Digital Chatter Episode #004: Gregg Burkhalter

Eric: Hello and welcome everyone to Digital Chatter. Today, my guest is Gregg Burkhalter who is a recognized authority on LinkedIn and personal branding. So Gregg say hi to everyone.

Gregg: Hello everybody!

Eric: So Gregg has trained countless professionals across the United States. And Gregg actually I've almost just barely caught one of your live courses but essentially you help people brand themselves in market themselves using LinkedIn and really you're known as the LinkedIn Guy. So you know tell everyone a little bit more about how you became this LinkedIn Guy.

Gregg: Well the one thing I can tell you is I can't take credit for it. It was nothing out planned, it happened. But the one thing I might take small credit for is I recognized something was happening and I went with it. For about three decades I worked in music and broadcasting. Great life, on the radio, hanging out with celebrities. It was music, is what I loved. And about five years ago I lost my job in that particular industry. And I had to make a decision do I stay in an industry where it's very hard to sell physical product like CDs or do I transition. Well I took the bold move of transitioning. That's scary when you don't really know how that process works. Friend of mine felt sorry for me he said Gregg come to my house and we'll do some strategizing.

Gregg: There's two things you need, Gregg: you need a business card that looks like you have a job. It's called a networking card and you need to be on LinkedIn. So I got the networking card printed up. I went to the first business I saw which looked sort of friendly. Walk inside and said I'm looking for a job and I have a networking card. By the way, what is networking. I'd never networked before. I'm not on social media at this time. This is a totally new concept to me. Two hours later I'm still talking to those people and they hire me. So I gave away one networking card and I got a job in marketing.

Gregg: I came back and told my friend I had a job. He was excited but he said one more thing. You still have to be on LinkedIn. Come to my house again. I'll help you set up your account. So about three and a half years ago I set up my very first LinkedIn account. I walked out of his kitchen and I was like everyone else on LinkedIn. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Well the one thing I did was I came up with a strategy. Right or wrong, I had a strategy and my strategy was, can I build relationships online like I do in person. So I started trying. Six months into my LinkedIn years, I have no idea if making any leeway or not. But I walk into a small networking group of about 10 people. They are talking LinkedIn and I get excited. It's my opportunity to learn. I sit in the corner and I listen. Within 30 seconds I realized I knew more than anybody in that room.

Gregg: I logged it away and kept doing what I was doing. One year into LinkedIn I opened my email and there's an email from a local Chamber of Commerce saying Gregg we're starting a brand new Education Academy. Would you be our very first speaker and do a LinkedIn workshop. I wrote back and said I'm not a member of the Chamber. You have the wrong Gregg. They wrote me back and said we know who you are. You're the person we want. That was January of 2015 - I said, am I becoming an authority? That was the first time I recognized something was happening. And that's when I said, could I have become a LinkedIn Guy if I tried? January 2015 I began that process. June of 2015 I got to the point where I either became the LinkedIn Guy or risk losing my brand to someone else.

Gregg: So in 2015 I started my own company as the LinkedIn Guy. It has been amazing the first year I believe I spoke over 50 times to groups,