IAM1311 – CEO Helps Businesses on How to Get More Referrals

Matt sold his digital marketing agency, inConcert Web Solutions, in May 2018 to begin his focus on helping service-based businesses get more word-of-mouth referrals! His book “MORE…Word of Mouth Referrals, Lifelong Customers & Raving Fans”, focuses on building stronger relationships, and how we can use that to connect with others. His newest book is titled “The High-Five Effect: How To Do Business With People Who Bring You Joy” and was released last year in October.

Matt is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, a 40 Under 40 Recipient, Chamber Small Business Owner of the Year, and host of The Mass Business Podcast, which is focused on helping small business owners learn from each other.

• CEO Story: Started as a volunteer on a non-profit organization, offered his free website in 2001. Then he started selling websites, outsourcing them. In 2005 Matt did full-time as a digital marketing agency but exited in 2018 and focused on helping-serviced based businesses.
• Business Service: Serviced-based businesses get referrals. One-on-one coach for better and right relationships. Group coaching – mastermind approach.
• Secret Sauce: People do business with who they know, like, trust and care. Find ways to care for other people and you will get referrals.
• CEO Hack: Books recommended: E-myth Revisited (entrepreneur creates the system) by Michael Gerber; Never Eat Alone (giving without expecting in return) by Keith Ferrazzi; Profit First (paying yourself) by Mike Michalowicz.
• CEO Nugget: Double downer relationships, invest in them. It’s not about what you know, but who you know.
• CEO Defined: Leadership but more of ownership. Owning who you are in the business that you run.

Website: www.mattwardspeaks.com

Book: More-Referrals-Lifelong-Customers-Raving-Fans, high-five-book

www.MassBusinessPodcast.com

www.fireupreferrals.com

LinkedIn: mattwardspeaks

Facebook: breakthroughchampion

Check out one of our favorite CEO Hack’s Audible. Get your free audiobook and check out more of our favorite CEO Hacks HERE

Transcription

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Matt Ward 00:00

People do business with who they know, like, and trust, and I don't believe that's true. I think people do business with who they know, like, trust, and care about. The caring component matters so much in all of this. It matters in surrounding yourself with people who bring you joy, but more so it matters in the referral.

Intro 00:17

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview. If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:45

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresham. I AM CEO Podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Matt Ward of Breakthrough Champion. Matt, it's great to have you on the show.

Matt Ward 00:53

Thanks for having me, Gresham. I appreciate it. It's gonna be a lot of fun, I think.

Gresham Harkless 00:57

Yes. Absolutely. I think it's gonna be loads and loads of fun. And Before we jump into all the fun, I want to read a little bit more about Matt so you hear about some of the awesome things that he's been able to accomplish. And Matt sold his fur his digital marketing agency and Concert Web Solutions in May 2018 to begin his focus on helping service based businesses get more word-of-mouth referrals. His book, More Word-of-Mouth Referrals, lifelong customers, and raving fans focuses on building strong relationships and how we can use that to connect with others.

His newest book is The High Five Effect: How to Do Business with People Who Bring You Joy, and was released last year in October. Matt is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, a forty under forty recipient, Chamber Small Business Owner of the year, and host of the mass business podcast, which focuses on helping business owners learn more from each other. Matt, super excited to have you on the show and get the opportunity to learn some more from you as well too. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Matt Ward 01:50

I am ready, Gresh. Let's do this.

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Gresham Harkless 01:52

Let's make it happen then. So it kick everything off. I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more on how you guys started, what I call your CEO story.

Matt Ward 02:00

Yeah. You know, interesting, I love my CEO story was, I don't know, I guess, rags to riches. I was a volunteer on a nonprofit board for a small youth football program because I coach there, and I suggested this thing called a website, and they were like, that's a great idea. You should go build it. And then I was like, what do I know about that? And then I was talking to somebody at my full time job. He said, oh, if it's a nonprofit, I'll do it for free for you. So I outsourced my first my first ever website project for free, and I didn't even know I did it. And I didn't charge for it, which is typical CEO story or something. It's such a small business. That was in 2001, 2002 and then, I started selling websites and outsourcing them.

And then next thing you know, in 2005 I took it full time, hired my first employee, and I never looked back. And it was a great run. I did it for 16 years, and I loved every minute of it. I built a great business and was able to exit, with the right situation. And now I get to help small business owners get more referrals and build a better business because of it. It was just a lot of fun the whole time.

Gresham Harkless 03:12

Yeah. Absolutely. I imagine getting the ability to of course, build the website, but even the creativity I was talking with different clients, getting to take their ideas, their vision, and bring that a lot. I imagine that's been that was a really exciting run and even tack on to what you're doing now, I imagine.

Matt Ward 03:27

Yeah. I mean, for me, the creativity came from how do they grow the business. And early on, I didn't really see that's where I would fit in, but I wasn't a designer, and I was a self taught programmer. So I you didn't want me working on your website. That's what I used to tell my clients. And so I built the business. Having read the book, The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, I had built my business in a way that other people could do the tactical work, and I could do the visionary work. I could do the sales and the networking, and that's when I got really, really good. It's also how I got recognized with all those awards you mentioned is because I was very much out in the community, and I was I knew a lot of people. I was on nonprofit boards. I was very, very involved. And that networking component really propelled my business forward.

Gresham Harkless 04:14

Yeah. Absolutely. And like you even said you mentioning that, hey, they should do a website. If anybody's been on any nonprofit boards or any nonprofit meetings, anytime you suggest an idea, you're volunteering for it well too. So I love how that led you on that huge run where you've been able make so many impact for so many local organizations.

Matt Ward 04:32

Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. It's tough now being a volunteer because now you hesitate to speak up sometimes because that's we did a lot of work for Toys for Tots. We were the main website provider for them in the late and or, I mean, in the late 2000. And we used to hear from them that what those folks that ran the Toys for Programs are enlisted military, and they don't volunteer. They're voluntold. Yeah. And so that's very much how it works on nonprofit sometimes when you sit on them.

Gresham Harkless 05:05

Absolutely. But, it's always great when you are voluntold something, and then next thing you know, you can build a really strong business that could take you further and further along. So everybody could always hope for that whenever they raise their hand.

Matt Ward 05:16

Who knew? I mean, who knew where that was gonna come from? Right? And it's so interesting the people you meet and the people you cross paths with, throughout your life that one interaction could change the trajectory forever.

Gresham Harkless 05:29

Yeah. It kinda reminds me of Steve Jobs had his commencement Sanford commencement speech, I think. And he was saying that a lot of times, we're going through, like, we're not sure why this, that, and the third happens, but when you look backwards and you can see the dots and you can see how they connected instead of showing you exactly where you were supposed to be.

Matt Ward 05:46

Absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 05:47

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more. I know we touched on a little bit on all the things that you're doing to help out businesses and organizations. Could you take us through a little bit more on how you serve your clients and what that looks like?

Matt Ward 05:59

Sure. So how I serve my clients now is I help service based business professionals get more and what does that really mean? I do it, in one way through professional speaking. I stand on stages at conferences. During the pandemic, that has not happened a lot. There's been a number of things on Zoom, so I do that. The second of which is I work one-on-one with people as a coach to help them build better relationships, get them tighter, and also focus on the right many people think that referrals are coming from clients, but in reality, that's not the case. They think that because they're not tracking it. So we dig into that. We start to show them where referrals are really coming from and help them to build that.

And then the third way is through group coaching. So sort of those folks that don't want the one-on-one, but they still want or we use a mastermind sort of approach, one call a month, two hours long and really people are trading ideas. And they might hear your challenge and take away something from that, whereas you might hear their challenge and take away something from that. So there's a lot of growth in that as well. So that's the three ways I work with people. My podcast itself is focused on Massachusetts based businesses, and we took a different approach on that, podcast where most people come on and they tell their story, they tell their expertise. What this podcast is really about is how they grew their business.

So I don't if they're a home health care company. I don't want them come on and talk about what home health care is and all of that. I wanna know what are you doing for marketing, and what are you doing for networking? And what can the listener take what one thing can the listener take away from this? What book have you read? What software do you use? How did you grow your business? Is it just networking? Did you cold call? Did you do direct mail? What did you do? And, I'm sure the idea is to really get an understanding out there into the marketplace. And I just chose Massachusetts because it's where, I'm based a lot of the time, and I have businesses there. So it just made more sense to make it sort of hyperlocal. So, it focuses on Massachusetts businesses. The content is of quality for everybody, but I only interview people based in Massachusetts just because they otherwise, I could interviewed everybody.

Gresham Harkless 08:16

So, what would you consider to be what I like to call your secret sauce? And this could be yourself individually, or the business combination of both. But what do you feel sets you apart and makes you need.

Matt Ward 08:26

Comes down to that four letter word. You ready for it? I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna make it Blissett podcast, are you ready? Four little group is CARE.

Gresham Harkless 08:35

Here we go.

Matt Ward 08:35

We gotta care. So people believe that people do business with who they know, like, and trust, and I don't believe that's true. I think people do business with who they know, like, trust, and care about. The caring component matters so much in all of this. It matters in surrounding yourself with people who bring you joy, but more so it matters in the referral side. Because you can know, like, and trust somebody, but not actually care about the success of their business so you won't refer them. And so you have to care. That's the secret sauce. I put it out all over the world. I put it out podcast. I put it in my books. I put it in YouTube videos. I literally talk about this all the time, and I'm not holding it back. It is care. Find ways to care about other people, and you'll get more referrals. You'll get better relationships. You'll build a better business, and you'll have a happier, much more healthier life.

Gresham Harkless 09:25

Nice. I absolutely love that. It just reminds me so much of the quote that people don't care how much you know till they know how much you care. I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this is what you talked about on your podcast. It could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, something that you use or maybe potentially that you've talked about on your show.

Matt Ward 09:42

There's a number of books that have sort of changed my life, business life. E-Myth Revisited was one of them. Another one that really got me started on the relationship side was Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi. Really, really good book about giving without the expectation of getting anything in return. And that was really good. But what really changed the game for me financially, both professionally and personally, was booked by Mike Michalowicz called Profit First. And Profit First, really talks about paying yourself, and he really flips the whole idea of profit upside down and then writes about it in a way that you can really understand it versus trying to just look at a P&L or something, which totally confused me.

So I read that book in 2016, implemented it in ‘17, and sold my business in 2018 because I had the most profit I ever had in ‘17. I actually do profit first in my business now and also kind of in my personal it's a long story, but there's this number of series of things you can do in there, like different bank accounts he talks about. And I personally have eighteen different bank accounts. It helps me keep things a lot more organized, and I'm a lot more fiscally responsible when I do it that way. And, you know, it I have followed Mike throughout the year since I read the book in ‘16 and got to the point where in 2021, he endorsed my new book. So, that's the type of relationship I ended up growing, and I was on his podcast and things like that. And so I it was just about adding value. And he was happy to endorse my book, so I was super excited about that.

Gresham Harkless 11:24

Yeah. It's always a great hack when like you said, it impacts you from a business standpoint, but like you said, it also impacts you from a personal standpoint. There's so many times we see those things as silos, but when you have those really strongly implemented things that you can use in so many different aspects. That's the definition of hack. And, yeah, Mike's been on the show as well too. Number episode 669 as well too. So one of my favorite episodes just because of the the nugget and that information he provides. So he's just a wealth of knowledge and information. And he I'm sure he appreciate hearing his name, spoken here too.

Matt Ward 11:55

Yeah. One of the best hacks I ever did to get Mike to endorse my book, did you know that he enjoys Twizzlers?

Gresham Harkless 12:00

I did not know that.

Matt Ward 12:01

I sent him 32 pounds of Twizzlers to his office.

Gresham Harkless 12:05

Here you go.

Matt Ward 12:06

That's how you care about somebody.

Gresham Harkless 12:07

That's what I was saying. People don't know how much you don't too. They don't know how much you care. There you go. I love that. So, I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. And you might have already session on this with the Twizzlers, but this is something that if you were to hop into a time machine. You might tell your younger business self or potentially your favorite client.

Matt Ward 12:24

So I think for me, my younger business self is really just, the double down on relationships and build them early and invest in them. I did not realize. I thought it was what you know, not who you know. When I was 18, I got in a argument with my grandfather who told me it was who you know, not what you know, and I didn't believe him. And, 15, 20 years later, here I sit being a relationship expert talking about building relationships to get referrals. It’s like the compound interest factor in finance. The earlier you do it, the more powerful your network is gonna be. And so if you're in your 20s listening to this podcast, double down on relationships and keep them going. If you're in your 30s, don't give up. You can start building them now. That's when I did it. That's when I got to the point, and that's how I got, forty under forty in Chambers Mall was the zone of the year. And if you're in your forties, it's not too late to start investing in your retirement, and it's not too late to start investing in your relationships. Just keep it going. If you're in your 50s, well, you're not past your prime. So you still have a mouth. You still have the ability to connect with One, build relationships, and it can be there. And if you're in your 60s you're probably retired. So you still should have relationships so you know who to golf with.

Gresham Harkless 13:44

There you go. That makes the perfect sense that everything comes, you know, full circle and to be able to understand what you're ultimately trying to do. But I think the other thing, and I don't know if you feel this way, is that so many times we think of relationships, and, obviously, we're talking about business and entrepreneurship and all those things. But also relationships can kind of, quote, unquote, make or break you in so many different ways. If we're talking about, family, friends, we're talking about there's so many different aspects of building relationships, and you never know who they know, who they've built relationships with, and sometimes that one person can change your entire life and the trajectory of your life.

Matt Ward 14:17

Absolutely. I always say you never know where your next referral is gonna come from.

Gresham Harkless 14:21

Definitely. Definitely. So, I wanted to ask you now my absolute Favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO, and we're hoping to have different quote, unquote CEOs on their so, Matt. What does being a CEO mean to you?

Matt Ward 14:32

I think it's about leadership, but more so ownership. And what I mean by ownership is owning who you are and the business that you run. It's not about owning the business. It's about owning who you are and the business that you run.

Gresham Harkless 14:48

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Matt, truly appreciate that definition. Of course, I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do now was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know, and, of course. How best people can get a hold of you. Subscribe to your podcast, get your books, find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

Matt Ward 15:06

Yeah. Absolutely. So, look, at the end of the day, it's about doubling down on the relationships that you have to grow your network and make it larger. Reach out when other people don't reach out to you. Don't wait for them to do that. Don't reach out to make the sale, reach out to check-in, to say hi. You will find that over time that that investment of reaching out to others will be paid back tenfold. You can learn a lot more about what I talk about on my YouTube channel, which is youtube.com/mattwardspeaks. You can find me at mattwardspeaks.com. Both my books are on Amazon. It's, The More Word-of-Mouth Referrals, Lifelong Customers & Raving Fans, and The High Five Effect: How To Do Business With People Who Bring You Joy. Thank you so much for having me on the show, Gresh. I really appreciate it. And as I always like to say at the end of every YouTube video, don't forget to live happy, smile a lot, and high five everyone around you.

Gresham Harkless 15:59

High five, my friend. I definitely appreciate that. We will, of course, have the links and information in the show notes so everybody can follow-up with you. Thank you so much for doing the work that you do, my friend, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Matt Ward 16:09

Thanks. You too.

Outro 16:10

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast Powered by CBNation and Blue16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase. It's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Subscribe and leave us a 5-star rating. This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.

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