Overview
On this episode of Build Your Network, Host Travis Chappell interviews Tom Ward. Tom is a contributor to Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Social Media Today. He’s the host of Under the Influencer and owner of he popular marketing blog, TomWard.com.
Topics Discussed:
- About Tom Ward:
- He’s an influencer marketing guy, but he’s not an influencer himself.
- He writes, talks, and goes on podcast about influencer marketing.
- He talks to influencers about their social media empires.
- Will have a YouTube channel show starting soon with longer-form influencers.
- Some influencers he’s interviewed:
- Demi Lovato
- Kate Hudson
- How did you get into influencer marketing?
- He’s only done influencer marketing since January 2017, his first influencer was Marissa Rachel.
- Before he got to influencer marketing, his journey started about three years ago.
- He still has a regular job that pays the bills on top of his online gig.
- About three years ago he wasn’t crazy about his 9-5 job, but he didn’t know what he wanted to do.
- He read Reinventing You by Dorie Clark, that started him on this journey.
- Writing is one of the ways you build evidence that you’re an expert in an area.
- He started writing on an anonymous blog.
- He wrote about whatever popped into his head until he found his niche in business/entertainment.
- Dorie Clark introduced him to the editor at Forbes.
- How crucial was personal development to finding what you wanted to do?
- He’s a pretty self-aware guy so it wasn’t that important.
- What was important was interviewing people in the field he was interested in.
- Where do you see your career going in 2018?
- Quitting the day job and doing his digital job full-time.
- What he’s good at is interviewing influencers.
- He provides value to the influencers, and there is a broad spectrum of what an influencer can be.
- He’s not interested in the gossip and controversy, he’s interested in business ONLY.
- How do you add value to the influencers you interview?
- Go to TomWard.com, he has a How to Connect with Influencers free guide.
- #1 Be realistic. He couldn’t have reached out to Demi Lovato first, it took a lot of steps to get there.
- What he could do is to get Demi Lovato press in the entrepreneurial space, Forbes.
- Networking is a long game, but you should always be selling.
- You don’t always know the payoff.
- He views sales and networking as the same exact thing.
- The way he approaches sales is forming long-term relationships.
- Most sales people try to make the most money out of a customer right now, because they’re in front of them.
- Tom takes the approach of taking less of a profit in the moment, do the person right, and ask for referrals.
- What people miss is that they aren’t specific as to what they want.
- How do you handle rejection?
- Since he’s been in sales for so long, he doesn’t even think about it.
- You’ve got to compartmentalize things, because you’re going to get rejected all the time.
- Don’t let it phase you and don’t take it personally.
- “No” is just a delayed “yes.”
- It’s a numbers game, you should talk to twenty people.
- He casts a wide net, you should have a dream 100 listed out.
- You could have 100 ideal clients for your business.
- Make sure you get social proof.
- When you get someone to finally say “yes” you need to promote it.
- Always get a picture.
- If you have a picture, you can tell whatever story you want.
The Random Round:
- What profession other than your own do you think it would be fun to attempt?
- PR Person. It seems like guaranteed money.
- If you could sit on a park bench for any hour with anyone past or present, who would it be?
- Howard Stern – he’s a hug fan, feels that he does the best interview on the planet. Brilliant business mind who owns his own brand.
- How do you like to learn best, books, blogs, podcasts or video?
- Books or Twitter
- One of your favorite books?
- Entrepreneurial You by Dorie Clark
- Give us a glimpse of your morning routine:
- Wake up around 6:30
- Has breakfast with wife and daughter
- Gets to work at his house
- What is your go-to pump up song:
- Anything Kanye West
- What are you not very good at?
- Being detail oriented, math
- Find him on his blog, TomWard.com – all his social links are here.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “Networking is a long game, but you should always be selling.”
- “No” is just a delayed “yes.”
Resources Mentioned:
Buildyournetwork.com – Podcast website
BYN.media/fb – Facebook Group
Free Guide to Connecting with Influencers
Reinventing You by Dorie Clark
Entrepreneurial You by Dorie Clark
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