Use a story to connect with people and to align with your passion and your mission
Matthew Pollard is responsible for five multi-million-dollar business success stories, all before the age of 30. His humble beginnings, the adversities he faced, and his epic rise to success show that anyone, with the right motivation and the right strategies, can achieve anything they set their mind to.
Today, Forbes calls him “the real deal,” Global Gurus lists him as a Top 30 Sales Professional. Top Sales World Magazine named him a Top 50 Speaker, and BigSpeak lists him as an international Top 10 Sales Trainer.
Matthew is also the bestselling author of The Introvert’s Edge, which hit the Amazon charts as the 8th Most-Sold Book of the Week. It also appeared on HubSpot’s list of the “Most Highly-Rated Sales Books of All Time” and was selected by BookAuthority as the #2 “Best Introvert Book of All Time.”
His second book, The Introvert’s Edge to Networking, has already received endorsements from Harvard, Princeton, Neil Patel, Michael Gerber, Dr. Ivan Misner, and Marshall Goldsmith.
What We Discuss with Matthew Pollard:
- Why a networking book for introverts
- The power of telling stories
- How an introvert like him has become a top speaker and a top sales trainer
- Networking strategies in this digital age
- The number one rule in networking
- Strategies for launching and marketing your book
- Leveraging launch parties
[01:53] Why a Networking Book for Introverts
As all of these amazing thought leaders in the world of sales started to outwardly speak about their introversion, the book sold 25,000 copies in the first year, and now they just did 10 translates and over a thousand 5-star reviews.
People have no idea how to find a way to get in front of their ideal prospects. You have to articulate the value of what you provide face-to-face. If you can’t come down to the true foundations of who your market is and your ideal buyer and you can’t clearly articulate that in a value-driven way, then you have no chance online.
90% of networking success happens before you even walk in the room.
The introvert’s edge to networking is that if you walk into a room, and you haven’t already planned what you’re going to say and what you’re going to do when you get in there, you may as well have not walked in at all.
[06:53] The Power of a Story
As introverts, we tend to clutter our conversations with jargon. And people don’t end up buying from you because you just turned on the fire hose on full, and they were just overwhelmed by what you saw was helpful.
Stories give people the opportunity to experience somebody else’s journey.
Stories are a wonderful way to give them a little bit of information, but also help them see it in a tangible way. And if you know your niche well, and you create the stories for that niche, they get to hear about someone just like them that had the same problems they have, and how you got them to an amazing result.
We’re not talking about a case study or a documentary that doesn’t have any emotion. Nobody wants to watch that for two hours. But you’re willing to watch a three-hour movie and you think it only took 15 minutes.
A story has an emotive content that short-circuits the logical mind and speaks directly to the emotional mind. So then the information you’re blasting at them is embedded into a story that’s made relevant to them. And that is remembered up to 20 times more than when you’re given just factual information. So not only is it tangible, it becomes more memorable.
[09:11] How Introverts Can Network Through Stories
For introverts specifically, it activates the reticular activating system of our brain. Matthew gets so scared to walk up on stage. But he practices before he walks in. And the moment he tells a story, he can see everyone in the audience starting to relax. That’s because all of the reticular activating systems are synchronizing and everyone is at ease.
When you’re networking and you tell somebody why you do what you do, it’s going to come across as salesy. When you tell people a story about somebody that you worked with that had a similar problem to them, and how they got an amazing outcome, you’re actually educating and inspiring them to take action while embedding that you’re the only logical choice. And it comes across as you’re giving all this value away for free, except that they’re not overwhelmed, and they’ll remember it.
Use a story to connect with people and to align with your passion and your mission.
For example, if you’re selling insurance, try creating three stories of how you’ve helped people and the impact that has made on them, and that will help align with what you’re doing. Then you talk about your passion and your mission to helping that group of people. That way, you’re not just a salesperson anymore. But you’re a hustler lifeguard that keeps people from drowning.
[16:11] How You Can Network in this Digital Age
A lot of small business owners now have never tried online at all. And they are now somehow forced to try this stuff. They’re sitting there with all the weight of the world and out of desperation, not knowing what they do with less time than they’ve ever had before because they’ve got everyone at home. And out of desperation, they’re doing what they need to do.
Introverts can’t learn to sell from an extrovert because they’ll just say it’s easy. But it’s not going to be easy for you. And that’s the same with leadership.
Don’t be the guy who sends out spam LinkedIn messages. The reason everybody is forced to do spam or looking for the next tactic or buying online programs teaching them to blog or how to market their business is they can’t articulate their value in two minutes.
Clearly articulate the value of what you do in a way that excites and motivates your ideal audience so they see you as the only logical choice.
Online is amazing because you can use technology, psychology, and strategy to get your ideal clients to chase you. It doesn’t mean you have to be online all the time. Authenticity is key.
The number one rule in networking is to give because it’s not about you. If you make it about you, and not your mission, not your passion, then people would think you’re only trying to sell them something. But as soon as it’s about other people’s success, and it’s something they can relate with, then they will remember that.
[27:20] Marketing the Book
In the book, Matthew talks about the 7 steps to creating a sale. It’s something introverts can do. And then at the back of the book, he included a bonus section where you can download and get a whole video implementation training. This training has been listed as one of the best sales training in the world and this comes free with the book.
For an introvert to read the book is not enough. You have to go and activate it so you can put all the stuff to work.
His next book is about directing people to the specific products and services they need to leverage that will allow them to get the next outcome that they need. Think about the avenues and how much capacity you have to be able to handle.
Understand what you’re actually selling. Are you selling a book? Or are you selling consultancy services off the back end of the book?
A lot of people are so focused on selling the book, but really you’re selling to get their email address. So what’s the quickest route to getting their email address, and what’s the easiest way to make a sale? If you have a good book, let the chapter stand on its own and people will read the chapter. Then put by-links down the side so that they’re constantly prompted to buy the physical book.
Matthew’s goal is to get the email address to turn them into a buyer. So that is a definite different strategy.
[32:33] Leveraging Launch Parties
A launch team is a group of people that are aligned with your message. If you’re a corporation or CEO in a corporation, there could be a series of customers of yours that have seen what you’ve done and believe in what you do. The goal is that you send them copies of the book earlier, or you give them access and get them to read the book.
You can get them to buy the book upfront but these are the people that already are buying your product. So what you really want to do is get in front of new people. And if you can get them to post photos saying how much they love the book and sharing reviews of the book that’s going to get you new clientele.
The question you have to ask yourself is what are you truly selling? And what’s the book utilized for?
If you’ve got a friend with an email list, ask them if they could send out your free downloadable chapter to their audience. The marketing starts months and months beforehand so get your people together and tap into other people’s audiences.
Episode Resources:
The Introvert’s Edge to Networking
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