Enjoy this episode & transcript below where Kimberly Spencer, Master NLP Mindset & Communications Coach and CEO of Communication Queens, interviews Ben Albert.

Connect with Ben Albert

Founder of Real Business Connections & Balbert Marketing LLC

Rochester, NY

WEBSITE https://realbusinessconnections.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/realbusinessconnections/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/realbenalbert/

LINKED IN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/realbenalbert/

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCatiqMEYvn1CO_isUcb6pAQ/videos%2520

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-business-connections/id1537115928

In this episode of the Communication Queens podcast, Kimberly Spencer and guest Ben Albert delve into the art of podcasting and building genuine business connections. With her signature enthusiasm, Kimberly explores Ben's journey of starting "Rochester Business Connections" and his strategic approach to networking. Ben emphasizes the importance of patience, adding value, and fostering authentic relationships over mere pitching. They discuss the impact of emotional storytelling, the power of mentorship, and the role of generosity in networking. Their conversation is a masterclass in leveraging podcasting for meaningful connections and long-term business success.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

• Importance of building genuine connections in podcasting
• Ben's experience with starting a local podcast and leveraging his network
• Networking approach using the "plus, minus, and equal" framework
• Concept of selflessness and ego in networking and business
• Power of genuine connections and impact on business success
• Building a podcasting strategy and connecting with mentors, peers, and clients
• Insights into using advertising to expand the reach of a podcast
• Emphasis on authenticity, generosity, and meaningful relationships in podcasting
• Examples of powerful impressions and visibility through podcast guesting
• The significance of building lasting relationships and honoring humility and generosity

FYI Transcripts may contain a few typos. With many episodes lasting 30-minutes, it can be difficult to catch minor errors. Enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Castbox, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, Pandora, Youtube, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Ben Albert (00:00:00) - Don't rebrand. Double down on what's working. I'm just a creative type and I couldn't control myself. But double down on what's working. And if I'm a guest, like I'm not looking at just like audience size or I'm looking at like, where is my tribe? So don't do what Ben does and just rebrand every two seconds and get drunk with power. Really, I think the better advice is to figure out exactly who your audience is and just go as deep and wide with them as possible. But if you're creative, type. If you're ADHD, give yourself permission to go crazy and try new things. And that's what I did. So this is not true advice. This is just me talking from experience y'all.

Kimberly Spencer (00:00:49) - Welcome to the Communication Queens podcast for the visionary leaders, speakers, service providers, and podcasters who are looking to stand out sharing their story. I'm your host, Kimberly Spencer, former screenwriter turned master communications coach. On this podcast, I'll be coaching you on how to share your own transformation story so that you increase your visibility, influence, and income on podcast interviews.

Kimberly Spencer (00:01:12) - Let's get your voice heard.

Kimberly Spencer (00:01:14) - So, Ben, I really want to dive into specifically your specialty of how you got started with podcasting, which was in the local market.

Ben Albert (00:01:26) - 100%. I got started with a lot of nosebleeds. I learned at a very young age, so prior to the pandemic, I was like making 200 cold calls a day. I was a telemarketer as the not pretty way of saying it, but one thing I learned was the more hands you shake, the more money you make. And during the pandemic, I got let go from my sales executive role and my entire book of business. We were we were national, you know, Texas, California, anywhere but Rochester, New York. I had a client that entire book of business that all those leads, all that momentum was completely stripped from me. So when I decided to go on a whim and start my own business. No. Brené Brown on my wall, no Oprah, no Tony Robbins. Never thought I'd be an entrepreneur or a podcaster.

Ben Albert (00:02:20) - Motivational. I just thought, wow, I love podcasting and I don't have any business connections. I'm going to start a local podcast and call it Rochester Business Connections because I'm from Rochester, New York. I'm a minnow in an ocean of sameness. Everybody is a marketer. I'm a minnow. So if my own hometown can't benefit from my services, you know, some people specifically like their hometown small or this or that. But as a marketer who's doing online marketing, basically like web design and this and that, if I can't find people in Rochester, New York, that has a million, couple million people in the area to like me, I'm not gonna work as a business owner. So I started Rochester Business Connections to be super hyper local. Well, Rochester Podcast started a local firm and in conjunction with the two started to build my business. And we can go in any direction as you want. But I was just shaking hands, getting nosebleeds, proverbial hands because we were on zoom, getting nosebleeds and learning as I when.

Kimberly Spencer (00:03:29) - When you say getting nosebleeds. Elaborate on that, like actual nosebleeds, like from nervousness or just like, like, oh my gosh, I'm talking to somebody because I know some people get very people shy. Yeah. And like when they realize that business is not just creating pretty canvas images or posting things, nice things that they want on the internet, it's actually like the hardest thing to to do. And this was my biggest challenge when I first started back in 2016, was talking to people because that was my fear of rejection. So how did you, like, elaborate in the nosebleeds?

Ben Albert (00:04:04) - Yeah, I had to make rejection and ghosting and getting ignored, literally my best friend, because it was all part of the course. Now, I did have a great strategy. I didn't realize how brilliant it was, but I can simplify it and ignore all the errors I made. Let's just talk exactly what I did right. I went to State University, New York Brockport for college. So I'm a Suny Brockport alumni.

Ben Albert (00:04:31) - I got on LinkedIn, I searched for other Suny Brockport alumni, and I reached out, hey, I see you went to Suny Brockport as well as you're a business owner. Congrats on making a big time. And I probably send 500 of those messages because I was just messaging Suny Brockport alumni business owners because I was starting a Rochester, New York business podcast. And the key here is I was connecting on a commonality. I was giving a reason for my connection, and it was because we are both alumni business owners. And then if they connected, I would send a message. You know, I'm launching a Rochester, New York business podcast. I want to highlight local leaders. I thought possibly you'd be a good fit. And here's the thing send five. These are not exact stats, but let's just do like a generic example. Send 500 messages. Only 200 people connect. Send a second message to those 200. Only 75 reply. But just look at those numbers now. I have 75 local business owners that want to be featured on a podcast.

Ben Albert (00:05:43) - And what started as like, I'm going to do an episode a day for two weeks, so a ten episode launch, so I can really get momentum. And there was low editing. I was just figuring it out as I went. I ended up doing a 22 episode launch in November of 2020. We did an episode a day, Monday through Friday, for the entire month of November. And those 22 episodes, if you were to create a family tree of relationships, peers, friendships, clients, I've found best friends and hundreds of thousands of dollars just from those 22 episodes. And the only thing special about me was I did it and other people didn't. I wasn't that good at what I was doing yet, but I gave it a shot. I put my chips on my city. I was niched down so people were willing to say yes. And I even found that the smaller the non thought leaders, the people that had never been on a podcast or was surprised that I asked, they were the ones that I built the best relationship with because the, the the thought leader, the leader, the celebrity, they would just jump on leave and get on the next one.

Ben Albert (00:06:53) - So it was even the smallest of conversations, the smallest of guests that actually had the largest benefit for me. And I'm talking as a host, but benefit for the guest as well.

Kimberly Spencer (00:07:05) - Now there is. I've seen in the podcasting space a lot of funnels for podcast guesting, leading to generating clients real podcasting specifically like not guessing. Yes. And like we provide funnels and strategies and things inside of communication planes for guesting but for podcasting. Where? It's almost like there. And I know this is not what you do because you believe in real business connections, but it's almost like that. The podcast interview is like an illusion, or it's a trap to, like, ensnare someone into your world and then you hit them with a pinch. And so how do you go about actually building these quality, real business connections instead of pitch slapping everyone with your podcast?

Ben Albert (00:07:51) - Yeah, it's it's cliche to me, but I don't know who's heard these things or not. But Zig Ziglar says the best way to get what you want is to give people what they want.

Ben Albert (00:08:00) - Bob Burg co-wrote a whole book called The Go Giver. There's a massive truth that the more generous you are, the more you give. The more you love. The more you spread, the more it comes back to you. So if you're whether you're a host or a guest, if you're too quick to pitch, you're going to come off aggressive, you're going to come off selfish, you're going to come off needy. I don't have a CTA prepared for this podcast. When you ask me, I'll probably make something up on the spot like share this show, love on Kimberly. Like, I wouldn't be here without you. That's my CTA. Because I want to give. Knowing that if I build a relationship, I'll attract the right kind of people to me. So creating a funnel? Yeah, it's smart, I guess, in some scenarios. But podcasters, relational business owners, or relational high ticket clients are often relational because they're spending good money with you. So I like to be patient, add value, build a relationship.

Ben Albert (00:09:03) - And if it's a good fit, that's awesome. And if it's not, who cares? Like, I still got to spend time with Kimberly. That's all that really matters right now.

Kimberly Spencer (00:09:11) - Yeah. What would you say is your top core value that's driving that is a generosity.

Ben Albert (00:09:17) - oh. Wow. That's a really interesting question. Top core value. Honestly, I would say belonging and or connection because I can go into my sob story. I didn't have the best life growing up, but I was really disconnected and I never felt like I belonged. I didn't have that many friends, I was bullied, I want to be a basketball player, but I was the shortest boy in my class and I got picked on. And I think at the core, I know what it feels like not to connect and not to belong. And I don't want others to feel that way. And I know that if I can give that to others, I'll get it back as well.

Kimberly Spencer (00:09:58) - I love that that's driving you because I just recently.

Kimberly Spencer (00:10:04) - Was so grateful that I was on. I had just had a conversation with a media network, and she posted this really beautiful post about me on LinkedIn and was like, oh, she, like, lifts people up. And and I shared it and I said, be the person who is the rising tide, like lift each other's boats. And somebody was like, how did you get to be like this? Like, why are you like this? And give her? And I said, because I have heard for years, whether it was in my Pilates initial Pilates business, which I had since I was 19, or in coaching from female specifically, that it was never the men holding them down at the top. It was the women, and they would put them down or hold them back or do the the things that sometimes women do that are the catty, gossipy things in the background. And I was like, I am choosing never, ever, ever to do that. Instead, I'm going to give women the leg up and I'm going to I'm going to promote them, I'm going to showcase them, I'm going to share them.

Kimberly Spencer (00:11:00) - I'm going to I'm going to thank them. I'm going to thank them publicly. Like I'm going to show that we thrive collectively when we all own our greatness and our genius, and we honor somebody else's, too. And I love that. That deep desire for belonging and connection is what has built new, incredibly successful business in a very short time. And it came from not the bro marketing tactics of like, so hard. Here's your funnel. It was from being genuine and having a genuine high, high caliber relationship, which then can lead into a high ticket client.

Ben Albert (00:11:43) - Can I riff on that real quick?

Kimberly Spencer (00:11:44) - Yes, please.

Ben Albert (00:11:45) - So this just happened like the week we're recording it, but, Jamie Kern Lima, I don't know if anyone knows Jerry, but she built a cosmetic brand, sold it for to L'Oreal for 1.2 billion. No one had ever done a sale like that before. As a startup female entrepreneur, it was mind blowing. And now she's a thought leader. She's an author, and she just launched a book, unworthy.

Ben Albert (00:12:09) - And the reason I bring it up is she had a 12 hour launch event all day on a Saturday and, oh my God, that's like all the names. So Tony Robbins and my lead. Oprah showed up. Ellen DeGeneres showed up. literally. And Brendan Burchard was there. Robin, the girl from, Good Morning America. She had all these big names like fricking Oprah showed up to help promote her book live at this event. Yeah. JB didn't do that. She wasn't able to do that because she was a billionaire. She sold her company. She was able to do it specifically because she had built meaningful relationships with these people. And I'm saying this I'm sure Jamie would agree. She was one of the smallest names in the room. But since she was surrounded by such brilliant people that, no, she's a fantastic author. No, she's a fantastic teacher, knows that she's successful. They wanted to spend their time on promoting her book, and then she became a New York Times bestseller just immediately during launch because she built those relationships connections.

Ben Albert (00:13:28) - So when she had an ask, everyone was like, heck yeah, I'll be part of your launch. And it just mind blowing the power of connection and building a network and what that can do for you.

Kimberly Spencer (00:13:39) - Yeah, yeah, it's such a great example. And I love Jamie Lee. And I would had the privilege of seeing her speak on stage when Brendan brought her up years, a few years ago, and she was just brilliant and amazing. And I was like, she is, she's a firecracker. Like, I love it. and it's the power of your network. And I mean, we've heard the saying that proximity is power, but and this is more of a spiritual question, but how do you navigate your own egoic desires for your own success, growth, wealth, etc., along with supporting others and growing and growing theirs, and be having it be a truly selfless act of connection?

Ben Albert (00:14:19) - The reason I'm pausing is the selfless part is was like the trick to the question, because I don't necessarily know philosophically that it is selfless, right? I think it is ego driven and it's self-serving.

Ben Albert (00:14:35) - But if you have the capacity to fill your cup where it's overflowing, you have plenty to share into other people's cups. But if your cup is empty, what do you have to share? So it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to feed oneself. The question is, what are you doing with the proceeds that go beyond what you need? So the reason that was a difficult question that I paused is I because I think be selfish. I'm very ego driven and I'd love to detach from ego, but I have things in my past that have led me to want to be a better person. But then I take the proceeds and I share it. So very tough question. Very philosophical. I don't know the answer other than Jeremy, Jeremy, Jamie would say you are worthy. So worthy to love yourself, worthy to give to yourself. But don't get selfish. Still be selfless. But the ego parts confusing because I don't know if there's. I don't know if there's egoless acts. I, I ask myself the question, is this in alignment with who I am and who I'd like to become? If the answer is yes, it's in alignment, I do it.

Ben Albert (00:15:49) - The answer is no, I don't do it. And it's really simple. I don't know if I'm spiritually perfect or not, but.

Kimberly Spencer (00:15:57) - I love that question. And just as you speak over the weekend and had the privilege of meeting him and he, that's literally one of the belief filters that he said to filter everything you do through is like, is this in alignment with my goals and going to drive me closer to my goals? Great. Yes. Okay. Do that. And and I only ask it in that way because I know we have so many good hearted, service oriented leaders. And sometimes the thought of being quote unquote selfish kind of holds them back from actually giving and being even more generous than they could be, for fear that it's not like a fully selfless act. And because there is, there are studies that show that, like, yes, you receive benefit by just doing something kind, and other people also receive benefit from the energy by just witnessing it. Like so when it's witnessed publicly, like on a LinkedIn post or something.

Kimberly Spencer (00:16:49) - And it reminds me of that, that scene from friends with Phoebe where she was trying to find that like one selfless act and like every nothing was selfless because everything selfish just describes the qualities of the self. It just describes like who we are. So it doesn't mean there's no positive or negative. It's actually a very neutral word, but it's our meaning that we've attached to it that it's like, oh, being selfish is bad, and yet there's so much selfishness that can actually go that's actually selfless as well, that can go into, you know, giving and being generous with your connections and opening up your network to other people to serve and support and be that good giver.

Ben Albert (00:17:33) - I couldn't agree more. There's a woman in my life, she's a family member. She's my ultimate role model. And I won't give this up because she made an anonymous donation. a family member and my girlfriend's life passed away and she made an anonymous donation to the charity. And I received information on the donation. So it was anonymous.

Ben Albert (00:17:55) - But I reached out and I said, thank you. And she actually didn't text me back. And she didn't do that to be mean. But I know she didn't make that donation or recognition. She made it out of the kindness of her heart. And it makes her full to give back without recognition. So she is probably more selfless than I am. But no matter why you do it, if you give, it's a good thing.

Kimberly Spencer (00:18:23) - So and that's the foundation of real business connections is being really giving and generous. Yeah. So how do you think about making connections, leveraging connections and really being strategic with who you're reaching out to and connecting with to get on podcasts?

Ben Albert (00:18:41) - Yeah. So I have a really, really, really, really simple way of putting a and I learned this framework from James Altucher and I've kind of made it my own. But he talks about plus minus and equal and write this down. If you have like a pen and a pad of paper, you can write down a plus, a minus and an equal.

Ben Albert (00:19:01) - A plus is a mentor. It's someone you're learning from. It's someone you're trying to level up and be more like a plus is someone you're looking. That's you in the future, at the end of the day, and your plus is in a lot of people's lives. So a plus is a mentor. A minus is your mentee. It's your target audience. It's your target client. It's the person you can help. So the plus is the person that's helping you. The minus is the person you can help. You're the plus to their mind is you're the mentor. And an equals is a peer that someone that, like you and I, Kim, we are peers. We might not work together in a financial way, but I'm sure we can provide referrals. I'm sure we can provide ideas. I'm sure that compound interest, if we work together, we'll both be way better than if we don't. So who are your pluses? Who your mentors were, your minuses? Who are the people you can help? Or your equals or your peers, your co collaborators? And if you have clarity on those three categories, just reach out to people in all three categories.

Ben Albert (00:20:08) - And it doesn't have to be in a podcast context. It can be in any context in life, but it's a fantastic way to build a podcasting strategy. Let's try to get on big shows and kind of like learn even from the host. Or one thing I do all the time. If I feel like I'm a little small to be on the show, I'm like, have you ever done like an audit or a coaching call live where you can just dissect how bad I am for your audience? And I've gotten on a podcast because they dissect it and audited what I was doing. I got on the show as a student rather than as an expert or peers. Like, who do I want to connect with? Who I want to be around? Let's get on podcasts like that. And then obviously the minus is is what podcasts have an audience that I can help. And in this context, that's probably something I would focus a lot of my strategy on. What podcasts have an audience I can really serve to the my best of my ability.

Ben Albert (00:21:04) - But again, if you have clarity on those three, your entire connection and networking strategy is going to be way more easy.

Kimberly Spencer (00:21:11) - And so for those who want to have a podcast, because you and I have had podcasts for a while and I've seen a lot of mentors actually become peers, become friends. And that's one of the great things about having a podcast is you give them that position and that platform, and then you build that relationship. When you look at structuring someone's podcast strategy for when they're creating their own podcast, do you encourage your clients to focus on finding those mentors that they can then have on their show, that they can then build those relationships? Or do they do you prefer to focus on either the minus or the equal to find that that balance and dynamic within within their guesting range?

Ben Albert (00:21:58) - It's exactly the same concept. So a plus in that scenario is a mentor. They're a thought leader. Maybe they could be a client, but maybe they're like they're already taken care of. However they provide social proof, they provide education for you, which I don't want to not mention that I get to learn from a genius person that's worth its weight in gold.

Ben Albert (00:22:23) - They charge 50K for a gyno. They're spending time with little Ben. That's amazing. So I get to learn from them. But they also provide social proof and wisdom for my audience. My audience is possibly a client. This person that's a guest isn't a client, but they're providing wisdom and social proof to my audience. So again, bring those people on, bring peers on, build a relationship, build referral partnerships. I like to bring on other marketers just to learn what other marketers are doing in the industry. And then minus I never treat it as a lead and send them through some bro funnel like you're describing. But I'll be the first to admit, like when I start Rochester Business Connections and bring on Rochester, New York business owners. Are they possibly a client? Yeah, possibly. Do they know other business owners? Absolutely. So one thing I would do with my current guest is I'd say, hey Kim, you're amazing. Thank you for adding so much value. Is there any other business owners like locally that you would nominate to be on the show? this show is literally being built on nominations, so anyone you would recommend, goes a mile and I'll treat them like gold.

Ben Albert (00:23:44) - I use the word nominee very intentionally, because who doesn't want to nominate someone who doesn't.

Kimberly Spencer (00:23:49) - Want a great word? This is the.

Ben Albert (00:23:51) - Best word ever.

Kimberly Spencer (00:23:52) - Who doesn't want a great word?

Ben Albert (00:23:53) - Somebody who doesn't want to be nominated. And let's say, for example, you nominated ten people and they aren't all the they're not all a good fit for the show. I still have a connection in an interaction that wouldn't have happened if I didn't ask. And I've had people literally open up their Rolodex and say, anyone you want to meet, just let me know. And from a sales business development entrepreneur concept, again, you got to be willing to have bloody noses. You got to be willing to jump on sales calls started. But if you're willing to do that, oh my God, like the opportunities are endless. And if you're a guest, I would do the same thing. Like, I know this is a silly question, but are there any other podcasters that you would like nominate me. Like I'd love to get on other shows.

Ben Albert (00:24:40) - what other podcasters do you think I might be a good fit for? And if I could have your nomination, it would mean the world to me. You could do the same thing as a guest.

Kimberly Spencer (00:24:52) - Perfect. I love that question. I love that question, Ben. That's genius. Because a you're right. That word nomination, it's just it's like it's so sexy. You feel like you're winning the I mean, I'm from Hollywood, so like I feel like the nomination like it's it's such a, a beautiful enhancing word to somebody, caliber that they bring to the table and to honoring the assets that they have in their genius. Stone. And. From Rochester Business Connections like that podcast. Did that just grow and expand into real business connections, or what was the evolution from the local to like a wider market? Yeah, this is true.

Ben Albert (00:25:38) - Proof that Ben Albert has an ego. I wanted to bring on guests that weren't just from Rochester, New York. currently, we don't have to explain every little detail, but we have five different segments on real business connections.

Ben Albert (00:25:54) - Rochester's one. It's a slice. It's one out of the five segments we have. But I wanted to bring on international mentors. I wanted to meet the whole Ottawa and the Amberly logos of the world, and I wanted to bring on Jordan Harbinger and Sarah Edmondson escaped a cult from a city near my house, and I read her book and I watched her series The Vow on HBO. I wanted to have Sarah Edmondson on the show, but am I going to get, you know, Sarah Edmondson or Hala Tahar on Rochester Business Connections? Probably not. So I rebranded to create a new need to bring in a larger audience. But one thing that I want to really pinpoint is I didn't star with the international scale. I started Hyper Niche, I started hyperlocal, and I actually saw a plateau when I rebranded because I was actually neglecting the audience I built by rebranding. Now that plateau has since hit a mountain and I'm doing way better. but I started small, got a little drunk with power, wanted to impact more people, and now it's real business connections.

Ben Albert (00:27:07) - And we have five segments and it's going great.

Kimberly Spencer (00:27:10) - Yeah, we had the same experience when we rebranded, our first podcast, Crown Yourself, from what it was called The Princess and the bee, to crown herself because the Princess and the bee was on all the bees of becoming the queen and crown herself was like, bam, we're the queen embodiment, let's go! And there was a stagnation period of just growth. And then and then we went viral and had a 20,000 downloaded episode. And then since then, off we go, off to the races. But the process of rebranding, because this is something that I see both on the podcast guesting side and on podcast or side, is when is the right time to rebrand? Because I know what's what's frustrated my Queen team in the past is like, we're in three months into working with the client on getting them booked on the right podcast to build their brand awareness and their bottom line. And then the the client goes, oh, I'm rebranding. And I'm like, like, are we targeting a totally different avatar? Because that means that we have to totally shift the strategy of what podcasts were getting you booked on.

Kimberly Spencer (00:28:16) - So walk me through the process that you went through in the thought process, the color schematics, like what was the whole ethos and evolution of your your rebrand? And how did that shift the podcast that you were going on as a guest because of the rebrand?

Ben Albert (00:28:33) - Yeah. which I had a perfect answer for you. I think there's a certain level of knowing and intuition that comes into play that's hard to describe. I will say this if you're not committed to looking at a long term time horizon and you're just shiny object syndrome, trying to change things because it just you saw a tweet or an Instagram reel and then you want to change your entire business model. Not a good plan. but oh man, I wish I had a perfect answer for you, but it's hilarious because I for real business connections. I changed my logo about four months ago and nobody noticed. Same colors. Kinda similar, but nobody noticed. Nobody really cared about my colors and my logo. So I think sometimes we overthink it. I just knew that I wanted to create a bigger impact, and I couldn't do it with my niche audience.

Ben Albert (00:29:37) - So I yes. And it yes, I'm going to stay with Rochester and I'm going to bring on more elements. I didn't really change my business strategy. I just added a new leg to it, a new, you know, thing to juggle to it. I don't even know that that's the best route, because in my scenario, when I was Rochester, New York, guests only, we kind of touched on this lately. But they were they weren't big thought leaders. They weren't big influencers. I built local relationships. We we really like went deep together. And the Rochester segment actually drives more referrals in sales than any other segment. When I was only doing Rochester, I was making easier money with the podcast. When I rebranded, I actually hit a plateau and actually got less referrals through the podcast, because if I bring on Jordan Harbinger, who's like top one in his category, he's just not going to refer me to anybody and who cares? But. I'm kind of thinking out loud here because I think a lot of cases it's not don't rebrand.

Ben Albert (00:30:49) - Double down on what's working. I'm just a creative type and I couldn't control myself. But double down on what's working. And if I'm a guest, like I'm not looking at just like audience size or I'm looking at like, where is my tribe? If I'm a Rochester, New York business owner, I'm going to get on Rochester Business Connections. If I'm a thought leader that helps women 5060 plus go through some of those hormonal changes and build a foundation for the next 40 years of their life. I'm going to go on a podcast that speaks to those women. so don't do what Ben does and just rebrand every two seconds and get drunk with power. Really, I think the better advice is to figure out exactly who your audience is and just go as deep and wide with them as possible. But if you're creative, type. If you're ADHD, give yourself permission to go crazy and try new things. And that's what I did. So this is not true advice. This is just me talking from experience y'all.

Kimberly Spencer (00:32:00) - I love the fact that the the mission of the creative visionary, our communication concierge is literally is like Kim, no more ideas anybody. Just can we complete the ones that we've had from last month? So I get it completely the, the the powerful aspect that comes from larger brand exposure. And also, you know, the creative visionary. That's a whole other podcast of the visionary integrator in and of itself, of that dynamic of what's needed in order to, to grow and have that stability.

Ben Albert (00:32:43) - I'll be brief. I want to say one simple thing. You got to ask yourself the question, what are you optimizing for? And if I'm optimizing for sales, I'm going to be as niche as possible. And I'm going to be very specific and deliberate. If I'm optimizing for enjoyment, I'm going to talk to experts and I'm going to I'm going to get a little crazy with it because I freaking love what I get to do. So really the question is, what are you optimizing for? And then be mindful when you make decisions going forward.

Kimberly Spencer (00:33:12) - It's such a powerful question, because that's the thing that we really target with our agency, is that we want to optimize for the podcast, that build their brand awareness and their bottom line, not just, what I call the gold digger strategy of just go on the top big best, top 1% podcasts. Ta da! I'm here. I've arrived. And then let that bring let the audience come to you, like, really get targeted and niche with who are those people that you're specifically talking to and how you can bring them into your world and invite them into your world from the heart of your story and the heart of your depth of connection.

Ben Albert (00:33:52) - I like that. The heart of your story. Yeah.

Kimberly Spencer (00:33:56) - Well, you know, heart of the ocean. Part of the story for James Cameron. So with real business connections now, you've had some extraordinary guests on. And I know that you really optimize for YouTube and with advertising. Can you talk to me a little bit about how advertising has really played a role in the expansion and growth of your podcast?

Ben Albert (00:34:19) - Yeah, I actually really don't know what I'm doing.

Ben Albert (00:34:21) - I just hired someone to help me run some Google ads to my YouTube channel. but the one thing I can say with total confidence and it's age old, it's not even a secret anymore. You need to hook people and you need to retain them quickly. So what we do is for my podcast, we create a glimpse. It's like a trailer for every single episode and I'll just give you the formula. It's a really good hook. It's like a three second bio of the guests, like a quick intro to the guest. So hook guest insight and then insight hook. That kind of leaves people curious and wanting more. So every episode we do is hook, bio insight, curious insight. Then it goes into the long form discussion. So when we're running ads, we run ads from the video, the first 30s. And the goal is that they see that in their feed, see the 30s, and then they click. And one more. Or just because you're optimizing for YouTube, you just want someone to find you in the stream.

Ben Albert (00:35:27) - You want them to like your thumbnail. You want them to understand the heading like, this is what I want to click on, and then you want to quickly give them what they came for as quickly as possible. So that's what we try to do in that there. But I don't know exactly what he's doing on the PPC end of things. I'm just giving him money and he's running ads. But the video production and the mindfulness of what does my audience wants is making the ads more effective than if we just threw them to a crappy video that wasn't meant for them.

Kimberly Spencer (00:36:02) - The at the VIP luncheon at the Pod Fest, that's what the head of Lipson Marketing was saying. First 15 seconds of any podcasts interview like. So what my team will do is they'll clip a piece of this out, pop it in the front for that like hook that, that Kapow! So that then that comes before the intro of me showing who you are and all that, and then it goes into our branded intro and then it goes into the actual content because.

Kimberly Spencer (00:36:33) - In those first 15 seconds. That's when most people will either tune in or tune out.

Ben Albert (00:36:38) - 100% and we went overboard. It's nauseous the amount of work we put into it. But what I recommend is if anyone looks up diary of a CEO that is like inspiration porn for podcast intros, because every intro is like a movie trailer. And there's a reason why they're the biggest podcast on YouTube. It's because they're bringing people that don't even listen to podcasts in with the trailer. And then it goes into the ad, the intro, the full conversation.

Kimberly Spencer (00:37:12) - Yeah. Oh, I'm gonna look that up. That's really a.

Ben Albert (00:37:14) - Diary of a CEO. It's literally inspiration. It's amazing.

Kimberly Spencer (00:37:17) - Oh, I love that. And because I'm a sucker for a movie, trailers like in our home before we have family movie night, my son always wants it to watch the movie trailer and I'm like, done, done. Let's watch the promo and see like what they highlight, because it's usually a movie. I've seen like 3 or 4 times.

Kimberly Spencer (00:37:33) - He hasn't seen it. We're currently going through the Marvel series, but that promo trailer and I love looking at Hollywood for how successfully it's clues, because when you look at the big blockbuster movies, how are they hooking emotionally, the audience. And so when you're developing the real business connections, where do emotions play into it?

Ben Albert (00:37:55) - It's funny because I'm sure people can codify these concepts. For me, it's a little more intuitive. I understand that people like stories, and I understand as a business professional who went through this, who was very Type-A and very formulaic. People want strategies, they want tactics, they want lists. They want a key to success. They want specific and implementable steps. However, if you don't have the mindset, you aren't a whole person. If you're sad, if you feel unworthy, if you feel like a victim, all those strategies and tactics aren't going to get you anywhere. So if you look at the yin and the yang, it's understanding what to do. But it's also standing who you have to be and become to do that thing.

Ben Albert (00:38:44) - So what I love is stories, because yes, stories play on emotion. But more than anything, stories are true proof that this concept works and everyone has a unique fingerprint. Everyone has a unique story. So I love learning people's stories. Not to get the nibble concept, which is brilliant, but to understand how that concept works in practice and how it can work for me, you and the listener as well.

Kimberly Spencer (00:39:13) - And I love that. And I think that the stories, it makes the world go round, like that's how we've been evolving as a species and learning and actually deeply learning more so than like just the facts. Super left brain. Like, here's my, you know, step by step system. That's fine. But unless you can really hit that heart and and pull from that space, it isn't going to resonate as deeply. And I love what you said about the mindset and the strategy. And I think the overarching strategy from what I'm hearing is, is generosity is it's generosity. It's kindness as being a good human and wanting to serve others.

Kimberly Spencer (00:39:52) - And what we found is from our agency, the ones who the clients who have worked with us, who have the greatest success, are the ones who operate from that standard of generosity and the ones who struggle with they get booked on podcasts, but they're not struggling with, they're struggling with conversions and having seen any results that are tangible or monetizable results from podcasting. It really comes down to like, how generous are they being? Are they following up with the host? Are they building real quality relationships, or are they just going on the podcast as like their great one night stand of like, yay, that's fine. Thanks for, you know, taking care of me, showing me off to your audience by and then you never see them again and you forget to promote. And so all of these little pieces really deeply go into the power of.

Kimberly Spencer (00:40:35) - How.

Kimberly Spencer (00:40:36) - Podcast guesting can lead to greater, more powerful, deeper relationships. So what's what's your favorite story? since we're talking stories about a relationship that evolved from your podcast with the guest.

Ben Albert (00:40:52) - Oh, I mean, there's there's so many, most recent.

Kimberly Spencer (00:40:56) - One then.

Ben Albert (00:40:57) - Most recent was so a great story is one of those Ben has to pinch himself in wake himself up moments. But, hello to the Young and Profiting podcast. She put her chips on me, like, super early. So I just launched the international segment. It's called learn, speak, teach. She was like episode 6 or 7 on that segment. So I had a decent following, but it wasn't huge. I'm really good at pitching. We can go into that, I guess, but like add a small segment. But she was willing to put her chips on me and come on the show, and I did my best as a host to just set the stage for her to tell her story and overdeliver for the audience. And her team liked the interview so much that they actually replayed my podcast on Young and Profiting podcasts, which at the time, and still probably to this day, is 50 x my audience size.

Ben Albert (00:41:52) - So her audience was indoctrinated into my show. I gained some subscribers there. Her and I remain friends. she started a LinkedIn masterclass which has been crushing it for a year now. So I brought her back. She came on the show again, she talked about her LinkedIn masterclass, and it wasn't until 14 months in that I was smart enough to actually buy her masterclass. So now, like I'm part of Paula's mastermind, I took her LinkedIn masterclass. It's fricking incredible. but Hala actually put her chips on me, gave value to my audience, did way more than she maybe even should of. But now, like, I want to spend money with her. I'll talk about her anytime. And realistically, I was the dummy that took too long to reciprocate, but she gave value. And now it's my goal to reciprocate that value as much as I can. And again, like you never know how those relationships will build. And usually I'm the idiot that like the greatest things right in front of me and I just don't realize it.

Kimberly Spencer (00:43:05) - Oh, I love I love the the generosity that she showed in how you highlight that. And you also are demonstrating and a principle that I regularly talk about on this podcast and to my clients, it's that if you really make that powerful impression with the podcaster like I did with you then and yes, she's, you know, the the top 0.0 5% of podcasts are she's amazing. And she made a powerful impression with you as a guest, which then now she's not here in this room with us and she's still getting mentioned. She's still getting visibility and publicity for her programs and her products and services, because she made such a powerful impression on you. And I see that time and time again with podcasts. Or is that when you can truly, deeply lead with that heart of service and you make that powerful impression on a podcast, or they will continue to talk about your interview over and over and over on other people's podcasts, even though you may not even have that audience to. And it's such a I love that you demonstrated that example, because that is like the perfect example that I regularly talk about.

Kimberly Spencer (00:44:12) - So I'm so grateful that you did that.

Ben Albert (00:44:14) - I missed a piece too. So I show up for her LinkedIn secrets masterclass and someone I knows in the room too. I'm like, oh, that's cool. And I send him a DM and he's like, yeah, I heard about Holla Through you. So not only did holla close me, she closed my friend. So she just got two clients that are now supporters of her just by being on my rank eating show. So if that's happening, I can only imagine that's happening tenfold in a million other scenarios.

Kimberly Spencer (00:44:46) - Countless times. In fact, 42% of millennials report purchasing something from a product or service that's recommended by a host.

Kimberly Spencer (00:44:54) - Wow.

Kimberly Spencer (00:44:55) - So there's so much power in the building of relationships on going on podcasts. And I think your podcast with real business connections and what you're building is truly demonstrated of that principle. And I love how you walk your talk, Ben, because just so for those that don't know, like when Ben and I met through a mutual friend, April, and who's the founder of the Light Beer Society, and that we met through her.

Kimberly Spencer (00:45:22) - Then I met with Ben, and Ben opened up his network. Just like, who do you want me to connect you with? Like, he just is such a walking demonstration of the principles that he teaches on really building true, lasting relationships. And it just goes to show the power of real business connections.

Ben Albert (00:45:40) - Thank you.

Kimberly Spencer (00:45:41) - So then.

Kimberly Spencer (00:45:42) - Boom.

Kimberly Spencer (00:45:43) - Mic drop. Then how do we find you? Aside from real business connections, the podcast. where do we work with you and all the things?

Ben Albert (00:45:53) - So I'm a marketer. I made it easy for y'all. Just Google real business connections or type those words in wherever you found this. And your barrier to entry is I want to sit back and humble myself. We kind of talked about this earlier, but I wouldn't be here without you, Kim. I wouldn't be here without April. I'm like the lucky guy that just sat in a chair and now I'm getting interviewed. So if you haven't showed love for my girl and left her five stars shared this show.

Ben Albert (00:46:24) - Bonus points for a comment. But you sometimes don't need it. You just click the five star button and you move on. You click subscribe and then you move on. I wouldn't be here without her. So yeah, y'all can find me at Real Business Connections, but show some love for your girl first and then come say hello.

Kimberly Spencer (00:46:43) - And you are such a walking testimony for building beautiful, powerful relationships, honoring on a foundation of humility and generosity. And I so admire that about you. Thank you so much for coming on the show and as always, stand out and be heard.

Kimberly Spencer (00:47:01) - Thank you so much for listening. If you love this episode, subscribe! Leave us a review and share it with your friends. For more tips on guest podcasting, storytelling and communication strategies, follow us on social media at Communication Queens Agency and visit us at Communication queens.com. I look forward to seeing you in the next episode. And in the meantime, remember your story has the power to save one life. Let your story and your voice be heard.

Ranked No.55 in the United States by Apple Podcasts for Marketing, within just one week of launching, and over 33,000 downloads in the first 5 months, the Communication Queen Podcast with Kimberly Spencer is on the fasttrack to becoming an industry GAMECHANGER, in supporting listeners to tell better stories, enhance their communication skills, and learn how to leverage getting booked on podcasts to grow their business.

From interviews with Top 100 Podcasters, to providing real-life storytelling coaching, and communication #quickies of bite-sized communication tips that you can start leveraging right away, to increase your authority and influence in your niche, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to level up their storytelling skills to serve + sell more in their business. To listen to any of our past episodes for free, check out this page.