I was actually given that very advice when I first began. So what I do is I videotape right now through Zoom. I import it into a program called Script, and I edit it and I play with it and do it.

But then that's where it sits and I put it on my website. I put on YouTube, apple, Spotify, all that stuff. But I have all the original. Stuff and I decide where it goes, so I know exactly what you're talking about and hopefully I can thwart anybody that wants to take it over, but I don't know. Okay, so let me dive into some questions I have picked out for you.

Most business owners think more content equals more visibility. You say that actually keeps them invisible. What's the biggest misunderstanding entrepreneurs have about visibility today? Oh, absolutely, and I think that's the biggest misconception because a lot of gurus are there. Tout or sell visibility as in be everywhere.

Be on YouTube, be on Spotify, be on Facebook, be on threads or whatever, blue sky be on truth, social or X, even always Twitter or whatever it is. That literally is just spreading yourself to things. All right? So you need to figure out, as a business owner, who are you? Who needs to know about you? And where are they positioned on the market on the internet.

That way you can actually start building. That one particular spot where people can come and go and they will still know, they will find you somewhere. Because the whole thing about the internet is you are not the only person that's out there. All right? If I would to have thought, I'm the only person that has a podcast, now I'm in your world.

And I'm like, oh, wait a minute. This is a whole different ecosystem in and of itself. And there I was thinking. I was the only one that was doing this sort of thing. All right, so that, that is how the market is situated. People are everywhere. They're busy trying to leave. They're busy trying to figure out their health, wealth, their relationships.

So they're listening to so many different people. And if you are scattered everywhere else, then you lose the strength of people knowing where exactly to find you, because they'll be like. Is that guy that talks about anyway, I'll figure it out. But if people know, okay, if I go on YouTube and I type in maybe two, three or four, five different keywords, somehow, somewhere, the algorithm will lead me to them.

Because your customers don't want to expand any energy or burn calories trying to find your content. You have to make sure you are the person that figures it out for them. Make it easy for your con content to be consumed. Alright, so let's put it in, in nature. A flower doesn't go about chasing bees so that it can be pollinated.

It just stays there and blooms, and then the bees come and go up until the process is done. So you be that flower that stays put. Keep being bright so that bees can see you from a mile away. And then when they come, get the honey, the nectar that you have created, which is in this case, your content, your whatever it is that you're helping them with, and be valuable to them.

Because people come to the internet to get information and if you are not helping them in any shape or form, you can be that flower that with us. So you wanna make sure that while you're staying put, you are obviously really creating a moat around yourself, so that people will always be able to know where to find you.

Absolutely. And I think about myself and I'm a public speaker and I go across the country and I talk about networking and communication. I have one or two mentors that said, look, Mike, pick a lane. Just pick one of those items that I speak about and just be known as networking and communication.

That's it. And I've since won one or two awards for networking communication. I've been written up in magazines. I've done it all, but it's because I picked a lane. And what you're saying is so crucial and so correct that anybody else listening to this, if you're that general, don't be general just.

Pick a lane and go with it and stay with it and learn all about it so everybody can learn from you and everybody will be happy. Okay, so you teach people to own their media, not rent it. Can you break that down and share how this mindset shift changes the way someone networks or builds their business relationships?

That's a brilliant question right there. Owning your media is actually an acronym. Okay. If you can see what I'm talking about, right? Yeah. So the, and then I will start explaining what each and every one of these aspects means. So the m is your message. All right. What is your message and what do you want the recipient to actually hear or understand?

Okay? And once you've figured out that message, you need to find a market that is going to be hungry for that message, right? So not everyone is going to be your customer because. People are busy and people have different stages of their buying cycle to be able to come to you. Sometimes somebody might be looking for what you're selling right now, but they're not ready.

Okay. They might not actually be ready and they might not know they need the information that you are giving. So this is the message and the market. What are you saying and who are you saying it to? And then the E is the engagement or education. Once you've figured out what you're saying and who you're saying this to, you need to go out and engage them because they're not just going to triple stumble and fall and show up at your door.

Okay, so you now need to figure out how are you going to be teaching them what to want and how to buy from you. Alright? And you need to own that process. Some people leave that to social media. Some people leave that to being on a podcast and don't necessarily say anything. You need to know how to actually educate people to want what you have, and then once you've figured that part, you need to now go into distribution.

You need to own the method of distribution. All right, so you, Michael, your distribution method at the moment is this podcast. How are you reaching as many people as possible without having to repeat yourself? 'cause we are gonna re record this once and hopefully somebody in 2058 will still find this podcast if they've come across both of us and listen to this and still find value in it.

So you owning that distribution mechanism is actually very crucial. And once that's in play the, I stands for your inventory, your ideas, and your intellectual property. Do you actually have something that people will use if they show up to your space like your IP is? Maybe the books that you've written, the co courses that you've written.

It's well and truly good to have a message well and truly good to educate people on them. But how do they implement that in their life? What is the ways that they can utilize this so that it makes sense to them? And the A now is pretty much automated. Amplify it. Make sure you're an authority in the process because people are not just gonna listen to you just because you showed up, alright?

Just because you've got a podcast, people are not gonna listen to you. They're gonna wanna see some sort of a track record. They're gonna wanna see some sort of you sticking with it. But for you to do that. There needs to be some play in automation. I love the automation that you've got, getting me to the show.

Okay. Obviously maybe you are doing all of that behind the scenes. But we are in so many different time zones. You set it up in such a way that people just receive. The messaging and it works. And then people show up. We create what we are creating, and then the automation takes place after that.

All right? Because so many people would've wanted to have a meeting before now so that we arrange dates and then we have another meeting so that we prearrange what we are gonna talk about. But your whole process is just, here's a link, figure it out, and then. We are here right now. So throughout all of those, five sort of processes, we really help people harness all those particular aspects so that they don't do random acts of marketing, thinking that is what, what needs to be done.

All right? So a lot of people come undone because they haven't figured out that message. They haven't even educated people on what to want. They haven't even formulated a distribution mechanism. Are you gonna be writing to them video or is it gonna be YouTube? They don't even have some sort of an ip.

They just have, the strength or the muscle that actually does the thing. Yeah, I'm a speaker. Okay, fine. Then what? All right. And then they haven't figured out how to automate that. So as you know that, that is then what we. Help people have an understanding of, and eventually they have a business that's profitable and enjoyable, which basically means they're no longer depending on the algorithm to help them put out all of this information out there that needs to be put out.

It sounds, first of all, it sounds like a beautiful strategic plan so that, because people, I'm sure they're thinking of all these different aspects and they said I do this, but then this person does this for me, and Oh, this is over here, and what you've done, you brought it all in together. You've made sense out of it.

That's the biggest thing. But you did it strategically and if somebody were to follow what you are saying, they have no choice but to be successful. So what you're doing is so great and everybody get that book because it, it has a ton of information, a ton of information. Okay. In your experience. How does controlling your message impact the kind of people and opportunities you attract?

Oh, that's a very good question. So usually and I'll say this again, not everyone is your customer, alright? When you show up online, there's usually people that want to follow you so they can copy you. Because you present a shortcut, alright? So if this video really blows up, there's people that are gonna watch it just specifically to see how they can reverse engineer it.

All right? And those people are never gonna buy from you no matter what. That's just never gonna happen because they're not there for that. And you might actually be looking at the numbers and looking at that inflated numbers, thinking, oh wow, okay. There's a lot of people that are watching, but are they the right kind of people with the right kind of pain that are willing and able to then buy from you?

So you need to be very strategic in the messaging of how you are positioning yourself because. When customers are coming to you, they are going through a journey, all right, in their head. Is the problem that they're looking to solve very crucial that they can't go a day without having it fixed, or is it a nice to have.

Or is it, oh, I didn't know I had that problem. Now let me go and investigate. So your goal and your job is to ensure that you are educating your audience in such a way that it's relevant to the stage at which they are in the buying journey. So as the person that. Is, doing this service, you need to map out what that journey is and you need to be able to direct it in a way that you own and you control.

Because if you leave it up to the algorithm is only going to be giving people things that are sensational or things that are they think is important, or things that will never help you. Put your message together. The reason why this is important is it takes about 13 to about 18 touch points for somebody to actually hear your message.

And in that 18 to touch points, it's not 18 posts that are strategically placed together. No, it's maybe they watched you read, you listened to, you heard about you from somebody else, and maybe self validated themselves to say, you know what? I was, oh, I've heard this being said. Now I'm seeing it in real life.

And then they remember where that came from. But like we said earlier on, you still need to be that flower that people can come back to. All right? Yes. So the algorithm will always just be putting whatever is sensational at that particular time, and you can't compete with that for you to have your 18 touch points.

So that's how, that's why you need to make sure that you've got that information in such a way that people can follow through. It's easy and they can pick up from where they're left off from. You say 13 to 18 touch points, and when I go out and speak or do workshops, I always say 12 to 17.

It depends. Yeah. It is it's all the same. It's all the same. But all of this breaks down to the fact 'cause in networking, in business networking, I feel that networking. Strategic for every business, and it's a necessity for every business. Everyone has to network however they choose to do it, but they have to network in order to get their business out there.

And there it comes into the fact of know you, like you, trust you, then they'll do business with you. And what you're talking about is the end result is that trust factor. Everybody knows you. They know good, bad, or indifferent, and you narrow the field down by saying everybody like you, so everybody knows you, likes you, okay, that's good.

But now do they trust you? Because they're not gonna do business with you unless they trust you. And let me tell you, you expanded on the point so greatly, I'm not gonna go into that because you did so much of a better job than I would've. But breaking it down just to a simple point, you've gotta have that trust factor and then you can move on to everything.

But definitely own that media. M-E-D-I-A and I keep saying the word media, but it means everything you said. Okay. I want, this is your podcast, not mine. So let me go on. Many entrepreneurs are great at what they do, but struggle to communicate it. That's where I come in. What's the first step to crafting a message that magnetically pulls in the right audience instead of repelling them with noise?

That's See when it comes to message. Your message is basically who you are and what is it that you can do in the world. That literally becomes the core part of the message, and then the person now needs to figure out, while I have this person in front of me, do they understand? My problem.

All right. And do they understand it enough to be able to solve it? Because if you can articulate somebody else's problem better than they can, they automatically assume you have the solution for that. And there needs to be somewhat of a track record. This is what I do and this is who I do it for, and this is exactly how you can get it from me.

Alright, so in order for you to really be able to have a message that aligns with the audience, there's a question that I usually, oh, I think this came from Frank Kern. He mentioned something like, what do you want people to pick up the phone? Call you for, right? So if you understand what somebody's gonna come and pick up the phone and say, I'm gonna call Michael for that, becomes the shortcut to your message.

So a lot of people try to pile it on and try to say everything all at the same time, but you need that entry point at the point of wanting to understand or wanting to. Maybe solve a problem. Are you the first person that somebody thinks of? And why would they do that? That now becomes that sort of entry point into your message, and then after that, they can then go in and discover whether you're the right kind of person with the right solutions for them.

So your message really has to be the essence of. Who you are, what it is that you do, and how you are solving problems for people. And if you put that on repeat, it makes it easy for people to reach out to you. Never put it quite like that, that somebody picks up the phone and asks you blank. I never thought of that short, direct, because that is the answer for everything.

And I'm gonna bring you back a little bit to a networking scheme, schematic, whatever. If you're talking with somebody, listening is half the battle listening because you don't want to say. If the next thing that you're there to say, you're there, you're listening to them, you're pausing and you're repeating back, so I understand that your problem is blankety blank.

You better have a response for that or an answer because you are the professional in your field, so you have to have that answer. And you have them talk about themselves. So while they're telling you all of this, you say, before you even say who you are and what you do, you say, something.

Prosper. I like you. I like what you do and how you're doing it. How can I make you more successful? How can I be a good referral source for you? And if I did my job correctly, you'll turn around and say, Mike, I don't even know what the hell you do yet, and you're trying to make me more successful. That's right.

It's called having a Servant's Heart. And if you go into networking meetings or events with a servant's heart, you'll do wonders. You really will. Okay I'll get off my soapbox. All right. So when someone is networking or appearing on podcasts, how can they use those moments to strength to strengthen their platform, not just talk about what they do.

I think obviously with part of what you've already said you know that servant being that's right. Servant's heart servant's heart, right? I dunno who say this again and my quotes are a little bit funny today, but it's asked not what what you want or. Ask what the world needs, and then you provide that for them because everyone is out there looking for solutions to problems that they have.

Okay. And they don't necessarily care about you or what it is that you're bringing to the table. They care about what you are going to be helping them with. Okay. And in, in marketing, they, they call it WIF. W-I-I-F-M, what's in it for me? Okay. Everyone is always asking what's in it for me.

All right, so the one thing about you going to, like you're saying at a networking market networking event, you wanna make sure that you have this intricate understanding of. First of all, why are people there? And like you have said, how can I help you succeed? How can I be that, help for you?

Because if you help people get what they want, you will in turn get that which you want and more. And I feel like a lot of people don't quite understand how that works because reciprocity then works. In the end, if you give value upfront, people will find, will try and find a way to return that favor.

And usually if people are listening right now, the only way they know how to return that favor is maybe through their credit card by then buying the things that you are selling. So show. In spaces like a podcast or whatever it is, like this be of value, and obviously it's not always about selling. People like buying stuff, but they don't like being sold to.

So if you show up, give value, and let them then decide what to do with that information. But have a way that when people do show up at your doorstep, at least there is a way to do business with you. There's something they can buy, there's something they can consume, there's something they can release that tension of, oh, this guy have given me so much value.

What can I give back as well in return? It's just inherent in human nature. So if you play. A against that you would literally win. Especially when it comes to this whole thing. Alright? It's give and take. The more you give, the more people would obviously want you to win. You said that the best way I can think of saying it.

Okay, because I have a simple line that I talk about in all of my presentations. People love to buy, but they hate to be sold to. And I equate that to a car salesman. A car salesman that comes right up, Hey, how you doing this Honda is great. And look, I can make, get you a great deal on this and this, it does that.

And you're like, whoa, stop. And or do you wanna go a car salesman? Or it says, Hey, how you doing? My name is Den and if you need me, I'm right over here. Let me go figure things out. So it's a great thing, but. Everybody has the mindset. This includes everybody. They love to buy.

People love to buy things, but they hate to be sold to. So it's a mindset. And if you go into these networking events and or meeting with somebody one-on-one, if you remember that, you'll never lose. You'll never lose. Okay. You talk about building media assets you own. What are a few examples of assets that actually move the needle for coaches or consultants, and which ones are just vanity projects?

That's a very good question and I feel like it's all to do with the story you want to tell. Okay. So in essence, you need to figure out what are you good at? Are you good at writing? Are you good at speaking or are you good at video? Because once you figure out what you are good at, then you want to work to your strengths.

If you are good at video, then you want to start creating video assets. Which then become the staple of how you show up in the world. If you're good at writing, you want to be creating newsletters, blogs, articles, which then show your strength alright, into the marketplace because the market is not gonna wait until you've got it figured out.

If somebody watches this video right now, they, this is it for them. And if we don't sell it to them, that's it. Grand opening, grand closing. So once you know what you are good at, which some people are good at talking, and if you put out a podcast and becomes a regular thing, you can then redistribute that podcast or you can you reformulate that podcast into other format.

You can convert that podcast. There's tools now where you can put, convert it into a blog. You can convert it into a newsletter. You can convert it into shorts or whatever it is that you can then utilize. And from there, those derivatives that you have, repurpose that content.

You can then start to pick and choose which ones are actually doing well because they're all stemming from your biggest strength. Those that are working, you keep those that are not working in each, but you need to figure out what is the arch wall core thing that you are providing, because let's bring it back to nature, an apple tree.

An apple tree is really good at creating fruit, but it wouldn't know how to create vinegar. It wouldn't know how to create apple cider or apple Chaney. That is a derivative from the core product that it creates. And if people don't like Apple Chaney, they're not gonna say, I'm not eating apples ever.

They will go back to the original product. If people don't like the vinegar. From Apple or the site or from Apple, that's not gonna say they are put off apples for the rest of their lives. It's just, it was just a derivative. Okay. So if people don't like shots, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're not going to be consuming your content in whichever way.

So your question was, which ones are a waste of time and which ones are not a waste of time. A waste of time is when you do things you're not good at. And you think you're doing it because the algorithm wants it at that particular time. Yes. When. I coach baseball for 16 years and I would always see what my players could do well, right?

And what they didn't do well. And most coaches would take their players that did this well. They'd go out and put them in those positions and I would put them where they were their worst. Okay? Because then they got better. I wouldn't always play them in that position, but they got better if they learned how to handle it.

They learned It's like a different part of their brain. Oh, I have to do it like this now. Business is almost the same thing at the end of the year. You see what worked, what didn't work. The stuff that didn't work, you toss out and you just stick with the other stuff. But, when I'm a speaker and I'm a podcaster, and the things that I don't do well those are the things I'll concentrate on more because I'm, I wanna bring everything up to the same level.

So I don't know whether it's, I wanna be visi that re is for visibility or just my own thing. I'm not quite sure, but that's what I do. Okay, let me just go on. Algorithms can make or break visibility. Oh, that sounds familiar. How can someone take back control of their reach so their message isn't at the mercy of a platform Mood.

That, that is the story and mission that we grapple with at headquarters every single day because we wake up and the algorithm has changed. All right, so let me really talk about significant algorithm changes that are happening at this particular moment. Okay, so in the past, five years or so, people have been.

Going to Google as the go-to place to enter the internet, right? So it's the entry point to finding stuff that you're looking for. But now there has been an influx of artificial intelligence, which has literally obliterated the. The stronghold that Google had, and now Google has had to recalibrate themselves so that they match what the market is responding to at the moment.

And now if you even go on Google, they have an AI mode, they have everything. It's just all scrambled in there. What that means for people that had solely invested in search engine optimization in order to be found on Google. That means all of that has been thrown outta whack. It might come back later on, but right now Google is really in reaction mode because open AI has just come in and taken much off the monopoly oil.

The presence that they had, so people that had. Been relaxing and thinking the algorithm on Google is to their favor because they were appearing on position number one in whatever field they were in. They may be finding an influx in, in, how people are finding them online. And that also happens to all the other places, like Facebook or TikTok and things that of that nature.

There is a bigger play with these platforms. Because if all Elon Musk wanted to do was tweet, he could have just downloaded that platform for free like the rest of us. But he went on and paid $48 billion. Now, I don't know what $48 billion looks like, but that's a big investment. You know what I mean? So that means he now needs to use that platform to his own advantage, whether you like it or not, whether you coming along or not, he's gonna wanna recuperate that investment or the investment for other people.

And same goes to all the other platforms. When Facebook started, it was friends and family, and then it went wider because they knew if the more people we have, we get the network effect. And along the way, they started, other platforms started coming in, like TikTok and TikTok came in with that five second video.

And all of a sudden that's how all the platforms now react. So at the end of the day. If you haven't created your content in such a way that people will find you when they do, because the algorithm is just gonna keep algorithm, if that's even a word, just changing to morph to what's happening currently and what the stakeholders or the investors want or are willing to have out of the platform.

Because these are businesses at the end of the day, are they being profitable? So if. Being profitable is much more important to them than they're obviously going to favor their profits more than you showing up to your audience. And we don't know what's happening in the boardroom. So while the algorithm is trying to figure itself out, you stay consistent.

Your people will find you. You are the right kind of people with the right kind of pain will eventually be the ones that show up at your doorstep because they too are getting tired. Absolutely. But AI is a tool that you should use. It's a tool in your tool belt. It's one item of many that you should use.

I work with a guy who does AI and he said, how many people use chat GPT today? He said 8 million people. He said, how many people used it two years ago? He said, less than a million. He said, so it's increased dramatically and in two years, who knows where it's gonna go. So AI is here and it's now, so don't disregard it.

Use it, but use it smartly and use it as a, as aquill as you said in your arrow. You'll be able to do wonders with it, but it's amazing at the things that, 'cause I always say garbage in, garbage out. If you use chat GBT and you put garbage into it, you're gonna get garbage out. If you think about what you want to put into it, then it'll give you some good answers and you can do something else with it, it's like it'll give you that start, but. You have to finish it maybe with something else. So that's all. Okay. Networking often feels transactional online. How does a strong owned media presence help people build real relationships instead of chasing likes or followers? Great stuff and I really like that question because the transactional effect comes because all these platforms, in order for them to function, they are other tools behind the scenes that we are using that we are actually paying.

In order to show up, and I don't think a lot of people that are not in business actually understand that. For you to run this podcast, you spoke about a few tools that you're using, the Zoom and everything else, there's fees that goes into this. And if you would look at how we run our agency, it would maybe cost me $10,000 every single month to open that door.

Not only that's just in the software and maybe you've got overheads with staff members. You've got overheads with maybe renting space that you're working in and things of that nature. So that's the reason why. When people put content out there, they're already expecting it to bring back something in order for them to cover their monthly dues.

So when you've created so much of that content and you are confident in that, it is helping people solve those problems, you are no longer desperate. When you show up in front of people, and as we have established people like buying stuff, but they don't like being sold to. So you literally are walking them through on their journey as how you've mapped it out without putting out a podcast and then start going, this podcast has to literally bring in a thousand dollars, or, we are not going to use it.

All right, and then there's also another thing that happens. With these platforms allow you to reach your audience and by reaching your audience, you would need to pay to play. All right? So many people take that option because it sounds easy. All right? It's low hanging fruit.

Okay? If I give you Mr. Facebook a hundred dollars, you mean you will reach out to a thousand people for me, easy done. All right. And. And so many people would take that option because it's easy to do. But in order for that a hundred dollars to get a return on your ad spend, a lot of people will then want to sell something or put whatever trip wires at the end of any offer.

And it just really doesn't create a good experience for those people that just want information. So my advice is. You inoculate your need to sell by being abundant. All right? And once you figure out what your actual message is, try as many different options of saying it all right? In so many different formats and in so many different avenues.

That way you no longer feel like every post that you put out there. It has to bring something back. 'cause you've got so many. Lines in the water or so many tentacles out there that might bring something back to you because you've got a one hit wonder. You are almost expecting that thing to return.

And that's where it, it feels less transac, it feels more transactional because you only have one shot at it as a business owner, if you are not creating as many content pieces as possible. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I can get into having networking as transactional as opposed to relational.

We're gonna have a whole separate podcast just on that. Okay, so let's bring this podcast full circle and let's just talk about results. What's a story or example of someone who stopped chasing content and started owning their message, and what changed for them in terms of profits, partnerships, or visibility?

Oh that's a very good story. So I've worked predominantly with people that maybe buyers agents, they help people purchase investment properties. And I think they, they do have it. Of where you are there. And I also have people that are maybe photographers or real estate people and coaches and consultants.

So let's talk about a buyer's agent in my world or in Australia here. Every person that's about to buy a house usually goes by themselves, but it's the biggest transaction that they need to encounter in their life. And then the people that are selling their house are usually represented by a real estate agent who is wanting to sell the house.

So there, there was that discrepancy, and lately there's now an influx of people that are moving from the seller side to the buyer side. And now there's a lot of noise on both sides as well. So that's just how the market happens. So I happen to work with a buyer's agent who really wanted to help first home buyers.

Now you can imagine a first home buyer. There's very little information they're holding onto whatever savings that they have. They don't want to make a mistake when it comes to making that purchase because. That will be a fatal mistake. The buyer's agent came to me and then we were like, so what is the difference that you bring to the marketplace?

You're still just gonna be selling a house to somebody who's vulnerable. But the thing that he had a lot of was he had an educational heart. Like you have said, he was a seventh seventh servant's heart, servant heart. So with that, we then started looking at. How or what are the steps that somebody takes in order to be in front of the right seller without feeling like they are inadequate or they're at an auction?

And we broke down the steps and then we started writing blogs around that. That's for the buyer's agent who was my client. We started writing blogs about that, and then those blogs. We then combine them into a book, and now he's got a 10 step process that he gives out to his people that are on the way to start buying a house.

What that has done for him now is, you know what it's like if you've got a book, you can literally be asked to speak if you've got a book, you can literally be asked to be on podcasts. He now has a content piece that speaks for him before he. Shows up, whereas all the other buyer agents are talking about interest rates or, Hey, there's a new house there, do you wanna buy it?

Or whatever it is. But he's taken, he takes his clients on a journey no matter how long it takes for them, and he really holds their hand literally by having created that book now. He owns his media. The blows that he was writing are now in a book that now lasts forever. He doesn't just have to put out a post every single day.

He wants to look for a customer. He gives out his book as his business card in in, in front of any networking event from that created a podcast which keeps the book alive. So you can only imagine what that one piece of. Action has now sprouted into things that he now does.

Automatically. So we've solved for his message, we've solved for him, educating his audience. We've solved for the distribution. Now he has a piece of IP that makes him a celebrity and a an authority in the space because who are you to believe somebody who danced on TikTok or somebody who wrote a book about being a first home buyer.

So it's things like that just elevate you instantly in a sea of me too. Individuals and I can't talk about all the radio activations that he has done. He's even been on tv. So you can only imagine because he created an asset that was only done once. Now he can distribute it again and again without having to repeat himself or compete with other people in his marketplace.

Absolutely. And that's, that brings to the table authenticity, right? He's authentic, he's. Told you all about himself. He wanted to find out the problems of his people, and he's there to solve their problems. Not telling everybody, oh, I was on this radio, or in that newspaper, or this or that.

He's solving their problems in a way that they understand, and I think that's the level in which they have to. Do it prosper. I have to tell you, this was a very quick hour because we were on for about an hour. If somebody wanted to get hold of you, how would they get hold of you? Thank you so much and I really appreciate having you having me on the show.

So as we've been talking about owning a media, I am giving this book out for free to whoever wants it. All you have to do is just. Tell me where to ship it to. Alright, so if you look up on your media on Amazon, you'll probably be able to buy for $20 or whatever it is. But if you just pay me $10 for shipping, I'll send this book to you.

So if you go on to, on your media.com.au, you'll be able to find the instructions of giving me your address. And I'll definitely send a copy of this to whoever is is willing. Fantastic. And that's how you take control of your message and your profits by owning your media instead of letting the algorithm own you.

Big thanks to my guest for bringing the heat today. In this episode, you got thinking about how you show up and connect, share it with someone who needs to hear it and make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss what's next. On networking unleashed, building profitable connections. Until next time.

Remember, visibility isn't about volume, it's about clarity, connection, and control. And with that, I say have a good night. Good night. Thank you so much.

 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.

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 Folks. 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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