Episode 189
Community Questions: November 2024
In this engaging installment of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy tackles the November 2024 edition of Community Questions, one of the show’s most beloved segments. Listeners from around the world submitted thoughtful questions on topics ranging from maximizing LinkedIn invitations to navigating client roadblocks when competing with established vendors. Kelly offers practical, actionable advice, emphasizing the importance of persistence, respect, and authenticity in business development. He also touches on the fine line between persistent follow-ups and being perceived as annoying, sharing personal anecdotes and strategies to stay professional yet determined.
Additionally, Kelly discusses staying updated on industry trends and the growing need for human-centric approaches in 2025 amidst an AI-saturated landscape. Questions about transitioning into business development and balancing the presentation of information without overwhelming clients are also addressed. With a mix of personal insights and actionable tips, Kelly keeps the conversation dynamic, wrapping up the episode with show updates, shoutouts to the community, and a heartfelt reminder to foster genuine connections in both business and life.
Key Takeaways:
1. Consistently sending out LinkedIn invitations—up to 100 per week—can maximize your networking potential and build brand awareness effectively.
2. When pitching to a client using a competitor, focus on getting added to their vendor list rather than replacing the incumbent immediately. Relationships take time to build.
3. Persistence is essential, but it should always be accompanied by kindness, respect, and professionalism. Never follow up more than once a week to avoid being overwhelming.
4. Building relationships through meaningful conversations and trust is more impactful than hard-selling your products or services.
5. Staying up-to-date with industry trends involves having your "ear to the ground" and actively participating in your field rather than relying solely on external updates.
6. Human-centric approaches, emphasizing trust and authentic connections, are increasingly vital in a world where AI tools are widely used but lack personalization.
7. New business developers should prioritize building authentic relationships, learning soft skills, and leveraging face-to-face meetings for stronger connections.
8. Balancing authenticity and professionalism in LinkedIn posts, including personal insights and photos, helps increase engagement and credibility.
9. Tools like Canva and Descript can help create visually engaging content, but authentic, handwritten posts often outperform AI-generated material in establishing genuine connections.
10. If a LinkedIn connection request is ignored, find alternative ways to reach the right person, such as calling directly or seeking their email, to maintain momentum in your outreach efforts.
Ready to Elevate Your Business?
Unlock your full potential with Kelly Kennedy’s expert coaching. Tailored strategies. Proven results. Lasting success.
Start your transformation today: Capital Business Development Coaching.
Transcript
Welcome to episode 189 of the Business Development Podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:And today's episode is all about you.
Kelly Kennedy: community questions November: Kelly Kennedy:Stick with us.
Kelly Kennedy:You are not going to want to miss this episode.
Mark Cuban:The great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years.
Mark Cuban:Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.
Mark Cuban:And we couldn't.
Mark Cuban:This is the Business Development Podcast, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and broadcasting to the world.
Mark Cuban:You'll get expert business development advice, tips and experiences and you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs and business development reps.
Mark Cuban:You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business brought to you by Capital Business Development Capital PD ca.
Mark Cuban:Let's do it.
Mark Cuban:Welcome to the Business Development Podcast.
Mark Cuban:And now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.
Kelly Kennedy:Hello.
Kelly Kennedy:Welcome to episode 189 of the Business Development Podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:And on today's show, we're getting right into it.
Kelly Kennedy: Community questions November: Kelly Kennedy:Guys, you know it.
Kelly Kennedy:Community Questions is one of my favorite segments of the Business Development Podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:It is true.
Kelly Kennedy:Truly an honor to be able to get up here and kind of do some virtual coaching with you guys once a month on this show.
Kelly Kennedy:And so if it's your first time listening to the podcast, we try to get in a Community Questions episode once per month.
Kelly Kennedy:And so if you have questions, business development questions, entrepreneurship questions, podcasting questions, I am happy to do my best to answer them for you.
Kelly Kennedy:Please shoot them into me.
Kelly Kennedy:Podcastapitalbd.ca.
Kelly Kennedy:we will definitely try to get those handled for you on the next Community Questions episode.
Kelly Kennedy:For my amazing Americans out there, just wanted to wish you guys an incredible Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend.
Kelly Kennedy:I hope that it is incredible for each and every one of you and I hope that you guys take me up on my advice from last week talking about buying our corporate Christmas gifts during Black Friday.
Kelly Kennedy:It is an incredible time to do so.
Kelly Kennedy:If you aren't planning to buy your clients gifts, why not?
Kelly Kennedy:It's an amazing way to connect with your clients at Christmas time and let them know, hey, I'm a person and I care about you.
Kelly Kennedy:And so for my incredible Americans out there, I hope that you guys have an incredible, incredible Thanksgiving.
Kelly Kennedy:We have eight questions today.
Kelly Kennedy:I am trying.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, just a heads up, I am trying to do our show updates at the end of the show.
Kelly Kennedy:Now.
Kelly Kennedy:Gotten a few comments about it.
Kelly Kennedy:Want to make sure that we're listening to our fan base and that you guys are getting what you want.
Kelly Kennedy:So we're going to Try to get into things a little quicker than we used to around here.
Kelly Kennedy:Bear with me, give me feedback on if you want it back the old way.
Kelly Kennedy:But for now, for a little bit, we're going to be doing show updates at the end, and so stick around with us at the end if you want to know how we're doing with this show.
Kelly Kennedy:All right, our first question is from listener Jeanette, and she says, kelly, I finally sat down to do some headshot editing and listened to one of your recent podcasts about solopreneurship.
Kelly Kennedy:I need to re listen to it and take notes, especially the second half, because I know there were lots of great ideas and I just needed to be a bit more focused.
Kelly Kennedy:Do you regularly make 100 connection requests per week still, or was that just in the very beginning?
Kelly Kennedy:I put out a ton of requests and I'm building up more awareness about my business, but I don't know if I can make that many.
Kelly Kennedy:Well, Jeanette, the answer is absolutely yes.
Kelly Kennedy:I still send out 100 LinkedIn invites every single week.
Kelly Kennedy:Sometimes I do it on behalf of clients that I'm working with.
Kelly Kennedy:So if I know that there's a specific position like a safety director or a director of operations or a supply chain manager for a various type of company and a various industry, I will still send out 100 invites a week.
Kelly Kennedy:If it's just me and I want to connect with our incredible BD community, I might send, you know, 50 invites to the BD community, to the marketing community, and I might send, out, you know, another 50 to to a client community, depending on what they're after, whether that be safety director, operations manager, supply chain, something along those lines.
Kelly Kennedy:But the answer is y Gina and the reason being is this.
Kelly Kennedy:At the end of the day, you get 100 invites a week.
Kelly Kennedy:Whether you use them or not.
Kelly Kennedy:That's all you get.
Kelly Kennedy:They do not roll over into the very next week.
Kelly Kennedy:And so for me, if I'm not doing that, I'm not using LinkedIn to its full capability.
Kelly Kennedy:And I pay a lot of money every year to get a LinkedIn Premium account so that I can grow this community, connect with new people, continue to build brand awareness on behalf of myself, my clients.
Kelly Kennedy:And so, yes, the answer is absolutely yes.
Kelly Kennedy:Janet.
Kelly Kennedy:I know it seems like a lot, but trust me, you can get really quick at it, especially if you can start to do searching for specific positions that you want to connect with.
Kelly Kennedy:In your case, it sounds like you do headshots, do photography.
Kelly Kennedy:Maybe you want to connect with a whole bunch of Business owners try to just search owner or business owner on LinkedIn in the area that you're working in and just do a mass connect.
Kelly Kennedy:Because here's the deal.
Kelly Kennedy:If they're seeing the work that you're doing, it can't be a bad thing.
Kelly Kennedy:At the end of the day, we want to build brand awareness, not just for our business, but for us as well.
Kelly Kennedy:And so it never hurts, Gina, to just have the right people seeing your posts.
Kelly Kennedy:So don't hesitate.
Kelly Kennedy:I know it can seem like a lot.
Kelly Kennedy:Trust me.
Kelly Kennedy:100 invites a week.
Kelly Kennedy:Eventually, you'll be able to do it in, like, 30 minutes.
Kelly Kennedy:It gets easier and easier and easier with time.
Kelly Kennedy:And so you absolutely got this, Gina, thank you for the great question.
Kelly Kennedy:The answer is yes.
Kelly Kennedy:Every single week.
Kelly Kennedy:Every single week, Gina, I send out 100 invites.
Kelly Kennedy:I max out my connection requests, because if I don't use them, I lose them.
Kelly Kennedy:And at least this way, I'm constantly growing my network.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm constantly getting people who can find this show relevant, my work relevant, seeing my work, seeing my clients work.
Kelly Kennedy:At the end of the day, it's about building brand recognition.
Kelly Kennedy:And so that takes numbers.
Kelly Kennedy:And you have 100 every single week.
Kelly Kennedy:You can send.
Kelly Kennedy:Absolutely.
Kelly Kennedy:You can do this.
Kelly Kennedy:Get to it, and I think you will find it will change everything for you.
Kelly Kennedy:But just consistently send your 100 invites a week.
Kelly Kennedy:Thanks, Gina.
Kelly Kennedy:Our next question is from a listener named Billy, and Billy asks, what is the best way to remove roadblocks when pitching your company to a client that currently uses a competitor of yours?
Kelly Kennedy:Oh, my gosh, yes.
Kelly Kennedy:This is always challenging, Billy.
Kelly Kennedy:And I look back to my quality career for this one, because here's the deal.
Kelly Kennedy:In Alberta, there were, like, quite a few different quality companies that were constantly working for basically the same fabrication and industrial construction clients and oil and gas clients.
Kelly Kennedy:And so you pretty much always found yourself in this position.
Kelly Kennedy:Billy, the best way to remove roadblocks is to understand that at the end of the day, not every company is going to be perfect every single time.
Kelly Kennedy:And there will always be limitations to each company.
Kelly Kennedy:And so no matter how good the company, there's going to be situations where they have to say, I'm sorry, Mr.
Kelly Kennedy:And Mrs.
Kelly Kennedy:Customer, I cannot achieve that or I cannot provide what you need at this time.
Kelly Kennedy:If that happens, Billy, you just want to be on the list.
Kelly Kennedy:So at the end of the day, don't look at it as, how do I replace this person?
Kelly Kennedy:How do I remove all these roadblocks when they're using a competitor?
Kelly Kennedy:Understand, Billy, there Is absolutely nothing wrong with just being on the list.
Kelly Kennedy:The funny thing about being on the list is that once you're on the list, it's only a matter of time until you get the call.
Kelly Kennedy:So I don't want you to look at it as, oh, you're using my competitor when you're pitching.
Kelly Kennedy:These people just say, hey, you know, we get it.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm sure they're incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:If there's ever a situation that they can't provide, we would love to be on the list and love to get a call in that situation.
Kelly Kennedy:We don't mind being number two for a little while.
Kelly Kennedy:We absolutely get it.
Kelly Kennedy:And this is what I used to say to my quality clients all the time.
Kelly Kennedy:I don't mind being number two, I don't mind being number three.
Kelly Kennedy:Just get me on the list.
Kelly Kennedy:Because guess what?
Kelly Kennedy:Eventually if you give us that shot, we will earn our way up to that number one spot.
Kelly Kennedy:And I get it, that's what it's going to take.
Kelly Kennedy:But let's just get on the list.
Kelly Kennedy:And so, Billy, that's what I want you to do.
Kelly Kennedy:Work to just get on that vendor list.
Kelly Kennedy:Work to establish that relationship.
Kelly Kennedy:If you do that, if you work to establish a relationship, you create a connection, a meaningful connection.
Kelly Kennedy:Trust me, it's only a matter of time.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't look at it as roadblocks, look at it as just a step along the way.
Kelly Kennedy:There's always going to be somebody that they're working with before you.
Kelly Kennedy:That's okay.
Kelly Kennedy:There's nothing wrong with that.
Kelly Kennedy:Work to get on that vendor list.
Kelly Kennedy:Work to establish the relationship.
Kelly Kennedy:Work to show that customer how trustworthy you are and that you're absolutely interested in working with them and your opportunity will come.
Kelly Kennedy:Billy's second question is, what is the fine line between persistent follow ups and being annoying?
Kelly Kennedy:This is amazing.
Kelly Kennedy:Billy.
Kelly Kennedy:I love this question because I've been asked this a lot of times and I've been told that I'm like the most kind, persistent person that some clients have ever dealt with.
Kelly Kennedy:And I take that as a compliment because absolutely, that's it.
Kelly Kennedy:There's nothing wrong with being persistent.
Kelly Kennedy:Actually, Billy, being persistent is completely fine, but you have to do it in a kind way and you have to respect the client, right?
Kelly Kennedy:So here's the deal.
Kelly Kennedy:If the client hasn't gotten back to you, my rule is always reach out once per week.
Kelly Kennedy:So if you have the direct contact to this client, Billy, and you have their phone and you have their email, reach out once per week.
Kelly Kennedy:Always be kind, always treat them with respect, I don't care if it's your like 8th call or your 9th email, whatever it is, always treat it like it's the first time.
Kelly Kennedy:Let me tell you a story, Billy.
Kelly Kennedy:I was dealing with an incredibly high level oil and gas client here in Alberta.
Kelly Kennedy:And I was dealing with the head of supply chain for this company.
Kelly Kennedy:Me and them became pretty great friends with a client that I worked with.
Kelly Kennedy:And we were out at lunch one time and I just asked, I said, hey, what is it like being on the other side?
Kelly Kennedy:What is it like having to receive, you know, a ton of requests from business development people just like me?
Kelly Kennedy:And he looked at me and he said, Kelly, at the company I work at, we receive up to 1,000 reach outs a week.
Kelly Kennedy:Billy, 1,000 reach outs a week for this head of supply chain was receiving through their, through their corporate emails and through his personal emails.
Kelly Kennedy:So think about that.
Kelly Kennedy:How are they supposed to filter that out?
Kelly Kennedy:They have a ton of different needs.
Kelly Kennedy:It's a gigantic company.
Kelly Kennedy:Many of us are not thinking about what that must be like on the other side.
Kelly Kennedy:And so I think what we have to do is just remember that just because somebody hasn't gotten back to you, it doesn't mean they don't need your product and service.
Kelly Kennedy:It just means that when they were filtering through 1,000 emails that week, they weren't looking for the product and service that you use.
Kelly Kennedy:Also keep in mind, when I was talking to that person, they were mentioning that they use internal software to filter out emails so that they can specifically find what they're looking for.
Kelly Kennedy:Because let's get real, they can't look at a thousand emails a week on a consistent basis.
Kelly Kennedy:Not going to happen.
Kelly Kennedy:They're using software.
Kelly Kennedy:And so I have to say this, Billy, always reach out.
Kelly Kennedy:If you haven't heard anything back from them, treat them with respect.
Kelly Kennedy:Every like third email or so, just hit them back like it's the very beginning.
Kelly Kennedy:Like you're introducing for the very first time.
Kelly Kennedy:Always be kind.
Kelly Kennedy:Always be patient.
Kelly Kennedy:Never call them out.
Kelly Kennedy:This is the secret, right?
Kelly Kennedy:We, we never want to be rude.
Kelly Kennedy:You're, you're rude.
Kelly Kennedy:Once it's over, it's over.
Kelly Kennedy:Always be kind.
Kelly Kennedy:Always treat them with respect.
Kelly Kennedy:That is the fine line.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay?
Kelly Kennedy:The other side of respect is this.
Kelly Kennedy:If they do get back to you, Billy, and they say, hey Billy, this is awesome, but this isn't something that we need at our company or this isn't something that we are going to be needing for, you know, a few years in some cases.
Kelly Kennedy:Just respect that Take them off the list.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't follow up with them.
Kelly Kennedy:You can always ask if they say that they do need this product and service.
Kelly Kennedy:If they say, hey, you know what, we might need this, but we probably don't need this for a year.
Kelly Kennedy:Just ask at the time.
Kelly Kennedy:Say, hey, that sounds great.
Kelly Kennedy:Do you mind if I reach out eight months from now and just reintroduce myself and see if there might be a need?
Kelly Kennedy:Then if they give you permission, great.
Kelly Kennedy:If they say no, that's fine.
Kelly Kennedy:I don't think it's something we want to chase at right now.
Kelly Kennedy:Just respect it and take them off.
Kelly Kennedy:The secret is respect.
Kelly Kennedy:You just have to show respect to these people.
Kelly Kennedy:So my rule to you is this.
Kelly Kennedy:Reach out once per week until you either disqualify or get the meeting.
Kelly Kennedy:Obviously if you're at like 15, 20 reach outs and it's not a gigantic client, it might be worth at that time exploring another person at that company.
Kelly Kennedy:But here's the thing, always be respectful and never reach out more than once per week.
Kelly Kennedy:You will fly under the radar.
Kelly Kennedy:And as long as you're kind each time and you're consistent and persistent, eventually you're going to get something.
Kelly Kennedy:You're either going to disqualify this person or you're going to get.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you.
Kelly Kennedy:That was a really, really great question and I hope that wasn't too much of a long winded response.
Kelly Kennedy:Billy's next question was how do you find the balance between presenting the right amount of information during a pitch versus overselling your company during the pitch and potentially scaring a new client away?
Kelly Kennedy:Where is the balance between less is more and not selling yourself enough to a client?
Kelly Kennedy:That is another great question, Billy.
Kelly Kennedy:And here's the thing.
Kelly Kennedy:If a client is meeting with you, there's a really solid chance they've already done their research.
Kelly Kennedy:They very likely already read your brochure.
Kelly Kennedy:They very likely already checked out your website.
Kelly Kennedy:They very likely already have a pretty good understanding of what you do.
Kelly Kennedy:So here's the thing, don't try to sell too hard.
Kelly Kennedy:At the end of the day, try to build a relationship.
Kelly Kennedy:I want you to flip the switch here because here's the thing, if the client is meeting with you, they likely already know what services you have and they probably already know where they want to fit you in if there is an opportunity.
Kelly Kennedy:But here's the thing, you have to create a great relationship, a trusting place for them to do that.
Kelly Kennedy:And so here's the thing, I would say, Billy, at the end of the day, what you want to do is generate a relationship first, build a platform, have a great conversation with them, ask them about their life, ask them how they ended up where they're at, and then, you know, later on, feel free to ask them if they see an opportunity here and if it's worth exploring further.
Kelly Kennedy:But at the end of the day, if you work on selling yourself first, if you work on building a relationship and positioning yourself as a trusted person, the products and services are pretty much going to sell themselves.
Kelly Kennedy:Because here's the deal.
Kelly Kennedy:We live in a time when you can find the information on products and services everywhere.
Kelly Kennedy:You can find it on websites, you can find it on social medias, you can find it like on brochures that we're sending out everywhere we go.
Kelly Kennedy:So here's the thing.
Kelly Kennedy:There is no real balance between presenting the right amount of information versus overselling.
Kelly Kennedy:The secret that I found was when I stopped trying so hard to sell and I tried harder to get to know the person, understand the company, understand their challenges, understand where they're coming from.
Kelly Kennedy:I found that the products and services sold themselves because if the relationship is there, the opportunities tend to present themselves to you.
Kelly Kennedy:So, Billy, flip the switch.
Kelly Kennedy:It's not about selling as much as it is about listening.
Kelly Kennedy:Ask great questions.
Kelly Kennedy:Listen.
Kelly Kennedy:Ask more questions.
Kelly Kennedy:Listen.
Kelly Kennedy:Ask them about themselves.
Kelly Kennedy:Listen.
Kelly Kennedy:Some of the best sales meetings I've ever been to, the business was done in the last five minutes.
Kelly Kennedy:The whole hour up to that point was more about just hanging out, understanding each other, learning about each other, asking great questions, asking personal questions, connecting questions, building rapport, building trust.
Kelly Kennedy:And then the business comes.
Kelly Kennedy:In my experience, that has always been the best way to do it.
Kelly Kennedy:And if you can prioritize that relationship, making sure that person is looked after, they are absolutely going to prioritize you and your business and your services, and they're going to give you so much more opportunity to make a deal that makes sense for them.
Kelly Kennedy:So at the end of the day, don't worry about presenting the right amount of information or overselling your company.
Kelly Kennedy:Worry about learning about them.
Kelly Kennedy:Ask great questions, sit back, listen.
Kelly Kennedy:Ask more questions.
Kelly Kennedy:Sit back, listen.
Kelly Kennedy:Ask personal questions.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't be afraid to be a person.
Kelly Kennedy:At the end of the day, people don't buy products and services.
Kelly Kennedy:They buy people first.
Kelly Kennedy:Be that person and you're going to do incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:Those were great questions, Billy.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you so much for those.
Kelly Kennedy:Our next question is from a listener named Mark.
Kelly Kennedy:And Mark asks, Kelly, I really appreciate what you're doing for the community.
Kelly Kennedy:If it wasn't for Your podcast.
Kelly Kennedy:I would not know where to start.
Kelly Kennedy:I did have a few questions if you had the chance to answer.
Kelly Kennedy:Well, Mark, it is my pleasure, my friend.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you for finding us.
Kelly Kennedy:His first question was, how are you staying up to date with industry trends and developments?
Kelly Kennedy:Well, Mark, here's the deal.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm in the industry, so I'm seeing it live.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm not like, I'm not out of this.
Kelly Kennedy:I literally still do business development.
Kelly Kennedy:So I've worked with some incredibly high end clients in Canada.
Kelly Kennedy:I've worked with big companies, consulting.
Kelly Kennedy:I still do coaching and training.
Kelly Kennedy:So my ear is very much to the chopping block.
Kelly Kennedy:Not to mention I'm also ab testing what works and what doesn't with regards to social media things along those lines.
Kelly Kennedy:So very much it's about just being in it.
Kelly Kennedy:It's very hard to like stay up with industry trends unless you just have your ear to the ground.
Kelly Kennedy:You're in it, but you're going to see it.
Kelly Kennedy:If you follow people in business development and marketing, you're going to see the trends of things that are coming around.
Kelly Kennedy: Obviously: Kelly Kennedy:That was the real trendy thing.
Kelly Kennedy:And then, and then we all started using it and that was incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:And now we're kind of at this weird place now where we have to actually step back from the use of AI because now we're not standing out anymore.
Kelly Kennedy:There's literally too much AI.
Kelly Kennedy:2024 has been the year of personal branding, right?
Kelly Kennedy:Putting ourselves out there, being vulnerable, you know, trying to build ourselves not just the companies behind it.
Kelly Kennedy: I see: Kelly Kennedy: bout industry trends, I think: Kelly Kennedy:Right?
Kelly Kennedy:People want to know that we care about them.
Kelly Kennedy:People want to know that they matter, right?
Kelly Kennedy:It's not just, you're not just being sold.
Kelly Kennedy:Sold, sold, sold, sold.
Kelly Kennedy:Trust matters.
Kelly Kennedy:Relationships matter.
Kelly Kennedy:Genuine authentic connection matters.
Kelly Kennedy:If you're kind of wondering maybe where the trends are going, the trends are actually going the other way.
Kelly Kennedy:They're going the other way, the opposite way from AI.
Kelly Kennedy:Now they're heading back to authentic human connection.
Kelly Kennedy:And so really if you're wondering how to stay up to date with it, just, just be in it.
Kelly Kennedy:Be present with what's going.
Kelly Kennedy:Think about it.
Kelly Kennedy:Think about, think about what works and what doesn't work.
Kelly Kennedy:Think about what you're seeing and how it's relating with other people or how it's not relating with other people and kind of make your choices from there.
Kelly Kennedy:But here's the thing.
Kelly Kennedy:The funny thing about business development, Mark, is that it's always going to be human centric.
Kelly Kennedy:Even when, even if we weren't in this weird paradigm where like now we're kind of getting AI'd out.
Kelly Kennedy:Even if that wasn't the case, it's always been about authentic human connection.
Kelly Kennedy:It's always been about human to human connection.
Kelly Kennedy:And so here's the thing.
Kelly Kennedy:You can't go wrong if you are trying to build authentic, genuine connections with people and you're doing it in an authentic, direct way.
Kelly Kennedy:You're working to book in person meetings, teams meetings, face to face interactions, whether those be virtual or in person, and real relationships 100% you are going to do incredible in BD.
Kelly Kennedy:It's when you start going the opposite way, it's when you start trying to like, let technology do the work for you that you end up in trouble.
Kelly Kennedy:Stick to the tried and true.
Kelly Kennedy:We almost have to go back now to go forward.
Kelly Kennedy:I actually talked about this the other day, but we need, we're at this like weird place now where we have to go back, we almost have to go back to like the 80s, right?
Kelly Kennedy:We, we need like genuine phone calls.
Kelly Kennedy:We need people picking up the phone, calling, booking lunch, booking meetings, saying, hey, do you mind if I swing by the office and just say hello?
Kelly Kennedy:You know, giving genuine client gifts at Christmas, being authentic people.
Kelly Kennedy:Think about it from this standpoint.
Kelly Kennedy:If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy, it probably makes your clients feel warm and fuzzy.
Kelly Kennedy:If you can make your clients feel warm and fuzzy, they are going to love you.
Kelly Kennedy:They, they are not going anywhere.
Kelly Kennedy:I have relationships from over 10 years ago, from my business development career who are still friends today, Mark, who are still friends today.
Kelly Kennedy:Because that is what matters.
Kelly Kennedy:Genuine connection matters.
Kelly Kennedy:And guess what?
Kelly Kennedy:When I worked in that industry, they only went to me like there was no other companies because we had the relationships, we had great relationships.
Kelly Kennedy:And so if you can prioritize, people treat people like the incredible individuals they are, you are going to do fine.
Kelly Kennedy:And no matter what the latest trend in development is, it's always going to circle back to authentic human connection.
Kelly Kennedy:That was a really great question, Mark.
Kelly Kennedy:I hope that I didn't go too far out of the realm on that one.
Kelly Kennedy:Mark's next question was, what kind of advice could you give someone that is now transitioning into business development?
Kelly Kennedy:Well, great question.
Kelly Kennedy:Here's the thing.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't worry so much about the trends and developments.
Kelly Kennedy:Worry about being an incredible individual.
Kelly Kennedy:Worry about being somebody that people like that people want to do business with.
Kelly Kennedy:At the end of the day, if you can work on your soft skills, if you can prioritize picking up a phone instead of, you know, sending a message on LinkedIn, if you can prioritize, you know, an in person meeting or a FaceTime meeting over a phone call or an email campaign, you are going to do so much better.
Kelly Kennedy:Because at the end of the day, we're in this really weird place now, Mark, where we really are craving human connection.
Kelly Kennedy:Like I said, the advent of AI has been incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't get me wrong, I still use AI.
Kelly Kennedy:I use AI for a lot of things, but I am actually working right now to go back, to take a big step back from it and figure out how can I write social posts myself again, how can I connect in a more authentic way?
Kelly Kennedy:In my case, I'm taking on video.
Kelly Kennedy:Video has been something that's been really scary for me, Mark.
Kelly Kennedy:I've really struggled with it.
Kelly Kennedy:I'm still struggling with it.
Kelly Kennedy:It's one of those weird things where I know that I need to do it and I know that it's the right way forward, but it can be incredibly uncomfortable, it can be incredibly challenging.
Kelly Kennedy: rking to be more authentic in: Kelly Kennedy:I think if you're looking to transition into business development, prioritize people, figure out how to be as authentic as possible and just be a genuine awesome person.
Kelly Kennedy:And don't be afraid to do the legwork, don't be afraid to make the calls, don't be afraid to book the face to face meetings, don't be afraid to book teams meetings.
Kelly Kennedy:At the end of the day, all of these things generate relationships which lead to business and opportunity for you guys over time.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development, it's not an instant fix, right?
Kelly Kennedy:A lot of companies, they jump into business development a little bit too late, they're already in trouble, they haven't prioritized it, then they run out of business.
Kelly Kennedy:They're like, oh crap, we need business development.
Kelly Kennedy:The funny thing was they needed business development the whole time.
Kelly Kennedy:Business development isn't something that you just turn on and off like a tap.
Kelly Kennedy:It takes a little while for everything to kind of get rolling.
Kelly Kennedy:It is not a switch, it's not an instant switch, right?
Kelly Kennedy:So we ultimately need people to be consistently knocking doors, consistently meeting new people, consistently finding new opportunities for the business.
Kelly Kennedy:I would say if you're just transitioning into business development right now, don't be afraid to do that, don't be Afraid to be authentic.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't be afraid to pick up the phone.
Kelly Kennedy:If you haven't been working on your LinkedIn presence, it's a great time to start.
Kelly Kennedy:The reality is, as we move forward, building a personal brand is going to go hand in hand with your business development career.
Kelly Kennedy:I don't think it would be very easy anymore to do business development and not have, you know, an online social media presence of some type, because it's just the way that everybody is finding other people at this point.
Kelly Kennedy:If you like people, if you like building relationships, if you're not afraid to pick up the phone and you're not afraid to create some meaningful connections, you are absolutely going to do incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:And I wish you the best of luck on your journey.
Kelly Kennedy:Our next question is from a listener in Berlin named Nadine.
Kelly Kennedy:Nadine, it's an absolute honor.
Kelly Kennedy:I love our international community.
Kelly Kennedy:If you are international, you guys are incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:You know, we have a great listenership here in Canada, a great listenership here in United States and North America.
Kelly Kennedy:But my gosh, I never ever thought, guys, that we would be talking to people in Germany, that we'd be talking to people in Australia, that we would be talking to people in Africa and around the world.
Kelly Kennedy:It is truly an honor, a total honor.
Kelly Kennedy:And so thank you, Nadine.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you for listening to us from Berlin.
Kelly Kennedy:And Nadine says, hey, Kelly, I do have a question.
Kelly Kennedy:Do you have a recommendation for an AI tool that can be used to create information and posts for LinkedIn?
Kelly Kennedy:You mentioned something in one of your early episodes called Predis AI.
Kelly Kennedy:Okay, Nadine, yes, you're absolutely right.
Kelly Kennedy:And at the very beginning of this show, we were just starting to experiment with AI.
Kelly Kennedy:The funny thing is, when I did that episode, Nadine, I'm not even sure that I'd played with ChatGPT yet.
Kelly Kennedy:Like, it was really that new.
Kelly Kennedy:And one of the clients that I'd been working with had Predis AI.
Kelly Kennedy:And it was kind of an early mix between, like, Canva and a few other things.
Kelly Kennedy:You could create some, like, pretty cool videos fairly easily.
Kelly Kennedy:Literally, like, automated.
Kelly Kennedy:And in the beginning it was kind of neat, but very quickly I kind of realized that there are limits to it and, you know, AI content.
Kelly Kennedy:It's not incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:Like, it's good, but the problem is it doesn't stand out anymore.
Kelly Kennedy:And so I would say, Nadine, at this point, what I would recommend to you is get good with Canva.
Kelly Kennedy:If you guys are looking to create social media posts, Canva is incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:It might actually be the best if, you know how to use, you know, Adobe Premiere and you can do video, things like that.
Kelly Kennedy:Video is really hitting hard right now, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:If you can do video, it's awesome.
Kelly Kennedy:But if you're just looking to get some content out there, create some stuff, don't be afraid to do a few things.
Kelly Kennedy:First off, never be afraid to just take a picture with your phone and talk authentically about it.
Kelly Kennedy:You would be surprised how many people can connect with that.
Kelly Kennedy:There's something incredibly captivating about a personal photo and just having a conversation about it or talking about a moment.
Kelly Kennedy:You know, I always recommend my coaching clients.
Kelly Kennedy:Take pictures everywhere you go.
Kelly Kennedy:You don't have to post about them immediately, but they give you a whole bunch of content for the future that you absolutely, absolutely can lean back on in the future.
Kelly Kennedy:And so don't be afraid to take photos.
Kelly Kennedy:Get good with a tool like Canva, which can create video photos.
Kelly Kennedy:You can add captions, you can do all sorts of stuff.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't be afraid to video yourself and use a program like Descript to edit out some pretty incredible video for you.
Kelly Kennedy:We use that here at the bdp.
Kelly Kennedy:We also, I use it personally as well with some of the videos I'm putting out to the world now.
Kelly Kennedy:As you may know, there are incredible programs.
Kelly Kennedy:ChatGPT is obviously still the king now in content.
Kelly Kennedy:You know, no AI pictures are really that great at the moment, at least I've struggled with them, not to mention they're not really that authentic.
Kelly Kennedy:And so the goal here is to be as authentic as possible.
Kelly Kennedy:Nadine so I would say at this point there's lots of tools out there, I've only named a few.
Kelly Kennedy:But I want you to ask yourself, how can I be the most authentic version of myself in this post for LinkedIn?
Kelly Kennedy:And I think you're going to find more often than not the answer is not going to be using an AI tool.
Kelly Kennedy:It's going to be using a raw tool like a camera and just hand typing something.
Kelly Kennedy:At this point, Nadine, it really is, I know it sounds crazy and it's funny because it's very contradictory, I think, to even what I was thinking when I launched the show and when I was using Predis and stuff for the first time, it was like mind blowing.
Kelly Kennedy:It was really cool.
Kelly Kennedy:But at this point, AI is everywhere and if you want to stand out, you almost have to go back to your Facebook days and just hand write out a post and accompany it with an authentic picture video.
Kelly Kennedy:Trust me, trust me, it's going to get incredible engagement.
Kelly Kennedy:You still have to Pepper these in, obviously with your corporate posts, but if you can mix personal and corporate posts together on your page, you're going to have way more engagement and you're going to create a much better following for both you and your business.
Kelly Kennedy:Nadine, that was a great question.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you so much for listening.
Kelly Kennedy:Our last question is from a longtime listener named Daniel.
Kelly Kennedy:And Daniel asks.
Kelly Kennedy:Hey, Kelly, question about your LinkedIn process.
Kelly Kennedy:When you send out an invite to connect and they do not accept, do you still follow up or try to engage with them?
Kelly Kennedy:Great question, Daniel.
Kelly Kennedy:Absolutely.
Kelly Kennedy:And it very much depends on what position they are at the company.
Kelly Kennedy:So if I've done my research, Daniel, and I know that this particular individual is the right person at an organization for me to follow up with, yes, I will continue to pursue.
Kelly Kennedy:I will actually try to find a more direct contact way.
Kelly Kennedy:So, you know, the reality is the LinkedIn connection is really just a formality.
Kelly Kennedy:It's a great formality.
Kelly Kennedy:It gives us warm contact, which is ultimately what we want.
Kelly Kennedy:The funny thing is though, at the end of the day, if you know you have the right person, you don't necessarily have to wait.
Kelly Kennedy:You can figure out what location they work at.
Kelly Kennedy:You can call the office directly.
Kelly Kennedy:Nine times out of ten you're going to get through and you'll be able to get to a voicemail or a direct email.
Kelly Kennedy:If you can get to voicemail or direct email, absolutely bypass the LinkedIn digital introduction stage.
Kelly Kennedy:Take it straight to the weekly contact stage.
Kelly Kennedy:Follow up till you either get the meeting or disqualify.
Kelly Kennedy:So the answer is yes, absolutely I do.
Kelly Kennedy:But once again, this would only be when I know for a fact I have the right person.
Kelly Kennedy:If I'm reaching out to multiple people at an organization, I'm not confident that this person is going to be the right person anyway.
Kelly Kennedy:It was just an avenue that I was working on taking.
Kelly Kennedy:Then maybe not.
Kelly Kennedy:I might not reach out to them.
Kelly Kennedy:But once again, if you know you have the right person, you know, you got like the director of supply chain or whatever, you're pretty darn confident.
Kelly Kennedy:Don't worry about it.
Kelly Kennedy:Keep going.
Kelly Kennedy:Find the direct phone number and email reach out, book that meeting and you got this.
Kelly Kennedy:Thank you, Daniel.
Kelly Kennedy:Once again, I appreciate you and I appreciate this question.
Kelly Kennedy:All right, that takes us to the end of community questions.
Kelly Kennedy:Guys, let's head into the show.
Kelly Kennedy:Update.
Kelly Kennedy:We are sitting at 3,023 followers on Apple podcast and Spotify and my gosh, guys, if you guys want to help this show, tell a friend, tell a family member, and then Hop on over.
Kelly Kennedy:Wherever you listen, give us a, like, give us a rating and give us a follow.
Kelly Kennedy:It is a completely free way and it absolutely, absolutely helps shows like ours grow and we appreciate that immensely.
Kelly Kennedy:We are sitting at 225,000 downloads, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:Absolutely incredible.
Kelly Kennedy:If you guys want to keep up with the show, LinkedIn is the place.
Kelly Kennedy:Instagram is the place.
Kelly Kennedy:So we have a relatively new Instagram account, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:So if you do want to come and follow us on Instagram, I am posting on there, putting stuff up pretty much daily.
Kelly Kennedy:If you guys want to head over to LinkedIn, that is our world.
Kelly Kennedy:That is where this show took off from.
Kelly Kennedy:That is where this show grew and LinkedIn is still the place.
Kelly Kennedy:Just head on over, follow me, Kelly Kennedy and follow the business development podcast page and you guys are going to find stuff up there all the time.
Kelly Kennedy:We're posting clips from shows, I'm putting up clips from recordings as I'm recording them so you guys can see who's coming out and what's going on.
Kelly Kennedy:I just put out the December guest list, guys.
Kelly Kennedy:So if you guys want to see who's coming on for December, head on over to LinkedIn.
Kelly Kennedy:It is all right there.
Kelly Kennedy:I love it when you guys connect with me.
Kelly Kennedy:I love hearing from you guys.
Kelly Kennedy:Our incredible rockstar community could not, could not, could not do this show without you.
Kelly Kennedy:And so do that.
Kelly Kennedy:Please come follow us on LinkedIn.
Kelly Kennedy:Come join that conversation.
Kelly Kennedy:We appreciate it immensely.
Kelly Kennedy: ness development processes in: Kelly Kennedy:It is a three month program, six sessions.
Kelly Kennedy:Over those three months, we are going to review your marketing materials.
Kelly Kennedy:We're going to identify the right clients at your organizations.
Kelly Kennedy:We are going to create target lists.
Kelly Kennedy:We're going to chat about how to utilize and optimize a CRM.
Kelly Kennedy:We are going to chat about the full active marketing process.
Kelly Kennedy: our corporate brands here in: Kelly Kennedy: it is going to be critical in: Kelly Kennedy:Feel free to go on to capital business development website CapitalBD CA or if you go to LinkedIn and click the amplify your impact button underneath my profile picture, Kelly Kennedy, you can go there and book a free discovery call and we can chat about what that program might look like for you guys.
Kelly Kennedy:Shout outs this week Chloe Wu, Zale Moranski, Lewis Matthews, Susan Paseka, Colin Harms, Deanna Keen, Jory Evans, Jamiah Zel, Barry William, Lauren Graff, Gary Noseworthy, Vijay and Swami Nathan, Brian Hayes, Nicole O'Neal, Jason Chakalakal, Irina Horia, Cheva, Tatiana Z Medelina, Steve Austin, Brandon Fuchs, Michelle Sammy Weebly, Whosom Zakum and Steve Campbell.
Kelly Kennedy:Until next time, this has been episode 189 of the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.
Mark Cuban:This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy.
Mark Cuban: business development firm in: Mark Cuban:His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.
Mark Cuban:The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.
Mark Cuban:For more we invite you to the website at www.capitalbd.ca.
Mark Cuban:see you next time on the Business Development Podcast.
