How to Use a Local Podcast to Build Authority, Network with Influencers, and Win Clients

Summary

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The Vault Unlocked: How to Use a Local Podcast to Build Authority, Network with Influencers, and Win Clients

Host: Kayvon Kay
Guest: Ben Albert (Real Business Connections)
Date: March 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode is a no-fluff masterclass in using local podcasts as a transformative business tool—moving far beyond vanity metrics, focusing instead on building real authority, strong relationships, and a reliable client pipeline in your own community. Host Kayvon Kay speaks with Ben Albert, an expert podcaster and founder of Real Business Connections, about tactical yet authentic approaches any founder—even with zero following or podcast experience—can use to turn conversations into rapid business growth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Focus on Local? (03:21–05:14)

• Commodity Trap: Most businesses aren’t truly unique—“Most of us are commodities in a sense. So you’re a minnow in an ocean of sameness.” (Ben, 03:34)
• Smaller Pond Advantage: Launching a local podcast lets you dominate a smaller market and become a big fish, creating fast traction and deep relationships with community leaders.
• Start Local, Then Scale: “If your own local community doesn’t like you or your product, if you scale a turd, what do you get? You scale a turd, you get a larger turd.” (Ben, 04:49)

2. The Path from Podcast Newbie to Community Centerpiece (07:58–10:58)

• Don’t Overthink It: You don’t need prior expertise or a huge network—just curiosity and a willingness to learn.
• Be Descriptive, Not Prescriptive: Ben shares his own story openly, emphasizing that each business may need a unique twist.
• Bring Your Own Table: Instead of fighting for a “seat at the table,” create your own platform. “If you want a seat at the table, it's easier just to bring your own table than to try to get a seat at a table that you've been working to get at forever.” (Ben, 08:23)
• Not Just Podcasts: The playbook works for blogs, live events, or social channels—any collaboration-based approach where you platform community members.

3. Early Tactical Moves & Rapid Growth (11:02–14:32)

• Extreme Consistency: Ben launched 22 episodes in his first month during the pandemic, interviewing a huge cross-section of local business owners. This built massive momentum.
• Referral Flywheel: After each interview, ask guests to nominate others—“Now I'd ask them to nominate other business owners… they would open up their Rolodex… and I'd one by one meet eight more business owners.” (Ben, 12:20)
• High Conversion, Low Resistance: “Success rate of the replies was like 90% plus… no one’s gonna say no to the ‘Can I feature you?’ pitch. It’s like the easiest pitch of all time.” (Ben, 15:24)

4. Breaking the Ice: Getting Your First Guests (13:18–16:15)

• Use LinkedIn & Alumni Networks: Search for local alumni, reach out with simple connection messages, and invite them to share their stories. Example: “Hey, I see you went to SUNY Brockport... would you be interested in sharing your story?” (Ben, 13:38)
• Chain of Introductions: After one episode, leverage referrals to fill your calendar.

5. The Real Value: Relationships, Not Downloads (16:42–21:11)

• Instant Access: Being a podcast host makes it “really easy to get a meeting with anyone I want, and it's just because of the platform I've built.” (Ben, 17:21)
• From Local to Global: The approach has taken Ben from running a city-specific show to operating an international ecosystem, blending guest appearances, masterminds, and marketing services.
• Repurposing Content: “We do ask me anythings... then I release it like three months later as a podcast episode, which is content that shows people what it looks like to be in the Mastermind. Everything all at once.” (Ben, 20:20)

6. New Trust-Based Era of Marketing (21:23–24:00)

• Authenticity Wins: Buyers, especially for high-ticket/high-trust services, crave authenticity and real connection.
• Community Sells for You: “No better way in an AI marketing world with lots of noise to build trust than to build community around what you do.” (Ben, 23:28)

7. Building Trust—Small Moves, Big Impact (25:05–27:53)

• Micro-Actions Compound: Personalization, thoughtful outreach, promoting your guests, genuine service—all these build deep trust before anyone spends a dime.
• Law of Reciprocity: “Are you coming from a place of service? There is that little nuance… that a lot of people miss. You can smell it on them. That will actually disrupt that entire process.” (Kayvon, 28:27)
• Relationships First: The process is less about immediate gain and more about long-game relationships—the clients and community will follow.

8. Don’t Overcomplicate – Get Started Now (34:49–36:34)

• Imperfect Action: Use simple tech—Ben started with SoundCloud and iMovie; early episodes had no edits or polish.
• You Don’t Need a Launched Podcast: Book your first “pre-launch” interviews—use the credibility of “fastest-growing local podcast” before releasing a single episode.
• Don’t Worry About Metrics: “The podcast really wasn’t the tool. It was the building of the relationships that was the tool. And all I had to do is build relationships. I didn’t need a perfect podcast.” (Ben, 36:23)

9. Playbook Isn’t Just for Podcasts (38:29–39:49)

• Transferable Framework: Everything discussed applies to blogs, live events, LinkedIn posts, or collaborations on other platforms—anywhere you can platform others to build your hub.
• “The sky is the limit”: Leverage any channel—apply this framework, and the outcomes (authority, network, leads) will follow.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Standing Out Locally:
  “You’re a minnow in an ocean of sameness... when you talk about local, at least you’re entering a smaller pond.” (Ben, 03:34)

• On Platforming Yourself:
  “If you want a seat at the table, it’s easier just to bring your own table.... If you want to speak on the mic, maybe you just bring your own mic.” (Ben, 08:23)

• On Referral Power:
  “They would open up their Rolodex... and I’d one by one meet eight more business owners just in that conversation.” (Ben, 12:20)

• On Making the Ask:
  “No one’s gonna say no to the, ‘Hey, can I feature you, platform you, make intros for you, and all you gotta do is talk about yourself.’ It’s like the easiest pitch of all time.” (Ben, 15:24)

• On Content Repurposing & Masterminds:
  “We do ask me anythings.... then I release it... as a podcast episode, which is content that shows people what it looks like to be in the Mastermind. Everything all at once.” (Ben, 20:20)

• On Trust Building:
  “There is that little nuance... that a lot of people miss. You can smell it on them. That will actually disrupt that entire process.” (Kayvon, 28:27)

• On the Long View:
  “The beauty... was never about the exact tactics. It was about the education and the relationships I got to build along the way.” (Ben, 29:37)

• A Success Story:
  “[Jordan Harbinger]... in 2014 I was just out of college... and Jordan Harbinger had a podcast called the Art of Charm... I didn’t think this dude... would come to my podcast and speak in my mastermind.” (Ben, 31:08)

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Key Takeaways & Simple Steps

1. Start Local, Niche, and Small

   • Don’t try to be a national sensation at first.
   • Local podcasts cut through noise and give you easier access to influential guests.

2. Leverage Warm Introductions, Alumni, and Local Leaders

   • Tap LinkedIn, alumni networks, or local business associations.

3. The Referral Engine

   • At the end of each episode, ask, “Who else should I speak with?”

4. Platform Others—Not Yourself

   • Make your guests look like heroes. Market them, not just yourself.

5. Consistency, Service, and Authenticity

   • Stay consistent; approach every episode with curiosity and a service mindset.
   • Trust is built in micro-interactions and honest, no-strings-attached service.

6. Repurpose Everything

   • Turn interviews into blogs, social media clips, mastermind events, and more.

7. It’s Not About the Numbers

   • Even niche podcasts with 20 listens can build six-figure businesses.
   • It’s relationships—NOT downloads—that generate clients.

8. This Works for Other Channels

   • Apply the “center of gravity” mindset to blogs, events, or online groups if podcasting isn’t your style.

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Final Action Steps & Where to Find Ben Albert

• Three Calls to Action:
  1. Show some love to Vault Unlocked—subscribe and leave a review.
  2. Find Ben’s work: realbusinessconnections.com
  3. Join Ben’s entrepreneur community: weallgrowtogether.com

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Engaging, Actionable, Real-World Wisdom

Ben and Kayvon break apart the myth that you need massive expert clout, a huge following, or a polished show to succeed. Instead: approach podcasting (or any platforming strategy) as a community service, build real relationships, deepen trust, and success follows organically. If your product is strong and your relationships are authentic, a local or niche podcast isn’t just a content channel—it’s the cornerstone of an authority, referral, and client engine.

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Listen like a founder who plans to win.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome back to another episode of the Vault Unlocked. Today we're diving into a strategy most entrepreneurs completely overlook. How to use a local podcast as a business building machine. Not just for downloads, not for vanity metrics, but to build real relationships, real authority and real clients in your own community. And to break this down, I've brought on someone who's been doing exactly that. Ben Albert is a podcaster on Entrepreneur and the creator of Real Business Connections. Over the past several years, he's helped business owners turn simple conversations into powerful networks and into real business growth. In this episode, we're talking about how anyone, even with zero audience and zero podcast experience, can start a local podcast and turn it into a client generating platform. Let's unlock it.

[B]

I'm excited to have Ben here as a podcaster, as someone who's an expert in really helping people, whether they have experience or not, starting their podcast and local communities, I'm excited to jump right on in. Ben, for those people that don't know who you are, tell us a little bit about you.

[C]

Well, what's up, brother? This is going to be fun. Excited for the conversation? I wear many hats, but the goal is to get the knowledge, the wisdom, the, the info from the people who have it to the people who need it. And I am in the needed category a lot of the time. I'm not guru that has every answer to every single question. But as you mentioned with like starting a podcast, when I started my first ever show, it was a business podcast. I knew nothing about running a business. But by being a student, by learning every single day and getting the knowledge from the people who have it to the people that were looking for it, I got to grow. We all got to grow together. And like it's five years since the pandemic, which blows my mind, man. But like I would, I wouldn't have done anything differently. Things have been been beautiful and blessed.

[B]

So you, I, I, I'm going to assume because you said five years since the pandemic, you started this kind of journey during the pandemic?

[C]

Yeah, I was in a sales role, I was in corporate. We were doing generally a lot of video, but like full service marketing all across the states. I mean, I had just started in a new role, so last one in, first one out, Pandemic hits. No travel, no video, no sales, no moving around the states. So at the time I was a huge music advocate on the side, had a music podcast. I was still a big music fan, but music promoter Ben was broke, unemployed and non essential. So the pandemic required me to create business. Ben, who just happened to be an entrepreneur, didn't know what I was doing. But we learn every single day. And that's why podcasts like this are great.

[B]

I love that. I love even how you call them. Two different bends, two different identities. Right? One, one was fun, one didn't serve, you know, the profits in the, in the bottom line. The one served another, you know, your passion or whatever it is. But so what, I mean, what got you to say? Okay, I'm just gonna jump into a podcast. And you, you specifically mentioned earlier to me, like, local podcasts. So tell me the difference between, you know, someone who's like a podcast, local podcast, what's the difference between those two?

[C]

I mean. Well, first and foremost, most people don't have kale that tastes like peanut butter cups. If you've got kale that's healthy and tastes like peanut butter cups, everybody's gonna want your stuff. You could be a jerk. You can be a good market. None of it matters. You got the best product of all time. Most of us are kind of commodities. There's a lot of people that do something similar to us, maybe even get the exact same results as us. Now everyone's different. We have a unique fingerprint, but most of us are commodities in a sense. So you're a minnow in an ocean of sameness. So when you talk about local, at least you're entering a smaller pond. I. I did not think I could be a top rated business podcaster with no experience in business overnight, but there wasn't a. I had a mute local music podcast in Rochester, New York. So I said, let's start a local business show. I called it Rochester business connections for two reasons. One, a friend request on LinkedIn is a connection request, and that's where I was connecting with people. And two, I needed connections. So, hey, let's just, let's attract connections by having a connection podcast and then one conversation at a time. Basically achieved way more than I had even. I didn't have some lofty goal. I just wanted to figure out even what a CRM was at the time. But I achieved way more than I could ever imagine. But I was a minnow in a tiny pond. And then as I grew, you can find bigger oceans. But that's why you start local or you start hyper niche. Because if your own local community doesn't like you or your product. If you scale a turd, what do you get? You scale a turd, you get a larger turd.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Well, I. In. In My sales process, right. I always say, in out doesn't matter how good it is, no matter how good the funnel is, no matter how good the marketing is, if the top is not doing the job, it just disrupts the entire process all the way down to the salespeople. So I get that. So, I mean, that's interesting because I took it just. Just funny because I myself, I took a different approach. I live in Canada, and I'm ashamed to say, but, you know, it was. I was probably 28 or 29 at this time, and someone had just told me that the state of California at that time had more people in Canada. Sorry, California had more people than Canada. And I wow. What?

[C]

Really?

[B]

Then my brain went to. So if I just went to California in that one little state, it'd be equivalent to trying to get the attention of all of Canada. I'm like, it kind of put perspective of how big the US and how big the kind of the world is to me. Right?

[C]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

And I did the opposite. I'm like, screw Canada. I'm going to the state. Like, I'm going to go, you know, I'm going to go try to be number one in. In California, which evidently, you know, would be number one in America, which evidently. Right. Would. Then Canada would probably find me type of thing. But I love the other way around. I like how you. You said just go small because you're right. Like, the small populace isn't going to connect with you.

[C]

What.

[B]

What makes you think, like, any other populace kind of will. Right?

[C]

So not to just, not to just like, massage your back here, but, like, you already had a ton of. You already had a framework, you already had success. A lot of people don't have that luxury when they start and they try to win all of Canada or all of California and they fall on their face. A lot of us don't have that luxury. If you're already kicking butt, you can. You can think bigger from day one. If you're not, you do need to take smaller steps a lot of the time. And I mean, it's a marathon, obviously. So you get there and it's just not always as amplified and you're not injecting steroids in it the same way other people can.

[B]

So how. How, like, you know, what are. Let's talk about that. Like, what are some of the steps that people can take when. When thinking. Okay, before we even get into the podcast, like, thinking about, okay, I'm in my local market, I want to generate business, or I'm looking to do something different. They're listening to the call right now. They listen to this podcast right now. And hearing that we're saying, you know, create a local podcast. Yeah, they have no idea what is going on. They have, like, the thought of even having a podcast doesn't even resonate with them. Like, what are the steps that they can take to even start even having a conversation or even thinking about if this is the right thing for them.

[C]

Yeah, let's do a couple things here because I, first off, I want to be descriptive, not prescriptive. I'm not going to tell them exactly what they need to do because their area is different, their business is different, their skill sets different. So I'll describe what I did, but I'll also kind of give the bird's eye view because it doesn't have to be a podcast. Podcast is just the case study. So where I start is the concept of being, becoming the center of gravity. You want people coming to you, you want them, it's more permission based marketing. You want people coming to you, them attracted to you. You want your mentors, your peers, your audience that are spending money with you coming to you. If you want a seat at the table, it's easier just to bring your own table than to try to get a seat at a table that you've been working to get at forever. If you want to speak on the mic, maybe you just bring your own mic. So if you want to win friends and influence people, you need to find a way to be influential. So a podcast is a way to platform yourself. If you want a platform, maybe you platform yourself and that'll be the case study. But it can be a blog where you have collaborations and maybe you get guest mentors to speak on your blog, maybe you have clients speak on your blog, maybe you have prospects. Instead of saying, hey, do you want to spend money on me? You say, hey, can I feature you as a roofing industry leader in Rochester, New York? And then at the tail end of them just filling out a form using chat GPT to create the blog post, on the tail end you go, you know, can I talk to you a little bit about business? So you call them, hey, I'd love to feature you versus, hey, I'd love to sell you something. So it's a way to become the center of gravity and a podcast is just a great way to do it because it's a way to get in the door with influential people and spend significant times with them and they want to spend that time with you. It's Not a pitch. It's not really a cold call. And you can do some discovery, you can build some rapport, and you can, in my case, like I want, I didn't know how to run a business. I was better than probably 90% of marketers, but I wasn't the best marketer on earth at the time. So I'm better than most marketers and I don't know how to run a business, but I'm better than 99 of business owners at marketing. So let's just start a business owner podcast in Rochester, New York. Learn how to run a business from the people and on the back end, maybe I can help you. And if not, I'm very confident you might know another business owner that I can help.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So as a sales guy, you're nodding. You get the strategy. It's very tactical, but it's one conversation and one relationship at a time. Because if you're just doing it to make money, you might have some ick factor. I did it to learn, and then all the clients and all the prestige kind of came on the back end. Just by being the center of gravity and starting a podcast and, and being

[B]

the center of gravity, I'd say. Would you, would you add consistency on that as well?

[C]

100. I mean, it depends. But like November 2020 is when I started my show. I did 22 episodes in a month. So that's a episode a day, five days a week, Monday through Friday. 22 in a month. Then I went to three, then I eventually went to two. Now I do one. But there's a lot of reason behind all that. But in one month, and I had already. The reason I did 22 in a month is because I just had so many interviews. I didn't have any clients and I wasn't lazy and it was a pandemic. So I was just having anybody on and I was having conversations with business owners. We did 22 in a month because I already had like 30 recorded. So in 30 to 45 days, I met 30 business owners. And I didn't learn this from day one, but I learned it over time and I started to do it over time. I'd ask them to nominate other business owners. Hey, I love this interview. As a kick ass leader in our local city, like you know any other leaders that would be a good fit for the show. And then they would open up their Rolodex or nowadays there's a cell phone and send an email with eight people on it. And I'd one by one eat, meet eight More business owners just in that conversation. And because it was local, because it was small, because they aren't a celebrity on a 50 podcast tour. The first podcast they had done all year and they were exc to nominate other people for the show because it would. And there was this, like, sex appeal of the fact it was small and local that you actually don't get from talking to celebrities on a big show. And that's how I built my business. It was just meeting people one conversation at a time. And, you know, marketing, I could get better at that pretty quickly. But a big part is I learned how to be a leader. I learned how to run a business. I learned what a CRM was like. A lot came in that, you know, Absolutely.

[B]

I love it because you said it wasn't tactical, but that was quite tactical. I'm just trying to think of this, that person that's sitting there going, yeah, but the, yeah, but people who are saying, yeah, but how did you even, how do you even get guests? Like, what happens when you're starting new and you don't even have people, you know, you don't even know where to get gas?

[C]

There's, there's websites to get gas. I'll tell again, descriptive, not prescriptive, but I guarantee it works. I literally guarantee it works. Local podcast. I went to SUNY Brockport State University, New York. Brockport. So I'm a SUNY Brockport alumni. I go on LinkedIn search features SUNY Brockport business owners Rochester, New York. Hey, Kayvon, I see you went to SUNY Brockport as well. Congrats on making it big time. That's the message. If they connect, great. If they don't whoop dee doo, I can send a thousand of those messages. So if they connect, great. If they don't whoop dee doo, they connect. I say, dude, I'd love to feature. I, I, I literally had not even started it yet, but I'd love to feature you on Rochester Business Connections. It's a business podcast for local leaders. Would you be interested in sharing your story and inspiring our audience?

[B]

Love it. I love it. And if someone was listening, really listening to what you said, you only need to do that one time.

[C]

It's two messages and then you're getting introductions after the interview.

[B]

That's what I said. You only have to do that one time because if you're good on the podcast, at the end of that podcast, you already said it. Who else do you know in the community that would love to be and featured in here and you do that Every time you're using other people's networks. So simple.

[C]

And I would do both. I wouldn't just do it. I would do both. Because here's what happens. Like, lots of opportunities mean, wow. Like, I. It's weird to say this, but I'm so bucked out that I actually don't have space on the show yet. But I'd love to continue the conversation so the more people I talk to, the better. And then I can bring the right people on the podcast, this or that. Or you could do a panel discussion. You could have three people on the show at a time meet three people at a time. There's so much you could do there. But what's beautiful is most people said yes success rate if they replied. Some people don't reply. Who cares? Maybe they don't even read it. The success rate of the replies was like 90% plus. And for the ones that say no, they're probably just shy. And that's okay. Like, but no one's gonna say no to the, hey, can I feature you platform. You market, you make intros for you, and all you got to do is talk about yourself. It's like the easiest pitch of all time. And that's why I said Suny brockport. I said LinkedIn. Part of why I like LinkedIn is it's less crowded than, like, Instagram. It's easier to get through people's dms. But if you take that and you just apply your industry, your podcast, or maybe you're starting a blog or something else, and your school, you could just do the exact same thing. Just rinse and repeat and just fill in the blanks for yourself.

[B]

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I. I love it because you just taking something that most people would assume is so complic and it is quite. It's quite simple and easy if you just follow those simple steps and then one thing leads to another. So for you, when did you see that, like, it started cracking a little bit, where you're like, okay, there's momentum here. Oh, I'm starting to get some traction. Oh, you know, things are turning around. Like, when that start happening. And what was it that started that?

[C]

Yeah, I mean, as a reminder, I'm starting in November of 2020. So it's a pandemic. Everyone's cooped up at home. But, like, the certainty came in waves. And, like, yeah, it was to an advantage that people were cooped up at home and bored and a little lonely. But, like, people wanted to grab coffee or a beer and it's like, yeah, you gotta follow the rules. But, like, people wanted to meet with me. The kid who has never ran a business doesn't know what he's doing. They liked me and wanted to meet from, with me from day one. And that, to me was an immediate sign that maybe we have something here.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And still to this day, like, I, I sound arrogant, but it's just the reality. It's really easy to get a meeting with anyone I want, and it's just because of the platform I've built.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I can, I can attest to that. Like, with this, this podcast as well, you know, we kind of reach out and when you start building that platform, people will be on it. And even like the be the B level people come on and then you get the A level, right? You just, you just got to stay in the game. Where, where, where is it now? Like, tell us about what's going on right now for you. Like, what are you working on now? Like, how is this podcast taking to that next level? How are you using this to grow the business to impact more people?

[C]

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's behind me. Real business connections. What was once just Rochester, New York, is now international. We do always pay homage. And I have a local segment called Rochester Business Connections, but now we're international, and it actually wasn' recently, and people had to basically smack me upside the head. Like, I had been podcasting originally in music, but since 2016, and I completely built my business and my brand just by platforming myself and building the relationships. So it was literally was only until recently that I was like, oh, I can just do this for other people. So some B list people, not huge names, but some pretty big names. I'm behind the scenes doing their marketing, doing their podcasting, their YouTube. And then in front of the scenes, I have a community called Grow Getters only at we all grow together.com where we put on free events and we have an inner circle mastermind. And a common question is, how do you get such good people into your mastermind? Well, I had them on the podcast first, so it's all like an ecosystem to me. Interviewer people on the show, I interview people I want to learn from. So that's easy peasy and the best of the best, that maybe they share the episode, maybe we have rapport. The people that just didn't treat me as a channel like, they actually were in it for the community. They're the ones that I invite to speak at the Mastermind. So everyone, every Step of the way is winning. And that's. I don't know, that's the way I like to do business.

[B]

I love it. So you just leveraged. I just absolutely love it. You leverage the guests on the podcast and then the right guests, the ones that there's, there's a real connection there and that, you know, have the value that you're looking for. You then invite them to be a guest speaker in your Mastermind, where most people don't get to have access to this guest and access to this knowledge, and you're just using other people's knowledges on your platform and helping other people get, you know, the information and access to people. Like I said that typically you wouldn't, you'd have to pay a lot of dollars for. You'd see from behind the, you know, from 20 seats back, all the way on the nosebleeds.

[C]

And to put a little icing on the cake, I found asking someone to give a keynote is a bigger ask, especially when they get paid for their time. So in the Mastermind, it's, it's literally the best of every world asking someone for a keynote, like they want to be comped for that. The audience in my mastermind preferred the interaction anyways. They didn't want to at least virtually see a talking head the whole time. So what we do is, we do is ask me anythings. So if you're in the room, we do an ask me anything and then I release it like three months later as a podcast episode, which is content that shows people what it looks like to be in the Mastermind. Everything all at once. Yeah, man.

[B]

So you're, you're there, there, there is a master plan. There's a strategy here.

[C]

Took me five years, but, you know, every day I chip away and I integrate different plans, see what works and get better every day, you know, and

[B]

marketing, I mean, it's, I, I even, I've been in this industry for a while and I've seen it changing so much. And right now I feel like we're really in a authentic trust era of, of buyers. So how have you seen with. I see you're shaking your head. So I think you, you agree with me on that, how you've seen the marketing change and what are, what are you doing now to, to, to adopt and to, to change with the, the times.

[C]

Yeah. So first off, it definitely depends on what you sell. I'm literally at a point where, like, if I feel inflammation, I'll get on chat GPT, talk to chat GPT about It give them the stack of the nootropics or vitamins I'm currently taking, ask them their thoughts and I'll make a purchase based on chat GPT suggestion. I do it all the time. I'm looking for discounts on Black Friday, Cyber Monday. I'm always asking chat GPT for discounts. Let's say I'm in a new city. I'm asking chat gbt. These are what I like. You already know everything about me, bro. Give me some suggestions of what I can do. So that's a whole nother discussion for another day. But optimizing your marketing to be found on search for the chat bots. But that's a certain kind of service. Like I'm a restaurant, I want people in the door. Like I'm going to look at ChatGPT for restaurant suggestions. Yeah, when you're doing something that's high ticket, high trust and a long term kind of book of business kind of service. Like in theory I can hire any insurance agent, but I'd rather like them. In theory I'd hire any marketer, but I'd rather like them not just get results. And in theory I might be kind of lonely and I want someone that I feel like trusted and connected to and there's no better way in an AI marketing world with lots of noise to build trust than to build community around what you do. Because not only do they get to learn from you, they get to learn from everyone else involved. It's a great way to sell yourself without talking about how great you are. You just let your results speak for yourselves. So again, like if I'm a beauty salon and I want travelers to come by because I'm on a strip, I'm going to market differently. But if I'm selling a product that nets me an average 30,000 for per client and I want them every year, do trust is the name of the game because they can hire anybody for that product.

[B]

So how do you build trust? I mean how do you build trust nowadays? Because that's what I said. Trust is the name of the game. People want, they have, they want trust and they want authenticity. But how can you, how are you using those angles in marketing today that you're seeing that there's a lift with your clients? Because I know you said you run, you know, you do a lot of marketing as well. So as, as this is, you know, in the marketing section as well, I just, I'm interested to understand how you take these tactics which I love, right. Have an, have, have a podcast, take that podc the relationship, serve that person, take the same relationship, get them into a community to, to help them, get them exposed as well. Right. And then use that same, you know, that same expert you just did a podcast with, reload that as an, as an episode as well. Like, these are all great things. How do you market and build the trust around all these things so people start to actually connect, feel the authenticity, and start to build that trust before they actually ever speak to you?

[C]

So there's lots of nuances, but you kind of answered the question in the question because in that process, so much trust is built. Let's imagine this. I have someone as a guest on my show. I reached out to them randomly, out of the blue. But what I did in the reach out is I already knew. So I'll use Jordan Harbinger an example and I'll just use you as an example. So I already know that they've been on Jordan show and they've been on Kon show. So I go, hey, I just listened to you on K on show. Also saw you on Jordan. He's been on my podcast a couple times. Great guy. I thought you'd be a good fit for my show as well. Are you open to me, like, letting you know about it, or is there an EA that I can send some information to? So just in that I built trust through the name association, that I'm not just some random person reaching out to them. I've done my research, I'm a fan, I want to support them. That's a little micro thing right there. Then when they come on the show, I show up on time, I give a good interview. Like, there's a lot of nuanced things that it's easier said than done. But you do a good job at your job. Yeah, you do a good job. You market it well. You go, hey, can I introduce you to any other podcasters? Is that valuable for you? You make introductions. Few months down the road, the episode goes out, you promote the heck out of them. Then a few months after that you go, wow, my audience really received this. Well, will you come speak at the Mastermind? Speak at the Mastermind. People in the Mastermind spend money on them. Like, I do all of this because I want to help people and I want to learn. But it's not beyond me that this human being I'm describing could become my client and knows people that could become my client.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And by giving them a great experience with, they didn't lift their arm, they didn't spend a penny. I Have showed them what it looks like to have someone advocate for them.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So if they're going to hire a marketing professional, don't they want to hire a advocate? Now? You have to apply this to anything you do in the business realm. But how can you give so much value and such a good experience? Whether people are spending money or not, you need to understand your worth. But whether they're spending money or not. Are you a consultant where someone asks a question and you snarl, go. You know, I only have 45 seconds, but let me solve this issue for you because I care about helping people. Which one are you? Because to me, trust and value isn't a strategy or a tactic. It's a way of being. And if you just live, that way works out for you. I don't want to oversimplify it, but,

[B]

yeah, I love it. You're also talking about a law in Cialdini's book, right? The law of reciprocity. I think you're talking about that as you're doing this stuff. But I. I think there's some merit here to go deeper into all of those things that you just said, because there's something underlining to make those things, I. I believe, successful. And it's where you're coming from. While doing those things. Are you coming from the place of I'm trying to win, I'm trying to gain, or are you actually coming from a place of service where there is no win or gain for me? I just. How can I help you? How can I support you? And there is that little nuance, as you know, that a lot of people missed. You can smell it on them. That will actually disrupt that entire process. You can do all the same things, but you get that little energy off, just a millimeter off, it will break that entire. I'm going to call it a funnel, but

[C]

I'm with you. And, and before the call, like, and checking out your show like you want to go deep on a specific topic. And I'm thinking the best way I can serve is to mechanically give the audience exactly what the playbook looks like. But in the process of this playbook, I was. Did not have a playbook. This is me telling you what I learned. I just wanted to learn from people. I just wanted to help people. I was an underdog who had no clue what he was doing and humbled every single day that people will put their chips on me. And that is the mindset and. And energy I brought to every conversation. I still do my best to do, like, I'm more Confident now, but I understand that everyone I meet knows 999 things that I don't. So I learned from everybody. So I'm giving, like, the tactical process, but it was never about the exact tactics. It was about the education and the relationships I got to build along the way. That was really the beauty in it all.

[B]

And relationships from all I'm going to assume, like all walks of life. So what die? I'm just trying to think of just story time. I call it story time, you know, of if you can think back of all the relationships you've built and you know, you've. You as you follow this process. Is there any one relation that stands out the most? Where you thought, where if I said to you, in 2020, you're gonna have a relationship with this person, you'd think that I was absolutely crazy.

[C]

That's an interesting question, that if at 2020 makes it interesting because, you know, it's at a point where I was listening to podcast since 2014. I was a little bit of an early bird on it. And actually a good example is Jordan Harbinger, because in 2014, I was just out of college, I was single, and I was kind of, like, socially awkward. Also a party animal, music scene. And, like, I wanted to, like, learn how to be more charismatic and, like, meet girls and all these things that you do when you're younger. And Jordan Harbinger had a podcast called the Art of Charm.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Which at one point was called the pickup podcast, but he kind of grew out of that. It was more like the. The Chodani kind of stuff. The subtle persuasion, how to be charismatic, this and that. And Jordan honestly got bored of that world for the same reason I did, because he settled down. He was sick of the gimmicks and the games per se. And he started to get interested in crimes and cults and psychology and neuroscience. And at the same time, him and his team members, or his co founders, rather, he had a bit of a dispute. That's Jordan's story, not mine, but they had a bit of a dispute. So he left the podcast. But he had a brand built. He had an audience built. And he started the Jordan Harbinger show and scaled it to be a larger listenership than the other show he had worked on for a decade in just a year. And when I see it, the reason I tell a story like that and is it's grown. That was like 2019 that I think he did that. It's grown even since then. The best brand, the best business, the best thought Leader, they are gonna. Their audience will evolve with them. The last thing I want to do is tell the same tips and tricks for the next 10 years of my life. I want my audience to evolve with me. So as I grow, they grow. As my interests change, their interests are going to change and maybe they go somewhere else, which is quite all right. And this is a long winded way of looking at. I didn't think this dude that I was talking about, Jordan Harbinger, would come to my podcast and speak in my mastermind. Like, I was just trying to learn dating tips in 2013, 2014. But as he evolved and as he mentored me from afar, I got to a place where I actually could make the ask. I had the audience, he said yes. And now I hope I get to do what Jordan did for me for other folks that are going through that similar kind of journey and process. So I hope that makes sense.

[B]

No, I love it. And you know, they. What's the main thing I've, I think Tony says too, we overestimate what we can do in one year and we underestimate what we can do in five years. And here, here's a testament five years later, after Covid, I mean, it sounds like you got, you got mastermind, you got a top performing podcast, you've had multip a listers on your show, business opportunities coming everywhere. Which way for you living an abundant life. I'm sure very different than the party music scene, which was fun, you know, and great at one point, but not where I'm sure you would want to be today. So, I mean, congratulations on all that, all that success. I, I just really want to make sure it's so clear because if anything, you even showed me about how clear this process is and you don't need to over complicate it. It's like, start your local podcast. You do not need to be an expert. In fact, it's better if you're not an expert. Go get the experts and learn from them. Create a great relationship with these people out of service. Don't expect anything back then eventually you'll create the relationship with them where you can invite them into your community, use the same content for more podcasts and just let the system go and just trust the process.

[C]

I think our work here is done. Man. That was a great summary, man.

[B]

I mean, that's all it is.

[C]

And you don't need to learn about,

[B]

you don't have to worry about how to upload it. You don't have to worry about any of that. Just Get. Most people don't even realize that. Like, you said this, I didn't jump on it is you don't even need the podcast live to start this. You are starting the fastest growing local business podcast and you're looking for the first 10 experts in, you know, in your local area to be on. Like, it's just, it's so, it's it, it reminds me because, you know, from a sales guy, I talked to so many people that do want to do like, you know, start home services and stuff. Like, I'm like, I hope you understand when I say this, do not set up a business. Do not buy a thing, do not market, do not do anything until you go knocking ten doors and you get that first job. Then when you get that first job, you say, I'll be here next week. And then you take that money and you go buy the materials for that job. You do not need all this stuff, AKA all this stuff to to start a podcast.

[C]

I, I had a sound dude. I had a SoundCloud SoundCloud membership. I think it was like 12.99amonth. And I was using iMovie from my MacBook.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

With zero edits to add the end. I spent like a hundred dollars. Intro outro. Yeah. And I would just post it and y' all can go look at the podcast. It looks terrible.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But the podcast really wasn't the tool. It was the building of the relationships that was the tool. And all I had to do is build relationships. I didn't need a perfect podcast.

[B]

And then I love the last thing or one thing you said twice was like, you want, you want a microphone or you, you have a voice, you have a message and you want people to give you the microphone. Well, how about you go build your own? And when you do that indirectly, you'll see, right as, you know, as a podcast host, people, right after the call, what's the first thing they say? Hey, you want to come online? It's very simple and it's so easy. So I'm just, I, I love this podcast because I think it's it. Honestly, every business owner that wants to do lead generation, that has a unique or what, you know, even in a little bit of a niche, do like should be doing a podcast. In fact, I spoke to someone yesterday. I couldn't. He helped, like, how niche could this be? He helps business owners who just started their, their Christmas light business so they make a couple hundred grand in two months and do nothing and then teaches those specific people how to create a business selling Everyday Lights so they can have a, you know, 365 year business. And he has a podcast specifically around that. Oh, and what does he do? He builds the relationship, he builds the business.

[C]

It only needs like 20 listens an episode too.

[B]

Yeah, you don't exactly. Right, you can get, you can get bogged down by all the big podcasts out there. But like there are niche podcasts that are not having the conversations that you probably might, that you can have, that your audience needs. So I'm just going to say that again. It is actually very simple. You do not need to be an expert in it. You just need to make that first move and start.

[C]

Well said.

[B]

Is there anything last thing you like to say to the audience before you get to tell them where to find you?

[C]

Yeah, man, I just remind them, blog. I'd actually think a blog's an easier strategy. So everything we said, apply it to a blog, reach out to business owners. You can have a private interview on a call if you really want to build rapport or send them a Google form, have them fill it out, then you publish it. Then them and their entire workforce is sharing your stuff on social media. You get traffic to your page, etc. Etc. Etc. The point of me adding that is today we talked about the podcast, but if you take these nuts and bolts, you can apply it to hosting events, you can apply it to a blog, you can apply, apply it to an Instagram channel with collaboration posts like the sky is the limit, my friends, the

[B]

sky is the limit. And those collaboration posts on Instagram would have a better chance of going viral than just you alone.

[C]

Exactly, dude.

[B]

So it's so simple. It's so simple. I love it. I really do love it. And people, every, people want a platform. They want to be seen and they love to be heard, right? They love to hear themselves. So again, I love it. Ben, thanks so much for coming on and taking the time. If someone wants to use you for your services, maybe want to help understand more of how to start the very first podcast. Where can they find you?

[C]

A good hub is. Well, first subscribe to this thing. If you haven't yet, click five stars. If you haven't yet, if you're on YouTube, leave a comment or something like, none of this would be possible without this homeboy and his team making it possible. You can find this wherever you found my podcast, wherever you found this. So just type in the words real business connections or Google it or go to realbusinessconnections.com and if you do want to be surrounded by other entrepreneurs that are growing together, the communities that we all grow together dot com. So I give you three steps. Show some love on this show. Type in real business connections and then type in we we all grow together dot com. And those are the only three I could ask for.

[B]

I. I love it. Ben, thank you so much.

[C]

Thanks.