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

Mo asks Chris Graham: What is your personal definition of growth? Chris has always been driven by learning new things. Since he spends nearly all his time now selling, he focuses on reteaching all the things he has learned over the years. What people really want is for someone to help them identify problems they didn’t even know they had and help them solve those problems. As experts, it’s very easy to get so focused on what you know that you aren’t even aware of the issues that are just outside your expertise. The mindset that Chris carries into a meeting is one of being excited to learn and showing how he can help. By being truly concerned about the other person, it’s a lot easier to customize your solution to actually solve their problem. When speaking with potential investors, Chris is looking to learn what their investment goals are to see if they are aligned with them. His company has a well defined mission and invests in very specific types of companies. If the opportunity is not a fit, that’s okay. If the goals are aligned but the person may not be ready to go yet, Chris tries to break the information into more bite-sized pieces instead of overwhelming them with everything at once. Dripping out follow-up content has made building trust with investors a success.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com linkedin.com/company/crowncapitalinvestments linkedin.com/in/christophertgraham25 cgraham@ccfos.com crown-inv.com Crown Capital Investments on YouTube - youtube.com/channel/UCLstgUIyDH9bRFTHH0vWAbg

Mo asks Chris Graham: When was the moment you realized growth was a good thing? As a lawyer, you’re responsible for the whole gamut of the business. The whole process is about connecting and engaging with clients on a deeper level, and Chris realized that he needed a new approach in order to scale. Everybody who is striving to be more has to cut what they are good at, to take a risk at doing something better. Chris had a great relationship with his clients but being limited to a one-to-one impact felt restricting for what he wanted to do so he pivoted from law into private equity. He had to give up what he had been building for 20 years to have an opportunity to make an even greater impact. His experience over the 20 years of growing his law practice gave him a unique perspective into what entrepreneurs can do to grow their business. Taking that experience into the private equity space, along with the confidence of a few key families, helped Chris find success in his new line of work. The transition from one-to-one to one-to-many didn’t happen all at once. Chris started things off by taking a lot of the risk on himself. He bet on himself to make it easier for clients to also bet on him too. When he decided to move into private equity, Chris scaled back his law firm to give himself more bandwidth and started blocking off time to focus on the new project. This gave him the room to build the new company. If you don’t block time, there will always be something to absorb the time you didn’t block for your new venture. You’ll never get off the old ladder if you don’t block off time for the new ladder.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com linkedin.com/company/crowncapitalinvestments linkedin.com/in/christophertgraham25 cgraham@ccfos.com crown-inv.com Crown Capital Investments on YouTube - youtube.com/channel/UCLstgUIyDH9bRFTHH0vWAbg

Cyril Peupion shares his world-class expertise on managing the way you work and dives into how he thinks about business development, making an impact, and nurturing relationships that can change your life. Find out how to shift your mindset to make getting the most important work done the default instead of the exception, how to prioritize impact in everything you do, and the most important lesson Cyril wished he learned decades ago.   Mo asks Cyril Peupion: When was the moment you realized that growth was great? Cyril started his own business with a partner after completing his MBA so he had an interest in business development right from the beginning. With time, he realized how much he had to learn about sales and relationship building. Impact is a keyword in how Cyril views the world. If he had only one principle piece of advice to give to people, it would be to prioritize your calendar according to impact. Cyril tells the story of a client he was working with and the impact on their life the work had. As great as getting to inbox zero and having an organized and neat work environment, being able to sleep at night and actually turn off her mind was completely life-changing. When you have something as powerful and impactful on people’s lives, business development becomes easy and natural. Cyril considers his business to be in service to his clients. When you change your way of working it changes your life, which is why Cyril doesn’t view his work as business development. Instead, he sees it as bringing his service to the people that need it. When it comes to prioritizing for impact, you have to start with a mind shift. High performers don’t look at when things are due, they look at the impact of the things they need to do first. Think quarterly, plan weekly, and act daily. Thinking quarterly is one of the most effective time frames to think about work while incorporating your long-term vision. Planning each week is an important tempo for progressing your top two or three priorities. A crisis will arrive eventually, but you need to run your tasks through the four-word framework of What Impact Long-Term.   Mo asks Cyril Peupion: What is your personal definition of business development? Cyril’s definition has evolved over the years. What began as selling became serving. Cyril is very clear on who he helps and how he can do it, as well as the people that he’s not right for. Cyril’s passion for what he does is derived from clarity on who can help. When it comes to first meetings, the goal is not to sell his services but to simply find out if they are a good match and to find the right solution for the prospect, even if that means referring them to someone else. It’s vital to surround yourself with the right people and have an environment of accountability while keeping a mentality of continuous learning. Masterminds and accountability partners are crucial for your personal and business growth. Find people who are playing at the same level as you and with the same giving mindset. People typically allow their day to be filled up but all the little things that inevitably come up. One of the first exercises Cyril has leadership teams walk through is creating their ideal week, and then creating a calendar by working backward from the most important things you can do with your time.   Mo asks Cyril Peupion: What is your favorite science, step, or story from the GrowBIG Training or Snowball System? The overall mindset of the Snowball Training is what stands out for Cyril. Going from selling to serving and being proud of the value that you are bringing to your clients is pivotal. Cyril also appreciates the concept of nurturing raving fans and uses the strategy to make sure he’s always working on the most important relationships associated with his business. There is a strong link between performance and joy. People value what they help to create. Cyril noticed that the clients that contribute to the work in more of a partnership style relationship usually value the work more. Without the mindset shift of going from selling to helping, you will never achieve your true potential in your career. “The secret of living is giving.” -Winston Churchill When you understand the giving mindset, it will change the way you look at business and life. When planning your ideal work for business development, relationship building with your raving fans and developing yourself and your team, are the things that will have the most significant long-term impact. How much time each day do you need to protect to get those done each day? The rule is that you can move this meeting time with yourself around, but you can’t delete it. Business development is often composed of a lot of little tasks. Cyril uses the Outlook Task tool to categorize emails and tasks he needs to address during the time he’s set aside each day to focus on business development. Your calendar should be filled with Meetings With Yourself and you should respect them as much as you do meetings with other people. You say no all the time. When you say yes to something, you are saying no to everything else, whether you are conscious of that or not. When someone asks you to do something, pause and run through the “Hell Ya/No” framework.   Mo asks Cyril Peupion: Tell me of a business development story that you are very proud of. Years ago, Cyril got in touch with a partner at one of the largest consulting firms in the world. He was invited to present at one of their conferences in Barcelona about the Work Smarter, Live Better strategy and at the end of the presentation, Cyril got a 100% feedback rating from the 100+ people that attended his talk. This was the beginning of a great business relationship that is now eight years strong with Cyril’s favorite client. Cyril wasn’t a speaker, so the presentation was outside of his comfort zone. He prepared for the speech and took the opportunity very seriously. Cyril values continuous improvement very highly, and that presentation was a validation of that core belief. Every quarter, Cyril chooses a few things to accomplish that push him out of his comfort zone. He wasn’t always a skilled speaker, so he worked with a speaking coach to improve his skills. When the pandemic hit, he found an ex-director to help train him and his team to be better on camera. Every quarter choose one thing that will put you out of your comfort zone and will help you move the needle on your goals.   Mo asks Cyril Peupion: If you could record a video around business development and send it back to your younger self, what would it say? Cyril describes a restaurant in Paris that is the best in the world in delivering a ribeye and has a queue lined up every single day no matter the weather conditions. Cyril would tell himself to become the master of one trade and become extraordinary at one thing. Follow your heart and become the expert in that area. Habits are what build expertise and world-class skills. There is a lot of joy in embracing the boring excellence that makes you great. Cyril does one thing and does it very well. He’s more than happy to refer work that’s not in his wheelhouse to other experts he knows can take care of it. If you can find something that you are passionate about, that the market will pay a premium rate for, and you are good at, you have found something worth pursuing. Cyril would also recommend never stopping learning. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” -Gandhi Block time to read every day. Set aside time every quarter to attend new training. Surround yourself with great mentors and a supportive community.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com wslb.com The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Mo asks Cyril Peupion: If you could record a video around business development and send it back to your younger self, what would it say? Cyril describes a restaurant in Paris that is the best in the world in delivering a ribeye and has a queue lined up every single day no matter the weather conditions. Cyril would tell himself to become the master of one trade and become extraordinary at one thing. Follow your heart and become the expert in that area. Habits are what build expertise and world-class skills. There is a lot of joy in embracing the boring excellence that makes you great. Cyril does one thing and does it very well. He’s more than happy to refer work that’s not in his wheelhouse to other experts he knows can take care of it. If you can find something that you are passionate about, that the market will pay a premium rate for, and you are good at, you have found something worth pursuing. Cyril would also recommend never stopping learning. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” -Gandhi Block time to read every day. Set aside time every quarter to attend new training. Surround yourself with great mentors and a supportive community.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com wslb.com

Mo asks Cyril Peupion: Tell me of a business development story that you are very proud of. Years ago, Cyril got in touch with a partner at one of the largest consulting firms in the world. He was invited to present at one of their conferences in Barcelona about the Work Smarter, Live Better strategy and at the end of the presentation, Cyril got a 100% feedback rating from the 100+ people that attended his talk. This was the beginning of a great business relationship that is now eight years strong with Cyril’s favorite client. Cyril wasn’t a speaker, so the presentation was outside of his comfort zone. He prepared for the speech and took the opportunity very seriously. Cyril values continuous improvement very highly, and that presentation was a validation of that core belief. Every quarter, Cyril chooses a few things to accomplish that push him out of his comfort zone. He wasn’t always a skilled speaker, so he worked with a speaking coach to improve his skills. When the pandemic hit, he found an ex-director to help train him and his team to be better on camera. Every quarter choose one thing that will put you out of your comfort zone and will help you move the needle on your goals.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com wslb.com

Mo asks Cyril Peupion: What is your favorite science, step, or story from the GrowBIG Training or Snowball System? The overall mindset of the Snowball Training is what stands out for Cyril. Going from selling to serving and being proud of the value that you are bringing to your clients is pivotal. Cyril also appreciates the concept of nurturing raving fans and uses the strategy to make sure he’s always working on the most important relationships associated with his business. There is a strong link between performance and joy. People value what they help to create. Cyril noticed that the clients that contribute to the work in more of a partnership style relationship usually value the work more. Without the mindset shift of going from selling to helping, you will never achieve your true potential in your career. “The secret of living is giving.” -Winston Churchill When you understand the giving mindset, it will change the way you look at business and life. When planning your ideal work for business development, relationship building with your raving fans and developing yourself and your team, are the things that will have the most significant long-term impact. How much time each day do you need to protect to get those done each day? The rule is that you can move this meeting time with yourself around, but you can’t delete it. Business development is often composed of a lot of little tasks. Cyril uses the Outlook Task tool to categorize emails and tasks he needs to address during the time he’s set aside each day to focus on business development. Your calendar should be filled with Meetings With Yourself and you should respect them as much as you do meetings with other people. You say no all the time. When you say yes to something, you are saying no to everything else, whether you are conscious of that or not. When someone asks you to do something, pause and run through the “Hell Ya/No” framework.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com wslb.com

Mo asks Cyril Peupion: What is your personal definition of business development? Cyril’s definition has evolved over the years. What began as selling became serving. Cyril is very clear on who he helps and how he can do it, as well as the people that he’s not right for. Cyril’s passion for what he does is derived from clarity on who can help. When it comes to first meetings, the goal is not to sell his services but to simply find out if they are a good match and to find the right solution for the prospect, even if that means referring them to someone else. It’s vital to surround yourself with the right people and have an environment of accountability while keeping a mentality of continuous learning. Masterminds and accountability partners are crucial for your personal and business growth. Find people who are playing at the same level as you and with the same giving mindset. People typically allow their day to be filled up but all the little things that inevitably come up. One of the first exercises Cyril has leadership teams walk through is creating their ideal week, and then creating a calendar by working backward from the most important things you can do with your time.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com wslb.com

Mo asks Cyril Peupion: When was the moment you realized that growth was great? Cyril started his own business with a partner after completing his MBA so he had an interest in business development right from the beginning. With time, he realized how much he had to learn about sales and relationship building. Impact is a keyword in how Cyril views the world. If he had only one principle piece of advice to give to people, it would be to prioritize your calendar according to impact. Cyril tells the story of a client he was working with and the impact on their life the work had. As great as getting to inbox zero and having an organized and neat work environment, being able to sleep at night and actually turn off her mind was completely life-changing. When you have something as powerful and impactful on people’s lives, business development becomes easy and natural. Cyril considers his business to be in service to his clients. When you change your way of working it changes your life, which is why Cyril doesn’t view his work as business development. Instead, he sees it as bringing his service to the people that need it. When it comes to prioritizing for impact, you have to start with a mind shift. High performers don’t look at when things are due, they look at the impact of the things they need to do first. Think quarterly, plan weekly, and act daily. Thinking quarterly is one of the most effective time frames to think about work while incorporating your long-term vision. Planning each week is an important tempo for progressing your top two or three priorities. A crisis will arrive eventually, but you need to run your tasks through the four-word framework of What Impact Long-Term.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com wslb.com

Linda Klein drops the mic with her incredible insights and hard-won wisdom in this episode where she shares her experience working with clients as a lawyer and creating relationships through her passion to help others. Find out how to prepare for a meeting in a way that will make you more confident and comfortable and capable of helping a prospect with their issues, the most important life lesson she learned from her father and how it applies to growing a business, and why you shouldn’t ever lose your passion for getting involved and helping other people.   Mo asks Linda Klein: When was the moment that you realized that growth was great? Linda separates the ideas of business development and building a relationship. In the beginning of Linda’s career as a lawyer, she spent a lot of time learning about her client’s business and that relationship building always paid off. It’s not about developing the business, it’s about developing the relationship. Linda tells the story of how her grandfather started a grocery business in the early days of the Great Depression, how understanding and getting to know the people in the community became a crucial reason for their success, how that also inspired Linda and how she built her career. When meeting new people, Linda is always looking for the things outside the day-to-day business relationship that are important to them. There is always a place where you can connect. It’s important to be hireable and to share your expertise, but it’s more important to be human first. Start with something relatable instead of leading with your area of expertise and what services you can offer. The number one correlation to likeability is commonality. Always look for the common areas you can connect on. Every conversation and interaction you have will be different, but the person you’re speaking with will always give you clues. By offering details and asking for details, you’re going to find areas of commonality. It’s extremely important for diverse members of your team to feel like they can find areas to connect.   Mo asks Linda Klein: What is your personal definition of business development? Adding value to a client’s business by solving the problem. Service professionals often only look at a client’s issue through the lens of their own expertise, but that’s not the way to grow a business. Asking for the sale before solving the problem (or diagnosing the problem) isn’t going to work. Linda looks for ways to solve client problems that keep them from growing their own business. Sometimes that means referring the client to someone else when the issue is outside her area of expertise. Linda starts solving the problem before a transaction has occurred. We can sense when someone is trying to sell us before any value has really been added to the relationship and it usually makes us want to run away. Go into the first meeting simply to get to know somebody instead of trying to close the sale. When you help someone achieve their goals, you feel great and you increase the odds of them turning into a paying client. When following up, think about who you could connect the person with and what the person said in the initial meeting that you continue the conversation with. If you have taken your time to get to know the industry your prospect is in, you will know where the pain points are and have opportunities to help. The number one thing you can do to be proactive in building relationships is writing down your top five to ten people that are important to your career and using that to make sure you're constantly being helpful.   Mo asks Linda Klein: What is your favorite science, step, or story from the GrowBIG Training or Snowball System? Linda never wants to be unprepared in her work, and the same is true in meeting with a client, which is why Dynamic Meeting Prep is Linda’s favorite strategy. A potential client’s business always has important area-specific language that they use that you should know. It’s amazing how much companies have on their website and what you can learn by doing some research. Those insights are invaluable during a meeting, and preparing for a meeting pays dividends when you land the business because then you have a huge head start. Everybody prepares for delivery meetings but rarely do people prepare for the initial meeting. You can’t prepare for the first meeting at a dinner before the meeting day. Research is crucial. Make preparation a priority and get the team strategy outlined ahead of time. Your team needs to show the client that they are seamless, working together and solving the client’s problems. Figure out what your goal for the meeting is, what the frame for the meeting is and how to kick it off, what the big questions that might be asked, natural next steps, and potential cliffhangers you can use to get the next meeting. Being direct can be a challenge but being authentic about the fact that you want to simply be helpful is the best approach. Be ready to discuss what the client wants to discuss. The more prepared you are in advance, the easier it will be to switch gears and the more comfortable you will be.   Mo asks Linda Klein: Tell us a business development story that you are particularly proud of. Many years ago Linda did a favor for an accountant without sending him a bill. Five years later, the accountant called mainly to thank her and ask if she could help a friend of his. The new client was entering a mature market with lots of competition, but after Linda helped him start and grow his business, within nine months his company was the largest client for Linda’s firm. Linda was able to make a difference in two people’s lives. For the client, she helped him start a business that changed him and his family’s lives, and for the accountant, she impacted him deeply enough for it to come back to her five years later. Linda has developed a business development program by volunteering. Linda doesn’t have a lot of free time, but for her, volunteering and being helpful is fun and enjoyable so the business development benefits come naturally. If you’re curious and read the news about your clients, you will find opportunities to reach out and be helpful. Being involved in your community gives you scale in meeting new people. Find what you like and get involved in that community. There are an infinite number of opportunities to get involved and meet like-minded people.   Mo asks Linda Klein: If you could record a video around business development and send it back to your younger self, what would it say? Business development is about passion. Life is about passion. Don’t lose your passion for getting involved. Helping others is the most satisfying thing you can do. In so many ways it’s easier to make a dollar than it is to make a difference, but you can do both at the same time. Take the time to get good at what you do first, and then you’ll have something valuable to sell. If you’re going to say no, say it with kindness. “People will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou Treat people right. People you interact with today may be future clients and you should treat them with respect and kindness. If you’re passionate about what you do, it will come through in your authenticity. Some of your best experiences will come from wasting time. If you rigidly plan, you might say no to something that is an incredible opportunity.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com lklein@bakerdonelson.com linkedin.com/in/lindakleinlaw

Mo asks Linda Klein: If you could record a video around business development and send it back to your younger self, what would it say? Business development is about passion. Life is about passion. Don’t lose your passion for getting involved. Helping others is the most satisfying thing you can do. In so many ways it’s easier to make a dollar than it is to make a difference, but you can do both at the same time. Take the time to get good at what you do first, and then you’ll have something valuable to sell. If you’re going to say no, say it with kindness. “People will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou Treat people right. People you interact with today may be future clients and you should treat them with respect and kindness. If you’re passionate about what you do, it will come through in your authenticity. Some of your best experiences will come from wasting time. If you rigidly plan, you might say no to something that is an incredible opportunity.     Mentioned in this Episode: GrowBIGPlaybook.com lklein@bakerdonelson.com linkedin.com/in/lindakleinlaw