Dive into the intricate world of networking with Michael Whitehouse and guest Bernie Franzgrote in this engaging episode of The Guy Who Knows A Guy Podcast. The duo explores the art of making introductions, delving into scenarios where compensation may not align with traditional expectations. Bernie shares captivating anecdotes, including a unique connection involving clinical trials through a charity introduction. The conversation unfolds, emphasizing the unanticipated rewards of altruism and the value of keeping an open mind during networking endeavors. Don't miss the insightful tips and stories that unfold in this dynamic episode.

https://www.kreativinsight.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

JV Connect, December 12-13, 2023

Join us for JV Connect, the dedicated networking event December 12th and 13th, 2023 https://www.jv-connect.com

Welcome back to the guy who knows a guy podcast.

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We're so excited to be back with you.

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And this season we are counting

down to J V connect the first of its

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kind, December 12th to 14th, 2023.

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This is going to be an incredible

dedicated networking event, and you

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are going to want to be part of it.

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And this podcast here to help

prepare you to get the most

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out of this incredible event.

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I'm Michael Whitehouse,

the guy who knows a guy.

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And over the next few weeks, you're going

to get to hear from some of the best

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people in the industry about networking.

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As well as some solo training from me.

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So be sure to join us on December

12th to 14th for JB Connect.

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And now, let's get to the interview.

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Hello and welcome once again to

the guy who knows a guy podcast.

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The guy we are meeting

today is Bernie Franz Grote.

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Bernie is a synergy architect

with a robust entrepreneurial

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networking capacity and 35 years of

institutional healthcare experience.

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He collaboratively hosted several national

business development conferences within a

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healthcare business development network.

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He is the co founder of Creative

Insight Consultants, Knack for Business

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podcast, co host on the Property Wizard

podcast, and an East Tradewinds chapter

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host in the World Referral Network.

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So Bernie does a little bit of networking.

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Bernie is engaged in other areas Phoenix

Business Exchange, World Referral

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Network, and the Indus Entrepreneurs.

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He helps businesses start afresh

or launching new products.

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Or services get creatively connected

to other companies globally.

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So welcome to the show, Bernie.

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Bernie Franzgrote:

Michael, thank you so much.

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Appreciate being here.

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Michael Whitehouse: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Great having you on here.

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And as I was putting together the

season six, which is focused, laser

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focused into the networking area and

the networking topic, I was like, I

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got to get Bernie on because I think

he does a bit of this networking thing.

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Bernie Franzgrote: Just a

wee bit, just a wee bit.

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Get out there.

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Michael Whitehouse: Yep.

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So, so tell us a bit about your, so

it seems like network is kind of baked

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in deeply to everything you're doing.

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So tell me a little about your philosophy

of networking and how, how it serves you

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and how it serves the people you serve.

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Bernie Franzgrote: Well, the one thing

I learned in the 36 or 35 years inside

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the healthcare institution was in

the last one of it was the business

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development was that you depended on other

resources because you can't know it all.

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You can't be at all.

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And you definitely can't deliver it all.

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So it's teamwork or almost becomes like

you're becoming a project management lead.

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Which means you got to collaborate with

people and you got to understand where

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their wants, needs, desires, and you have

to relate your wants, needs, and desires.

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That means you gotta, you

gotta have a chat time.

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Left the institution and then

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belly to belly iteration of life.

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And then of course, you know,

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everybody got used to Zoom, Teams,

you know, Google Meets, etc.

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That actually was that was a boon

because although always open to having

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a chat with somebody it spread the

wing so I could go further afield.

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You know, I connect with a

group out in British Columbia.

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And that was grand connection.

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And then I connected with world referral

network and between the two of them,

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I connected with people in the UK,

Europe, South Africa, us, obviously,

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you know, that's, that's because

you're not far from us and Australia.

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So, you know, and I've had some really

great chats and what I find is that

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when I'm engaging people it's, I

don't have, I don't have, you know,

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please, please give me some money.

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I don't have.

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I need something for you now, as

opposed to I want to hear their story.

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I mean, I'll really in my story,

obviously, but I want to hear their story.

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And as they unfold the story,

different parts come out.

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And so for me, I'm a lateral thinker and

I'll start doing cross connects going.

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Well, listen, I'm really great

with doing grant writing proposal.

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Oh, that's handy, or, you know,

here in the province of Ontario.

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The grant writer said, listen,

if you encounter a female

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entrepreneur under the age of 30.

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The province of Ontario at the time

would give you 15, 000 cash to help you

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get up and going no strings attached and

no one takes any commission off of it.

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And so, you know, as you're talking to

somebody now, the hard part sometimes

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is, you know, how do you ask somebody?

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Are you under the age of 30?

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You're the member of the opposite sex

and you're trying to do it delicately.

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So you're not coming across the wrong way.

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You're like, you know,

can I, how can I help you?

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How can I serve you?

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Michael Whitehouse: I think if you lead

with the, there's a grant, then yes.

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That probably, probably

smooth it over a bit.

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Bernie Franzgrote: A little, a little bit.

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It said, you know.

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Yeah.

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Anyhow, it, it's it.

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But part of that is the

how can I serve you piece.

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Mm-Hmm.

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. And when I'm talking to other people that,

you know, it doesn't matter what country

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you're in, it, it's very country agnostic.

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Mm-Hmm.

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. So, you know, uk, South

Africa, US, Australia.

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You know, how can I help you?

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Let's get to know each other.

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And then it revolves from there.

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I've found that part of my business

and where it helps generate some more

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traffic or more activity for me is

that these resources are around me

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and then I'm talking to somebody and

if I'm getting involved in a project

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where I'm going to actually work as a

consultant, well, now I have a series

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of people around me that can support it.

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So if I'm dealing with someone in the U.

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S.

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that has I.

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P., Related concerns, questions,

or they're looking to start it.

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I know three IP lawyers and you know what?

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That really handy part is

the podcasting element.

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So for the podcasting element,

it serves a couple of it's a

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vehicle of many conveniences.

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Someone I just read an article

today said when you're doing one

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thing, see if you do several things

that come out of that one thing.

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You know, it's almost

like doing a lean project.

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And so when I have a podcast with

somebody, I haven't had a chat with them

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for a while or it's a brand new chat.

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I actually spent an hour with them

talking and then the unfold the story.

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And as I'm going through there, I'm

spending time going, well, hang on.

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You don't know this person that I know.

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And it's now I've become like,

it's like a Venn diagram.

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You have that circle around

you, people, you know, right.

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And then there's a circle

around the person you got to

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know, but you're not crossing.

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Yeah.

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You know, yourself, myself, we come along

and we kind of do that bridge connection

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going, Oh, by the way, wait a minute.

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I, you know, I know somebody and, and that

can result in either you have a service,

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you can provide a service to somebody,

they can provide a service to you, or

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you can possibly do some joint sort of

joint exercise, whether it's a venture

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or, you know, a short term hall event.

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And so, yeah, so that's, that's

what I've been finding out is so the

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podcast itself helps generate traction.

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Plus when I go to introduce

this person to someone else,

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like a, not a cold introduction,

but you know, here's a podcast.

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Now you can hear them talking.

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You get a sense of what they're doing.

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Cause I'm talking about what

their business is about.

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Yeah.

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And so that, that can, that gets,

it becomes a pushup point in there.

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The third element that comes

out of it is from the podcast is

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now I have a library of people.

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So season one for the knack for business

is done and we have 108 in the can and

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the final one releases Mid October.

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Season two is already in production and

season two falls right behind season one.

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And so it just, you know, it's

lessons learned, things get

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better the more you do it.

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I've enjoyed that.

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Michael Whitehouse: Yeah, that's one of

the great things about podcast is, is

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very few people actually take me up on it.

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But I, I used to say, you know, I

have a catalog of introductions.

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It's at guyknowsaguy.

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com slash podcast.

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Go take a look.

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See if there's anyone

there you want to meet.

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I'll introduce you to them.

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No, sometimes I'll talk to someone

on a podcast who I don't really know.

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I interview them.

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We have a good conversation and then

I don't connect with them again.

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So I said, I tried to make introductions

to guests and, and they've been,

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and they've not responded to me.

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Cause you know, cause sometimes it's

almost like a recorded one to one.

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I mean, obviously we've connected a

number of times and, and I'm sure we'll

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continue to connect, but sometimes

I'll have someone reach out to me and

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say, Hey, can I be on your podcast?

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And I basically say.

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You know, do you fit?

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If so, sounds interesting.

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Sure.

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Yeah.

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Come on the podcast.

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Let's meet on the air and,

and, and people get to hear us

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meeting, which can lead to things.

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But very often for most of the people

I've had on the show, if somebody says,

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Hey, your, your episode number one 57, I

don't remember who that is, but you know,

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could I, could you introduce me to them?

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Then I'd be like, yeah, sure.

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And the easiest introduction

is to say, Hey, Bernie, someone

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listened to the podcast.

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They said they want to meet you.

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So can I connect you?

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And obviously all your

contact info is in the.

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show notes anyway.

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So it's, it's not like you

don't want to meet them.

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That's why you're here.

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I meet the people who are on the show.

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So it's an easy introduction to

make because somebody just said, I

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heard you on the podcast and if I

want to show and you say, Hey, one

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of our listeners wants to meet you.

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Do you want to talk?

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Of course I do.

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Bernie Franzgrote: Absolutely.

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Absolutely.

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Well, the other thing I find is

that some people I'm hearing their

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story as they unfold their story.

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And I, you know, I take notes.

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I build up a profile.

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And quite literally, when I, when

I'm having a chat with somebody, I

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consider it maybe a soft interview.

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I'll have all three documents

open in front of me.

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One is, you know, people that I know.

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And so in, in the, in the heat of the

moment, I go, well, you know, you really

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want to talk to this person and I'll,

I'll search the the person's contact

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details up like LinkedIn profile.

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And it's really important to have

a LinkedIn profile because if, you

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know, There are some people say, I'm

looking at your LinkedIn profile.

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Yeah, your photo.

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You, you want to work that out a bit more.

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It's just, just saying, you know, just,

you know, just, just, you know, you

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know, just, it's kind of like, it's like

your business card, you know, you're not

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going to show up with a piece of toilet

paper and going, Hi, my name's on here.

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Right.

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It's yeah.

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The, the other, the other pieces that,

you know, that information that I have

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my second sheet I have, Doc links to

other other things that people might

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want to go to either networking groups

information resources, you know, try this.

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Like, you and I both use a descript

for editing for a software.

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I have a link for that.

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I'm, I'm filing it.

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Extremely useful.

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It reduces my editing time, et cetera.

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Then I have a third document where I

have software links, like, you know,

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someone will say, you know, if anything,

and then just, you know, I'll drill in.

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And right now I'm on the hunt

for AI software, you know,

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to help the podcast out.

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How can I, how can I make it stand out

and not, but not be garish, but, you know,

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make it stand out like the audiograms.

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Right.

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So right now I'm building

the audiograms into script.

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But I'm looking for things where I

can have the talking head, right?

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And, and just if I animate it a

little bit, so I'm not anyhow, I'm

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looking for ways to spice it up.

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This is what I'm trying to say, right?

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That's the marketing element.

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But anything I'm encountering now

is a shareable piece of information.

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So that, that's the other part, you

know, the LinkedIn piece, the, the

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Descript piece, you know, someone

says, well, how do you use that?

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Well, let me show you, let

me just walk you through it.

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And, you know, if it goes well,

but you're, you're developing

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a rapport with somebody.

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So inside the inside my Phoenix business

exchange here in Ottawa, which is

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it's, it's, it's online, but it usually

targets the local Ottawa area, the

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Ottawa Valley area, you know, you run

into people going, how do you use that?

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Or how do we do this?

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And I said, yeah, you know, you get

your LinkedIn profile up and then

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set up your company profile up.

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So it's easier to refer people to you.

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Stories in behind there.

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The other other beautiful

thing is that I found that the.

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You're never going to

run out of stuff to do.

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And always, there's always some

interaction you're going to have.

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So there's a high value, high utility.

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Yeah.

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Michael Whitehouse: Yeah.

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And, and it's funny cause

you're talking about LinkedIn.

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An introduction popped into my

head and I'll talk to you about

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it when we get off the air.

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Do, do you help people build out

their LinkedIn profile or is it

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more just kind of like, here are

some quick tips so it's not a mess?

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Bernie Franzgrote: Some quick tips.

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Like there's a couple of people

that I know and that you might you

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might know one of them Don Ollert.

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So if you're, let's say

you're leaving, you're, you're

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changing your job, for example.

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Don, he'll work on your LinkedIn profile,

but he works just that's one leg of

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the journey, but if you're looking for

another job, he'll find your profile.

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And then, you know, it goes from there.

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That's where you find that subject matter

expert that lives and breathes the area.

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For example, accounting, right?

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And it's the same in the U.

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S.

273

as it is in Canada, you, if you're

going to say you're an accountant,

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you know, you got to have some some

letters behind you and that designation

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meant you meant you went to school to

understand GAP, you know, which, which

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is a whole nother story, but, you know,

you come across something and if someone

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lives and breathes a certain specialty.

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You direct the person there.

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Like, for example, I could take my

computer apart, but that'd be a mistake

280

because I'll probably have spare

parts putting it back together again.

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And that means, you know, I won't

have a functional device anymore.

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So, yeah.

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Michael Whitehouse: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And that that's great.

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And it's one thing I always

teach is the, there's three,

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three ways you can serve someone.

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You can give them an introduction

advice or, or offer something.

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And the third one is the least

frequent and, you know, you

290

touched on, on two of those.

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The third one's obvious people

know how to make the offer.

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That's yeah.

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People who don't know how to

network are doing that all the time.

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But the first two are the ones I

think people often overthink it.

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They're like, well, who would I introduce?

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Or how would I know them?

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Or what can I share?

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And just little things like, oh,

do you know about the script?

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Do you know about, you know,

software that you may use every day?

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That somebody else has

never heard of before.

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And once they learn about it, like

what descript 20 bucks a month,

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I can drop any video into it.

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It'll, it'll make a transcript.

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That's pretty high quality.

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I didn't know that existed or, you know,

or an introduction where it's it's,

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Oh, yeah, I know a great accountant who

explains things well and doesn't treat

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you like an idiot, or I know a LinkedIn

guy who can help you you know, help you

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work out your, your profile, or I know a.

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Whatever because oftentimes

people have a problem.

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They're happy to pay for a solution.

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They just want to pay someone

who's actually going to do it.

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Bernie Franzgrote: Yes, yes, absolutely.

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Well, again, the sharing of information

as it's learned is a handy piece.

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I've found that even now, example, world

referral network, we've, we started

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something called East trade wins.

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It's a chapter here in Ontario.

317

So we meet every Tuesday

from eight to nine a.

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m.

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Eastern standard time.

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Anybody's welcome to space.

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I mean, I just, I'm not trying to plug

the, the whole WRN space, but you know,

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It has, he has utility for referrals,

but kind of the key thing when we had our

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first meeting last week with someone says,

is this just gonna be another typical

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meeting like, you know, are we just going

to sit here and trade business cards?

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No, it's, it's, it's meant to

help build your connections.

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Help, help, you know, if you have a

pearl of wisdom to share that, by the

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way, the, the the podcast, at least

from the knack for business, I'm

328

equating it to like a mini MBA thing you

know, cause I ended up learning about

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little, little nuggets of information.

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I didn't know that I knew some of

that, but I don't know the whole,

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you know, the the complete part,

like there was the IP lawyer out of

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the U S last one I was interviewing.

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Nancy Delane was saying, did you

know, and then she says in the U.

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S.

335

Constitution, not as an amendment,

but right into the Constitution, if

336

you have intellectual property rights,

you develop something, it's yours.

337

Because I guess back in the day, it

belonged to the crown or the king or

338

the queen, whoever was there, right?

339

So, and so the ownership, which

is, it makes perfectly good sense

340

considering, you know, all the entire

shift in how business was happening.

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Right.

342

It was handy.

343

You know, it was really

good to understand that.

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And it's just, you know, it's not

gonna, it's not going to change my life,

345

but it's, it's kind of a cool fact.

346

So if I have a trivia question, you

know, I might be able to answer,

347

you know, quickly and accurately.

348

Michael Whitehouse: Yeah, I've

learned so much from meeting people.

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Bernie Franzgrote: So the other, the

other part is sometimes when I've gone

350

to meetings, even on a person to person

Indus entrepreneurs ties, it's called the

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acronym in every major every major city.

352

And they do tech and hardware.

353

So they're in that space could be a

little bit of firm up, but you meet

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interesting people and just even

the stories that they'll tell you.

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It's like, you know, it's one thing

to go, you know, I make a widget.

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Well, you know, there might

be a story about the widget.

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There might be a story

how the widget progressed.

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Or they're just fascinating people.

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So it's just You know, it's like

having a Rubik's cube of, you know,

360

information is always changing up

and you never know what's going to

361

look like you hope for the finished

product, but you get there slowly.

362

But it's entertaining.

363

It's keeps you alive.

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Michael Whitehouse: Yeah, well, and

that's totally one thing that I found.

365

I'm.

366

I read some books I listened to some

audio books, but most of what I know

367

is just from talking to lots of people.

368

I've talked to, I don't know,

1, 500, 2, 000 entrepreneurs

369

over the last three years.

370

And I went from knowing nothing about the

online business space other than, I think

371

there's some coaches or something who do

something on the internet, to like being

372

versed enough that people are coming to

me and saying, how's this stuff work?

373

And pretty much, cause there's

no, there's no books on this.

374

The industry is so rapidly

evolving anyway that.

375

You know, people are coming to

me and saying, How's this work?

376

And I was like, Well, and

people ask me questions.

377

The answers just come out of my mouth.

378

I'm like, Where did that come from?

379

But I've just talked to so

many people, whether it's on

380

podcasts or summits or whatever.

381

And it's a really cool way to learn.

382

Just talking to people.

383

And of course, the cool thing is

the people who teach you like it

384

because they get to feel smart

while they talk and you listen.

385

And then you get to feel smart while

you pass that information along.

386

Bernie Franzgrote: Absolutely.

387

And I, the other element that

I've found is a credit source.

388

Mm hmm.

389

The fact the fact you're you're

bringing up the information that

390

you credit the source and It's so

if I was at a conference, it was a

391

they were selling cleaning products.

392

It's an industrial trade show in

Toronto and the person is going up and

393

he says, listen, if you're utilizing

AI to generate content to say, this

394

part was generated by AI, make sure the

rest of you is involved in that space.

395

But the important part is if you're

crediting the source of the live source,

396

it reinforces several different things.

397

One that you're giving them

recognition for their work.

398

Two, it shows you're

a collaborator, right?

399

And that's super key.

400

And you're not, you're not trying

to steal their thunder, so to speak.

401

And, and then three, you know, it shows

you can, you can thread it, you know,

402

something useful into a conversation that

has, has relevance and bearing, which

403

then says, Hey, you're a contributor.

404

Michael Whitehouse: Yeah.

405

And that's what I found.

406

It's great.

407

Yeah.

408

Yeah.

409

When you share the source of where

you learned something from, then it's,

410

it's a way to name drop the right way,

especially if you learned it from someone,

411

you know, someone somewhat known that.

412

You can name drop that like, Oh yeah,

so I was talking to this person,

413

name you've known, and I learned this

technique that I'd like to share with you.

414

And they're like, Wow, you're

sharing technique with me.

415

That's nice.

416

And you know that person.

417

That's pretty cool.

418

And then if word gets back around that you

taught them something and their name is

419

attached to it, they're like, Oh, thanks

for, thanks for giving me that shout out.

420

Cause you're, you know,

most people don't credit.

421

Most people like, Oh, I have this

amazing way of doing things that

422

I came up with all by myself.

423

After reading this person's book.

424

.

Bernie Franzgrote: Yeah, . The, the other part I found about networking, and I found

425

this in, in the in the 2020 year I ended

up connecting with a group in the uk.

426

It's called Ree, R-E-C-R-E-E

eight, the number eight.

427

And the gentleman running his Dr.

428

Keith Keith, Dr.

429

Keith Dietz.

430

And so you're talking about diversity.

431

He's an ex South African, had been a

military medic during, back in the day.

432

He helped post post military, helped

Indigenous folks in South Africa

433

you know, set up social enterprises.

434

He is, he's gone to the University of

Cork, and he's located in, in Scotland.

435

He runs, he runs a a session once a

week for about five to eight weeks.

436

And there's like, it's a two hour session,

so it's not going to be for everybody.

437

But if you're interested in understanding,

I'll say about management and the current

438

management trends, like, you know, and.

439

What are the most appropriate ways to

understand things like he's talked about

440

Ray Dalio that name's come up a lot.

441

I've seen that in a lot of different

places as well as in conversation.

442

There's a group of us that are there.

443

A couple of folks out of the US, a couple

of folks from the far west of Canada.

444

So we're meeting at 9 a.

445

m.

446

Eastern Standard Time.

447

A couple other folks are

meeting in their three hours the

448

other way, so that's like 6 a.

449

m.

450

You know, and the lights are off in

the background, but we're all, we're

451

all collaborating in that session.

452

So they'll have a thought process

where you're at with this, right?

453

And then you know, and then he'll,

he'll take it from the academia

454

side and have a conversation.

455

But you know, the takeaway of that is

There are two elements coming out of that.

456

So, Dr.

457

Deet says, listen, Bernie, if you

find someone that is in need of

458

the service, of his services, he

helps companies scale up, right?

459

I'm not trying to do the plug here.

460

He says, listen, there's some coin

in the realm that comes back to you.

461

Which is fine.

462

You know, it's not like, you know, I

make the connection and I'm expecting,

463

you know, there's not a meter running.

464

Sitting there.

465

If it works out, it works out.

466

If it doesn't, you know, carry on.

467

Life's beautiful.

468

You met a new person, but there

are other people in that space that

469

I've, I've, I've cross pollinated.

470

And they, 1 of them is a coach

that deals with people that are you

471

know, if you're highly stressed.

472

So, yeah, I can, I can with a guy

in Toronto has, he has a coaching

473

cluster for people that are dealing

with mental stresses in life.

474

Right?

475

So you just, you just thread that through.

476

So there there's kind of that group

that's kind of come in very handy.

477

Michael Whitehouse: Yeah, I want to get

back to something you mentioned, speaking

478

of groups so you're talking about how

your group is not like any others.

479

And I think one thing that throws

people off is, you know, BNI is sort

480

of the 800 pound gorilla of networking.

481

And I've often described BNI as being like

an engine, you know, like a car engine.

482

It's got all these different parts.

483

And if you go to your car and you're

like, I don't know what this alternator

484

thing is for, car runs fine without it.

485

Until it doesn't, you know, a lot

of people try that would be and

486

they'll take a BNI group and they'll

be like, I'll make my own, but

487

we're not gonna require attendance.

488

We're not gonna do this.

489

Not gonna do that.

490

And what they don't realize

is the way BNI works is.

491

It works the way it works because

every piece of it goes together.

492

And part of that is the referral

confidence curve and taking

493

six to 12 months of seeing the

same people week after week to

494

be able to refer them business.

495

And without that, you can't walk into

a cold group and be like, so my ideal

496

client is please send them to me.

497

And so the groups that have tried to

be BNI knockoffs have not worked well.

498

The ones that have actually tried

to optimize the BI system have,

499

there's some like AmpSpirit is a, is.

500

Follows that same basic concept of

the same people week after week.

501

Success champions network also

does it and that can work.

502

But again, same, you gotta be there every

single week to build those relationships.

503

But, but the groups that are the more,

the drop in groups and more casual groups

504

have to use a different format because

there's no referral confidence curve if

505

you're just dropping in, dropping out.

506

So what are some things you've seen

work well for the non BNI style groups

507

that are not the typical, my ideal

client is please send me a prospect.

508

Bernie Franzgrote: So part of it is the

phoenix business exchange was my 1st 1 of

509

my 1st groups that I encountered in 2019.

510

The in person group prior to that

inside inside the health care area.

511

We never left the mother ship.

512

You know, everything came

everything came to the mountain.

513

Right?

514

So now now the mountain has to

go up because, you know, my only

515

regret in that space was not

networking 3 years prior to exit.

516

And so what I've seen that it can

help, let's say, for example, the

517

recreate group, it's, it's, it's

not about the referrals referrals

518

might be the second or third wave.

519

And if there's something, if there

is a referral, that makes sense.

520

And the other key thing is, you know,

when you make a referral, if you're going

521

to do that piece, you try to match it.

522

So it works for the person.

523

So the both parties, no point no

point sharing or selling a baby

524

carrier to someone who's 80 years old,

unless of course their grandparent.

525

And even that you know for example,

here in Ottawa, I ran into an AI

526

client and, and then I ran into

another one they hadn't met.

527

And then they both responded to a

federal government RFP together.

528

So that was kind of the end result.

529

So what can work what I've

seen work inside the even in

530

the world referral network.

531

I'm getting used to that space.

532

But when we do the East trade winds, part

of it is I'm trying to get people to open

533

up and tell certain parts of the story.

534

So it's you know, their story

and or what they're looking for.

535

Or do they much like in the podcast,

tell me about your industry,

536

tell me something, you know, one

unique thing about your industry.

537

It's almost like when you do a tick tock.

538

You know, you, you don't get,

you don't get the the epic of

539

Gilgamesh coming out at you.

540

You know, it's like not, or, or

the Lord of the Rings, right?

541

Or, or the Harry Potter series.

542

You don't get, like, you know,

there's a ton of stuff here.

543

You just fire hose me and

I, you know, I'm lost.

544

You know, you give, you give

one slice of the pie, you.

545

And you try to make sure that

slice of the pie is relevant.

546

And so you try to share that information.

547

So as a group, what we're trying to

do is tease that out of people, right?

548

And not, not always

have same old, same old.

549

You have some form to it.

550

So, you know, there's a

start time, the intro sweep.

551

You add some, you add some some questions

that are not standard, but they're not

552

the same one from last week, for example.

553

And you build off of that.

554

If the group you're looking at the

group that's sitting there and they've,

555

you know, they've answered all the

questions, then you change the task.

556

But if the lineup changes who

comes, then you adapt for that.

557

The other part that I've seen happening,

and this is with the Grand Connection, if

558

I, and also the World Referral Network,

and actually, this is the part I really

559

like about the World Referral Network,

they have access to go high level.

560

So, you know, my membership in that space.

561

Is less than the old street price for a

go high level, and if you don't understand

562

what go high level is, and it took me

a while, and then I realized, you know,

563

it was kind of the hidden gem behind the

door so you can host a website on there.

564

You can do all your click

funnels through there.

565

You can do trigger events.

566

So if someone clicks a button,

you know, so, you know, it.

567

It can be very complicated as much as

you want to make it complicated as long

568

as you have, you know, good structure

and you're, you're kind of track

569

things, but you can have the whole,

you know, click funnels happening.

570

You can remind people to push out.

571

It can replace Calendly.

572

If you're into MailChimp, it can

replace that, you know, it can replace

573

other software and coalesce it in

one spot and that's kind of handy.

574

So if that's the other value add,

if, if the, the agency or the

575

entity that you're networking with.

576

It provides you another, another layer

of service that you, you know, it's,

577

you know, more for less cost, right?

578

There's, there's, there's,

there's a, there's a a little

579

bit of love coming back at you.

580

It's sort of like, you know, if you're,

if you're working for an employer and

581

they have employee benefits, there you go.

582

There's a bit more, you know, it

just gives you a bit of a hug.

583

That's the other, that's the other part.

584

Michael Whitehouse: Well,

and one benefit I could see.

585

Also to people to attach and go

high level to a networking group is

586

one challenge at a certain level of

networking is running into people

587

like, oh, I don't have an email list.

588

Oh, I don't have a website.

589

I don't have this.

590

If they go high level, then if they

don't have an email, it's just because

591

they're not putting people in there.

592

If they don't have a website or.

593

A landing page or whatever it was

because they're not using it yet.

594

But they have it.

595

So at least they have that tool that now

they may then decide, Oh, I have going

596

out of level, but I prefer this other

thing instead, that's a more advanced

597

level, but at least it gives a baseline

level of what technology they have access

598

to because they've got it in that group.

599

Cause that's always a challenge.

600

You know, you go to a joint venture

event and somebody says, Oh yeah.

601

As soon as I launched my

course, we should collaborate.

602

You're like, yeah, I'm going to just sit

here and hold my breath till that happens.

603

Yeah.

604

Yeah.

605

As soon as I write my book, any minute

now, about to write my book, about to

606

publish it, any minute, any minute.

607

Bernie Franzgrote: You know, at the, at

the end of the day, it's like, if someone

608

says this, I'm going to, you know, what's

the, there's a saying about the intentions

609

of mice and men, you know best laid plans.

610

Plans of mice and men.

611

Yeah.

612

So, you know, things will detract

you, but if, if you're caught

613

on, on a, on a, On a project.

614

And, you know, part of that project is,

you know, core of your business, you know,

615

you look for people that can support it.

616

If you're, if you're paying Brenda

under Caesar, what's old to Caesar,

617

if so, you know, if you pay for things

one guy, for example, he says, listen,

618

Bernie, you introduce me to people.

619

I'm going to pay you money.

620

And looked at him and

said, Michael, it's okay.

621

I'm not starving.

622

Physically.

623

I'm not starving.

624

Cause I looked down and I realized,

you know, I gotta, I gotta lose

625

some weight, but I appreciate it.

626

Right.

627

He says, no, listen.

628

You're doing the marketing.

629

You're introducing me to somebody, right?

630

And you're saying, and you can vouch,

you know, A, you're going to find

631

somebody that is, it's a good connection.

632

And, you know, I can, I

can provide the service.

633

If, if everything yields, then

you have, you have a you have

634

some income coming back to you.

635

So fine.

636

I mean, I deal with a commercial realtor

and we have a marketing agreement.

637

And well, here's the other

thing by a podcast and other

638

electronic social media pieces.

639

Some people, when you go to do a podcast,

they go, Oh, I've done one before.

640

Oh, my gosh.

641

Oh, no.

642

I said, You just chatted

with me for 40 minutes.

643

What do you think a podcast is?

644

Except, you know, we have a bit

of a script, a little bit of

645

structure, but, you know, it's

it's a free floating conversation.

646

It's not like, you know, at 205, you,

you shall now turn left, you know, and

647

squint, you know, if it's a video podcast.

648

Anyhow, you know, a lot of people

are also inhibited by that.

649

So anyhow, I kind of swung out back

to our top of our conversation,

650

back, back to networking and

utility out of those events.

651

You're going to come across people,

they're going to realize the value.

652

And if, if it bodes well

you're, you're off to the races.

653

You'll, you'll, you'll, you'll,

you reward those that help you.

654

Someone asked me, he said, Bernie, how

do you know you're going to get paid?

655

And I said guy's name was Terry.

656

I said, this was in 2019.

657

I said, Terry, the grass doesn't grow.

658

If it's, you know, if it's

not watered, it's not great.

659

So, you know, that involves continuous

traction, continuous communication.

660

Michael Whitehouse: Yeah.

661

And one thing I found along those lines

is that they're very often when I'll.

662

I'll make a referral.

663

I don't know if it's going

to turn into anything.

664

It's one of those, you know,

it's a 5 percent referral.

665

It's, it's not, not, not wasting time,

but I'm like, well, this person seems

666

somewhat interested in what you do.

667

You do what you do.

668

I'm going to have you talk to each other.

669

And, and you say, oh, that's a prospect.

670

You know, it's up to me to do something

with him and maybe something happens

671

and maybe it doesn't and maybe there's

a commission and maybe there's not.

672

And I have found that it is much easier

for me as a distractible individual to

673

just make connections and trust that

some people say, Oh, I made some money

674

here, Michael, have some money than to.

675

Make an agreement with every person.

676

Okay.

677

I need to sign the contract and

know what's the form and what's

678

the percentage is going to be

and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

679

And I would rather just

send introductions.

680

No, it was explicitly,

you have this service.

681

Okay.

682

What's going to happen if I

send you someone, oh, you're

683

going to pay commission.

684

Okay, great.

685

But I often don't even write

down what the commission is.

686

They tell me, or it's in my notes

somewhere, but I'm not keeping track.

687

I just want to make sure that at

some point we said, okay, I'm going

688

to send you people, you're going

to send me money of some amount.

689

Cool.

690

I trust you.

691

I'll send them an introduction.

692

If that turns out and turns into

something and they pay me, then I might

693

go back and say, who else do I know?

694

And if they don't, well,

I just don't remember.

695

I say money holds my attention.

696

It's not a matter of, of you give me

money or else I'm not going to give

697

you the, you know, make introductions.

698

It's more a matter of, I

know thousands of people.

699

So who catches my attention?

700

Well, the one that I've got a

PayPal receipt from, from yesterday.

701

Might be a little more top of mind

than the one that I don't, but it's

702

not a quid pro quo, you know, Oh,

well, you, you gotta, you gotta

703

have put some silver across my palm.

704

If you want some of my services,

it's, it's more a matter of, yep.

705

I help enough people.

706

Something comes back.

707

How hard is it to make an introduction

compared to the value that returns?

708

Bernie Franzgrote: And sometimes some of

the introductions, there is no way that

709

the entities are structured to give you.

710

Compensation.

711

If they're a charity or not for

profit they might have elements

712

within that that says, no, I can't.

713

I can't.

714

I actually had one, you know, like this

715

says, my company does clinical trials.

716

I look at buddy.

717

I said.

718

I don't know anybody playing Frankenstein

and the health care institution did have

719

a research wing, but that was not me and

there's money to be made in that space.

720

But it's, it's you know, no, I didn't

play that in that ballpark bottom of

721

2019 and there was a charity that I was

dealing with and I was doing intros and

722

they said, listen, we can't pay anything.

723

So that's fine.

724

You're helping people.

725

I'm more than glad to

do the cross connect.

726

They introduced me to a physician

727

looking for clinical trials and on.

728

Well, oddly enough, I could pull that card

off the deck and go, here, here you go.

729

And, you know, just started, started

the business relationship from there.

730

Michael Whitehouse: Yeah.

731

You never know what you might come

across or, or, you know, you, you

732

help out the, as you said, you help

out someone who can't, can't pay you.

733

And sometimes, especially if they,

if they recognize like, I, I, you're

734

so valuable, but I can't pay you.

735

And I'm sorry about that.

736

Now they know that there

is, there is an imbalance.

737

And so they may be on the lookout for,

you know, Oh, Bernie really helped us out.

738

I wonder, okay.

739

I wonder, will this person help Bernie?

740

Will this person help Bernie?

741

Will this person help Bernie?

742

And now they're on the lookout for some

way to repay what your kindness with

743

probably an introduction or some sort

of heads up, or, you know, I heard about

744

this, this new grant just came out or.

745

or whatever.

746

You never know what kind

of value they can return.

747

And especially because you,

you said, Oh, no problem.

748

Don't worry about it.

749

I just want to help.

750

And it wasn't like a, well, I

guess just this once I'll help you.

751

It's you just give freely

and people feel that.

752

Bernie Franzgrote: Absolutely.

753

Well, the nice thing from the UK, I

get a bottle of scotch from Scotland.

754

So that's that worked out.

755

Well, that's, that's my Christmas moments.

756

That don't last long.

757

I don't understand why.

758

Michael Whitehouse: Well,

maybe it's just a UK thing.

759

Maybe it's doesn't have the resilience

of like North American scotch.

760

Or North American whiskey.

761

Bernie Franzgrote: There's some

that taste pretty good from

762

from this side of the continent.

763

But yeah, just, yeah yeah.

764

The bottle only lasts so

long, it's not endless.

765

Michael Whitehouse: Yes, yeah.

766

My bottle is broken.

767

I leak in it, or I don't

know what happened.

768

Bernie Franzgrote: There's

a leak in it, yeah.

769

I think I'm the leak.

770

Michael Whitehouse: Yeah, there's

a leak in the top, and someone

771

keeps turning it upside down.

772

I don't know how that happens.

773

Bernie Franzgrote: Yeah, yeah.

774

Absolutely.

775

Absolutely.

776

Michael Whitehouse: Yep.

777

So, so people want to connect with you.

778

What is the best way for them to do that?

779

Bernie Franzgrote: They can reach

me at info@creativeinsight.com.

780

It's I nfo at

K-R-E-A-T-I-V-I-N-S-I-G-H-T .com.

781

And that's usually the reason I can

ramble that off is 'cause that's

782

what I do on my kn for business.

783

But you can also reach me at

kreativinsight.com or B Franzgrote,

784

so B-F-R-A-N-Z-G-R-O-T-E at.

785

K R E A T I V I N S I G H T dot com.

786

That's kind of easy.

787

You'll have a link in there that'll have

a kind of, you know, give you a full kind

788

of list of, you know, seven different

ways from Sunday to get ahold of me

789

or know about me or figure things out.

790

And looking open to chat with podcast

that have interesting business stories.

791

And again, that's part of

the networking joy, right?

792

I have some people reaching out to me kind

of cold call going and they're, they're,

793

they're doing the podcast matching.

794

Listen, do you want to

talk to this person?

795

We'll have a chat with them

and then go from there.

796

And they're going, that's

an interesting story.

797

Yes.

798

Let's have a chat or, you know, other,

other people doing intros if you're in

799

the manufacturing sector or, you know,

clothing apparel, just did one on that.

800

So I'm just starting her

clothing line here in Canada,

801

you know, out of Smith falls.

802

And yeah, I keep going.

803

That's that's that's my other that's the

other thing you have to be able to chat

804

and then realize keep tabs of your time.

805

Otherwise, someone might fall

asleep while you're talking to them.

806

Michael Whitehouse: Yeah,

that's why the second monitor

807

that has Google Calendar on it.

808

So yeah, because there's

ADHD time blindness concept.

809

But I have a clock in the

corner of my computer.

810

I have google calendar the red

line marching down through the day.

811

I have a clock up there So I am constantly

aware at my command center of what the

812

time is Which is kind of valuable when

you run appointments back to back but

813

yes, so all those links are going to be in

the chat including Creative insight which

814

is spelled with a k and no e on the end.

815

So not exactly the common

spelling But it's fine.

816

You can find it down there in the notes

if you Didn't listen to it's K R E A

817

T I V, which is creative, but with a

K and no E on the end creativeinsight.

818

com and other links,

the knack for business.

819

And that's numeral four.

820

And there's a link for these trade wins

and a link for some of the other cool

821

stuff is there in the show notes as well.

822

So any final thoughts you would like

to leave our audience with Michael?

823

Bernie Franzgrote: I,

first off, thank you.

824

I appreciate the time

to be on the podcast.

825

You know, if you're going out to a

meeting to network, ask a few questions,

826

you might find people that might not

jive with you right off the bat, but,

827

you know, just open the door and have

a chat and just don't go in with a set

828

set goals, keep an open mind and just,

you know, get to know them and you,

829

you never know what's going to happen.

830

You'll end up talking, you think

it's one thing and next thing you

831

find out about five other things

where you have things in common and

832

where you can also do introductions.

833

Michael Whitehouse: I love that.

834

Yeah.

835

Yeah.

836

No, we're conversation.

837

I have to start and just seem

to be rambling on to nothing.

838

And then at the end, they're like,

wait, so you publish a magazine, right?

839

How much does it cost

to advertise in there?

840

500 a month.

841

Yeah.

842

How do I sign up for that?

843

And like, I didn't say anything about

it and they just sell themselves

844

or, you know, how do I get tickets

to one of your events or what's

845

your, you know, what's your program.

846

And we were talking

nothing about business.

847

We were talking about, you know,

traveling and networking and whatever.

848

And, and at the end,

they're like, All right.

849

So here's my credit card.

850

Sign me up for that thing.

851

Never know what that will happen.

852

So that's great advice.

853

Never keep an open mind

and just see where it goes.

854

So thank you so much for coming on here.

855

This has been a great conversation.

856

You know, quite a bit about

this networking thing.

857

So I, I brought in the right guy,

858

Bernie Franzgrote: the

guy that knows a guy.

859

Michael Whitehouse: That's me.

860

Yep.

861

And you that's us.

862

We're both guys who

knows guys with pro quo.

863

Bernie Franzgrote: Thank you, sir.

864

Michael Whitehouse:

Thank you for joining us.

865

For the guy who knows The Guy Podcast,

I'm Michael Whitehouse, the guy who

866

knows the guy, and I hope you'll join us

in December from the 12th to the 14th.

867

For JV Connect, go to Guy who

knows a guy.com for more details.

868

Now, if it's after December, 2023

and you're listening to this,

869

it's okay because we're gonna be

doing this event every quarter,

870

so go to Guy knows a guy.com.

871

See what's new, see what's happening,

and of course check the show notes

872

to learn about our guests and how

you can get in touch with them.

873

Check out our next episode for

more great training, information,

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and networking tips from Michael

Whitehouse, the guy who knows a guy.