REFERRALS PODCAST

An opportunity to delight people, connect and engage with your community. An effective source of leads and referrals. A powerful way to raise money for a worthy cause.

Events are all this and so much more…

But there's something else events can do - they can create another stream of income. If you can set up an event so good and so special it's worth paying for, you can very easily make a profit many times over.

Why is a charity component so powerful in an event? How do you build momentum and hype between events? In this episode, coach, trainer, lender and founder of NKS Financial, Neal Smith joins me to share the thought process behind and results of his dinner and wine event.

You've got to have a charitable component to your business because it brings people in. It's about "we", not just the transaction. -Neal Smith

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Uncaged and ready to engage

How do we make sure we feed people's need for events?

-3 ways to get referrals

If we didn't get any referrals or leads from an event, is there a way to generate them after?

-Not just another auction

How do we make charity events memorable and unique?

Guest Bio

Neal Smith is a coach, trainer, lender and founder of NKS Financial. He has been serving the Sacramento area for 29 years as a Certified Mortgage Planner. He has a degree in Real Estate Finance and has worked as a loan officer since 1992. A proud graduate of Jesuit High School, Neal believes wholeheartedly in growing others, as well as sharing gratitude with his community. Through his speaking and coaching work with Michael Maher, Neal has helped others to thrive personally and professionally. NKS Financial also offers and supports numerous events and fundraisers each year in an effort to spread generosity within the community. For more information, head to https://www.teamnks.com/.

Episode: 334

Title: Forget Uber: The Best Side Hustle for Realtors and Lenders! w/Neal Smith

Host: Michael J. Maher

Every organization has a culture, whether we're intentional about it or not. Leaders cultivate the culture and that impacts the results we get. How people feel, speak, act and interact within our businesses is what ultimately drives our success and profitability.

The problem with culture is that it's very often just stated, not lived and even worse, without realizing it, leaders could be killing their culture with their own words.

Strong cultures are built around belonging, and in our world that goes beyond our teams, it includes the people we serve too. How we lead can either create belonging or create rifts between our people which will rip our businesses apart.

How do we change culture by changing our language? What do teams with strong cultures do differently? In this episode, owner of Keeping Current Matters, Bill Harney talks about simple steps that will transform our culture.

When you unintentionally use exclusionary words that strikes rifts in an organization and that becomes a culture killer. -Bill Harney

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Language can rip your culture part

How do we avoid using words that unintentionally exclude people and create rifts in our organizations?

-How to bring core values to life

Everyone's been told you need to have core values, but the truth is, most of them live on a wall. What can we do to make sure those values manifest themselves on our teams?

-What strong cultures have in common

How do we build and cultivate teams where people are happy to come to work and work together?

Guest Bio

Bill Harney challenges what is possible in the workplace. He is a visionary entrepreneur and the esteemed CEO of Keeping Current Matters, the leading educational content provider for the housing industry. After years leading sales and marketing teams in professional sports, Bill joined his father to grow KCM from a founder- focused small business to an industry powerhouse. After taking over as CEO in 2014, Bill built KCM with a unique mix of business savvy, cultural investments, and an unwavering commitment to employee empowerment. His proudest professional achievement is the strength & consistency of KCM's culture as the team has grown from six people in a garage to 50+ employees working together in Richmond, VA. Doing things others believed impossible through rapid growth, KCM's for-people culture has been the secret sauce powering their business success. It is this commitment to culture that has allowed KCM to be recognized by Fortune Magazine and Great Places to Work as a Top 100 small workplace in America a whopping five times since 2016. Bill is an expert in team leadership, strategic planning, and scaling powerful cultures. He is a frequent podcast guest and highly sought-after speaker, sharing the secrets of KCM's success so others can build game-changing cultures too. Go to https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/ for more information.

Episode: 333

Title: You Already Have a Culture: How to Cultivate One You Actually Like w/Bill Harney

Host: Michael J. Maher

Michael J. Maher has a very important announcement for you! We've had so many requests to do a live event and bring everyone in GenGen together.....well, Michael's going to make that happen! Listen to this entire episode for all of the details. Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode - What's Your SuperPower? We all have one. What's yours? - What's the #1 question to ask your database? It's a question so powerful that entire books are dedicated to this. - Big Announcement! Episode: 332 Title: REFERRALS PODCAST SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! The News You've All Been Asking For! HERE. IT. IS. Host: Michael J. Maher

The power of events as a business growth strategy is well-documented - they allow us to connect with people and elevate our relationships. The power of creating a vision board has also been proven - when we see ourselves in future, we get there faster.

What would happen if we hosted an event centered on vision boards? When our tribe can vision board together, it combines 2 powerful things that produce powerful results for them and our businesses.

How do we expand the power of vision boards to the people in our sphere? What's the mic drop insight that will 10x the success of your event? In this episode, agent, coach and speaker Angela Gribbins returns to talk about the results of her vision board event.

I know how powerful it is to see me in the future. -Angela Gribbins

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-By popular demand

How do you create an event so special that people in your sphere remember it 12 months later?

-The secret ingredient to magic

What are the simple components we need for a great vision board event?

-Angela's mic drop golden nugget

Follow up is the key to succeeding through events. How do vision boards make this so much easier?

Guest Bio

Angela Gribbins is a Broker/Realtor for Lake Norman Realty and Certified Teacher, Speaker and Coach. With a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry. Strong real estate professional skilled in Sales, Management, Leadership, Project Management, and Customer Service.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelagribbins/

Episode: 331

Title: Two Proven Strategies to Help You Achieve Your Goals Faster....But What Happens When We Combine Them? w/Angela Gribbins

Host: Michael J. Maher

A dialed in, successful business and life is ultimately a stack of systems, routines and rituals that serve the individual. One of our most powerful rituals is our morning routine. What we do every AM has the power to affect not just the next 24 hours, but our entire week and month.

As entrepreneurs, we can't just wake up and get straight into the day. We need an intentional system that sets us up for success, and it has a powerful ripple effect on our businesses and even our children.

How do we go from frazzled and scattered to fired up and structured? What can our children learn from our own morning routines?

In this episode, we're joined by Cincinnati Realtor, Remi Aina. She shares her 30 Mornings experience and how she has created a morning routine that serves her life.

Appreciation changes your mindset. When you can bring back into focus the good things that have happened that day, you rest better. -Remi Aina

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Make small tweaks and make it your own

How do we implement new habits without biting off more than we can chew?

- Win tomorrow today

A successful morning routine starts the night before. How do we perfect our evenings so we don't get set back in the morning?

-The power of appreciation

Why is gratitude at the end of the day so important, and how does a lack of it rob us of precious rest and sleep?

Guest Bio

Remi Aina is a licensed Realtor based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She's also a former business systems analyst and Montessori pre-school owner.

Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Episode: 330

Title: The One Little Secret of Success, Referrals and Happiness: Mom of 2 Teens Reveals It Today! w/Remi Aina

Host: Michael J. Maher

In today's connection-starved world, the cold, fist-to-the-face marketing strategies that once worked are falling flat. Relationships are the key to building a thriving, blooming real estate business.

While many people don't believe a referral-based business can rival (and even surpass) a marketing-based one, the numbers don't lie. Agents who focus on deep connections do better consistently, and make more with less stress.

What are the simple, yet effective methods for connecting with people? How do we lead with being of service and of value?

In this episode, I'm joined by the Queen of Relational Real Estate, Jacki Semerau Tait. She shares how she went from paycheck player to building a consistent six-figure business through referrals and relationships.

Help people understand that you are there to help them. -Jacki Semerau Tait

Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-The power of personalized cards

How can we make sure our communication feels unique, customized and deeply thoughtful?

-Find referral cues in any conversation

How can we identify an opportunity to solve a problem for someone?

-Set boundaries around your business

In this business, it's so easy to fall into the trap of being available all the time. How do we avoid burnout and still achieve a thriving real estate career?

-Don't get lost in the likes

Social media platforms only seem to foster a false sense of connection. How can we build genuine relationships?

Guest Bio

Jacki Semerau Tait is a speaker, author, Real Estate Agent, Coach and the Queen of Relational Real Estate. Her coaching style focuses on helping real estate agents create a steady income in their real estate business through the power of relationships and success habits. Jacki also believes in a healthy work-life balance and helps other agents create that through building the right systems and habits in their business, and setting boundaries that helps protect their time off. For Jacki's free sphere of influence guide, head to http://byrelationship.com/.

Episode: 329

Title: How to Get Referrals with the Queen of Relational Real Estate and the King of Referrals w/Jacki Semerau Tait

Host: Michael J. Maher

You show up at your desk and you just can't get focused or get into flow. You can't come up with ideas. You're forgetting things. You're easily distracted and you're experiencing afternoon slumps. Your usually brilliant brain just feels fried.

Sounds like you have brain fog - an ailment that troubles a lot of entrepreneurs. Now you might blame this issue on a ton of other things, but your brain fog has a lot to do with your sleep - or lack thereof.

What are some of the habits that lead to brain fog? How can we clear it up for good? How do we stop stealing tomorrow's productivity from ourselves?

In this episode, we're joined by health consultant, Tanessa Shears. She shares how we can get the best ROI from our health, how to make educated personalized decisions and how to create clear, more focused thinking.

If you're cutting out the majority of your deep sleep, you're actually stealing from tomorrow's productivity. -Tanessa Shears

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Start simple

For the entrepreneurial population, it often feels like we have to add things to our plate to become healthier. How do we improve or tweak what we're already doing?

-How your coffee habit could be hampering sleep

Most of us love caffeine, but how do we consume it without destroying our sleep before we even go to bed?

-Personalized, actionable information

Instead of following generalized advice, how do we use our own personal data to make health decisions?

Guest Bio

Tanessa Shears is an experienced health consultant who specializes in helping high achieving entrepreneurs completely overhaul their health so they can achieve massive breakthroughs in their personal and professional lives. She rolls up her sleeves and gets elbows deep with her clients as she guides them to work through all of it, piece by piece.

What makes Tanessa's clients so successful? She understands that creating a plan and following it is only PART of the solution. She teaches her clients how to manage the stress & mind drama that comes with taking back control. She loves exploring what ELSE is possible for your business when you fully optimize your health, elevate your focus and REALLY go to work.

After Tanessa discovered how powerful proper sleep recovery and targeted nutrition were to create the clarity, energy and focus to grow her own business, she developed her signature Becoming Limitless Program that she teaches to her clients. With these skills, she has completely transformed her life and is continuously living in breakthrough.

For more information, head to https://tanessashears.com/, listen to the podcast over at https://tanessashears.com/podcast and follow @tanessashears on Instagram.

Get Tanessa's FREE entrepreneur's playbook, 12 Ways to Biohack Your Energy here.

Episode: 328

Title: Bust Through Brain Fog: How to Double Your Productivity, Energy and Focus Through Sleep w/Tanessa Shears

Host: Michael J. Maher

Nothing kills your hosting confidence like throwing an event that ends up being a dismal failure. Sending out invites, having no one show up and not generating referrals will make you want to throw in the towel.

It's easy to take it personally, but the problem isn't you, it's the events system you're using.

How did our guest go from event stress to an event that generated 17 referrals for her, and 15 referrals for vendors? What are some of the steps she took to increase attendance?

In this episode, real estate agent, Elizabeth Waloweek shares how one event restored and increased her hosting confidence.

One of the things that was a plus for this particular event was the location and its connection to the community. -Elizabeth Waloweek

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-How to get valuable contact information

It's easy to get discouraged when emails or text messages bounce back. How do we figure out why they didn't go through?

-The secret to profit center events

How do we turn outgoing referrals into our next event sponsors?

-Connect to the community

How do we find venues that will give people one more reason to attend the event?

Guest Bio

Elizabeth Waloweek brings over 18 years of real estate to the table. From administrative roles to Human Resources Manager, her diverse background brings organizational skills and effective negotiation to the table. Originally from Wisconsin, Elizabeth has lived in various places, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Switzerland, before settling in Kent, Washington, where she has been a resident for 20 years. Beyond her real estate career, Elizabeth engages in activities that reflect her vibrant personality. Gardening, hiking, and square dancing are among her passions. But what truly sets Elizabeth apart is her dedication to community service. She actively collaborates with seniors and those facing life challenges, spending over a decade bringing joy to residents in assisted/independent living facilities. From assisting at a local homeless shelter to serving on the Leadership Committee for Relay for Life, Elizabeth is deeply committed to making a positive impact. Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn.

Episode: 327

Title: From Hosting Hesitance to Confidence! How Elizabeth Waloweek Transformed in 1 Successful Event

Host: Michael J. Maher

In a competitive business landscape, entrepreneurs overlook the power of launch parties and grand openings. Not taking the time to make that memorable first impression is a huge missed opportunity and even a huge setback.

That's where a grand opening event comes in.

It's the perfect opportunity to showcase our businesses and services, connect with the local community, and imprint ourselves in people's minds.

Is it true that it's not too late to host a grand opening? What does it take to host a successful event as such? How can a grand opening help us introduce ourselves to the community?

In this episode, agent Parker Smith joins me to talk about his experience hosting an incredibly successful grand opening. We also talk about the Golden Ticket Strategy from Event Mastery as well as the 5 year automated follow up campaign and how it adds value.

Doing something different for a grand opening is a great segue to introduce yourself to a lot of people. -Parker Smith

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-The fears of hosting a grand opening

What are some of the fears people face when planning a grand opening or launch?

-The ultimate intro

Can events such as grand openings and launches serve as a great introduction into a community?

-Figuring out the biggest opportunity

How do we figure out our biggest opportunities when hosting these events?

Guest Bio

Parker Smith is the force behind the Parker Smith State Farm Agency, a venture he established in 2017 with a clear mission – to provide outstanding insurance services and safeguard the assets of his beloved South Carolina community.

Since becoming a licensed insurance agent with State Farm in 2015, he has been dedicated to ensuring the well-being of his clients. Parker is not only a seasoned professional but also an alumnus of Clemson University, holding both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Communication Studies.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Parker is a family man. His wife, Mary Pat, a fellow Clemson graduate, heads up community outreach at the United Way. Together, they navigate the joys of parenthood with their energetic golden-doodle, Harvey, and their newest addition to the family, son Curtis, born in 2020.

Find Parker on LinkedIn @Parker Smith

Episode: 326

Title: What if Jake from State Farm Took Event Mastery? Would he get Referrals? w/Parker Smith

Host: Michael J. Maher

Events are not just gatherings. They are opportunities for meaningful conversations and connections. The key is to create events that go beyond the ordinary, offering value and engagement for attendees and sponsors alike.

By curating experiences that resonate with our audience and providing valuable insights or entertainment, we can turn our events into memorable occasions that leave a lasting impression.

How do we keep the energy high at these events, and how does hosting events help us to stay top of mind and top of heart?

In this episode, Cherie Harrington talks about her highly successful yacht event that made waves, her secret to attracting audiences and words of wisdom for anyone wanting to host an event.

You've got to talk referrals, that's the bottom line. -Michael J Maher

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Creating opportunities for conversations

What do conversations with sponsors for events look like?

-Scarcity vs. abundance mindset

When do we start viewing events as an investment rather than an expense? How do we get into the abundance mindset?

-Turning sponsors into partners

Can our sponsors become business partners? What does that look like?

Guest Bio

Cherie Harrington, a trailblazer in both corporate leadership and real estate, embodies the essence of a life well-lived. Hailing from upstate New York, Cherie's journey began with a family that instilled independence and a belief that she could achieve anything. Venturing to California after high school, she ascended the ranks from a Domino's Pizza store to executive positions over three decades. Known for her leadership, she eventually transitioned to real estate, driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact on people's lives. In 2017, she embraced a full-time role in real estate, coining her mantra 'Luxury Lifestyle Redefined.'

Today, Cherie thrives in Carlsbad, CA specializing in providing active or retired professionals with a seamless and stress-free luxury experience. Certified in Luxury Homes, Probate, and 1031 Tax Exchange, sheredefines communication and expectations for her clients. Beyond real estate, Cherie's adventurous spirit extends to boating, flying, and a commitment to giving back through involvement with local charities.

Passionate about fitness and a plant-based lifestyle, she believes optimal health is a non-negotiable luxury. Cherie's mission is to help everyone redefine and attain their own version of a luxurious lifestyle while making a positive impact on the world.

Visit https://www.harringtongrouprealestate.com/

Find Cherie on Instagram @the_harrington_group

Episode: 325

Title: All Aboard! How to Make Waves of Referrals with a (Profitable) Boat Event w/Cherie Harrington

Host: Michael J. Maher