Episode 13: Elevating Small Business First Impressions with Sharon Spychola

A brand ambassador, honestly can be more beneficial sometimes than the owner being there themselves.

Tell me more.

A lot of times, like owners don't know when to stop talking, like that's fair, you know, like they feel like they have to say everything.

Have you ever wished as a business owner that you could be in two places at once attending that networking event and at the same time visiting that client or prospect that you want to close? Well, Sharon Spicola of your corporate concierge can help you make that happen. So Sharon, thank you for being on the podcast today.

Thank you so much for having me.

So can you tell me about your business journey and what you do for small business owners?

We help small business owners make those first impressions. So we will do trade shows, expos, golf outings, bridal shows, appreciation deliveries, lead generating activities to also help small business owners grow as well.

So you'll go to those networking events or those trade shows, maybe those places where small business owners get a little bit intimidated and don't want to people and you'll people for them.

Absolutely.

So what made you decide to do this as a business?

This all kind of got started. I was working in the real estate industry and there was a need for helping people show appreciation. So when we first got started, it was really just to help people do that. And then I was just looking into all the things that we used that I used to do as a salesperson, the lead generating, the trade shows, all the things that we do now. And I was like, wait, I love doing those things. I don't like to get on the phone and call people, but I like to talk to people in person and connect that way. So that's just kind of how we all got started.

Wow. So as small business owners, networking can be so important. And I know that a lot of times small business owners don't have a lot of budget for marketing. So how do you amplify their budget on their behalf?

We go out and make those first impressions for them. So they could be, like you said, they could be connecting with a client or maybe they're attending their kids softball game while they could utilize us to be the boots on the ground making those impressions for them.

So you're pulling together all the different resources, knocking on doors or at a trade show, getting all those cards and providing context for who to follow up with.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Okay. So making the right first impression and following up. So those are things that you're very good at. So do you want to give the small business owners a little a few tips and Tricks as to how they can make a good first impression and how to follow up correctly.

Honestly, the. The first thing you should absolutely do is read the room. Right. Not everybody wants to be, we'll use the term solicited. Not everybody wants to be reached out to. So just knowing who you're talking to and your audience and then my follow ups are. I always want to follow up with people I actually want to follow up with. I'm not the kind of person that will follow up with everyone because not everybody's a good f. But if it is someone that is a potential client, someone you want to do work with, that's where the follow up is important.

Okay, so I'm sure that you deal with a lot of different small businesses. How do you balance the different types of brands that you're representing?

How do I balance that? Each client has. Each of our clients always does something different. So honestly, it's just trying to figure out what niche that they're in and figuring out how to reach those people. So a roofer is going to have a different contact than an HR company. So all those are a little bit different and we just kind of tweak it a little bit to match that personality or that company's culture.

Okay, so when you're going out, how do you maintain kind of the brand identity for the small business owner? What are you doing to be more brand specific for them?

Well, we really like to be in their. Their. Their logo, so their shirt, their jacket. Maybe sometimes it's just a. That we all end up wearing, but making sure that we look like the representative as soon as we walk in. Because let's face it, when you walk into a room, if you look at somebody and they have a logo on, you're gonna look at that and you're gonna remember that. So I feel like when we are wearing somebody's logo, it helps with that brand recognition.

Nice.

Yeah.

So can you tell me, I mean, you've done a lot of different types of events. Is there a favorite type of event that you like to be a brand ambassador for?

I love golf outings.

Really? Tell me more, because I hate golf.

Outings, so I don't golf. I can't.

Okay.

I don't know how fair. But I love the fact that, well, you get to sit outside, you get to enjoy the good weather. Hopefully not Ohio, maybe not always, but I love that opportunity to have each foursome that comes having that one to one attention with them that you wouldn't necessarily get if you're like the main Sponsor sitting in, you know, at, at the first hole where nobody actually comes or like the, the competition hole or something like that. But I just like being able to connect with them on that. One to one. I get to know them, I can figure out really what they're looking for. And then at the end I'm able to share that with my client. Like, this person was looking for this, this person was looking for that. And I'm able to make those introductions at the end of the outing. And so I really feel like golf outings are my favorite thing to do.

Wow. So you're taking something that. A lot of times I think as small business owners, we feel the sponsoring of a hole at a golf outing can sometimes be the throwaway marketing or it's the marketing that you're doing because someone's asking you, but you don't know what mileage you're going to get out of it. So you've been able to monetize and create value for small business owners in a space where they didn't think they would have it before.

Oh, absolutely.

That's impressive.

Thank you.

So let's talk about networking events. So you are a master networker. I like to say I'm working on reaching the same level of mastery that you have. Do you have any tips, suggestions for individuals? Maybe the introverts in the small business world who are just going, I don't know what to do, I don't know how to act. Can you give us some tips as to how to read the room, but then also how to follow up and make it worth our while to be spending the time away from our families or away from other parts of our business to kind of build our network, build sales.

Well, I am actually a natural introvert.

Really?

Yes.

I had no idea.

Oh, yeah. I can still walk into a room and get nervous if it's on my own time. If I'm representing a client, there's a whole different personality that comes out and I'm just able to do it. So I'm a little bit of both. But for the introverts, honestly, getting to an event is the first step. If you make it, you're already doing better than most that are afraid to go. And sometimes it's just looking for the other shy person in the room. So if you are naturally shy or an introvert and you don't know how to connect, there's another person in the room that's just like you. So look for the person that's sitting down or maybe off to themselves, that's the easiest way to be able to shake those jitters that you and that other person may be having at that same time.

Is there anything. Conversation, questions, anything that you like to ask as a starting point or an opener?

A good thing is, what do you like to do the most? What do you love about what you do?

Oh, I like that.

Yeah. What do you love about what you do?

Oh, I love that I get to connect people and solve problems about their people. So what about you? What do you love doing? Well, practice.

I. Oh, my gosh. I just love everything about what I do. I think a lot of people recognize that, too, because I get excited to talk about what we do. Not about me, but about what we do and how we help people, and I just love it.

Wonderful. So let's shift a little bit in helping people. So you also, along with helping small businesses, you are also passionate about serving in the community, similar to some of the things we do at AUI and Clarity, with community service and community impact being a core value of ours. Tell me about the things that you're doing to kind of impact the world and make it better.

So four years ago, I started the Betty White tribe. So I'm very passionate about helping animals, especially the animals in shelters. So four years ago, after Betty White died, you know, it was just before her 100th birthday, so I was like, let's see if we can raise 100 items for animals. So we ended up raising, like, 300 something.

Wow.

And now we're coming into our fourth annual that will start in January, and our goal is a thousand. Last year, we did 1537 items.

Oh, my.

And it was. We were able to make a huge impact for two local shelters. So I'm very passionate about that, and I just. I love it. It honestly consumes a lot of my time all throughout the year, because how can I make it better? How can I do more?

Yeah. Tell me how. The things that you're doing with philanthropy, but at the same time, the things that you're doing in small business, how do they work together as you're helping your customers and clients?

Oh, gosh. They definitely go together. There is a lot of times that when we're connecting with our clients, you know, we get to or for our clients, we get to see what people are looking for, and we are definitely able to connect those dots for people are in need and people that can offer things that are in need. So we definitely are able to connect those dots for some of our clients.

Yeah. One thing I appreciate about you, Sharon, and full disclosure, we've used your carpet concierge for clarity. HR and AUI is that you pull together groups of people to help move the needle on things, whether it's working in knitting for cancer or working on the Betty White drive. You've done a really good job of creating collaborative partnerships with organizations that I probably wouldn't have had any other contact with, which has been helpful. So thank you for the work that you're doing and finding your. What else? Of sharing and building.

Well, we love having you as a vip.

Oh, well, thank you. So what are some exciting trends and opportunities you're seeing in the networking field and as you're continuing to be a brand ambassador over the next couple of months or next year, what's going on right now?

Well, luckily, everything's back to in person. For a while, networking looked very different.

How did you navigate those challenges during that time as you were trying to grow your business?

Covid was tough. You know, all the events were shut down. So I focused more on helping my people in a digital sense.

Okay.

To be able to keep the business going and not see as much of an impact as it should have been. So we were able to grow through that. And when we, when everything kind of got back to normal, we exploded. We actually had more growth after that.

Wow. So what are some things, creative ways that you have helped clients to kind of get their brand notification out? If you've done door to door, are there different things that you've given as a leave behind? What are some creative ways that you've been able to kind of help build a networking list for your. For your VIPs?

Well, here's a. I was doing an event, a local community event for a newer client. And it was a horrible, horrible weather day. It was probably 90 something degrees, thunderstorms, tents are blowing over, everybody's packing up. Because after like the first half hour, I mean, it was just like, is this day going to get any better? And I, I was contracted to be there. I wasn't planning on going anywhere. And that day we were able to make more of an impact. So when our clients came to pack up their tent and take everything down, they were talking to the neighbors and everyone around them and. And they found out that they weren't able to get any leads and we were able to get 22. So.

Wow.

The approach that we have for our clients is probably way more effective than. Than some people's.

Nice. So as someone starting to think if brand ambassadorship is something that they would like to look at As a small business owner, what would you tell them as they're considering it for the first time? Why would they want to work with a brand ambassador?

Ah, let's see. Great answer for that. A brand ambassador, honestly, can be more beneficial sometimes than the owner being there themselves.

Tell me more.

A lot of times, like, owners don't know when to stop talking.

That's fair.

You know, like, they feel like they have to say everything in that short amount of time. But then sometimes, like, employees that don't want to be there. So if you're sending someone that doesn't want to be at an event, you can tell that they don't want to be there by the way that they interact with people. And that's the difference between having someone like us. You know, we are excited to be there, we want to do such a good job that you're going to continue to bring us on for that event year after year.

I like that. One thing that I have found impactful in working with you, Sharon, is that when you do a networking event, especially if it's a trade show, not only are you there meeting the individuals that are walking the trade show floor, but you also take the time to get to know the individuals that are around you that are also in other booths, which can be beneficial, especially if you're a B2B organization like we are at Clarity and AUI.

I did an event once, and it really wasn't working out for us the way we wanted. So because we weren't having the attendees come that we needed to see, that's exactly what I did. I went to all of the other booth people and I said, hey.

You.

Are who we're looking for, so I want to talk to you. So I was able to, instead of focus on attendees, I just switched it up and went to the other vendors because I wanted my clients to still see value in the event that wasn't the right event to be at.

That's awesome. So you see value in networking groups?

Yes.

I know that there are probably some small business owners out there that are like, I don't want to be in a networking group. Can you tell the audience why they should consider it?

Oh, my gosh. I'm a. I'm a big fan of networking groups. As you know, I'm a director for BNI Northeast Ohio, and I was able to grow my business through BNI making these connections. Again, I told you I was an introvert. So for me to be able to get out in front of people, these networking groups are what made it easy for me because I had my small group of people that I got to know, like, and trust, felt comfortable with, and it made a huge difference. So networking is integral to a growth of any business.

Nice. All right, so last question. As we're wrapping things up, you know, one of the things that we like to do on this podcast is give small business owners the one thing to get them 1% better in their business each day. So what is the takeaway that you'd like to leave small business owners with to get 1% better?

Show you care. Honestly, some of the things that you probably noticed are the little things that we do. Yeah, that I do. And it's those little things that drive me every day for me to be a business owner. So whether it's sending a thank you card or seeing something on social media and sending that wonderful picture to someone, it's just the little things. I think the little things are the reason we are here. It's the little things that I've stayed consistent with over the last six and a half years.

Sharon, thank you for your time today. Thank you for talking about appreciation and how to put details together to make sure that you're maintaining your brand. And thank you for being a resource for small businesses that sometimes have to navigate those challenges around being in different places all at the same time.

Thank you. Thank you for having me.