Category: Authentic Deal-Making

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Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Deal-Driven Growth

Deal-Making Like a Producer

Deal-Making Like a Producer: Woman holding a clapperboard in front of her face.

From Broadway to broadcasting, Dean McFlicker’s unique trajectory gives him a one-of-a-kind perspective, as he combines his creative prowess with business acumen. Dean has produced for NBC, HBO, CNN, E! NewsDaily, Good Morning America and more. As you might imagine, he’s been involved with a lot of phenomenal shows! Dean helped launch countless hits as Senior Vice President of Promotional Programming at NBC as well.  Those include This Is Us, The Voice, America’s Got Talent, The Biggest Loser, Friday Night Lights, and all of NBC’s live musicals. What a resume! (And this is just a glimpse of the work he has done.) If you want to learn about deal-making like a producer, listen in now.

I always love talking with folks who are coming from creative backgrounds. They often offer a new perspective on deal-making. (Also, shout out to former guest Li Hayes for connecting Dean and I!)

The Curved Path to Success

Dean notes that, like most people, he’s been on a curving path to success. 

As his ambitions and opportunities have ebbed and flowed, he’s gotten to experience many elements of the performing and entertaining world. It all started, however, with Dean being what he described as a “ham”. He was one of those kids who just always loved to put on a good show!

Early on Dean would create a script, produce it, and sell tickets. He’d also round up all the neighbor kids to be performers. Apparently he’s always been a director and producer at heart! In addition, he did his own performing. From his backyard start he moved on to Hollywood, singing, dancing, and acting. (He was an original cast member in the Disney musical Newsies. Apparently it’s actually more popular now than it was when he did it!)

Although his early days were in front of the camera, he was eventually happy to make the move to being behind them. It was a slow transition, moving from choreography to directing and working his way up. Part of his success came from being open to many opportunities. Dean often said “yes” to joining new projects and trying new things, including being an assistant writer, director, and producer for various shows.

Early Deal-Making

Dean considers his early backyard theater productions to be his first deal-making experiences. From wrangling neighbor kids and getting them to do what he wanted them to do, including getting them to take on parts and show up for rehearsals, to getting supplies for sets and costumes, Dean was practicing his deal-making savvy early on.

So much of what Dean was doing in his backyard required him to bring together key people and form relationships. In fact, it required many of the same skills that would eventually make him an excellent creative director. 

Now, Dean notes that what he does is really the art of bringing together all of the different disciplines to make one cohesive entertainment package. That’s just like business, where you bring together many disciplines (budgeting, marketing, sales, HR) to move your business forward. For that reason, Dean thinks a good producer is a lot like a CEO, as both are responsible for bringing together all of the different elements of an organization.

The Art of the Creative Deal

Dean notes that deals are definitely an art, and they can come together in many different ways. For example, last year he produced the world’s first Minion’s Holiday Special. This brought together multiple large entities (Universal Pictures, Illumination Studios, and NBC Television). As you can imagine, with that many players involved, deal-making is automatically involved.

Now, Dean also has his own production company, McFlicker Media, where he also produces for businesses. After all, great story telling isn’t limited to entertainment. At the end of the day, it’s also the heart of marketing. When producing for businesses, marketing related deals might include bringing in the perfect celebrity endorsement, or involving the star salesman for a particular division and making them part of what’s happening.

As an example of another sort of marketing deal, Dean shared that when you’re watching a movie, you’ll often see many different “vanity cards” denoting various film and production companies. In exchange for what they’re offering behind the scenes of a film, they’ve made deals that guarantee they’re getting seen and acknowledged as well. All of those sorts of industry norms are based on deal-making, including alliances and endorsements.

Not Just Features and Benefits

Part of marketing and experiencing organic growth revolves around telling the story. It’s not enough to just list features and benefits and expect to make a sale, or to close on a deal. 

Dean says that he sees the act of storytelling in a business capacity as being another form of producing. In business, as in life, you get to produce the story that you want to see unfold. Much like in the movies, this can be done really well, to great success….or really poorly, for a complete flop.

A natural fit that matches the product and audience while tapping into something true and relatable is the most powerful way to experience organic success. When you do this right, you’re able to build meaningful relationships. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I strongly believe in relationships as being an integral part of deal-making!

We are Conscious Creators

Although there are things that happen outside of our control, I very much believe that we are conscious creators in our own lives. We have an exceptional amount of power to consciously create in our own lives.

About 10 years ago I was at a business event and one of the sessions I went to was about living your ideal life now. It was encouragement to stop working so hard now and putting off all these things we are going to enjoy till “later”. Instead, we can find a way to create and live our ideal life now. That was a huge mentality shift for me, and it’s altered my life over the last decade.

Dean’s TED talk, How to Get What you Want: The Producer’s Perspective is very similar! In it, he shares that you can consciously take charge of opportunities and make decisions that allow you to create your best life and business now. One way that Dean does this is by using the narrative perspective, as well as other key film and television points that can be helpful in any situation.

(Listen in for two of his top tips now; you’ll find them around minute 20!)

Integrity is Key

One important note on using narrative and story is that they must be real and authentic. Anyone can create a story….but if that story is used to fool or deceive someone into making a decision or entering into a deal, they won’t want to work with you again.

As he’s moved into working with more corporate clients, Dean has found that assisting them in creating truthful, compelling stories has been a key part of his work with them. In order to have customers return again and again, they need to know that you’re being honest.

If it comes to light that the story you told was really just a story, and that it doesn’t align with the sort of culture or values that you had been presenting, you’re going to have problems! Whether that means losing customers or seeing a deal slip through your fingers, you’ll definitely experience fallout.

Dean has such an amazing background, and his episode is so interesting!

Listen in to the full show to learn more about his work in advertising, and the tips he has for using deals to decrease overhead and uplevel opportunities.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

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Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Deal-Driven Growth

Deal Preparation: 5 Steps Towards Success

Deal Preparation: 5 Steps Towards Success: red carpet square with a pair of fancy white shoes

When I do whiteboard sessions with my deal-making clients, I frequently cover 10 specific steps that help us move towards success. This process is especially key for those who want to be part of ongoing deals. As I’ve seen, the more deals you have going on, the more important it becomes to be strategic and follow a process that works for you. Ready to uplevel your own deal preparation? Listen in to the whole episode, or read on below!

(I’ll cover the first 5 steps today. Stay tuned for my next solocast to get the other 5!)

1. Know Why You’re Making the Deal

Before you get in too deep with any deal, it’s essential that you have a fundamental understanding of why you want to pursue this deal. Is this about growth? Diversification? Furthering your purpose? Positioning yourself for further acquisitions?

The reality is, some of us are motivated to enter into deals for all the wrong reasons. I’ve watched people make deals that increase revenue while actually reducing profit. Some deals are driven by ego rather than anything truly meaningful. As much as I love deals and am a huge proponent of them, I think we have to understand that they aren’t always the best idea.

Finally, when you understand your why, you can communicate that with your partners and other stakeholders. That includes lawyers or negotiators, like me, that are involved in the deal.

2. Who Are You Targeting?

If you’re doing multiple deals, you need to have a target in mind. A haphazard search or method for connecting just won’t cut it, especially if you’re serious about making deals a sustainable part of your future.

Who are you looking for? What are your criteria for your potential targets? What are you trying to add to your business?

Whether you’re looking for acquisitions or affiliates (or something else altogether), it’s key that you take the initiative to understand who they are. In addition, you should understand how that pertains to your why.

3. Build Your Value Proposition

We’re all used to differentiating ourselves from the competition in order to generate sales or gain traction. However, we don’t always think about creating a value proposition for our deals. Doing so makes sense, though!

If you know your why, and you know who you’re targeting, you should be able to communicate why doing the deal holds value for them. What makes it worth their time? Why is this going to be in their best interest?

Just being “nice” people, or having a great company, doesn’t cut it here! Also, the deal structure or model is not the value proposition. (Those things are what you create to deliver on the value prop itself.)

So, what’s the value? Why is this deal, be it an acquisition, affiliation, joint venture, or something else, worth bringing these particular parties to the table? When you’re clear about this, you’re able to both qualify amazing partnerships and disqualify those who won’t be a great fit.

4. Get the Right Resources in Place

Before you create your deal model and choose a structure, you need to identify and get in place the correct resources. This can include internal resources, human talent or skills, capital, systems or processes, information needed, and relationships with 3rd parties. I encourage clients to do a resource map to tangible write down what is already in place as well as what is needed.

In order to be fully prepared for a deal, you need to know what you have and what you need.

5. Choose a Deal Model

First off, deal models and deal structure are not the same. (I’ll kick off the next solocast with more on the distinctions between the two!) 

Your deal model is how you’re going to do these deals. For example, in a licensing deal, you may have an exclusive or a non-exclusive model. Within those categories, there are more you can break the deal down into. From expectations around the number of deals sold, to clarifications on geographical boundaries, these factors are part of the deal’s model. 

The goal here is not to create a “menu” with a bunch of listings. Rather, the goal is to develop a model that keeps things consistent, scalable, and usable as you grow. The more deals you do, the more important it becomes to have clarity around your own deal models.

As you build your model, you can take into account your why, who you’re targeting, and what your value proposition is. In addition, it will be based on what resources you have in place. The model ties all of these elements together and sets you up for deal-making success!

If you just do 1-5, you’re on your way towards becoming an excellent deal-maker! Stay tuned for 6-10, where I’ll deliver more on structure.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

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Authentic Deal-Making Deal-Driven Growth

A Deal-Making Salesman

deal-making salesman: a man and woman wearing business clothes and high fiving

Carson Heady is the best-selling author of the “Birth of a Salesman” series. He’s consistently ranked in Top 20 Sales Gurus in the world and in the Top 50 Sales Authors on LinkedIn. Carson has held senior leadership and sales roles across four companies, including AT&T and now Microsoft. He’s currently the Sales Director for Microsoft Health & Life Sciences. In addition, he has extensive experience in operations & regional sales leadership, strategic planning, motivational management, P&L, advertising, marketing, and more. Along the way, Carson has proved that he isn’t “just” a salesman. He’s become quite a pro at the complexities of deal-making as well.

You can listen to our full interview here.

Sales vs. Deals

Long time listeners might be curious about why I’m bringing on a guest with such a dynamic, sales-based resume. After all, I frequently make the distinction between “sales” and “deals”. The reality is, they are different!

However, organic growth from sales and deals is not mutually exclusive. Here on Episode 133, I’m excited to bring Carson in to share more about how sales and deals can work together to benefit an organization. (My last guest who was a pro in the sales space was Daryle L. Johnson on Ep. 82.)

Getting His Start

Looking back, Carson notes that he definitely wasn’t planning on sales as a kid. In fact, he had pretty normal childhood ambitions of being an astronaut. (He also remembers wanting to be a writer, which is a dream he did achieve!)

After college, with no real plan for what he wanted to do, Carson ended up in a sales role. He had actually thought was going to be more customer service related. However, it was a very one-call-closed transactional based environment when he started. As he worked his way up and learned more, however, he realized how much nuance there could be. This was especially true in longer-term sales cycles.

As he developed her expertise beyond simple sales, Carson recognized that the “art of the deal” was really about alignment, milestones, and bringing along the right people. Now, he appreciates the distinction between sales and deals. He also believes there is a place for both.

Carson’s first remembered deal was from when he was at AT&T. They landed a large advertising deal with a big name. He remembers lots of different cooks in the kitchen, with many factors and stakeholders involved. The deal’s complexity was part of what helped Carson personally pivot away from the transactional, one-and-done model of sales as he learned more about the bigger picture.

Comparing Sales to Deals

To Carson, a traditional sale usually occurs when there are few barriers to entry, and the entire situation can quickly be surmised. Senior influencers or the board don’t need to weigh in as heavily, or at all, and things can move relatively quickly.

Sales tend to be quick, straight forward, and needs-based.

Deals tend to have more complexity, involve more stakeholders, require more planning and approvals from higher levels, and may take much longer to complete. (Although, of course, there are always exceptions!)

The major differences Carson sees between sales and deals, however, is the relationship factor. With a deal, you are embarking on a mutually beneficial relationship between parties. There are aligned synergies and an intent to work together beyond the moment of completion. Carson and I agree that a future-based expectation for relationship and growth are a major part of what sets deals apart from sales.

Strategic Resources & Deal-Making

As a trusted advisor, Carson notes that his deal-making experience has sometimes included bringing in other resources and organizations that might technically be considered competitors. As a result, he’s developed a very robust partner ecosystem so that solution implementation can occur in many situations.

This fits into the larger Microsoft world, in which the platform has been intentionally developed as an open-source provider. Rather than being the only solution, as a company Microsoft meets people where they are and strives to enhance and work with what clients already have in place.

When looking at deals, this “open-source” concept has served Carson well. He’s open to the major players, connections, collaborations, and resources that others at the deal-making table express an interest in bringing in, and he’s willing to find ways to work with those factors to improve the deal for everyone.

In fact, he can think of deals he’s been involved with that have included 12+ other parties. Ensuring alignment and being able to coordinate bringing all stakeholders together is a major part of creating deals that last.

Deal Transparency

Carson is a major believer in deal transparency. As he’s been called in to finalize deals that have drug out long past their expected closure dates, he’s found that his ability to clearly understand both sides of the table has been key. In addition, he’s able to surmise not only where the other side is, and what they may be struggling with in terms of budget or priorities, as well as what his own organization’s needs are.

He sees himself as both an evangelist and an advocate in the deal-making process. Part of that is always looking for ways to create wins for everyone involved. By putting all of these various factors into a holistic approach to creating a deal that will be a win for everyone, Carson has set himself apart as a really powerful deal-maker.

In addition, I’ve noticed that the best dealmakers are creative. Holistically looking for ways to add perks, create leverage, and build wins for everyone is truly a creative aspect to deal-making.

I really enjoyed Carson’s perspective during this part of our interview; I’d encourage you to listen in here.

Birth of a Salesman

Carson has always enjoyed writing. When at AT&T he was writing a newsletter column that was heavily oriented towards sales, and realized he could write a book. Of course there are already thousands of sales related books out there, so he wanted his to be different.

After writing Birth of a Salesman, which is sort of a book-within-a-book containing both a narrative-style approach and sales principles, Carson pitched it to 1,692 publishers and agents. About 15 actually read the material, and 6 offered to publish it.

Although he hasn’t sold enough books to retire, Carson considers this publishing experience to be one of the best experiences of his life. The relationships formed have been incredible, and, in fact, he can track back his Microsoft offer to connections and opportunities that were open to him as a result of his book.

The overall impact on his career has been phenomenal. It’s also continued building, as he’s been able to publish additional books as a result. His latest, Salesman on Fire, has been the best selling so far.

Carson notes that he’s worked with publishers, agents, and self-publishing opportunities throughout his career. However, he actually got his start by purchasing a book on writing and publishing books and using the tools he was reading about! At the end of the day, almost no one is making enough money on publishing deals to retire (barring major exceptions for well-known authors). However, authors are often able to leverage their published books into larger deals pertaining to speaking, teaching, consulting, and more.

Don’t miss Carson’s thoughts on leveraging social media and influencers, as well as distinguishing between sales and partnerships, which is towards the end of the episode!

LISTEN HERE

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Authentic Negotiating Deal-Driven Growth

Emotional Intelligence & Deal-Making

emotional intelligence: two business women sitting face to face in chairs, talking

Dr. Patricia (Pat) Baxter is a corporate veteran and femtrepreneur, as well as an award-winning, certified emotional intelligence (EI) coach. She’s also a professional NSA speaker and recognized workshop/retreat leader. Dr. Pat equips women leaders to lead boldly and intelligently. This is done using the undeniable power of emotions. She works with women leaders at all levels who want to use emotional intelligence to build stronger, SMARTER work environments and connections that more fully engage their teams, partners and clients.

With 25+ years of corporate/entrepreneurial knowledge and know-how, a doctorate in business leadership, and multiple published books, Dr. Pat is a deal-making force to be reckoned with!

Early Career Aspirations

Early on, Pat knew she wanted to be rich. Beyond that, she wasn’t quite sure what direction her career would take her!

She did remember an uncle who lived with her family when she was young who. He frequently told her she was too emotional and cautioned her to calm down. At the time, she found it frustrating. Having learned so much more about emotional intelligence now, however, she looks back and laughs. She realized that, in some ways, he was right. Calming down truly does make a difference!

As she has continued to learn more about the brain, emotional intelligence, and human responses, Pat has continued to grow her ability to help others use the power of emotion to lead well.

The earliest deal-related exchange that Pat remembered was related to helpfulness. She realized that, by engaging in chores and doing things that were being asked of her, she could alleviate stress from others. In doing so, she positioned herself to take advantage of the implicit trade-offs present in taking care of business. Even as a kid, she could see the benefits of being viewed favorably by others and building relationships before it came time to make an “ask” at the proverbial deal-making table.

Emotional Intelligence and Deal-Making

When making deals, Pat notes that emotional intelligence practice and awareness is very useful. She’s realized that she’s able to quickly tap into the other person or business’s interests, and to understand what they may be seeking.

Another useful skill? Picking up on the language being used and incorporating that into how you’re communicating. However, she notes that the key to this working is to ensure that you understand the full meaning of that language!

Pat encourages deep listening, which includes watching expressions and body language in addition to listening to words. It also requires that you manage yourself! You should know how your own tone sounds, and be aware of what you’re communicating with your own body language. After all, communication is a two-way street.

True deal-makers need to do the hard inner work of knowing why we react the way we do, why we think the way we do, and how our own tendencies may impact our deal-making success. This sort of self-knowledge can also prevent us from sabotaging our own deals.

Mission Critical Skills

  1. Self-Awareness

Headed to the deal-making table? It’s essential that you have enough awareness to know what you actually want. You also need to know how you come off.

2. Self-Management

You have triggers that may derail you, spiral you into limiting beliefs, or cause you to shut down or lash out. We all do. It’s your responsibility to know what yours are and learn to manage them in order to best equip yourself for deal-making success, no matter what comes up.

3. Empathy

Empathy opens the door to understanding both others and ourselves. It is what allows us to express ourselves with vulnerability and to make connections that make powerful deals possible.

Why Deals Die

After years of making deals, I’ve found firsthand that personal client triggers can be a major reason deals die. The sensation of immediate dislike, distaste, or frustration that can rise up within us when we encounter certain triggers are powerful deal-making hurdles, even if there is nothing explicitly wrong with the deal’s terms or logistics. 

Deals die when we cannot overcome these triggers.

Even if you’re technically “in the right” or your frustration is legitimate, you can choose to manage yourself and your emotions if you’d like to close on the deal you’re making.

The reality is, our behavior is guided by all sorts of deep, unseen emotional triggers and responses. Often, these triggers come from the most unexpected things, which means that our own lack of awareness can cause us to cycle into unintended responses without even realizing it’s happening. 

In fact, Pat shares that our emotional triggers actually set off a chemical reaction in the brain. This can trigger fight or flight responses, which can take over our more rational responses. Once we learn to realize that this is happening, and that we’re feeling out of control, we can learn to create more space for ourselves and to respond in a way that will enable us to pursue the outcomes we’re desiring, even if we encounter an unexpected trigger.

Listen in to learn more about Pat’s tips for handling triggers!

Raising Your Awareness

Pat recommends that being aware of your body can help you begin to more easily recognize your own triggers. From sweaty palms to a lurching stomach, tingling ears to a foot that won’t stop tapping, you absolutely get physical clues about what’s going on emotionally. Learning to be more aware of what’s happening in your body when you’re getting triggered can help you  begin to prepare for the self-management aspect of being triggered.

Obviously we can see that being over-reactive can blow a deal. However, how emotional triggers can also cause us to go through with deals that we shouldn’t have gone through with.

Pat notes that our bodies give us signals about bad situations as well. Learning to watch our bodies, to get in tune with what they’re telling us, and to respond with compassion and intelligence can help us avoid going off the rails in either direction.

People who find themselves in an “endless loop” of failing or not getting what they want often have something, somewhere “disconnected”. At some point, it’s time to hold up the mirror and start to examine what internal work can be done to help you break through and begin to reach the next level. This is especially important for deal-making!

To learn more about the specific tools I use to get myself back into the right place, and to learn about Pat’s suggestions, listen to the full episode here.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Deal-Driven Growth

Zoom, Enterprise, and Deal-Making

Zoom Enterprise with Marquesa Pettway

Former CNN Associate Producer turned Business Reinvention Strategist & Professional Speaker, Marquesa Pettway, (CSP) helps experts and organizations leverage the Zoom Platform. She’s also known as the Zoom Queen! Marquesa teaches that standing out on Zoom can grow your influence and impact. Her work results in clients creating engaging virtual events, hosting smart productive meetings, and growing multiple virtual-based income streams. Under her brand, Zoom Queen, she works with client acquisition,  Zoom Basics for the speakerpreneur, leveraging Zoom to grow your biz, and more. One major deal in Marquesa’s career was her decision to become a Zoom Administrator for Zoom Enterprise licenses. She shares that this deal changed the face of her business. 

Beginning Ambitions & the Deal-Making Journey

At a young age, Marquesa wanted to be an entertainer. Starting from middle school and through college, she was heavily involved in the arts as a result. This included going to a high-quality arts high school that required auditions to gain admittance. Once in college, she majored in broadcasting while minoring in theater.

Marquesa’s journey then included going into television news, which she did not love. Later, she became an executive in the industry. During that time she had opportunities to appear on stage as a speaker and emcee. Eventually, she began to look into how she could do that professionally. 16 years in, Marquesa fell in love with Zoom. (She notes she was on it the first year it launched, far before Covid made it common place!). 

The first deal Marquesa remembers making was after being the Girl Scout Cadet who sold the most cookies. That was back when she was in 5th grade. Because she had done such a phenomenal job at sales, she made a deal with her school to get to lead a school-wide candy selling fundraiser. As a result, she earned multiple accolades and made extra money. She eventually became known in her school as “the deal-master”.

Becoming The Zoom Queen

The way Marquesa approaches Zoom springs from her recognition of what a resource it could be in her business. For example, she notes that she lives in Manhattan. Clients would call and request meetings, and she realized that the amount of time and energy used up while prepping to go out, getting on the train, and being downtown usually derailed the rest of her work day. As a result, she started looking for ways she could still create a sense of connection without having to actually go out.

Once she found Zoom, Marquesa realized that branding it was key. One example of how powerful having her Zoom branded to herself? Early on in her adaptation, Microsoft emailed her about doing a breakout session. Rather than respond back with her rates, Marquesa emailed and asked if the contact would be willing to connect with her on Zoom. When she first came on, she was placed in the “waiting room”, which Marquesa had fully branded. There was color, her logo, a welcome message, and an option to download her ebook.

Once Marquesa had the contact enter her room, she had her own branding, of course, as well as Microsofts. This created a visual effect of connection between the two. At this time, Marquesa asked for more information about the event, shared her screen, and did a live mind mapping session with her on the call. By the time it was over, Marquesa was booked for not one breakout session, but three, one in front of leadership, plus a keynote on the main stage. That single call (and the extra touches to make Zoom a full experience) made the difference!

Zoom Enterprise & Deal-Making

Marquesa shares that Zoom serves as her virtual office, as well as a virtual studio, stage, and platform. She realizes that it’s one thing to show up on Zoom and talk…and a whole different thing to use it as a business tool. The latter allows her clients to take things to the next level while increasing influence and impact.

Now, this is something that Marquesa could achieve on her own; after all, she had a very successful business doing it! However, she used her deal-making skills to take her own business to the next level as well.

When she first queried Zoom about doing a Zoom Enterprise deal, Marquesa envisioned doing something really small, with minimal risk. She was curious, but not planning to go all out.

After they talked, the value of her deal soared. It ended up being a much larger financial deal than she had anticipated, which ended in Marquesa becoming a Zoom Administrator and making Zoom Enterprise deals. She has found that making this deal has enabled her to take her business to the next level by demonstrating her expertise and seriousness within the industry.

After entering into the Zoom Enterprise deal, Marquesa quadrupled her own client base. She realizes that, by taking the risk and extending herself, she also opened the door to showing up in a whole new way. As a result, she attracted a whole new group of clientele.

(To hear me talk more about why a deal like this involves risk, and how Marquesa’s mentality played into it, listen to the full episode now!)

Optimizing Strategic Alliances

In addition to building your business and making money, Marquesa notes that you have to be asking yourself what you deeply care about. One thing she loves about being a speakerprenuer is that she’s able to have a great deal of flexibility around what she does and what she speaks to.

Marquesa realized that she had reached a point where a lot of people knew who she was, and she was being sought out to speak and teach. She started to actively think about how she could leverage that in her business in an even greater way. One thing that came to mind was that she would often connect with or promote products or organizations she believed in or used, often with some vague concept of maybe earning an affiliate commission. She shifted this dynamic by instead creating deals based on ambassador payments. 

For example, Marquesa did this with Zapp Pad. After their first launch to her tribe, the company told her they had just seen the most sales that they had ever had. She started to recognize that she had the power to earn more than affiliate incomes. There were also opportunities to become an ambassador and spokesperson for some brands.(You can learn more about this Zoom integrated tool here!)

Leveraging Opportunities

Once she decided to get more serious about leveraging deals, she sat down and had a meeting with herself. She really explored her strengths. This included looking for ways she could use her own unique capabilities to stand out and grow into the next level.

One thing she had always gotten feedback on was her strong personality. Throughout her life Marquesa has been able to garner momentum, create connections, and ignite rooms with her personality. As a result, that was something she felt she could use to grow. On our episode, she announced that she actually has a commercial coming out that will be airing on national TV. The product isn’t attached to Zoom Queen (believe it or not!), but it leverages her skills. This is something she’s really excited about being involved in.

Marquesa isn’t looking to become an actress! However, she recognized that she could leverage the opportunity to increase her own name recognition. In addition, she could continue building contacts. Marquesa is able to get hired and grow her speaking business because of finding ways like this to develop who she is and why someone might be interested in hiring her.

Opening these doors always has the ability to lead to more doors being opened in the future, which is a powerful way of using deals to build leverage. I can attest to the reality that this is how things really start to take off!

This is a great interview, and Marquesa shared incredible insights.

I strongly recommend you listen in to hear about one final deal she shared about at the very end of our interview as well!

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Deal-Driven Growth

Overcoming Negativity for Deal-Making Success

deal-making success and mindset

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Deal-making success and mindset go hand in hand. You truly can’t have ongoing success as a deal-maker if you aren’t cultivating the mindset to sustain it. This week, I dive into how you can overcome negativity for even more deal-making success!

Listen HERE.

Why My Trolls Make Me Think of Mindset

I’ve started putting out more online content, working with a marketing team, and engaging in advertising over the past few years. As a result…I realized I have trolls now! The team will put out a post and get a couple hundred likes, plus a person or two who starts commenting nasty stuff. Sometimes they even start throwing around threats. (“We’ll report you to FB!” seems ever popular.)

The question is, of course: Why don’t you just skip it and scroll on by? 

Why am I indulging in this little rant? Because it brings us back to mindset. 

People who are successful, who have built well rounded lives, and who are happy with their work don’t spend time trolling other people on Facebook. It’s just a reality. They don’t have time to waste on social media. Especially not if they’re just there to complain about other people’s work, trash their free resources, or critique their social posts. (Note: I’m not saying there is never anything worth criticizing online. There is a place for voicing concern! Here, I’m just talking about trolls who want to stir up trouble.)

The idea that they will sit online and critique every step someone else is making tells me they aren’t really out in the real world taking action themselves. Rather than let myself get consumed with their opinions, I find myself shaking my head at where their mindset is. Beyond that, I don’t spend much time thinking about them. Instead, I just go back to my own business.

I don’t envy their mindset, I don’t respect their approach, and I won’t allow myself to be derailed by them. Why? Because they clearly aren’t operating at the level of success I desire. I’d rather think about my own vision, or my own mentors. 

Other People’s Opinions Don’t Need to Hold that Much Weight

If you’re going to take someone’s advice to account, make sure they are people you actually respect and whose opinion matters to you.

You have the capacity to filter out what information is important to you, and what actually helps you. And the reality is, online trolls, critiques, and naysayers have very little to add in terms of value.

As the most powerful influence in your own life, you can choose to look beyond these temporary voices and focus on what matters to you.

Relationships with people I care about, growing my business, making deals, creating something of value, building a legacy — these are the things I want to spend my time and energy on.

Other people’s judgment? It just doesn’t hold weight with me.

What’s Limiting You?

As a deal-maker, it’s essential that you’re able to identify who is in your head, and what messages they are sharing. You get to make that choice, and you get to give a platform to the voices that matter most to you.

If you have a lot of doubt and insecurities, or if your inner voice is filled with negativity, it’s impacting your confidence at the deal-making table! 

After years of doing deals and interaction with deal-makers, I’ve seen firsthand that successful people are very aware of what’s going on in their minds, and they don’t allow voices of fear, doubt, or shame to creep in and overwhelm them. Instead, they actively grow positive mindsets that allow them to see the bigger picture, respond rather than react, and stay out of drama (including the online kind) that would weigh them down.

You can do that too; by engaging in mindset work and getting clear about what you want your inner messaging to be, you can disengage from the negative and drama-filled and choose to uplevel your own mindset. As you do so, you’ll find that deal-making, collaborations, and opportunities begin to flow more easily.

Additionally, business deals rely on relationships. If you’re constantly in a negative frame of mind, you’re probably not as open to relationships as you could be. In addition, you may not be equipping yourself to respond to opportunities for growth and deal-making.

What Resonates?

You may not be an online troll….but you may find yourself having a tendency to be judgmental, think negatively, or otherwise engage in parts of these behaviors. So I’d encourage you to think about anything in your life that could use a bit of a mindset uplevel.

Maybe you have a business relationship, a client, or a program that brings out some of these negative tendencies in yourself. Maybe you have biases or judgments you don’t realize you have.

Think about it, and if something resonates, take the time to work through it! Only you get to determine what voices have power in your life, and that includes the ones in your head.

Listen to the whole episode here.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Leadership Authentic Negotiating Deal-Driven Growth

DealQuest’s Best Of: Deal-Maker Mindsets

deal-maker mindsets: two men in black suits facing each other

This week’s episode features DealQuest’s Best Of Deal-Maker Mindsets. Tune in to learn about interpersonal skills from Steven Herz; deal-maker mindsets from Daryle L. Johnson; and how to not end up resenting your investors with Jeff Dennis. If you hear a “best of” snippet and want to dive into the full interview, you’ll find links to the guest’s feature-length appearance in the show notes below. 

Listen in to the “best of” interviews.

Meet Steven Herz 

Steven Herz is the author of Don’t Take Yes For an Answer, as well the founder of IF Management and the president of The Montag Group. He also believes that anything is possible, which in his own life has included losing weight in order to compete in the treacherous Gulf Coast Triathlon. During this time he also raised thousands of dollars for the Leukemia Society. Steven is also a huge proponent of leveraging interpersonal skills in order to make better deals.

What Sets You Apart?

Why does one person rise and the other doesn’t? Well, you might think there are many variables that contribute to this. However, Steven found that, even with variables like age, work ethic, natural talent, and so on accounted for, there are two major factors that seem to play pivotal roles in whether someone is playing at full capacity.

  1. Internal Awareness & Self-Responsibility
  2. Communication Skills

No matter what deals you’re doing, you can absolutely create more success by developing your interpersonal skills. This includes practicing personal awareness, upleveling self-responsibility, and practicing your communication skills (both public and private speaking skills). Steven believes that AWE is the acronym that best represents these major skills.

A — Authority, presence, substance

W — Warmth, trust, connection

E — Energy (your own, and how you energize others)

He also believes that these skills CAN be taught. And once you’ve really started to understand and use them, you’ll see a difference in who you attract, how you sell, what you build, and what your outcomes are. To learn more about Steven’s book (including the bidding war four major publishers engage in to get it!), his work, and how you can improve your own negotiating skills, listen to the full episode!

Tune In to the Full Episode For:

  • Negotiating Deals with television and radio stations and networks
  • Other Key Deal Terms – Thinking Beyond Salary
  • The Power of Personal Change
  • Interpersonal Communication Skills
  • And more!

Meet Daryle L. Johnson

Daryle L. Johnson is the president and co-founder of SmartIT Mobility. He’s also the owner of Ideation to Valuation. Daryle is responsible for setting overall sales, partner, and supplier alliance strategies. He’s also empowered to leverage corporate assets to deliver value with integrity and quality. With the mindset of a deal-maker, he is an innovative, energetic, creative, and very charismatic intrepreneur AND entrepreneur. 

Deal-Making Mindsets

Daryle shares about a deal he negotiated for schools that took all of their needs into account. From pricing to software, he covered every possible problem that could have created issues for the school board. He partnered with T-Mobile (for both software and sales teams). Then, he brought in a training company to work with teachers, and he leveraged long-term marketing strategies to bring up front costs to the school down to $1 per device.

He also anticipated parent issues, teacher frustrations, and student needs. The final deal was the result of dozens of smaller partnerships, leveraged resources, and connections. Also key? His mindset. Rather than seeing the problem as too big, the partnerships as too complicated, or the schools as too difficult to negotiate with, he chose to see the possibility. 

Every challenge was faced, and solutions were created. Why?  Because he believed that it could be done. Ultimately, the program provided technology to over 60,000 students. It also spawned other local deals for Daryle, as a result of ongoing negotiations and collaborations.

In theory, Daryle could have gone into the school and said he had a solution he was selling for X price. If he had, he wouldn’t have been successful. Instead, his deal-maker mindset enabled him to create a full package. He provided a comprehensive solution in a way that made sense for his audience, and they bought it. You can hear the full episode here.

Tune In to the Full Episode For:

  • Building the Mindset of a Deal-Maker
  • Innovative K-12 Deals
  • Following the Process
  • Crafting Strategic Deals
  • And More!

Meet Jeff Dennis

Jeff Dennis is the trusted advisor to the CEOs of fast growth companies, where he provides strategic and financial advice. He is a lawyer, serial entrepreneur, best selling author, and public speaker.His book, Lessons from the Edge, is a collection of stories by 50 entrepreneurs who share their biggest mistakes in business and the lessons that they have learned. He’s a sought after public speaker for audiences across the world. Here, he shares about the deal-maker’s paradigm shift that has helped him grow throughout his career.

Resenting Your Investors?

One think Jeff has noticed is that sometimes founders turn around and resent their investors. In the moment, they’re willing to give up larger percentages of their companies, or take on more unfavorable terms, because they’re desperate to get started. Down the road however, and with a bit of revisionist history, they forget the desperation and feel taken advantage of or frustrated with the terms they agreed to.

To Jeff, this sort of conflict is unnecessary. He encourages business owners to map the process early on, and to consider what they are willing to give up for investment capital. Once you’ve made the deals, it’s too late to go back and retrieve what you’ve given up!

As we note in the interview, every step of the way is based on decisions you are making. A clear head and vision make a world of difference! On the show, we also talk about Jeff’s family business, mindset growth, and deal-maker’s paradigm shifts.

Tune In to the Full Episode For:

  • Creative Problem Solving as an Entrepreneur in Residence
  • Discovering a Deal-Maker’s Paradigm Shift
  • Always Growing
  • Creating Services & Products That Work
  • And More!

 

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Negotiating Deal-Driven Growth

Wealth Management

Wealth Management

Elizabeth (Liz) Nesvold is the Managing Director and Head of Asset & Wealth Management Investment Banking for Raymond James. She joined the Raymond James’ team in 2019 as part of the acquisition of Silver Lane Advisors. Liz has been described as “the most experienced female investment banker specializing in the investment management and securities industry” by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine. 

Liz’s Background & Experience

Over the past 25-plus years, she has advised on approximately 170 completed M&A, valuation and strategic advisory assignments for a variety of clients. These clients include institutional managers (both traditional and alternative), trust companies, multi-family offices, investment counselors, financial planners and investment consultants. Prior to joining Raymond James, Ms. Nesvold founded Silver Lane in 2007. Before Silver Lane, Liz spent 15 years at another investment bank, where she co-founded and led the first wealth management specialist M&A advisory group in the investment banking industry. Ms. Nesvold was one of only two female partners at the time of her departure, and also served on the operating committee. A member of Young Presidents’ Organization, she earned a BA in Political Science with a minor in Economics from Binghamton University and an MBA in Finance (with high honors) from Fordham University Graduate School of Business.

As the M&A industry has matured, there has been an increase in attention and opportunity. As an early adopter, Liz has been part of shaping the industry and has significantly contributed to its growth and direction.

Earliest Deal-Making Memories

Growing up, Liz expected to go into construction and run her dad’s company. She grew up around the industry and always assumed it was the direction she would go. Instead, however, she went into finance with great success.

Liz’s first remembered deal was connected to what she learned in her home economics class. She learned to sew, and started a quilted bag company she called Designs by Lizzie B. She sold her bags to local merchants, who then resold them. Quite a strong start for a 15 year old!

Her commitment to entering the M&A world started as a fluke. Post-college, Liz interviewed at all sorts of firms, ultimately receiving an offer from a firm engaged in all sorts of mergers and acquisitions. They were deeply involved in the securities industry, as well as in asset management.

Gaining Deal-Making Traction

As she moved through the ranks, Liz noticed that every specialty seemed to be “covered” by an already-established expert. (Big insurance companies, big broker dealers, big asset managers, big mutual fund complexes, etc.)  In addition, there were no real training programs being offered in-house. The only space Liz could see there might be a bit of room was investment council. It seemed like a good place to get her foot in the door, and she went for it.

There were production requirements, and Liz started to get in the habit of calling small firms. (At the time, a “big” firm in the field was around three to five hundred million in assets. These days, that’s almost considered small!) As she gained traction, it was clear no one was really covering the space, and she leveraged it into a practice group to help other colleagues learn more.

Clearly she succeeded! Although she attributes it to “dumb luck all the way in”, Liz certainly knew her industry and identified an area that had been overlooked for too long.

Liz also noted that she’s always been willing to take a look, and never quick to say no to something new. In fact, she’s done five deals with one firm that cold called her when they were sitting at around five hundred million in assets. In the most recent deal she assisted them with, their assets were over eight billion in assets. Case in point: Never say never — you have to get started somewhere!

Deals at Raymond James

Liz noted that now, at Raymond James, she makes deals of all sizes. She’s worked with franchises valued around thirty million in assets, as well as those at five hundred million and beyond. In the last two years, with around 28 deals completed, Liz estimates the bulk of them are between twenty five and a hundred million dollars in size.

Massive deals occur, but they certainly aren’t the bulk of transactions. (Even though those are the deals that everyone is always reading about!) Deals range from family office mergers, wealth solutions, fee-only, and more. Liz notes that it’s all over the map, and she enjoys being kept on her toes as a result!

Transitioning away from Silver Lane and joining Raymond James was also a deal in and of itself. Liz reports that being on the other side of the deal-making table caused her to become much more in tune with elements of deal-making that she hadn’t typically experienced herself. The insight has been great, and she’s been able to utilize it in her work now.

Liz also notes that Silver Lane did exactly as they advise others to do; they got an advisor and navigated towards what they were trying to accomplish in terms of making their own deals, rather than simply matching the marketplace. The major focus was on growth and the ability to continue to build.

Getting Deals Done

Liz and I have worked together on multiple deals, including one we worked hard to push through before end-of-year last year. (The push was connected to possible capital gains increases.)

Now, Liz notes that a changing tax landscape would never be a reason she would encourage someone to rush to the deal-making table. However, she notes that potential changes are a piece of the puzzle for firms currently pushing to get deals done this year. She’s also seen it speed up the continuity planning for many businesses. Liz notes this is something that needed to happen in an industry where key principles are aging.

If you’re in the middle of a deal, Liz thinks it’s probably a good idea to complete it in the current tax year. Contemplating starting something now? Well, she notes it would be quite a tight timeline to run a thoughtful, strategic process. It’s important to understand that it takes time to engineer a well-crafted deal that makes sense for your business in the long term.

Historically, there are always examples of people panicking because they are fixated on a single factor. There is a big difference between taking something into account, and allowing something to overwhelm your common-sense decision making. Capital gains increases might influence your next deal, but there is no need for them to become the primary reason for the choices you’re making.

The Capital is There

In this day and age, there is no good deal in the wealth management space that there is not capital available for. The money is there!

There are more solutions today, across the entire spectrum of financing, than Liz has seen in the last 30 years. 3-4 years ago there were a number of strategic gaps, but those are closing quickly. In some ways, it’s excellent that this dearth of choices has been filled in. However, Liz also notes that the increase in options and strategics has also created confusion in the industry. As a result, the need for due diligence is higher than ever!

In Liz’s perspective, in some ways the industry had become flooded with choice about 5 years ago. The largest lack of choice, however, was coming from the minority solutions space. Now, there are many clients looking for elections in minority financing, partners, and sponsor investors. These are great choices for firms who want to perpetuate the independent model, which had been missing from the table.

The last 10 years have been great for deals. Listen in to the full interview to hear more about Liz’s perspective on acceleration trends, succession, and more!

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

 

Categories
Authentic Business Relationships Authentic Deal-Making Deal-Driven Growth

How Your Team Helps You Do Deals

Team Members: Two hands meeting in the center to shake

Over the last few years, Kupfer & Associates has grown a great deal. All of the support and growth we’ve experienced, along with the deals we’ve closed, have meant that we’ve also gotten to bring in new team members. I’ve noticed that making key hires in my business has a great impact on our deal-making capacity. 

My hiring process is not just about serving clients well (although that’s a part of it). It’s also about creating a firm that has more value going forward.

Team-Building is Business Changing

Building a great team is not easy! However, too many people are saying things like, “It’s impossible to find the right people.” or even, “There are no good people out there.”

The reality is, that’s not true. You’re quite likely not hiring thousands of people (even huge organizations aren’t looking to onboard that many people at once!). No matter your size, you’re typically only bringing on a few people at a time, or even just one person. I guarantee,the right fit is out there!

So, what are you looking for? The first step is gaining clarity around what you need, and to then look for new hires who will help you create additional capacity in those areas.

In terms of deal-making, that might mean looking at future joint ventures or collaborations that appeal to you, and then considering what kind of candidates might best help you grow in those ways. Ultimately, you’re also looking for key people that will help you become redundant. The worst thing you can do in your business is to create a situation where you are so important to the business that it would be crippled without you.

Building a team that keeps your clients super happy and that perform at a high level is incredibly freeing — it changes everything in your business.

There is Leeway

Sometimes bringing in the right people means identifying the candidate who will need just a bit of leeway to get their feet under them. Being able to see potential, and knowing how to hook that potential into your business, is part of building an amazing team.

Business owners who “can’t find anyone” are often being overly stringent on small things that could be fairly easily taught. Just because a candidate hasn’t used a specific system, or done a specific type of transaction before, doesn’t mean they “couldn’t” do it.

Quite frankly, incredibly skilled and educated candidates get passed over all the time, for small reasons that could have been easily overcome. Instead of doing that, I advocate for empowering your people. If someone has the passion, energy, and drive to be great (along with the basic requirements of the job), I’m more than happy to work with them on potential gaps.

Refusing to be flexible (and insisting there are no good candidates out there) just holds you back and hurts your own business. 

You Need a Team

No matter what you offer, or what you’re selling, you are going to need to build a team if you’re serious about growth. The reality is, what got you here won’t get you there.

Next level growth, scaling, and sustainability usually mean, at some point, hiring. That’s a good thing!

Beyond just hiring new people, you can also look for ways to grow your current people. Investing in their education, empowering them to take on new roles, and encouraging their continuing professional growth can help you build an incredible team around you. It’s also a way to fill the most pivotal positions without having to look outside your own walls. (Don’t forget that you’ll need to bring in someone new to take on the old position still!)

I have team members who have been with me for decades because I’ve given them room to grow. I’ve also had to make hard decisions about team members who haven’t been able to grow with the company. 

Through it all, I’ve seen again and again the power of having a team.

Sometimes You’re the Problem

The reality is, sometimes the biggest problem in our businesses is our own management style. 

Whether that means you’re hiring poor fits, micromanaging the team you do have, struggling to adequately train team members, failing to provide growth opportunities that will help you retain top talent, or otherwise not creating a positive work culture: be open to areas that you can improve your own leadership skills when it comes to team management.

If you have a low retention rate, or consistently have employees that don’t perform well, it’s key that you take a look at your own style (or the management style of your high-level employees).

Eventually, your ability to do deals and to eventually exit your company is deeply impacted by the quality of the team you have. It’s vital that you build an incredible team, and that you’re willing to take a look at yourself as well. Finding that balance is a key part of your growth.

To hear more about my own experience with hiring, listen in!

 

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making Authentic Negotiating Deal-Driven Growth

Pitching For Profit & Deal-Making Wins

Pitching for Profit: Empty room with white tables, chairs, and screens prepared for a speaker

Precious Williams is a returning DealQuest guest (you can also catch her on Episode 79) who has successfully appeared on Shark Tank and is a 13x Elevator Pitch champion. In less than two years she grew her company from zero to multiple six figures, and her clients have received national, international, and corporate recognition. She’s a world class speaker for brands including Google, and Microsoft, and is a 3x number one bestselling author. Precious is truly the queen of pitching for profit.

Last time Precious and I spoke, she discussed her Shark Tank experience and how she trains people to pitch. We’re not focusing on that today, so feel free to visit our first episode if you’re interested in those parts of her journey! Now, Precious is here to share about deals, especially book deals.

What Would it Mean For You?

Precious notes that she’s published all three of her books with the same publisher, including her most recent, Pitching for Profit: The Bad Bitches’ Playbook to Convert Conversations into Currency. However, this time some things were different.

She notes people often ask how she went from being virtually unknown to being a major power player in less than three years. Television networks and media reach out to her, and she’s spoken for Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, George Washington University, Intuit Quickbooks, NBC Universal, PwC and more. With success like that, people want to know!

In return, Precious has a few questions of her own: 

  • What would it mean for you if you could rebuild your network to make it more lucrative for you? 
  • Would you benefit if someone could pitch you in a space you didn’t even know existed? 
  • What would it do for your business if people were coming to you for referrals and opportunities?

Ten years ago, Precious notes she was pitching to raise money and gain relationships. Now, she teaches women how to never be broke again. One call, that’s all. Building relationships is a key part of this — listen in to hear more about the impactful client relationships Precious builds.

Pitching For Profit

At her recent live event, Precious shared how attendees got to meet people and make connections that they wouldn’t have otherwise had. Relationships are key. In fact, she even pointed out that the DealQuest brand inherently speaks to this idea that it takes more than one person. Deals, after all, require at least two parties at the table.

They also require trust, which is something that Precious strives to build with both her clients and her readers.

Her latest book, Pitching for Profit, serves as a playbook for women who want that coach in their corner, running them through plays. Precious notes that this is different from her first two books, which were all about pitching and only pitching. This time, she’s offering guidance, support, and actionable takeaways that really help you move the needle. It offers a step-by-step approach to getting people into your network, attracting VIP’s, and making yourself attractive. 

In a nutshell: It’s a must read for anyone making deals and crafting pitches.

(We both give a shout out to Ramon Ray, who has major knowledge on using influence to create deals.)

Lessons From Three Book Deals

After meeting with several big publishers, Precious realized she was hearing a lot of deals that sounded good up front, but would possibly feel like mistakes later on. Her solution? Finding a smaller publisher that would work with her to create a deal they both felt great about. 

Enter Pen Legacy and Charron Monaye. 

In their deal, Precious has full rights to her books and isn’t having to split her profits at all when people buy her book. (Of course 3rd party sellers, like Amazon and Target, always get their cut. But that’s not in addition to the publisher taking a chunk too!) After watching the impressive distribution and marketing of her first book with them, including Forbes Magazine doing an interview with her, Precious was hooked.

She also notes that most people don’t have that. In fact, your average author is lucky to sell 500 books in a lifetime….and still lose royalties to their publisher. Precious, however, is still selling copies of her first book, years after publishing. That’s the power of a strong deal with a strong publishing house, regardless of size.

Quick Tip: When she’s pursuing speaking contracts, she always tries to add in an expectation for the organization to purchase a bulk order of her books to give to attendees or use internally. This adds to the gross number of books sold, and keeps them circulating.

I noted that, in my own publishing experience, I didn’t write the book to get rich. I never intended for it to be a major money maker. Instead, I planned to leverage it into speaking and other exposure opportunities, which I have absolutely been able to do. My wife Rha, however, did a major book deal with a significant advance when she published The Calling. For her, that was the right call. When it comes to book deals, stay open minded and be willing to look beyond the obvious!

Leveraging Relationships and Influence

You don’t need millions of followers or fans to make a deal or have influence. Instead, you need to grow your own niche audience and prove that you have influence within those circles.

Precious’ first pitching engagement was with a non-profit, Bottomless Closet, who then referred her to Viacom. She was able to walk into that room as a trainer and subject matter expert. Precious notes that she strives to have a measurable result to the work she does. Whether she is teaching how to pitch, or focusing on some other element of communications or business or boundaries — she wants her presentations to be memorable and her audience to walk away with something powerful and tangible.

As she taught and trained at one place, she’d get an opportunity, another open door. She found that, if the right people know you, it doesn’t matter if the whole world doesn’t know you.

By growing her reputation, Precious was able to utilize those contacts by asking for recommendations, introductions, and testimonials. As the group willing to vouch for her grew, it became easier and easier for her to gain traction with new leads.

Making Speaking Deals

Last year, Precious spoke at LinkedIn and was voted the best speaker at the event. This year, they called her back. They said they wanted her to speak…for 4 minutes. In 4 minutes and 17 seconds, Precious saw her DM’s and inbox blow up with requests for her rates, requests to have her speak, and requests for interviews.

In an opportunity so small it was less than 5 minutes.

You don’t need hours on the stage to gain traction if you deliver value.

I noted that many speakers get caught up with speaking on stages. Covid taught them that that is a weak business model. The stage can disappear, and with it your income!

Although Precious does leverage speaking on stage as part of her income generating strategy, she doesn’t rely on it as her sole source of income. Instead, she believes in leveraging it into other opportunities.

When organizations started announcing they wouldn’t be having live events, she learned to adapt to virtual offerings. She also learned to use those initial speaking engagements as a platform to offer more services. Corporation training, for example, is a great offering to add.

Precious also has a LinkedIn Live show. It’s virtual, and it gives executives, CEO’s, and other connections a chance to get a feel for her energy and style. As they learned from her, they also followed up about bringing her in to speak and train.

When she’s preparing to speak, she also looks to include book purchases into the contracts. Having those books circulating helps Precious build a tribe and create even more connections. Recently, she started selling merchandise as well. She’s also started expanding to speaking to teenagers, mixed groups, and up and down the employment hierarchy ladder.

She’s able to say: If you like what I did here, I can also offer to do that over there. 

Precious showed up for our interview with passion and wisdom. This is a must listen, with more takeaways than I can list here!

 

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!