Why Your Social Media Isn’t Starting Conversations with Geoff Talbot

Host1 00:00

The algorithms are really changing a lot. Society does seem to be losing its ability to have discussions with people. Because it's not just about one post, it's about a whole narrative that you're putting out there. It's hard for people to flip the switch from a mindset standpoint. We get into talk one-to-many, but one-to-many is to get to one-to-one.

Host 00:18

People's minds almost instantly go to like, I don't want to, or that's not scalable. It's something I hear all the time.

Host2 00:24

I think that it's sort of a little bit of a lost skill and could be even more lost with AI.

Host 00:28

What's up, everybody? Grantwise here. Welcome back to the Partner Profit Podcast. I'm excited for my conversation today. Got Mr. Jeff Talbot on who's going to teach us how to turn our relationships into revenue. What's up, Jeff?

Host2 00:39

Hey, what's up, Grant? Nice to be here.

Host 00:41

Yeah, man. Thanks for being on here all the way from New Zealand. I really appreciate that. What time of the day is it for you right now?

Host2 00:47

Well, it is 11.05 a.m., but it's Friday, so we're a day ahead.

Host 00:51

That's right. That's right.

Host2 00:52

That's right.

Host 00:53

Awesome. Well, for the people that are listening to this and don't know much about you, give us the backstory. How'd you get to where you are today?

Host2 00:58

Well, I have a pretty complicated backstory, but the summation would be started as a veterinary surgeon, ended up in the entertainment business in the United States, met my kid's mother, and we had a child very quick. Entertainment in 2009 was rough. So I ended up starting my own business using the internet to build relationships and helping people tell their story, find their audience, grow their businesses that way.

Host 01:24

So I have a lot of questions that don't have to do with relationships now. After you tell me that, but I like adventure. Yeah, it sounds like it. So you started a business teaching people how to build relationships using the internet. So just kind of walk us through that. What all what all do you typically help people do?

Host2 01:45

Well, if you think about social media, and I reckon we have become so familiar with this that we have forgotten its power. And when we forget its power, all sorts of problems happen. But the ability for me to talk to anyone anywhere in the world, just from my phone, is incredibly powerful. And and the part that's that's either makes us impotent to use quite a strong word, and that we don't really do it very well, or it makes it dangerous, is that we forget that there is a complex human being on the other side of the screen. You know, like for example, we have people start conversations with somebody and they're like, they didn't reply. It's like you have no idea what's going on in their life. Like, and that's five minutes. So don't make an assumption. So there's that power to really connect via social if you stay cognizant of the fact that you have that power in your hand. Like, who do you want to connect with? Sometimes I'll say the best thing about social media is that you can connect with anyone in the world. And I'll say the worst thing about social media is that you can connect with anyone in the world, right? So it's a two-edged sword, but the thing that makes it good or bad is your choice. Like, who do you choose to connect with? And when you sit in that choice, you can build life-changing, business-growing relationships extremely quickly.

Host 03:07

How do you build them with social media? I I get to talk to so many cool people, and you know, I'm in a lot of industries that are they're relationship-based industries. They're, you know, people, it's it's one-to-one conversations all day long. But there's some people that I know that have gotten really good at building relationships one-to-many, which is the avenue that social media unlocks. I think people would prefer to do that probably, but not everybody cracks the code. How how do you do it? How do you build a relationship with people through social?

Host2 03:33

Well, if you think about a channel, so let's just use your Facebook profile, which is one of the oldest channels as an example. The first thing you want to do is you want to make sure that you are connected to the kinds of people that you want to have in your life, but also in your business. And there is no shortage of people. So if you worked in real estate and you wanted to connect with people in your community, there are loads of ways of putting out your hand, sending friend requests so that you have this pool of up to 5,000 people who live locally who are connected to you. And there's huge power in that. What we see is that people don't think too intentionally about who their connections are, and they also don't think too intentionally about the content that they create to engage those people. And so, number one, make sure you're connected to the right people. Number two is make sure that your messages just try and do like your content essentially tries to do the very first step, which is can I get Grant to talk back to me? That's it. Right. We often go to like, oh, can I see if Grant is interested in my product or my training? Well, he hasn't even talked to you yet. You wouldn't do that in real life. You don't even know if you like him. He might not even like you, right? And so the very first step in a relationship building process using social is can I get people to talk with me? There are three, three essential ways that you can create content that engages people. Number one, you have to ask people to engage. That's one way. It's the easiest way that we teach people because you don't need any specific skill set. But often people look at their post and they'll say, no one commented, and I'll be like, there's no question mark. Like you just said a bunch of stuff, you didn't ask for their opinion. So it is number one, ask. Number two is you can inspire people to comment with your story. And that requires a bit more skill and storytelling. And then number three is you can provoke people into replying. And that creates a brand with some edge. But if you do it all the time, people will think you're a shit stirrer. So you have to be like really careful. But your your goal when you create content on social, in my mind, is to start conversations. Not get likes, not get loves, not get shares, but can you use your content to get people to talk to you or with you? It's a better word. Because every piece of business you've ever had in life started with a conversation. So that's the metric, right? And the faster, you know, we see a lot of realtors who put out, sorry, I'm talking a lot, but I'm quite passionate. See a lot of realtors put out like passive content. Maybe they're sharing their knowledge or they're sharing what they want. They think that over time, if they just keep sharing their knowledge, people are going to go, I really like that person. They're amazing, they've got so much knowledge, but the algorithms don't really work that way. And most people aren't paying that much attention. And the fastest way for me to figure out what's going on in your life today is to literally start a conversation with you. And so that's the fastest way to grow your business is to talk with people. And I think it's sort of a little bit of a lost skill and could be even more lost with AI. So we need to keep working on like being present with people and asking them questions and sharing a bit. Yeah.

Host 07:00

I was having a conversation with somebody on the on the podcast here a couple of weeks ago, and he says the biggest mistake that people make when they go from having a lot of conversations one-on-one to having a lot of conversations one-to-many is that they act like they are talking to a lot of people at the same time instead of acting like they're just talking to one person. And I think it's really fascinating what you're saying. Is like, no, you're just you're still just talking to people. And I think I th I love the the advice that he gave because it was like, no, just continue to act like I'm sitting here talking to Jeff. It's just Jeff is one of 5,000 people that can be paying attention to what you're saying at that at that given time. And I think it's interesting, you're right. Soci does seem to be losing its ability to have discussions with people, especially discussions where they don't agree. And um definitely fascinating. Yeah, yeah. So I'm creating content and I'm getting people to talk to me. What do I do next?

Host2 08:00

So one of the greatest things that people can do now, because the algorithms are really changing a lot, and it's all about monetization and stuff like that. So people are trying to create content and get their content seen, but sometimes people don't have a big ad budget to get it in front of people. And so what we are increasingly doing is saying, no, let's go back to the original power of social. Let's create engaging content that hopefully people comment on and they'll see and learn about you, but let's like literally start conversations with them directly. So we use some message channels a lot, but not in the way that you might think of using them and or that people often use them, which is like to hard sell or to cold sell. We use some more like can we create a context to reach out to this person? So I just wrote a post, I don't know how long ago it is, maybe. I'm just looking at my computer here just before you jumped on the call. 27 minutes ago, and I asked people, I'm thinking of getting a puppy for my 50th birthday, what would you recommend? And we've got 42 comments in 28 minutes, some of them are mine. People have put pictures of their dogs. So let's use that as an example. If my first goal, and you have to slow the process down when you're working by a conversation relationship, if my first goal is to just get that person to talk back with me in a private channel so I can figure out where they are in their process and in their life and if there's an opportunity for me to help them, is look at someone here has sent me, a few of them have sent me pictures of their dog, right? I've got a picture of a schnauzer here. I know Valerie, she's talked about her schnauzer all the time. Never met her in real life. I'm gonna copy that photo of her schnauzer and I'm gonna post it straight back into her messenger and I'm gonna say, um, he looks like trouble. What's his name? I can guarantee she will first step, get her to talk with me. I can guarantee she's gonna respond to me because she doesn't want to ignore her own dog, right? And so now we're talking, then we go through the process of conversation, which could happen quickly or over a longer period, where we have to change the topic over time. And it could be as simple as, oh man, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with that dog. But by the way, what's happening in real estate in your area? What area are you in again? I'm in such and such. And so when I'm coaching people on how to talk one to, because we get them to talk one-to-many, but one-to-many is to get to one-to-one. When you're talking one-to-one, you need to have what we call a compelling conversation, which is a great way to grow your business. And that is a conversation that people remember. And you have to start with like super open hands, like surrendered hands. Like I'm talking, if I talk to 50 people, three or four of them are going to be clients over the period of a week or have the potential to. But it what am I gonna do with the other 47? And I've had people tell me shocking things like, oh, like my mum just passed away. Oh man, that's terrible. How can I listen now? Like, how can I share a little bit of what happened for me so you know that I understand? And so we go into these conversations with very open hands, but with a goal. And our goal is we're looking for a few things. We have a few different goals. One is we're looking for people who are catalytic, who give us energy, both in our lives and in our business. And so if someone doesn't want to talk to you, which happens, great. Just end the conversation, just skillfully and nicely. If someone gives you energy, that's a good sign. If they put up their hand and say, look, I'm interested in what you do, tell me more, that's even better for now. But sometimes people are partners as well, and you don't want to look for a client opportunity from a partner. So if I was talking to you and we're chatting away in chat, and I was trying to sell you something small, I would miss out on opportunity of being on your podcast, right? It doesn't, it doesn't make, it doesn't make sense. And so you're trying to figure out what is the relationship for. And the only way of doing that is through talking with people and through listening and through coming at it in a very open way. And if you talk to a hundred people and you have a hundred great conversations, you're gonna find what we call catalytic connections. So people who energize you, who live in your area, and you're or work in your niche, and we're gonna find committed co-creators, people who are also doing something similar to you, and you can help them, and they can help you, and you can have a really supportive relationship. And you're gonna find a bunch of people who are just everyday good people, and you learn so much from those people too. You learn their attitudes, what they're interested in, and you just have to focus your more of your time on building the relationships with those people who are good for your life and good for your business.

Host 12:46

I have I have three to five questions. I'm gonna try to figure out how to get them, get them, get them asked. But one of the things I'm just gonna hit like right off the bat, a lot of times when you when we're having these discussions and you're like, Yeah, you gotta talk to people, yeah, you know, people's minds almost instantly go to like, I don't want to, or that's not scalable. It's something I hear all the time. I'm sure you hear it all the time too. It's like like Jeff, when am I gonna have time to sit and talk to 50 people? And it's like, right, you know, what do you say to people like that that are questioning the you know, the time commitment or the the lack of scale or you know, some of these conversations that I'm certain you probably have.

Host2 13:21

Well, one with the channels, it doesn't take as long as people might think. And your people you're talking to somewhat self-select. So on a live call, perhaps I get people to start conversations together to get over that hump. And we've had people start 20 conversations in 30 minutes, which is pretty good. And we've had people get a client or two clients with those 20 conversations, and so my I guess my overall answer grant would be whether you like it or not, you're gonna have to talk with people if you're in business. And I think a lot of our resistance is around not knowing how, especially when you put people on a different channel. Like, I've had people who will door knock and cold call who won't send a stranger a Facebook friend request, and I find that fascinating.

Host1 14:13

That is fascinating.

Host2 14:14

Really? You find that more scary, they're like, Yes, I was like, You don't even know that person. I know.

Host 14:19

I was like, Wow, yeah, and today you could get shot, like instead of going to somebody's door and just knocking on it. Totally. That's so true. It's funny. That's that's really funny, actually. You said something that's been a central theme in a lot of the conversations I had. You said you need to come at this with like open hands, and and yes, say that as like giving and contribution and just trying to help people. Is that something that you see is like a mindset that you really want to have when you're creating content socially and trying to build relationships? Is you just want to try to give, just want to try to contribute and help people?

Host2 14:48

Just yeah, I I think it's been a big learning for me in the last couple of weeks, something that I maybe lost for a bit and came back to, which is to stay in a place of this is gonna sound weird, but like when it's come to content, just create content because you have no idea really, even if you're very good at it, what's gonna resonate, what's gonna get people talking. And if you are creative and curious together, then those two qualities allow you to just admit you don't really know the result. And I think what happens and what makes conversations hard is when we have a hard goal. Like I'm gonna get five clients today by talking to a hundred people, and all you're doing is you're looking for that client. And I've had people say shocking things to me about the way they use message channels. Like, I'm just really coarse, like I'm just I'm just looking for a romantic event, right? That like but putting in the business context. I'm just gonna message as many people till I get what I want. And that's really doesn't even doesn't feel very good, even to repeat the story. And so, but if you just go, you know what? I'm resonating with these people, they've been on my socials for a while, I see a possible opportunity there, let me just explore it and find out. It's far more likely to result in something. And honestly, when it comes to scale, which you asked me about, what you're looking for isn't actually a transaction. You're looking for what we call a partnership and a partnership that benefits both people. And those partners can really help you scale. Like one relationship can open huge numbers of doors, and over time, if your skill level goes up, you can find increasingly powerful partners.

Host 16:30

I could not agree more. You know, obviously with the partner and profit podcast, like all we do, all I get to do every day, and I have a lot of fun doing it is just put partnerships together, put deals together, and it's a lot of fun. It really is. It's a lot of fun to be able to connect two people so they can do business together. And I could not agree more. Like, you know, when you put it in that context, it's like just show up and try to help people. Because the reality is like you you don't realize that you probably are just one strategic relationship away from your business blowing up, you know, getting married, uh, you know, like getting somebody to donate to that nonprofit, or you know, it's like whatever the thing might be. But you can't really do that if you if your attitude, I see this in sales all the time. My goodness, I took me nine months one time to train a sales guy to finally get him to flip and be like, dude, you're just trying to take from every conversation that you get in when the way to get sales is to give to every conversation that you get in. It's it's it's a it's a it's a paradigm flip, and he finally got it and he starts crushing it. But it's hard for people to flip the switch from a mindset standpoint. But you know, I've done you know, like I think 40 to 45, 46 of these interviews now, and what you're saying has been a central theme in every one of the conversations, and it's like all of these incredible people are telling me, like, hey, just try to give to people and don't worry about what you're gonna get back in return. And they're all very successful. It's like, okay, I probably should probably should listen to them. I'm gonna go back to what you're saying, what you said, you know, about the the dog conversation turning into a business conversation. And I can't believe we've already almost running out of time. So I'm trying to respect your time. What I've heard lately, what which I found fascinating, is you know, a lot of people used to create content about business and do this and try to motivate and inspire and try to just give advice and tips. They got to a point where it's like nobody's listening, nobody's paying attention, and then they flipped, and now all of a sudden they're creating content about cars or you know, the things that they're passionate about or whatever, and then that all of a sudden their social media is blowing up and their business is busier than it's ever been. You know, I want to like dig in a little bit more there on like how does the dog conversation turn into a business conversation? And I know it's not instantaneous, but like you you gave a beautiful framework for this. So I'm curious is like, is that kind of what you teach? Is like you don't need to be all business, you actually need to be a little bit more personal because you got to develop relationships and then you can get good at having conversations with people and you can build a bridge to the business stuff.

Host2 18:58

Right, definitely. And I I think uh firstly, a good metaphor, which I've taught before, is imagine you are standing on a stage and your 5,000, just use Facebook as an example, it could be any channel, 5,000 Facebook friends are in an audience in front of you and none of them are paying attention to you. They are talking amongst themselves, they're on their phones, they're busy, they're thinking about what they're gonna do for the rest of the day. If you were to say, and perhaps you're a realtor, and you were to say, um, hey, I'm a realtor, um, is anyone looking to buy a house? You would get very little attention. But if you walked onto the stage with your puppy and you went, uh, I just got this puppy, I have no idea what to call it. Has anyone got any idea for names? Everybody in the audience would have some name to give, right? And so when it comes to using social well, the very first step is in any relationship, you've got to get your person's attention. And so having posts, because it's not just about one post, it's about a whole narrative that you're putting out there. Having posts that get people's attention and that anyone can comment on, super important. And then you're looking for, well, who's really resonating for me? So you need posts that maybe people share a bit more. Like they don't can't answer them with one word. I asked a poet question once, which was name one negative experience you had in life that made you better. And like a lot less people answered, maybe 80, but some people wrote like a page. They really share. That shows they're feeling they're feeling trust, they're feeling safety with me, and they're engaged, right? And so you need some posts that create deeper resonance. And then when you've got people noticing you, then you are more able to say, Well, hey, how much what year did you buy your first house and how much was it? I'm just curious. And now they're talking about that topic with you, and you're seeding in what it is you do. And so it's much like that. Like you've got to entertain the, you've got to engage the whole audience to find the people that you want. And increasingly, when you think about AI and people using it to create abysmal content in general, like beige, boring content, the fact that the information that you and I have is now pretty much readily available. The thing that will help you and anyone watching this stand out on social is their personality. And your personality is the things you're interested in. Like I am genuinely wondering about getting a puppy. And it scares scares me a bit because I just I don't know if I have the time. But why not put that out there? Start the conversation. I guarantee these people all know what I do because I've shared enough of it over time. It's on my banner on my Facebook page. So it's not hard to take a conversation from puppies to something else. And I think that's the other thing to understand is that within a conversation, the topic switches all the time. And you have to just get really good at doing that skillfully and naturally. Like, oh, oh, by the way, going back to what you said, you just did it to me before. You went going back to the dog stuff, right? You did that in a conversation. We can do that. Or, oh man, it's been great talking about dogs. Um, I think I talked to you ages ago and you were doing this. How's that going? Right? We we switch conversation, we switch topics all the time, and just getting good at that is really important in figuring out what's happening in people's lives. Like we have to get real skillful at removing the kind of bullshit eventually and going, I know it's fun to talk about dogs, but really, how are you? I saw that your mum passed away three years three months ago. Oh man, it's so tough. Thank you for asking. And it actually is a very fun, I I actually think it's a fun and life-giving way of working when you know, hey, I didn't get any, I didn't get any closings today from my messages, but man, I really connected strongly with three or four people. I know that's gonna pay off for me. Like, and I made a difference in that person's life. That's amazing, right? And so that's how I think of it. Yeah.

Host 23:02

I have many more questions, but I don't have that much time. So I'm gonna I'm gonna save them. I'm gonna have to find a reason we can jump back on and talk again. Um, this has been super helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. I always like to ask this at the end is how can we as listeners of the Partner and Profit Podcast, how can we partner with you? What can we do to support you?

Host2 23:20

The best thing people can do to stay connected to me is to jump onto my Facebook page and just send me a friend request. I'll accept it. Unless you look like you're um selling me Bitcoin or something like that, maybe that's okay too. So yeah, just send me a friend request and just engage in my content, just talk with me and we'll figure out the future. But I think that's the best way is just like, let's just say, hey, I saw this on with Grant. You seem awesome. He's a friend request, and we'll just go from there. Like it's no stress, no hurry.

Host 23:51

That sounds good. We'll we'll make sure that we link up the way that people can do that in our show notes. I really appreciate you taking the time. No, you're busy, and uh very grateful that I got to have this discussion. Uh very valuable too. So I I really appreciate it.

Host2 24:02

Okay, no worries. Thank you.

Host 24:04

Of course, and thank you all for continuing to listen to the Partner Profit podcast. This is another really valuable conversation. I'll see you on the next one. Peace.