The Strategy That Gets You Face-to-Face With Corporate Decision Makers

In the world of entrepreneurship, we go to the business and do what matters most to the people who are coming into the business. or running their business due to having access to their finances. Your first part of your work is going to be... My name is Louisa Wilcox and I am a business development specialist at Let's Get Wealthy, a financial ventures company. Fantastic, so how are you going to get into that? I am always eager to help people with their finances, but even more so in teaching. We are not writing how to get your money to school. It's perfectly normal to have informationPHPExcel about many people who want to know how to use their finances. In the world of entrepreneurship, we're going to the business, doing what we do better, what we enjoy. because people are going to this or sharing their business due to not reaching the funding. In fact, businesses and personal finance frequently upright the balance. I mean, as long as you're sharing, before we start recording too, There is a significant difference now in how you are using it. That is, I'm doing what I'm doing because I want to move forward by doing things online. Regarding personal matters, I would like to work with more organizations and their teams. I need to do some online speaking to write well and a bit more online content with business partners. Very good, and thus is the connection between what you are doing at this moment and More online things, corporates, and skill events. I mean, I feel how this is going ahead, It would be very interesting for you to go ahead. That is very interesting. Do you want to do work on it? I'm asking you, yes. I mean, Dyson has a bit more about it. Yes, that would be very interesting. I believe the same thing works better for me personally. I've been involved in online activities for a few years now, and I do enjoy working with people, but I actually believe we achieve our best learning and gain more from in-person interactions. So when you're actually sitting in a room with someone, you're listening, you're present, you're establishing a connection with the people around you. I honestly believe we take more of a way. I've done a lot of stuff online myself, and it's great, but if you're anything like me, you get distracted by the dog, the kids, the washing machine running. I know that feeling, yeah. But when you're in a room for four to six hours, you just sit there. Lots in, focus. You have purpose there. I hear you. And you take so much more away. Yeah. But what actually happens is lifestyle inflation. People go into corporate work, they work extremely hard, they earn the big paycheck, the prestigious job, but then they end up with a bigger house, a bigger car financed on credit, and suddenly they're not living the life they actually want to live. They're exhausted. They are in debt. They're working all the time and aren't truly enjoying life. Okay, let's come back to you for a second. So what's holding you back from entering the corporate world right now? I suppose I just don't really know how to go about it. I have been a business owner for eight years now. My previous business, which I recently sold and exited, is something I'm truly proud of, but I've also worked extensively with solopreneurs and small businesses. So it's an entirely different market. I've done some education myself in this area, but although it was good, it didn't really teach you how to go out there and get involved. And I suppose it's probably a little bit of a dance tune. Okay. Confidence. Tell me a bit. Why is that? I just don't know what to do. I don't know who to contact. So it's not really a matter of mindset. But if someone gave me a blueprint that said, if you follow this, this, and this, I'd have no trouble getting out there and doing it. It's just knowing that. When you attend an event, you're speaking to a business owner. I'm talking to you. You run your business. When you're going to corporate, you have to go through so many different channels just to reach the person who actually has to make that decision. And it's like, who's the right person? Where do you go for that? And I just don't quite know what to do. Okay. So I have a five-step framework. The flag has stopped attacking us. I have a five-step framework that essentially breaks down those barriers, and you'll find it much easier. It takes a long time. This is what a lot of people can't get over. But it sounds like you have the advantage of some financial stability, a very experienced business owner. Time is not the issue. You're happy to be patient, provided the right opportunities arise. Okay. So that's the one caveat of this five-step process, which I'm going to give you. No quick fixes. Okay. So one of the areas where a lot of business owners have a somewhat clear idea of what the final goal looks like. But working backwards from that end goal, much of it is somewhat based on hypotheses, taking courses, and perhaps obtaining some of the correct information. But there is nothing out there that doesn't work. It's just that it all works. It's just putting all the pieces together in the right order. But I've noticed a common thread among many small business owners is their inability to be intentional. They don't understand what it looks like to be intentional. So the first question I have for you regarding being intentional is: are there 10 businesses, brands, or individuals you would love to work with? Could you name them? Not 10, probably about three. Okay. So could you give us an idea about who those three are? You don't have to name them if you don't want to, of course. But give us an idea of who they are. I suppose HR. So HR, corporate. Okay. I need you to be more specific than that. I can name them. Even more specific. Yeah. Something I'd love to work with a company like Apple. Stuff like that. Brilliant. Love it. Even going back to some of my background, Xero, I think would be really good. Because although they are in the accounting industry, it's the staff understanding their own money. Yeah. So I'm kind of looking at those kinds of areas with it. And I might also enjoy getting involved with some more digital companies. Again, where staff might actually be earning excellent wages, but simply don't know what to do with the money. Okay. So your first bit of homework is going to be to add out that list of two or three to ten. 10 businesses, brands, or individuals that I would love to work with. I'd love to be a guest on their podcast. I would love to speak at their annual conference. I would love to come in and conduct lunch and learns for them. I would love whatever it looks like to you, but be hyper-intentional—write the names down. Because what happens then, without getting all mystical about it, it's like, I hate the term manifesting. because I think it's been somewhat overused and things like that. But unless you actually start naming those people and taking the actions to get yourself in front of them, you won't make any progress. Alright. So that's the first step. We simply become intentional and write the list down. It's pretty simple, right? You could do that. Yeah. The second step, though, again, this is where a lot of business owners, especially in the online space, They kind of let themselves down and probably became a little bit lazy. Because they're like, oh, I'll just go to LinkedIn and connect with them. Oh, I'll just go follow them on whatever channel. I'll just go post on social media, tag them, and hope they find me. That's true to some extent, but it's also very cliché; ultimately, people buy from people. Yes. So can you guess what the second step is? Actually go and connect with the people. Go and connect with the people. Exactly what we're doing here. You know, the founders' playground here in Bristol today—we're meeting people, we're having conversations. You can see there's a lot going on here. So step number two is very simple. Put yourself in the same room as those people. So at Xero or Apple, you want to narrow it down to perhaps one or two or a handful of very specific individuals within those organizations. and start, for lack of a better word, to stalk them. Find out which events they are going to attend. figure out how they go about networking I don't think we want to go quite as far as deciding whether their children go to school and loiter around the school gates. But we want to gather some clues about how we can engineer the process of bus meetings. And there's also a bonus to this. So don't just be in the same room as those people, but go and sit in the front row. So you could attend a conference where, for example, the CEO or HR director of Xero is speaking at the event. But if you go and sit in the back row, then at the end of their talks, they get mobbed down at the front, You won't get the chance to speak to them. You're not going to create opportunities to accidentally run into them. So I always tell people, go and sit in the front row. If they're having a book signing, be the first in line. A couple of examples of this. So I have an ambition. I'd love to be on Diary of a CEO. I've done some major podcasts, but Diary of a CEO is kind of like the pinnacle of my career as an author and business coach. So I went to Steve Bartlett's speaker tour, bought the VIP ticket, and guess who was right at the front of the line to do the meet and greet? Me. Right. Here's my book. They are lovely pictures. I figured he'll remember me if I'm first or last, not the 200th and whoever comes in between. So little things like that. And again, you know, a lot of people will hold back from going on. I'm not worthy, but at the end of the day, we're all just people trying to get ahead. And good people, they understand that. They started off somewhere. Yeah. They will embrace you. They'll bring you in. So we show up wherever they show up, and we make sure we sit in the front row. Okay. Any guesses about what the next step might be? Actually reaching out to them. Yeah. So that's part of that sort of step two. But what else? When we reach out to them, what are we offering? Well, I suppose you want to arrange a meeting or follow up, perhaps a coffee chat. They're not going to do that for just anyone, are they? So they're busy people. Make the connection, get to know them. Yes, absolutely. But what else? There's a key ingredient here that they're going to be like, My God, I need to talk to Louisa because she is so helpful. Yes, we got there in the end. Leading the witness. It's been a long day. No, no. So step three is literally just adding as much value to that brand as possible. as much as you possibly can do. And there are many strange and wonderful things you can do to add value. Bring value into people's lives. So once again, a simple example: we have Help Bank over here. So I don't know if you know Simon, do you follow him? Okay. So I started following Simon about three years ago, when he was kind of on the rise. And I was like, I like that guy. I like his vision, mission, and values. I love the fact that he wants to help all these business owners for free. Get people out of similar jobs and into similar entrepreneurship. But I was like, he's got millions of people following him. And all these people who want something from him. And I was like, how can I start to get into his world without becoming an employee? Because I didn't want a job. I like my business. So this is what I did when they launched Help Bank, I just logged onto the Help Bank platform and started assisting people. And they had a leaderboard on it. Do you remember? Are you familiar with Help Bank? I took a quick look. So they used to have a leaderboard there as an incentive. They offered a financial incentive for people to, If they win the leaderboard, you get 5K. So I thought, I didn't do this for the money. I did it because if I get to the top of that leaderboard and win the prize, that Simon's going to notice me. That's it, plain and simple. But in doing so, that month when I became number one, I earned the 5K, I helped hundreds of people across the Help Bank platform. I gave away dozens of books. I gave away free coaching sessions. I did everything except just aiming to win that because I knew that investing in the Help Bank brand and helping people That was what Simon and Help Bank were all about. Just add value, be helpful. Another example昌, I've had some partnerships. Do you know Ali Abdul? I've heard of him, yeah. So Ali runs a fantastic productivity YouTube channel. And once again, my way of being helpful is that he went to attend this event at a university. And I noticed that everyone looked a bit lost. Among the 600 people there, no one knew what was going on. So I was like, right, put my bag down, put my coat down. It's like, right, coffee's over there. The auditorium is that way. The book signing will be over there afterward. And then about 10 or 15 minutes into this, His general manager, Angus, comes over to me. He's like, "Robin, what are you doing?" He's like, well, everyone kind of looks a bit lost. So I thought I'd just lend a hand in that direction. He's like, well, you're a guest. You don't have to do that. I was like, no, absolutely. I have to do it. I want to help. Cool. So he walks away, takes five steps, turns around, and comes back. And then he said, oh, Robin, There's this pricing matter we wanted to discuss with you. Do you have five minutes after the event tonight? And I was like, hmm, let me think about that. And the rest is history. I was unable to help them launch a part-time YouTube channel. And so it goes. So get yourself a drink. You just have to put yourself out there and be as helpful as you possibly can. And once again, the little bonus tip for this is You need to do it in a way that you have zero expectations. of getting anything back in return. It's simply because, intrinsically, this fills you up. And you couldn't find anything more enjoyable than working with one of those 10 people on that list Because it's fun and you get a thrill from it. You can see that you're helping other people. That's what it all comes down to, isn't it? Thank you for your help. That's it. Then we begin to proceed to the next steps, That is where it begins to become a little more complicated. So I'm imagining an HR director of a large organization like Apple. They have gatekeepers. They are very difficult to get hold of. The same applies to Simon Squibb. He's really hard to get a hold of. And even Ali Abdul. Once when he had fewer than a million subscribers, I'd send him a voice message, and I'd get a long voice message back. Now I'm lucky if I get a yes or no on WhatsApp. It's too busy. So I've given you a couple of clues there. What do you think step number four is? Honestly, I'm not sure. This is again where it starts to get a bit unclear. So get to know the team. And if you're investing in their brand, being helpful, showing up And then you get to know the team members. When they are having their morning meeting on a Monday morning, planning meeting for the week and they remember this amazing woman, Louisa who came and helped out randomly at this event, but she had a lot of cool things to say about Xero and finance and financial independence. And the team are the ones over there going, Oh, we should get Louisa in to come do a lunch and learn. She was truly engaging when we happened to run into her at this event. Getting to know the team is more valuable than anything else. Again, it sounds like, I don't want anyone to think that in any way that we're somewhat manipulating people, manipulating the situation. It's really important to express that. We do it from a very genuine, heartfelt place because we know what the brand stands for And we want to be a part of it. But when someone like Simon is getting all the admiration and the team are kind of just sitting there twiddling their thumbs or whatever When someone notices them, it's a huge compliment. So yes, we are flattering their ego a little bit, but they'll be glad that someone is interested in them rather than... Part of the team. It's a great compliment for them to receive, you know, someone asking questions about it or trying to be helpful. And there is no agenda either. So once again, Simon is a perfect example. I attended an event in Dubai a few years ago. just before he launched the What's Your Dream book. And I don't know if you have a copy. You should go and get a copy if you haven't. You have, excellent. Fantastic. I'm connecting all of Simon's equipment. I should be promoting my own stuff. Hey, folks, if you want to get a copy of Take Your Shot, go to fearless.biz forward slash T-Y-S There we go. Shameless plug out of the way. So embarrassing. But Simon was busy doing a book signing when he launched the book. And I ran into his team. I also introduced mutual connections to his team. And then one of the guys I knew was involved in the book launch Just said, oh, by the way, just out of curiosity, What is your book review campaign? And he's like, book review campaign? I was like, oh, you're missing a trick here. So this entire process, like everyone building up to the launch. And my launch was just like the number one bestseller on Amazon. In category A. Like Simon's was a New York Times bestseller. Okay, the goals are slightly different. But I was like, if you want the book to live anywhere out there, It must have a bunch of reviews. like positive reviews to support, you know, the story. And then you get more sales, and then you get more reviews. And so it becomes, so I was like, right, Let me walk you through my book review, my book review process, like post-launch And he was literally there, Messaging people on WhatsApp with my step-by-step strategy. And I was like, take it, just go ahead and run with it. I want Simon's book to be successful. You know, once again, proximity—if Simon does well, because I am now an ambassador for Help Bank, That's why I talk about it. I stand to benefit from it. Then you can also help more people. Exactly. But that happened because of conversations with the team. I now know all of these guys by their first names. We hug, we support one another. They support me in doing my thing. I support Help Bank. And it's all like a very virtuous kind of cycle. They refer people to me. It's like, you know, and vice versa. So partnerships are one of the best ways to kind of build a business and create these opportunities. And I'll go through some stats with you to wrap things up in a moment as well. So then the final part then is, So we've done it; let's recap. So we have been intentional, Write a list of 10 people. You've started hanging out with them in person, sitting in the front row. You've added an extraordinary amount of value to their brands. just because you want to and to lift them up. You must know their team. The final part is, if none of those first four steps are working, And once again, I'm leading the winners here. None of those four steps are working. What do you think step five might be? Well, it's going to be your offer, I suppose, isn't it? So what you're doing, saying to them, this is what I do, This is how I can help. This is what I would like to do. because obviously... That's kind of step six in a five-step process. We'll get back to that. But the fifth step, I'll help you out here, It's really simple. Sometimes we have to bring out the silver platter. So... The basket, the gift. Hinder, gifts It could be an introduction, so... His book. That's it. There are entire books about gift-giving, making introductions between different people So if I get Daniel Priestley on Chris Doe's podcast and vice versa You've got three million subscribers there. and two and a half million subscribers there, And it's a match made in heaven. And when they sit down to have their interview, and they say, How did this come about? And they're like, Oh, that weirdo Robin introduced this. Right. Another way is pay-to-play. So it might be sponsoring an event, sponsor a podcast So I landed one of my dream speaking engagements and an associate coaching role, and they're putting me forward in front of their clients to run events for them host events for them. By sponsoring an event up in Newcastle Three years ago. When it was small and cheap. And I love what those guys were all about when they were running this event. So it's Atomicon in Newcastle. Yeah. So Andrew and Pete, Simply lovely, The best guys. It's such a pleasure to be involved. in any way with what they are doing. And so that sponsorship came to an end into the next year. They said, Oh, Robin, Don't worry about the sponsorship. Can you put the goodie bags And your books in the goodie bags? We want to fill them up. That's cool. No problem. Then we have a conversation. And like, Oh, you're doing this coaching thing. We're doing this coaching thing. Do you want to come coach in our groups? Now I get paid to coach. Then year three arrives. I got my dream speaking gig speaking at Atomicon in front of 1,500 people. Or one of the side rooms that there are fewer people. You get the vibe. So once again, proximity But it all started with that small investment to sponsor it Because I love the brand. I love the event. And I wanted to see it succeed. They had one sponsorship spot left. and I was like, The least I could do, guys, is, You know. So once again, Sometimes we pay to play. or you might go and invest in a community. So like, Chris Do has the Future Pro Group. So you join that. for a year You make yourself a big part of that adding value And then the next thing you know, Chris Do's team kind of reach out and say, Hey, Do you want to come? And do something? It's this. Isn't it? All the founders has a community. Exactly. And part of that and actually a financial expert in that So, and you notice at no point Have we asked? for anything Okay? So, Coming back to that And we'll wrap this up I think as it has been helpful so far By the way. Thank you. Hopefully you can start to see, Right. how do I Connecting the dots. This is like yours 12-month plan When I did it, I was, It was very much The LinkedIn thing. Go to LinkedIn, get connected and that's what I struggle with because for me The connection is in person. Yeah. So when you're going on social media Just doing it there, I think it becomes overwhelming and sometimes when you go on Connect with that person. when you're doing 20 other things You forget. Yeah. And that's kind of what I was told to do And it just doesn't work. So, Yeah. actually going and being at the events And it makes more sense. It's kind of, It's almost obvious. but it's having this kind of conversation that goes, Yeah. Actually, that's exactly what you're doing. Just bring it to the front of your mind. But once again, I would say LinkedIn does work. but in this particular case with what you're trying to do with it, It's not appropriate. Yeah. That's not the right way to do it. So, again As I said, This isn't a shortcut. or a short-term trip. This is like It's been 12 months now. of nurturing those relationships, Getting along with events. You can still do LinkedIn. You can still like the posts and send them a voice message or perhaps even a short video Introducing yourself. So at the very least, personalize that outreach. Go the extra mile. But it's the in-person stuff which is going to cut through. So, The final point is about the request. Okay. So at some point We don't do this like that. just because we, You know, for absolute virtue At the end of the day, We all have businesses to run. And there is a purpose behind it. Now, From my experience, if you master those first five steps, Eventually, what happens is They come to you and say, Listen, You've been so helpful. How may we assist you? How can we assist you? So, again Just a couple of examples. With Ali Abdaal, I guested on his podcast in 2023. Yes I had added a great deal of value before that. but it did get to that point where one of his teammates said, Rob, How may we assist you? And my request was simple. So, First of all, I have that invitation. and I said, Look, I know Ali is recording his podcast. He's doing two seasons. 24 episodes. If Someone drops out because his guests are flying in from all over the world Can I sit on the substitute bench? I didn't say put me on the substitute bench. I said, Can I, Can you put me on the substitute bench? And the guy went, Well, Yeah. Why didn't you ask before? Because I'm dating the podcast booker. For Ali. So, 100%. I'm not kidding you, within 24 hours I had a call. And I was on a podcast on Tuesday. But the timing of the request, what you ask for Who do you make the request of, all of those things You have to kind of measure and get into the correct order and do with permission. Otherwise, It's never going to work. So, The mistake everybody makes is They jump onto LinkedIn. Hey, I'm good at this. I want to come and meet you And blah, blah. And it's like, You have to win them over first. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. You don't walk into a bar and think that, You know, You've got to charm them a little bit. Yeah Exactly. Date them first. You know, several dates before you kind of Make your first move. Whatever. Yeah Anyway. But yeah, So it's exactly that. You've got to, the timing of it And it's even things like The guys shut up right here. and they're like, Oh Rob, What is the Green Book? I was like, Oh, It's my new book. And they're like, Oh, No problem. Because I offer free coaching within Help Bank as well. I have a session every month. It's like, Oh, What is the launch date? We'll include it in the newsletter. Help Bank Newsletter reaching 300,000 people. So it helps a little. Right. What is more valuable? A hundred or two hundred pounds for running a coaching session Or do the coaching session for free? So they, We're joint ventures on a launch like that, Right? And once again, I didn't have to ask for that. They said, Is there anything we can do to help you? And that's because That's over three years. of nurturing that relationship. With Ali, It was four years of nurturing. my partnership with him. Yeah. So it's just about thinking long-term Be intentional and you'll, You'll get there. Yeah. That's really good. Thank you. No problem. It's my pleasure. There we go. So I noticed you, You did scan for a copy. of take your shot. Make sure you leave along with the blueprint as well. So once again, Well, We'll put a link to this. as well on the YouTube video but I was just going to point out to you So I think it's step number six, Step number six. This is, This is the five-step process we've just been through. Okay. So folks, if you if you want to build some partnerships in the same way that Louisa does Go and get hold of it. a copy of this on Amazon or get in touch with me for a signed copy and it will take you through those six steps We're done. And the bonus is That's just one step. in this book There are six others. that you can now Jump in. Hopefully. Yeah. Hopefully make life a little easier for yourself Yeah. No That's absolutely great. Thank you so much. Delight. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you.