Episode 220

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Published on:

2nd Mar 2024

Robert Butwin: Corporate Chains to Entrepreneurial Freedom

Join Michael Whitehouse on the "Guy Who Knows A Guy" podcast as he delves into an insightful conversation with Robert Butwin, a seasoned entrepreneur and network marketing virtuoso. Discover Robert's transformative journey from conventional corporate confines to embracing the freedom of becoming 'psychologically unemployable,' along with his invaluable insights on networking, personal growth, and nurturing life and business connections. This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom on leveraging network marketing as both a career and an educational tool, guided by expert advice from Robert and thoughtful probing by Michael.

Complimentary gift text "WIN" to 707-870-9474

Schedule a chat at calendly.com/butwin



Mentioned in this episode:

JV Connect, December 12-13, 2023

Join us for JV Connect, the dedicated networking event December 12th and 13th, 2023 https://www.jv-connect.com

Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome back to the Guy

Who Knows A Guy podcast.

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These are bonus episodes that

did not fit into Season 6, which

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was a countdown to JV Connect.

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We hit JV Connect and we still had some

great interviews to share with you.

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But don't worry, you

haven't missed JV Connect.

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It's a quarterly event.

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You can learn more about it by sticking

around to the end of this episode.

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We'll tell you all about it.

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But right now, check out this next

awesome interview with one of the awesome

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people that the Guy Who Knows A Guy knows

and is going to introduce to you now.

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Welcome

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once again to the guy

who knows a guy podcast.

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I'm Michael Whitehouse, the

guy who knows the guy himself.

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And today I have with me network

marketing, Maverick and visionary

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entrepreneur, Robert Butwin descended

from a lineage of successful

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entrepreneurs and self made millionaires.

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Robert Butwin's journey is a

testament to breaking the mold.

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Early, he decided to step away from

the conventional country club smart

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business practices ingrained in his

upbringing, instead choosing the path

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of network marketing for its personal

fulfillment and financial stability.

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Robert began his network marketing

endeavor part time 39 years ago.

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Quickly grasping its immense

potential, he transitioned to a full

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time network marketer, a role he's

th,:

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This shift marked the beginning

of a career in which he became.

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Psychologically unemployable,

finding his true calling outside

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the traditional job market.

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And I'm very excited to have him here

because Robert's probably forgotten

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more about network than I'll ever know.

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So welcome to the show, Robert.

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Hey, Michael, it's a pleasure to meet you.

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And you know, it's serendipitous because

actually we met networking and over

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a period of time we continually seem

to show up in the similar places and.

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Develop the relationship from there.

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Absolutely.

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Yeah.

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The number of times someone

said to me, do you know Robert?

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But when you should talk to

him, like, yeah, I know Robert.

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Super.

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Yep.

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So definitely great to have you on here.

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And you know, I was telling you before

we got started, this is the first

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season where I'm really focusing

on sharing networking knowledge and

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teaching networking through the podcast,

which is weird because the first five

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or more showing off, like, look at

all these cool people I know, and

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now we're really focused on sharing

knowledge so other people can do.

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what I did and meet cool people like you.

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So let's just kick it off with

just a quick piece of advice

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because I always get a quick win.

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For someone out there who's like,

I've heard about networking,

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but it hasn't worked for me.

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I've gone to events.

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I drink the wine, eat the cheese,

but nothing really happens.

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For someone who hasn't found the,

the power of networking, what would

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your advice be to them to really?

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Get the value that we've

gotten from a couple of things.

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First of all, you're probably closer

becoming a master at it than you know,

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and going back to, and I remember the

cartoon of this frog that he was Halfway

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down the stork's throat and on the

capsule is never, never, never give up.

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One of the things I can tell you

is that your net worth is a direct

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relationship to the value of your network.

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So again, you're closer than you

probably know and don't give up.

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Okay.

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All right.

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And so do you think it might be like

where people are networking or how they

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are like when you encounter people who

I assume you sometimes have people say,

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yeah, networking doesn't work for me.

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What do you find is holding people back

from from getting out of the birds throat?

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Well, first of all, I think

it's a combination of different

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things and expression.

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I learned in Asia.

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Same, same, but different.

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The similarities and differences

from every human being.

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It could be your belief system.

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It could be what you're doing, or

it could be where you're doing.

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The key is knowing where and how to do it.

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I mean, some of the biggest mistakes.

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That I see people make when

they're networking is number one.

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They're not branding

themselves quite often.

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They're branding You know, whatever

they're representing not themselves

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second biggest mistakes is they're too

focused on Transactions now, obviously

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we all are looking to create transactions

But the reality is you want to focus

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on collaborations if the key is almost

everybody today is looking for visibility

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credibility and connectivity Hmm.

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Talk a bit more about brands.

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I don't understand what you mean.

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The people are doing wrong.

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They're like, hi, I'm, I'm

Michael with remax or, you know,

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I'm Joe with New York life.

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And so they're not talking about

who they are and establishing

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themselves as a brand.

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But what's the solution to that?

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How do they brand themselves?

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Well, actually, I'm going, you know,

I'm going to borrow something that I

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heard you say that you heard somebody

else say the seven magic words and

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it, you know, how, dah, dah, dah, dah,

dah, whatever it is, what I do is.

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Hmm.

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Yep.

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Yep.

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Yeah, the problem you're solving.

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But that's just one example.

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I mean, quite often, and I'm very pro

MLM, but there's many times I see people

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get on and they're talking about their

MLM, that's just example, or their real

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estate or whatever it is, you are the

brand and what you do, what you want to

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be doing is branding, you know, who, you

know, what you can help other people.

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Hmm.

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Yes.

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No, I, I definitely noticed things.

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I certainly seen people

who get up and they say.

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You know, we have a product that that does

this and as a billion dollars, and I'm

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looking like you don't have that product.

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You might represent that product,

but I'm pretty sure you don't

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have a billion dollar company.

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And again, it comes across very

disingenuous, not disingenuous,

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but out of alignment.

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You're the words in the music aren't

matching when people are talking

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about the company as if it's them.

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Right.

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I mean, nobody really wants to

be pitched unless you really

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understand who that other person is.

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The only thing, as far as what I look at

when I network, I'm trying to pitch them

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of why they want to get to know me better.

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Why they want to do the one on one

the magic really happens when you Have

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the one on one and then we can talk

about that in a little bit, but you

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know You don't want to be pitching.

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I mean if you know if all you're

coming across is pitching somebody.

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Yep Resistance level

goes up Yes, absolutely.

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And actually let's talk about MLMs for

a moment because I'm sure, you know,

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some people have had good experience

with them and they understand the

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power of them and the power of the

system, but other people have not

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maybe have such a positive experience.

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And so share a little bit about

for people who have, who have may

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have a negative impression of MLMs.

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What is it that makes them so, so good

and powerful and what makes such a fan?

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Well, unfortunately, quite often, you

know, the, the biggest assets, the

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biggest liability in NLM, which is these

of entry, it's very easy for somebody

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to get involved for very little dollars

and make a lot of money, but it also

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brings a lot of the wrong element.

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People that really haven't embraced it.

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I've said for many years on

stage, if people really understood

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this business model, especially

where it is today, compared.

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To where it was when I

started 30 some years ago.

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Everybody would be involved with it

for a variety of different reasons.

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The biggest reason why somebody might

not be involved in it is because

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they've got the misperception thing.

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They think it's about selling products.

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They think the fact is, if I get you

involved in an MLM, you're working for me.

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Actually, the antithesis of that is true.

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If I get you involved in a particular

company, I'm working for you because

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really what you're looking for is

From that other person is their time,

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energy and effort, their resources.

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And the only way they're going

to continually stay involved

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is if they can see some wins.

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So again, if you know, it's

getting clarity about what that is.

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And today, most MLM companies

are really what I call a hybrid.

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They're a cross between a

affiliate with a leverage backend.

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Okay.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And that's something I always appreciate

my, you know, I have, I have a, an

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audience and email lists, resource

letter, and I've encountered a number

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of companies that are MLM structured.

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And I said, Oh, I like what you do.

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I'd be happy to show it to my audience.

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And they're like, great.

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You got to come to this

training and do this and wear

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a hat and drink the Kool Aid.

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I'm like, no, no, no, no,

no, you don't understand.

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I will send emails, sending

people to you to talk to.

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Oh, we don't do things that way.

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I'm like, cool.

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Guess I'm not promoting you.

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That that's why I, you know, I recently

discovered the great discovery and.

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And I like them because because they're

actually set up that I can use my,

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you know, I like what they're doing.

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I like their philosophy.

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I can take what they're doing and

say, hey, come to this info session.

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This guy will be here

to explain it for you.

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I don't need to explain it.

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I don't have to go learn everything.

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I can bring what I have.

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And then marry it to what they

have and create value for everyone

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instead of everyone having to,

you know, wear the robes and drink

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the Kool Aid as they do at some.

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Exactly.

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Sometimes, you know, and again, one of

the guys I've met through networking, Jim

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Feldman, his website is shift happens,

but sometimes all you need to do is

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shift how people look at it because.

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You know, today they've got

systems in pro I mean, in place.

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So all you have to do is plug people

into the system and they don't have to

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go through the training or your upline

can handle that for you or whatever.

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But sometimes a small difference in

how you think or look at something

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will make the biggest difference

as it relates to networking and

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everything else you do in life.

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Yeah, yeah, that is.

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That's a huge thing.

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So, so you're going to, you

said you're going to talk

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about one on ones a little bit.

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So let's talk about that.

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Cause you know, you meet people and

that's, that's where the action happens.

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You meet someone at an event, you

say, let's follow up and then what?

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You know, the biggest thing and

there's, I love acronyms, which

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I think, you know, and I love the

acronym USC and that's not the college

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in Southern California, but it's

understanding who the other person is.

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Now, if the other person asks you.

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What you do, keep it

short, sweet, and simple.

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So if somebody asked me what I do, I say,

I'm a elite networker and a strategist.

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And then I flip it back on them.

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I'd like to find out more about what you

do, because if I understand what they

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do, what they're doing to expand their

network and understand what's going on in

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their world, you know, and I mentioned,

you know, for example, Jim Feldman.

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And when I originally met Jim, I

said, I'm an out of the box thinker.

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And he says, I mean, my whole living

within the box thinking as that relates

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to networking, you know, it's, you know, I

use what he calls 3d thinking, understand

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the depth of the other person's problem,

which is going back to understanding,

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understand the distance to the solution

as it relates to what they're doing.

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So if you're in the, the last

day is the determination of

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them to solve their problem.

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So when I'm.

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Talking with somebody, I

want to understand really

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what's going on in the world.

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And then my next part of that S is figure

out how I can be of service or value.

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For example, when you and I first met,

I've got this vault of information that

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I normally sell for a lot of money,

but I gave it to you at no cost because

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one of the things about networking,

it's like opening a bank account.

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You need to make deposits.

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a withdrawal.

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So I'm focused on being of service.

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If the person's looking to get more

visibility, I've got a whole list,

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just like you do, of different people

that might have podcasts or resources

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where I can guide them, guide them to.

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I've got a list of 60 different

networking events in the vault.

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So I'm trying to focus on what

I can do that will help them.

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As it relates to what they're doing.

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And then I want to focus on the C,

which is, you know, have clarity of

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communication, focus on connecting

from a human to human, and think about

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collaboration, you know, it's like,

if I can guide somebody to somebody

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that would be the right connection for

them, that's another way to increase

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your know, like, and trust, which is a

common thing that everybody talks about.

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Yeah, and there's a few things that I

really like people can can learn from it.

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First of all, I believe before we

met, I had seen your event list.

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I, I can't remember who I think may have

been Frank Agan, who, who recommended it.

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But he said, yeah, if you're

looking for this is what I was

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just getting the online space.

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He said, there's this guy, Robert,

but when he's got a list of.

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a zillion events and, and I think he

actually may have sent me the PDF.

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He's, he's like, I've got this PDF from

Robert Budwin, you know, check this out.

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I'm like, Oh, this is pretty cool.

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This guy must know his stuff.

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I should probably meet him at some point.

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So I knew you before I met you.

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Because you'd created

this high leverage asset.

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Cause you know, sending a PDF out,

that doesn't cost you anything.

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It probably took you a lot of time and

energy to build it, but once you had

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it, sending it out, didn't take a lot.

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That's very high leverage.

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And then we met, give me access

to the vault, very high leverage.

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You've already have the vault.

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And so sharing that it creates that power.

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But I, what I really liked was that

idea of keeping your, your intro short

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and then turning around and saying,

but I really want to learn about

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you because that's, that's a great.

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The term gets a bad name, but you know,

it's great power play, you know, confident

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people say that not confident people like,

Oh, let me tell you everything I do this

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and this and this and this and this and

this and this and blah, blah, blah, blah,

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blah, confident people like, Oh, I'm, I do

this and this, but tell me more about you.

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I don't need to share who I am.

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I want to learn about you and help you.

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And the person you're talking to

then says, wow, wow, this guy's

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willing to help me and he must be

really established because he can

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explain himself in four words.

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And it's just, it's so powerful.

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The more you need to talk about yourself.

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The smaller it makes you look.

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Exactly.

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So, you know, again, I want to focus

on giving something that's going to

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help the other person, whatever it is,

a connection, a resource, my wisdom,

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insight from my, you know, 30 some years

of experience, because I've seen the good,

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the bad, and the ugly as entrepreneurs

is or in network marketing, either way.

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I mean, you know, there's a lot of

people out there doing it wrong.

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So when you're networking, the question

you want to ask yourself is my net.

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Working when I'm networking.

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If you realize, are you, you

know, what are your numbers?

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Are you, you know, it's like, how many

networking events do you go to in a month?

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I know my numbers.

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How many one on ones are you

actually having with people?

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You know, what are your IPAs,

your income producing activities?

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And that is about re Developing and

creating the right relationships.

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There's an art as it relates to what

you're doing, how you attract the right

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people into your net, you know, as far

as collaborations or people that have

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a potential doing business someday,

how you retain the right relationship.

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And the T is the transformation

that they're going to have

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because of the relationship that

they're going to have with you.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And that's, that's really good.

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And a lot of that starts with

clarity on what is your business?

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Who's your target audience?

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Who do you serve?

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How do you serve them?

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Which is certainly something I know

well that you can meet lots and lots

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of people and not make any money from

it if you don't have that clarity.

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And if people are saying,

yeah, you're great.

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How can I help you?

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What do you need?

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Who do I refer you to?

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Which there have been times in my career

when a lot of people ask me that question.

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My answer was I don't know.

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So definitely having the answer

to who do you need to meet?

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Where what is your income?

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You know, what are your

income producing activities?

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Where does your revenue

come from is is crucial.

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You know, the key is it relates to people.

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I'm looking to meet is very simple

people that are serious and committed

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about taking what they're doing to the

next level because Every time I have

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a communication with whoever I have

a communication with, I go into that

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communication with the knowing, the

knowingness of the fact that there'll

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be something that I'm going to say to

them as I understand them and I focus

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on what I can do to be of value to them.

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Yep.

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So tell me more about how you got

into the network marketing space.

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So, you know, what made you decide to go

full time and, and how were you doing it

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differently than, than the thousands of

people every day who get in and then get

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back out because it doesn't work for them?

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Well, before I do it, I want to talk

about how I got involved in networking,

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and then I'll get into network marketing.

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Even better.

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Let's go all the way back.

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Yeah, all the way back.

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And, you know, it was back in 1983, and

I always loved to meet people because I

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understand the value of relationships.

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There was a guy that was a 70 year

acquaintance of my mom, Harvey McKay.

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And Harvey wrote the book, Dig

Your Well Before You're Thirsty,

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but before he wrote that book, and

I look at him as the godfather of

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networking back in 1983, coming out of

Minnesota, the Minnesota Gophers had

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a very different Bad football team.

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They had won one game

and lost all the rest.

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They were outscored by their

opponents by three to one.

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And through his ability and

networking, he brought Lou Holtz in

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to coach the Minnesota Gophers, who

at the time was a pristine coach.

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And he, within two years, the Gophers

were ultimately in the bowl games.

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Now Harvey, who just turned 90 last

year, he brought like 300 of his

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closest friends to have a birthday

party and he did it up first class.

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He did the same thing at 80 years.

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So I sort of modeled

myself after Harvey McKay.

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I realized that You know, if he

could do it and he was my model,

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I could become an elite networker.

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So anyhow, that was, that's why I

started looking at networking now, as

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far as how I got a network marketing

is a little sister and a fraternity

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that I graduated many years before it

came to me telling me ultimately how

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much money this fraternity brother

of ours was making that attracted me.

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to the profession.

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Now, at the point, I didn't

know what I didn't know.

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I dove in headfirst and within

the first six months, I created

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more depth than anybody, you know,

that I would like to talk about.

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But I, you know, I had

to learn about reframing.

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And as far as about reframe, because

one of the things I learned early

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on is if we're in action, whatever

actions we're doing, we're going to

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have different experiences, you know,

I love the definition of experience.

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Experience is what you get when

you don't get what you want.

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So I had to reframe what happened.

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So I sat back and I said, if I'm going to

run a franchise, what would it cost me?

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If I were, you know, I grew up from you.

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Ultimately you know, as you mentioned

the my introduction, a very wealth,

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you know, a quality family, you know,

a lot of millionaires around me.

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So I sat back and I said, you

know, this is going to serve me.

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So I realized I was not going to quit.

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:

I was going to be able to master because I

want to get away from our family business.

368

:

In our family business.

369

:

There was too much family in the

family business was my family.

370

:

And I wanted to, I wanted to have the

freedom that I saw in network marketing.

371

:

That was how I started.

372

:

Now, to me, where it's come to is

I want to live a life of meaning

373

:

based on helping other people.

374

:

And that's the beauty of network

marketing, because it's based

375

:

on a geometric progression.

376

:

The numbers will always work.

377

:

People don't, but with systems in place

and with technology evolving to where it

378

:

is today, you're able to plug people in.

379

:

And the only way you make money is

helping other people make money.

380

:

Okay.

381

:

And so it's a matter of reframing,

figuring out that you need to look

382

:

at this like a business and not

just, which I think it's a story.

383

:

A lot of people have is because

partly because they're sold

384

:

this, you know, Oh yeah.

385

:

Let's talk to a few friends.

386

:

You'll make a bunch of money.

387

:

And, and, you know, if you, if you

think of it compared to a McDonald's

388

:

franchise or seven 11 franchise.

389

:

Cheapest franchise you're ever

going to buy, but you've got to do

390

:

the work because you don't have.

391

:

It's not just build a McDonald's, hire

some staff and sell some cheeseburgers.

392

:

You actually need to get out

there and really follow the

393

:

playbook they're giving you.

394

:

The real work is working on yourself.

395

:

When I started off, you know, I came

across a cassette tape series by Wayne

396

:

Dyer and it was called No Limit Person.

397

:

And as I'm listening to it, I came to the

realization that the limits that existed,

398

:

I was responsible for them being there.

399

:

Mm.

400

:

Take responsibility for what is, you

can take it for what will be, but

401

:

most people are in a state of denial.

402

:

And I love the acronym of denial,

which is don't even notice.

403

:

I am lying.

404

:

So I took responsibility for.

405

:

The things I wanted and I focused

on personal growth and development.

406

:

So the key in everything is continually

improving your skillset so that you can

407

:

create the results and take responsibility

for the kind of life that you want.

408

:

Okay.

409

:

Yep.

410

:

Yeah.

411

:

I've often said that entrepreneurship

is just applied self improvement

412

:

because yeah, if you got a job and

you're, and you got issues, well, you

413

:

know, you still probably get paid to

still probably get along, you got on,

414

:

you got a business, you got issues.

415

:

They are all right.

416

:

They're gumming up your engine and.

417

:

And front and center in

every relationship you have.

418

:

So yeah, there's a lot to that.

419

:

And then I, yeah, I like that, that

denial expression because a lot of

420

:

people don't realize that they are.

421

:

They are lying to themselves.

422

:

They're holding themselves back.

423

:

Most people settle.

424

:

They trade time for money.

425

:

They're working on somebody else's dream.

426

:

Yep.

427

:

What you want to do is you want to,

you know, first of all, realize that

428

:

you can create the kind of life that's

of meaning and that you can create

429

:

anything that you really want once you

start seeing and thinking differently.

430

:

So, but most people settle and

they just trade time for money.

431

:

Yep.

432

:

That makes sense.

433

:

So in network marketing, do you,

do you recommend that people Work

434

:

with, you know, I guess, yeah.

435

:

How, how would you

recommend they get into it?

436

:

Do they find one company that I liked?

437

:

They find the best financial opportunity.

438

:

They find a product.

439

:

They like, they work

with multiple companies.

440

:

Well, for the most part, I don't

believe in working multiple companies.

441

:

If you're going to work multiple

companies, no more than two.

442

:

Okay.

443

:

And you know but obviously you've got to

believe in what you're doing, you know, if

444

:

you, because that's going to show through.

445

:

If you're incongruent with what you're

saying and what you're doing, you

446

:

know, I look at network marketing.

447

:

It's like putting together a puzzle.

448

:

Meaning there's multiple different

pieces, the right support system,

449

:

the right product that you really

believe in the right system

450

:

that you can plug people into.

451

:

Because one of the things I

talked about in my book, you

452

:

want to create interdependent,

not codependent relationships.

453

:

Today, it's a lot easier because when

I started off in network marketing,

454

:

I talked to you, or I mentioned about

the Wayne Dyer cassette tape series.

455

:

Over a period of time, I probably spent

100, 000 in self improvement from the

456

:

cassettes I bought, the CDs I bought,

the books I read, and the seminars.

457

:

Today, if you know where to look

for that kind of stuff, you can

458

:

find it almost all for nothing.

459

:

Yeah.

460

:

Or very little cost.

461

:

Yeah, that's, that's huge.

462

:

Yeah, I think that, that idea of

you have to love the product is key.

463

:

Yeah.

464

:

Because there's, there's

so many MLM coming out.

465

:

I mean, there are probably thousands.

466

:

And.

467

:

Lots of them have great have

a great or great products.

468

:

But, uh, so I think sometimes people

see the opportunity of MLMs and they

469

:

attach it at one company and say, Well,

I don't really love, you know, hair

470

:

accessories, but the opportunity is great.

471

:

So I'm going to do it.

472

:

not realizing they could also do

that with anything from online

473

:

training to nutritional supplements

to knives to clothes to whatever.

474

:

There's plenty of companies that have

that model but you really did, you're

475

:

right, that, that, that incongruity

if you're You know, if I'm going out

476

:

trying to sell skincare products,

people are going to feel like you don't

477

:

really care about skincare products.

478

:

Do you know, first of all, I believe

in multiple streams of income, and

479

:

I've got an acronym for that, which is

CLAP, C L A P, your coaching consulting

480

:

business, your leveraged resource.

481

:

For example, if you've got a

product and you've got affiliates

482

:

representing that product.

483

:

That's an example of a leveraged resource.

484

:

M is another example of

a leveraged resource.

485

:

A is your affiliate income

and P is your passive income.

486

:

And that's anything that's having

your assets work for your assets.

487

:

As far as in a couple of different

examples, I put it in that category.

488

:

I love sports memorabilia, so

I've made some money there.

489

:

Back when the stock market was 3000,

I was investing in the stock market.

490

:

Real estate's another example.

491

:

Gold and silver is another example.

492

:

You know, cryptocurrency

is another example.

493

:

I'm not ha I'm personally not in

cryptocurrency, but there's multiple

494

:

different ways that you can take advantage

of your P and the passive income.

495

:

Yep.

496

:

And then, so you talked about you

said leverage, which is uh, which like

497

:

you have a product being promoted by

someone else or MLM versus affiliate.

498

:

And talk about the difference

between those two, two categories.

499

:

Well, for example, I know based on the

things you've got, you know, you've

500

:

got to leverage resources and the

things that you're representing, but

501

:

part of the leverage resource, and I

might not, you know, because I'm not

502

:

going to be in competition with you,

I believe in cooperation, but I might

503

:

say, you know, Michael, if I, you know,

if you're promoting an event you've

504

:

got an affiliate program and I can

just send that link because I believe

505

:

in who you are and what you're doing.

506

:

And so that's an affiliate.

507

:

That's one example, seven figures.

508

:

Funding is another example for people

that ultimately don't have that.

509

:

Usually credit card companies

have got an affiliate program,

510

:

which most people don't realize.

511

:

You know, why do you think the airlines

promote other people's credit cards?

512

:

Because they're going to make

ongoing residual incomes.

513

:

You know, those are just a few

examples of the many affiliate kind

514

:

of programs that are out there.

515

:

In fact, Amazon started with

an affiliate program and still

516

:

does have an affiliate program.

517

:

I've made dozens of cents off that.

518

:

Some of those Amazon

affiliates, like one and 2%.

519

:

But you know, it's a couple of bucks.

520

:

It's something yes.

521

:

So, so they kind of go together.

522

:

The, you know, my affiliate income

could be your leverage income

523

:

if I'm promoting your program.

524

:

Right.

525

:

So the affiliate is what I'm making,

selling someone else, promoting

526

:

someone else's stuff to my audience.

527

:

And the leverage is what you're

selling to someone else's audience.

528

:

Yeah.

529

:

And let me jump in for a second,

because one of the things that I've

530

:

learned is most people would rather

promote something else than try to sell.

531

:

Of their own, you know, as far

back as I can remember, I was

532

:

told I could sell ice to Eskimos.

533

:

No, I've never tried.

534

:

I believe I could, but

let me define selling.

535

:

What selling really is,

is presenting information.

536

:

Here's the two key words, when

appropriate, that allows somebody

537

:

to make an informed decision.

538

:

That's all selling is.

539

:

Once you're clear about

really what selling is.

540

:

Let's see, most people don't

do the proper exploration.

541

:

They haven't done the proper figuring out,

is this person even interested in what I

542

:

might have, might be able to offer them?

543

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the

one appropriate is key.

544

:

Yeah.

545

:

Make sure that value.

546

:

Yeah.

547

:

And I think that that's interesting,

especially because I'm so, you know, I'm

548

:

so immersed in the course creator space

and the, the coaching space and, and it

549

:

probably is very true that most people

would rather sell someone else's stuff

550

:

than make their own thing and sell it.

551

:

And for any coaches who are listening,

some of them might be like, no,

552

:

no, that doesn't sound right.

553

:

Cause everyone wants me to promote

their stuff and doesn't want to promote

554

:

my stuff, which could be because

you're talking to the wrong people.

555

:

Because if you're all course creators

and you're talking to each other,

556

:

you've all got a course to move.

557

:

Then there's the other 8 billion

people on earth who haven't created

558

:

a course they're trying to sell.

559

:

Exactly.

560

:

And yeah, so that's what I've been

interesting area to, to explore a

561

:

little bit more is that idea of, of,

you know, if your pool is too small

562

:

and people are all just like you.

563

:

Talk about the value of diversity in

networking outside of your circles to

564

:

finding people who aren't just like you.

565

:

Let me give you a perfect example.

566

:

A couple different people in some of my

networking groups are divorce coaches.

567

:

And so, you know, one of my

suggestions, and quite often

568

:

it's just giving a suggestion.

569

:

I said, what you might want to do is start

doing podcasts of people that have been

570

:

happily married for x period of time.

571

:

So that way you can offer that.

572

:

To people that are having

relationship challenges.

573

:

The secrets I've learned from

people that have, you know, that

574

:

have been happily married for over

10, 20, whatever period of time.

575

:

But again, it's thinking differently.

576

:

And that's the one thing that Jim

Feldman helped me shift my thinking

577

:

with his example of 3d thinking.

578

:

Yeah.

579

:

Yeah.

580

:

It's a powerful concept.

581

:

Thinking outside.

582

:

Because if you're focused on just people

who've gotten divorced, then by the time

583

:

you're reaching them, so is everyone else.

584

:

So when you're talking to people

and you know, again, it opens

585

:

up a whole different dynamics as

it relates to what you're doing.

586

:

If you're interviewing people as

you're a divorce coach that have

587

:

been happily married, so you're

extracting some of the secrets.

588

:

That's sort of like what you're doing.

589

:

As it relates to networking and the,

you know, you're extracting from other

590

:

people's wisdom and you're able to

help guide people and it's increasing

591

:

your know, like, and trust based on if

you're either giving away or selling

592

:

either way, it's, you know, you know,

it's helping your brand, your image.

593

:

Yeah.

594

:

Yeah, that's, that's true.

595

:

And I'm reminded of, I was talking

to a mortgage coaching, a mortgage

596

:

broker, a loan originator.

597

:

And, and I was saying that they should be

producing content around credit repair,

598

:

debt consolidation, that kind of stuff.

599

:

And they said, they said, why people with

bad credit can't, can't get a mortgage.

600

:

I'm like people with bad credit can't

get a mortgage today, but if you help

601

:

them improve their credit, you think

they're going to go to someone else when

602

:

it comes time to take their mortgage out.

603

:

If you've been working with them,

but that's, that's about the long,

604

:

the long plan too, because it could

take two or three, five years, but

605

:

if they're in it for the long game.

606

:

Then it makes sense to go go after

someone who's going to need a mortgage

607

:

in five years Instead of someone who

needs a mortgage today because every

608

:

mortgage broker is going after that guy

Yeah in the back end in that scenario

609

:

is once that person has improved

their credit you help them get the

610

:

house Guess what they're going to do.

611

:

They're going to refer Many

of their friends to you Yeah,

612

:

and that's, that's powerful.

613

:

And even if they're friends who have

bad credit, then you hopefully have some

614

:

kind of systems in place and education in

place or partnerships in place that when

615

:

they come to you, you'll be like, great.

616

:

Okay.

617

:

Yeah.

618

:

And they'll go through the system

or, or there's a course or whatever.

619

:

And then see in three years,

it's time for you to buy a house.

620

:

Yeah.

621

:

Exactly.

622

:

Yeah.

623

:

It's about thinking, thinking

along the long game there.

624

:

And yes, you mentioned something

about you know, learning through

625

:

networking too, is you meet all these

people and, and learn from them.

626

:

You know, talk a bit about how networking

can be an educational tool, how you

627

:

can learn from the people you meet.

628

:

You know, I always am looking to learn.

629

:

I mean, some of the acronyms that I've

come up with were things that I got from

630

:

other people, but everybody that you

meet, you know, they've got their own life

631

:

experience and a lot of who I am today.

632

:

Is because i've learned it from other

people or i've learned it through the

633

:

experiences that i've had So, I mean

I can't even tell you how many things

634

:

i've learned from jim feldman as one

example The guy that I you know, I love

635

:

to network with is mori zukovich and

anytime Somebody's telling me they've

636

:

got some kind of mental challenge I

refer Morrie because I, with his brain

637

:

entrainment, that's just a, you know,

another example, but I always learning,

638

:

you know, and going back to our Better

Change podcast every Tuesday night.

639

:

Our whole focus and what we wanted to

do was create a community that would

640

:

be there to serve other people and

be of value to other people because

641

:

what I've realized, my definition

of wealth is a direct relationship.

642

:

To the value and service that you bring

to the marketplace and the rewards

643

:

the marketplace will give you back.

644

:

So what is the marketplace?

645

:

It's people.

646

:

The more that you can show up

to be of service and value.

647

:

Now, obviously, as you're dealing

with people, you have to set your

648

:

boundaries because otherwise people have

a tendency to take advantage of you.

649

:

So, you know, you've got to be able to

shift it from once you've given enough.

650

:

If they want to continually

get your wisdom, you know.

651

:

To focus more, you know, segueing

into more of a business relationship.

652

:

Yeah.

653

:

Yeah.

654

:

And then that, that's a key thing is

that people, and I don't think it's

655

:

about their, their takers or their

greed or they just don't, you know, they

656

:

are desperate for this information and

they, a lot are in a place of scarcity.

657

:

And they're like, please give me more,

I need more, I need more, I need more.

658

:

And it's okay to say, I'm happy to

give you more, but past this line,

659

:

there's a charge, you know, there

is a, there's a transaction, there's

660

:

a commercial relationship we're

going to have beyond that point.

661

:

YeAh, so it's but you you want

to be able to provide that value.

662

:

Without without having them consume all

of your time and all of your energy.

663

:

That is that is key.

664

:

So, so we've covered a lot

of different areas from M.

665

:

L.

666

:

M.

667

:

S.

668

:

How to meet people, how to improve

yourself through networking,

669

:

how to connect to people.

670

:

Is there anything I have not yet touched

on that you'd like to like to address?

671

:

Oh, you know, I mean, there's

a couple different things.

672

:

First of all, a couple of, you

know, some of my favorite sayings, a

673

:

person's character is like a teabag.

674

:

You never know what's inside of

it until it gets into hot water.

675

:

That's one of the things people will

reveal who they are over a period of time.

676

:

Obviously, I see the

greatness in everybody.

677

:

The second thing is the

fact that it doesn't matter.

678

:

Where somebody starts in life

or where they are now, the key

679

:

is the direction they're headed

and where they choose to end up.

680

:

So if you're not creating the kind of

results that you're looking for, when

681

:

you're networking, you know, hopefully

some of the things that I've said today

682

:

whenever you're listening to them will

be a value or either that, or continually

683

:

come back to Michael's podcast, because

I know he's going to be interviewing

684

:

some amazing people and you can.

685

:

You can take bits and pieces from what

other people said and create your own

686

:

puzzle and develop your own map to

create the kind of life that you deserve.

687

:

I love it.

688

:

That's, that's all great stuff.

689

:

So so a couple of things you

mentioned, the Better Change

690

:

podcast, how can people find that?

691

:

iF you can take a look at right above

my give me a second, I'll give it.

692

:

It's the 832 do you

see it right above 832?

693

:

Yeah, yeah, so, so Zoom 832 7737 4699.

694

:

Of course, that'll be in

the, the show notes as well.

695

:

And that's And that's every Tuesday, 5 p.

696

:

m.

697

:

Pacific, 8 p.

698

:

m.

699

:

Central.

700

:

Awesome.

701

:

And it's just for myself, and

again, it's a growing community.

702

:

We're not pitching.

703

:

We're there to serve people.

704

:

Okay.

705

:

And then the, the notes also say you have

a complimentary gift that people can text.

706

:

I do.

707

:

That's awesome.

708

:

All they have to do is go to

my calendar, which is cal only.

709

:

com forward slash, but when, and make

sure that you put Michael so that I know

710

:

where you came from, because normally

I sell this for a lot of money and I

711

:

will be, you know, normally 495, but

I'll give it to you absolutely free.

712

:

As long as you've got Michael's

name with my calendar and I'll spend

713

:

a half an hour with you based on

the things we talked about here.

714

:

Understand.

715

:

You know what you do, what

you're doing and focus on what

716

:

I can do to be of value to you.

717

:

Great.

718

:

And of course, if, if you forget

how to spell his name, you can just

719

:

remember his clever catchphrase.

720

:

Robert, what's your clever catchphrase?

721

:

When you connect with Robert,

you'll do nothing but win.

722

:

That's B U T W I N.

723

:

I love it.

724

:

All right.

725

:

Well, this has been great.

726

:

Thank you so much for sharing everything.

727

:

And if you're listening,

definitely take advantage.

728

:

Robert has so much knowledge

to share and he is so generous.

729

:

to a limit.

730

:

So generous with his knowledge

and advice and and resources and

731

:

definitely a great guy to have in

your network and your community.

732

:

And again, you go to calendly.

733

:

com slash, but when B U T W

I N and all the rest of that

734

:

will be in the show notes.

735

:

Thank you so much, Robert.

736

:

Thank you, Michael.

737

:

It's always a pleasure.

738

:

Thank you so much for joining us on

the guy who knows the guy podcast.

739

:

I'm your host, Michael Whitehouse.

740

:

Be sure to join us in the next

JV connect, learn all about it.

741

:

JV dash connect.

742

:

com.

743

:

You can also get my five steps to

profitable networking course for

744

:

free right there on that site.

745

:

Our goal is that in two days, you're

going to get over a hundred thousand

746

:

dollars of value from the connections

you made, and this applies, whether

747

:

you are brand new in business or well

established, so be sure to join us.

748

:

JV.

749

:

Dash connect dot com in March,

June, September and December.

750

:

All the dates and details are

right there on the website.

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About the Podcast

The Guy Who Knows A Guy Podcast
They say it's not what you know, it's who you know, and it's true that a network is one of your most important assets. A network is not something you're born with. It's something you build. Every week, Michael Whitehouse, the author of The Guy Who Knows A Guy, and established connector in Southeast Connecticut will interview experts and entrepreneurs from Southeast Connecticut to share their expertise and experience with you.

He'll also answer your questions directly on topics of networking, sales, marketing, entrepreneurship and more. Email in your questions in text or audio format. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/guywhoknowsaguy/support

About your host

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Michael Whitehouse