Episode 90: Authenticity (Encore Episode)

Welcome to the Unstoppable Profit Podcast. This podcast will give you all the tools to grow your business and live life on your terms. Millionaire agents and entrepreneurs think and act differently than others. This podcast will give you a simple, proven three step blueprint to grow your business. Over the past 31 years of research in your industry, Mike Stromso has created a unique philosophy called the three people Process and production Motion. This outside the box thinking and guidance provides agency entrepreneurs just like you the knowledge and tools you can quickly implement to explode your agency business. He has been there, done that, and he's still doing it. Wherever you are today, if you're starting with nothing or are well on your way to the success you desire, with the right people, processes and promotions in place, you will be unstoppable. And now I'd like to introduce your host, Mike Stromco.

Welcome to episode 42 of the Unstoppable Profit Podcast. This is Mike Stromco coming to you live from the Living Agency Laboratory. And today we're going to be talking about something that seems to be a topic that comes up, up again and again and again. And it answers the question, the age old marketing and business entrepreneurial question, why should people do business with you over and above any and all other options available to them? Yes, social proof, and all of that is in play. But the one word that I really haven't dug in and spoken with you about yet is this word. It's the a word. It's authenticity. Authenticity is one of the things that separates you from the complete rest of the marketplace all of the time. Let's dig in, let's talk about that a little bit more. Because, you know, a lot of people say, well, how did you do that? In fact, some of my teammates here in the trenches in our Living Agency Laboratory say, you know, I want to, you know, ask you some questions about how to deal with this particular account or deal with this particular person. I can't seem to get past this or that. And as a leader, we ask great pointed questions and we shut up to learn more. But ultimately, at the end of the day, it's at the core of it is authenticity. You've got to be authentic, you've got to be real, you've got to give of yourself and you've got to put it all on the table. The other thing that might go in companion hand in hand with authenticity is transparency. So because, you know, my teammates who come in who talk about this and they talk about that and they want coaching and advice, they say, I Want you to give me the magic that you've got because they have experienced. When we do a call together, I will coach them and train them through example. Monkey see, monkey do. They're watching every move that you make. Don't forget about that. But at the end of the day.

You know, when we move people into a conversation, when we bring them to a place, whether in the sales game we go to convert or in the service game we go to retain, there's certain things that can be said that can bring people to a certain feeling. And at the core of what's said, what's done, what's not said, what's not done is authenticity. You've got to authentically be yourself. So my greatest encouragement. And how do you become more authentic? How do you be real in a particular situation? Well, my friends, there's so much to that. It has to do with becoming more. If you want to have more, you've got to become more every single day in every single way. You've got to have daily habits that cause you to constantly improve, to constantly get better in whatever it is you're doing. So authenticity also comes from confidence. You've got to be confident in everything that you're doing. How do you get there? You got to keep doing it. You got to keep doing it and you're going to fail. There's going to be wins, there's going to be lessons. But those failures, those times where we fall short, we may not win, is where we're going to learn, and that will help us become more. But at the end of the day, you have to have that quiet inner confidence and peace within yourself, knowing that when you look in the mirror of truth, that you gave it everything you've got, that you were authentic, that you were authentically real. To an extent, it has to come from a place of grace and you just have to be real in the moment, no matter what happens. Of course, it doesn't feel good to lose, but at the end of the day, case in point, we last year lost a major account and we had it for a long, long time. But at the end of the day, they became so massive that they were able to take everything in house. But funny how things work out now. It's trickling to come back a little bit, so we're starting to see bits and pieces of it because grass isn't always green on the other side. Why? Well, I believe in part because we were authentically real throughout the entire transition, trying to give more than we receive in our particular agency. We have core values. We have leadership mottos, we have, we have things that we share with our team that has been through a branding process to develop really and truly and authentically who we are at the heart of our organization. I'm looking at our core values that share that authenticity that we as a team.

Share openly. It's posted on our walls. We talk about it. We had a very difficult team meeting today concerning the first piece and by the way, a subtle reminder for you, if you haven't heard me say this before or you new to the podcast and you haven't heard it enough, there's a simple three step blueprint that is at the core of the unstoppable profit producer program called the three Ps. It's people, processes and promotion. And when you have the three P's working in synchronicity, working in unison within your business, you're going to grow your business, you're going to create financial wealth and security and you're going to have more freedom to, to live life on your own terms. My friends. It's absolutely accurate, it's absolutely true, and I can prove it over more than 32 years in this industry, in the trenches, it's absolutely magical. So at the end of the day, we had a very difficult first P meeting, as we affectionately say today. But I started off the meeting looking at our core values and looking at our promise that we have made to the communities around us. Our promise talks about having open communication. It's the first three words in the promise and that's how I started the meeting today. I had a difficult message that I had to authentically share with our team. And I said, team, we're going to start this with the first three words of our promise because at the end of the day, I want to have complete open communication internally and externally through the authenticity. And at the end of the day, after we delivered the news that needed to be delivered, I shared with the team authentically that myself and a leadership chair. I felt bad that I had not succeeded in the efforts to attract a certain candidate in the first P realm. Even though the candidate told me on a wrap up call that I said to the candidate, I said, is there anything more that I could have done better so that we didn't come to this decision? And the candidate said no. Said, you did way above and beyond everything, everything that I expected. In fact, you well exceeded my expectations. It's just the way the cards fell in this particular situation. So while I was like uber bummed out about that, hey, I was authentic. I left it in a good place. And at the end of the day, will it ever come circling back to me? It may. And us as a team. It may. Absolutely. So be authentic in everything that you do. You're going to win some, you're going to learn some lessons. But if you are authentic, if you look in the mirror of truth every single day and you authentically are being real, being yourself, being transparent in every situation, you've got nothing to worry about. You can just go forward and be yourself. And like I said, Not 100% of the people are going to be attracted to who you are and what you are in any particular marketplace. But a good majority of them will because they connect with you emotionally. Okay, so let's talk about a couple things surrounding authenticity because, you know, I've done some homework on this to get ready for this podcast because I think it's such a critical point. Let me tell you something that I do commonly when I'm out there in the world and this is in the non business marketplace as well. So how many people picture this for a moment with me. How many people say to you fairly often, hey, have a great day. Well, it happens all the time, doesn't it? So what I authentically do to connect with people, when somebody says, and it happens in the grocery store a lot or any store that I'm in, so I'm in the grocery store going through the checkout pay, etc, etc, and they'll say, have a great day and I will pause. Now keep in mind that the pause levels the playing field and it stops them in their tracks. They've got to stop and wait for you to respond. What I'm waiting for is for them to look me in the eye. Okay? And when I pause, they look me in the eye and I'll look them, I'll move just a tad closer. I'll say from the depth of my heart, I'll say, there's no other options. And you will be amazed at the number of people that will instantly smile and they'll go, you're right, there are no other options, my friend. When you are authentically you. When you're looking to impact people, when you're looking to make a difference for them in every way, you can't help but attract new relationships to you. So let's talk about the definitions of authenticity. Okay? Based on the study that I found, authentic people possess lots of characteristics that ultimately make them who they are. Okay. First thing that I need to remind you, we have to have realistic perceptions of what reality is, we can't go out there in the world talking grandiose dreams that it's no possible way that it can ever become reality. We have to be real. We, we have to be real with this situation and we have to be on target and we have to tell it like it is, okay? There is no grandiose reality that will never become reality because people will read through that. You know, now I'm thinking about one of our Platinum Coaching members who, when I was talking to this Platinum Coaching member about this person's top three personal gifts, talents and their top three vital functions, which I so believe is so very important in today's world, because you've got to operate in those areas 80 to 90% of the time if you're going to have the greatest happiness and greatest success, you've got to operate in the area of your top three personal talents, gifts and vital functions to get your biggest bang for the buck from yourself, as an example. So I was talking with this Platinum Coaching member and I said, you know, let's get down to the nitty gritty and figure out what your top three personal talents, gifts and vital functions are. And this coaching member said, well, it's this, this. And he said, number three.

I can sniff and I can identify a BSER and a heartbeat. And I thought about that for a second. I said, wow, that's cool. It's interesting. So I said, how do you use that? And this guy is an agency entrepreneur owner. I said, well, how do you use that? He goes, I only build relationships with people that are authentic, that are real, that are transparent, because that's the kind of people that I want to do business with. And at the end of the day, that's a great example of what it's all about, my friends. So people that have a realistic perception of reality, alright, the next characteristic that makes up that authentic person is accepting people who are accepting of themselves and who they really are and other people who they really are. You know, I am so far from perfect, my friends, I can't even begin to tell you. If I gave my home phone number, the person on the other end would also tell you the same thing. So, you know, like when you do a video as an example, the best videos are videos that are not perfect. The best videos are the ones that are authentic, that are real, that have some errors them or some mistakes, that every word is not perfect. Those are the ones that if you will go viral and the people watch the most. How do we know? Because we've done the analytics and everything else that goes around that people want to do business with, people that they know, love and trust, that are authentic. So, you know, be accepting of yourself and more importantly, be accepting of other people. You know, it's been said in a certain book that thou shalt not judge, don't judge, just accept them as they are. Now, from a business standpoint, if they're not a good fit for you, launch them back into the marketplace and that's okay. But ultimately, at the end of the day, be accepting of those things. The third, another characteristic that you want to consider when you're talking about authenticity is be thoughtful. You want to be very, very thoughtful of people all the time. Sometimes it's been said you want to be slow to speak. Sometimes I'm in a certain situation, whether it be business or personal, you know, somebody will ask a question or have a comment or something like that. And as the old, the more seasoned I get in life, many, many times, I don't respond immediately. Why? Because want to provide a thoughtful comment, something that's meaningful, that's helpful to the situation, not just, you know, blowing off at the lips, so to speak. So we want to provide thoughtful, impactful comments that are good for people in an authentic way. So let me give you another way to think about this. So picture this. And I just did this yesterday. I had a one on one coaching session with some other platinum members. And in that session we got to the point where I was coaching them to an extent on authenticity and leadership. And I said, pretend this. If you hold your two hands up in front of you, you look at the tips of your fingers. If you could dig the tips of your fingers into your chest and rip your chest open, what would your heart and soul reveal? My friends, that's at the absolute core of authenticity. What your heart and soul would reveal reveals the authentic you. And that's what you want to launch into the world. Okay, so next, you also want to have a sense of humor. You want to be fun. What's better, to laugh or to cry? To laugh or to cry? Of course it's better to laugh. So we want to have that sense of humor. But when we're talking about sense of humor, we want to have sense of humor that's non hostile, hostile, non confrontational.

Is fun and is engaging and is authentically used. So think about that. And it's a good way to engage people when you bring that sense of humor. And if you don't know what to bring first, bring a smile on your face. You know, One of the things that I absolutely do when people are speaking and I'm listening, two ears, one mouth. Two ears, one mouth, right? And I'm listening, I will consistently smile at them and it's amazing to me how much more engaged they become when they see me smile. Why? Because they know that.

They don't have to have any defenses up. They know that it's a positive situation. So have a sense of humor in a non hostile way and just be fun and inviting. The next characteristics of the authentic person are people that are able to express their emotions freely and clearly without any reservation. You know, there's people that do provide tmi, you know, tmi, tmi. And we, I get that, you know, they're out there in the world, but to be completely authentic, we want to provide that in a way that makes sense. So the other thing that's coming to my mind when I say that is, you know, facts tell and stories sell. So engage people with, you know, a real story that is authentic and build some emotion into it and raise your tone of voice. Change your tone of voice when it gets to a certain point and raise that emotional level in your listeners and don't be afraid to tell something that might be deeply personal. Just change the name to protect the innocent, so to speak. I do that very commonly. I'll say, hey, let me tell you a situation that happened with a customer that we currently protect. I can't name any names, but this is what happened with that customer and I'll point to a third person and I will be able to express the emotions freely and clearly and exactly tell them what happened. I mean, I just closed an umbrella today. I got the uninsured motors portion of the umbrella included at a pretty substantial additional premium simply by telling an authentic story of a tragedy that happened in our local area where with emotion and I did not hold back any words, I got them to picture in their mind that it could possibly happen. He said, I need to have that. Make sure you add that on.

Authentic emotions clearly and freely given. Okay, next, be open to learning from your mistakes and the mistakes of others. And just know that regardless of our past, you have a spotless future. Regardless of your past, you have a spotless future. It's okay to make mistakes. It happens to the best of us. Of course, the core learning issue is if you make a mistake, don't make that same mistake again. Right, I get that. And hey, two fingers up. And if you don't know what that means, I'll share that with you on an upcoming podcast. But at the end of the day, we all make mistakes. Like I said.

At the very core of authenticity is people that are real, that are imperfect, and are not afraid to say, I'm imperfect. Like I said earlier on this podcast, I'm far from perfect, and I'm not afraid to tell people that all of the time. But I am real, and I have no problem holding back and telling people like it is, one way or another, and being authentic with them. And if I can't connect with them for one reason or another, hey, that's fine, no big deal. But be open to learning from mistakes and be accepting that other people do make mistakes and be forgiving and move it on and find a way to support and help them in every way possible. Next, understand people's motivations. It's really, really important to try to get a sense in what motivates them so that you can authentically bring to the table something that will be helpful to a situation.

The wording that I have learned over the last year or two in my own personal development, my personal studies, really, at the core is a single word feeling. What brings people to a certain feeling, to an emotional point in their being, that will cause them to either make a decision or not make a decision.

And at the core of that feeling is their motivation. You know, case in point, I've got some teammates. It's forever amazing to me if I just sit there and listen to what people are really saying, that they can really share some good stuff with you. It's forever amazing to me what really motivates people. I had a situation within our own team.

Recently, and the team member was talking about what motivates the team member. And I'm listening and I'm saying, I never thought about it that way, that this particular example motivates them. It's just crazy to me. This particular person likes words of affirmation as an example. And so now I know. In fact, I have two people within recent time that have told me that, in no uncertain terms, that words of affirmation are their motivation. So they authentically turned it on me and shared with me, for which I was grateful. Now I have to find a way to help them, to impact them, to motivate them more, my friends. Lastly, this subject came up in a recent conversation that I have with some very close colleagues of mine who were on a very big stage nationally. And in dialoguing with them about this large stage that they were on.

From.

Somebody that we all know, I said, what was the number one thing that you learned from that entire experience. And they said authenticity. They said this particular high performing guru was as authentic as they come. And, and that's in viewing the whole thing over a period of time. The thing that they learned the most was authenticity. We just have to be uber authentic in everything that we do every single day, every single way. Think about it like this again, just to remind you as you get ready to wrap this up. Why should people do business with you over and above any and all other options available to them? Why should people connect with you? Why should people want to get closer to you? Why should people grow in a relationship with you over and above any and all other options available to them? Because you are authentic. You're real and you're transparent. And there's somebody that they want to build a deep, meaningful, specific relationship with. Remember this, my friends, if you look at it from a business standpoint, money follows trust. I hope this helps you today as you're out there in the world. Make sure that you go up to somebody, be your authentic, real self, and you will build deeper, more meaningful relationships with people. Don't look to get. Look to give first. I hope this helps you. This is Mike Strompso coming to you live from the Living Agency Laboratory. And don't forget, coming up soon is the next Be unstoppable Bootcamp. That's beunstoppablebootcamp.com if you go to beunstoppablebootcamp.Com you're going to find all the information you need that if you make the decision to change your life, I personally guarantee we will impact you in a way that you've never been impacted before. That will be at the core of making that change. I can't wait to help you. I can't wait to meet you and I will see you on the next podcast. Until then, go out there, make a difference. Be unstoppable and leave no regrets. Thank you for listening. If you would like to listen to more episodes or share this podcast with someone you care about, please visit www.unstoppableprofitpodcast.com now go out and make a difference. Be unstoppable and leave no regrets.