Real Relationships Real Revenue - Audio Edition | Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career

For any great story, there are three major elements. Based on Joseph Campbell’s work, we know that those three major elements are the Call, the Conflict, and the Conclusion. These elements are all you need to create a great story. In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, I am diving into the Call.     Topics We Cover in This Episode:  What the Call is in a story Using a hero and a villain in your story When the hero accepts the Call How to use the Call when you talk to clients   There’s a reason that visionaries like George Lucas use Joseph Campell’s strategy for storytelling. It’s profoundly impactful and makes your audience feel a deep connection to you and what you’re telling them.  It’s easy to want to skip the Call in your story altogether and go straight to the win, but you have to take the time to set the story up properly for it to have the impact you want it to.  In the next couple of episodes, we are going to be diving into the Conflict and the Conclusion and how to use them in your storytelling.    Resources Mentioned: Listen to my conversation with Nancy about storytelling

Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool for business growth. It’s even more important than most people realize. Studies show that when people create a story around facts, it drastically increases the ability of people to remember those facts.     Topics We Cover in This Episode:  Why storytelling is important How stories help people remember what they’re told How stories connect people  The power of using words that convey the five senses The importance of taking stories seriously   Not only do stories help us remember what we’re being told, but they also help us become part of the story as we hear it. That makes it hugely connective to the person telling the story and why it is so impactful.    In the next couple of episodes, I’m going to be covering how you construct a story, how you get the benefits, the top stories that you need to memorize and practice, and so much more. But today, I want to emphasize the importance of taking this seriously. Don’t just wing it! It’s so powerful when used correctly. If you do it right, people are going to remember more about you and they’re going to feel more connected to you.  Check out the Bauer and Clark study: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Narrative-stories-as-mediators-for-serial-learning-Bower-Clark/a0afe969bac3536ec69c15f4a5c499b5473f61d0

This week we are diving into how you can use Building Everything Together or the IKEA effect to win over your clients. This means you're going to co-create the proposals, contracts, and the way that you do business with your clients in a way that gives them some incremental buy-in on how you're going to do the work. This is an incredibly powerful method to use in business. In this episode, we dive into what the IKEA method is, how to use it during formal processes, having the investment conversation, getting incremental yeses, and what to do when things go wrong. These tips will help you stand out from the competition and get those clients to buy-in to your offer.    Tune in to find out more about: The optimal way to use the IKEA effect with your clients The four incremental yeses you’re looking for What to do if your clients are not engaged Using a call to get the first three yeses Why assumptions made in a formal proposal don’t work Tips for co-creating with a client  Why you shouldn’t avoid the financial conversation How to share your number verbally with your client, not in a proposal Why we want to talk about finances in person with our clients The mindset shift needed when using the IKEA effect The importance of engaging the IKEA effect as much as you can Tips for co-creation within the formal process What to do when priorities change What to do when the timeline changes What to do when the team changes What to do when there are issues around finances   By getting your clients involved in the way you do business, you’re giving yourself an edge over the competition and ensuring that you stand out. Don’t be afraid to utilize the IKEA effect or Building Everything Together. Even if you don’t think you have any room to use this method, you probably still do, you just need to shift your mindset. Don’t waste your time or your clients' time using methods that don’t work. Make the most of your efforts and increase buy-in drastically by co-creating the perfect offer with your clients!  Mentioned in this episode:  The IKEA effect: when labor leads to love https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/12136084 Listen to my interview with Mike Duffy:  https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/what-business-development-really-means-according-to-mike-duffy/ Check out my talk with Jeff Berardi: https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/what-business-development-really-means-according-to-jeff-berardi/ Check out my conversation with Brent Atkins: https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/brent-atkins-favorite-business-development-strategy/ Learn from Debby Moorman about how she uses Build Everything Togethe: https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/debby-moormans-favorite-business-development-strategy/

Today is the final video on Building Everything Together. In this episode, I want to share the four things that can go wrong, and what to do about them. Just because things go wrong doesn't mean that you give up. There are things you can do to adjust and move forward regardless of the issues that come up.Today we will cover what happens when:   1. Priorities change 2. The timeline changes 3. The team changed 4. There are issues around the finances You have to avoid getting discouraged when things go wrong. These kinds of things come up. You can't control what happens to you, but you can control how you react. So decode which of those four is the issue. And then with grace, empathy, and extreme helpfulness, you go back to the client and you co-create the solution. You can engage the IKEA effect during these solutions to help everybody achieve what they want to achieve. When issues arise, it always comes down to one of these four things. Once you know what it is, you can work with your clients to help them help you come to the right conclusion. Mentioned in this episode:  Learn from Debby Moorman about how she uses Build Everything Together: https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/debby-moormans-favorite-business-development-strategy/

Many people think that they can’t use the IKEA effect with their clients because of their limited access to the decision-makers in the business. It’s important that you don’t think this way. Though your ability to use the IKEA effect in a formal process is limited, the science is still sound. Here are the things we will be talking about to explain the IKEA effect in formal processes: 1. The mindset shift needed when using the IKEA effect 2. The importance of engaging the IKEA effect as much as you can 3. Tips for co-creation within the formal process Do not compare formal processes against informal processes and just say “I can’t do it because I can't do what I can do over here.” That's the wrong comparison. Only compare yourself against your competition. The key is to find out how you can engage the IKEA effect in those formal processes more than your competitors are.    When you take the time to brainstorm all of the ways you can use the IKEA effect during these processes, that’s where you will unlock the winning strategies. You're really smart. You're going to come up with the best solutions, but so is your competition. A bigger differentiator is how you engage in the process rather than the proposal you write.   Mentioned in this episode: Check out my conversation with Brent Atkins: https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/brent-atkins-favorite-business-development-strategy/

Getting the investment right is an important part of working out a deal. In this episode, we will be building on what we talked about in the last couple of episodes about the framework and science behind the IKEA effect. Today, we are diving into getting the investment right. The conversation that’s about the investment is the one that’s missed the most, but it is an incredibly important piece that you should face head-on. Here’s what you’ll learn about the investment conversation today:   1. Why you shouldn’t avoid the financial conversation 2. How to share your number verbally with your client, not in a proposal 3. Why we want to talk about finances in person with our clients   The way that you talk about money is actually more important than the dollars and cents themselves. The key is to say your numbers with confidence, in person. Avoid writing up a big fancy proposal that has everything and then send it over and hope and pray that it’s going to work out.  You can lower the scope if the price is too high. You get the verbal commitment if it's good, but either way, have the conversation in person. In the next video, we will be going into the topic of formal processes. Regardless of who you work with, you can use Building Everything Together in your formal processes and I’ll show you how to do that.   Mentioned in this episode:  Check out my talk with Jeff Berardi:  https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/what-business-development-really-means-according-to-jeff-berardi/

In the last episode, I talked about engaging your clients using the IKEA effect. In this episode, I’m going to be drilling deeply into the first three incremental yeses you want to get: the goals, the processes, and the team. People buy into what they help create, and these tips I’m sharing with you today will help you make it happen.   Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:   1. Using a call to get the first three yeses 2. Why assumptions made in a formal proposal don’t work 3. Tips for co-creating with a client  It is so easy to think for different reasons that you shouldn't engage the client in co-creation. Maybe it's you want to retain your expertise and you want to be the ones that should tell them what to do. Maybe you're afraid to ask. There can be 100 reasons, and you need to let them go. If this is important to the client, they will engage. Not only will they engage, but they will like the output even better. You also get to show your expertise more powerfully in a live setting. If something is preventing you from trying this out. Get rid of it, because this stuff works.    Mentioned in this episode:  Listen to my interview with Mike Duffy:  https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/what-business-development-really-means-according-to-mike-duffy/

This week we are talking about what I like to call “Building Everything Together.” Essentially this is how you’re going to co-create the proposals, the contracts, and the way you’re going to do business with your client. It’s called the IKEA effect, and it’s incredibly powerful.  Today we will be talking about 1. The optimal way to use the IKEA effect with your clients 2. The four incremental yeses you’re looking for 3. What to do if they’re not engaged The moral of the story is that it doesn't matter the role,  the title, or the level of the person in an organization. If working with you is important to them, they will engage in building everything together. If working with you is not important to them, they will tell you they don't want to engage or they'll show it through their actions. Don't judge people by their words, judge them by their actions. If you engage in this idea of the building everything together process or the science called the IKEA effect, you will have massive success because you get out and you quit pursuing. If they do engage, you know you've got something meaty and you're going to have the impact that you want to have. In the next few episodes, I’m going to show you how to engage in those four big yeses that you want and so much more.  Mentioned in this episode:  The IKEA effect: when labor leads to love https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/12136084

This week we are talking about how to create curiosity.   This is a really interesting topic because hardly anybody talks about the importance of creating curiosity. In this episode, we’ll be going through how to leverage it as a useful business tool and ensure success in our business relations.   We’ll be discussing things like WHY curiosity is so important, how to create it during and in between meetings, how to use curiosity to make a good first impression, and when to really go the extra mile.   Tune in to find out more about: Why curiosity is an intrinsic motivator How curiosity creates a heightened sense of arousal  How curiosity allows you to remember more  Why you should ask for more data to analyze with the intention to share results during the next meeting When to introduce an idea about process improvement or timeline as a next step  How to suggest an introduction to somebody who has experience in the area of discussion Why you should suggest setting up a tailored brainstorming session Ways to hint at something that’s coming without fully giving it away How to time these hints strategically throughout your meetings Why you shouldn’t ignore using curiosity as a helpful business tool How to frame the problem you solve When to have a dialogue to ensure understanding Why you should state what you do How to use the unexpected to drive curiosity How to add value to your interactions with others The importance of creating enjoyable experiences   Retaining the attention of your clients throughout your business relationship (starting even with your very first introduction) is important and vital to the productivity of that relationship. Make the most of your time - and the most of your clients’ time - by delivering an experience that keeps your prospects present and involved.   Keep the curiosity going!   Mentioned in this episode:  This is Your Brain on Curiosity: TEDx Talk with Matthais Gruber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmaTPPB-T_s   The Top 3 Things You Need to Implement from Luke Burgis, Author of Wanting https://www.bunnellideagroup.com/the-top-3-things-you-need-to-implement-from-luke-burgis-author-of-wanting/   The Top 3 Things You Need to Implement from Ron Tite, Author of Think. Do. Say. https://audio.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/the-top-3-things-you-need-to-implement-from-ron-tite-author-of-think-do-say/   How to Use Customer Experience and Marketing to Create and Close More Opportunities, with Jay Baer https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/how-to-use-customer-experience-and-marketing-to-create-and-close-more-opportunities-with-jay-baer/   Glen Jackson on Preeminence – What You Need To Succeed https://video.realrelationshipsrealrevenue.com/glen-jackson-on-preeminence-what-you-need-to-succeed/

This week on Real Relationships Real Revenue, we are focusing on relationships. I’m going to give you a ton of steps and mindset tips about how to deepen your relationships. A great deal can make your year, but a great relationship can make your career.  In this episode, I’m sharing the science of building relationships and the science of likeability.  Topics We Cover in This Episode:  Commonality Frequency Mutual benefit Balance Uniqueness   Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that likeability is innate. It’s not! It’s a learnable skill and you can get better at it. You can take these tips and dial up your likeability for your most important relationships.  Make sure to check out this free mini-course called BD Habits. This will help you dig way deeper into how to create a system to manage your opportunities, manage your relationships, and manage yourself.    Resources Mentioned: Check out BD Habits