How to Build Authority as a Business Leader Using Video

[00:00] Michael Griffiths: You have these frameworks, you have these systems, you have this real life experience, you have these war stories, you have this genius. And if you don't share that genius, no one can run towards you.

[00:12] Chris Schwager: Hi, I'm Chris Schwager, video coach and founder of the Complete Video Success System, and I've spent decades helping professionals create high impact videos that build trust, generate leads, and drive business success.

[00:23] Chris Schwager: And if you've ever felt unsure or underprepared or just plain awkward with video, this is for you. I'll give you the mindset and strategies to take control, build video confidence so that you show up like

[00:33] Michael Griffiths: a pro. It's time to make your videos work for you

[00:38] Chris Schwager: All right. Today's guest is a mate who's, has actually been coaching me for the past year on deepening relationship, Michael Griffiths.

[00:45] Chris Schwager: Michael's built seven businesses, sold six of them, and spent the last decade turning referral marketing into a science, literally. His Limbic Advantage model uses neuroscience to create what he calls extraordinary moments that turn clients into advocates. If visibility gets you seen and trusted, Michael's the guy who shows you what to do with that trust once you've got it.

[01:11] Chris Schwager: Let's get him in. Michael, welcome to the show.

[01:13] Michael Griffiths: Thank you, Chris. So good to be with you guys. Uh, really excited.

[01:17] Chris Schwager: You've built seven businesses and sold six. What actually made those exits happen?

[01:22] Michael Griffiths: Uh, probably every single one of them was pure luck. Uh, it was never the intention. Someone just came along and said, "I want that."

[01:31] Michael Griffiths: And I went, "That's fine. I'm not invested in it. I don't really care. Um, I'll go do something else." And so there was generally always a moment where either someone came along, I just went, "You know, this isn't fun anymore." Um, so away we went onto, onto the next venture. So I'd love to be able to say that they're all well-planned, and I thought about it before going in, and all, all the things that you're told to do, but no, I didn't do any of that.

[02:00] Chris Schwager: Well, for the people that, uh, don't really know what Leverage Connections is- That's it ... or Deepening Relationships even, can you just ex- describe to, I guess, what you coach us every single week and, and why that's important for the modern business?

[02:11] Michael Griffiths: Yeah, I suppose there's two ways to look at, at business growth.

[02:16] Michael Griffiths: There is, uh, the, the paid way, where you go in, whether it's paying for SEO, whether it's paying for ads, whether it's paying for... In essence, you're paying for exposure, because that's what we all need as businesses, we need exposure. If people don't see us, if people don't know how we can help them, if people don't understand that we're out there, then we're never gonna make any sales.

[02:41] Michael Griffiths: So there's the paid way. But then to me, there's the other way, and I think the other way is actually probably a bit more enjoyable, and that's leveraging through other people's networks. Because right now, the ideal client that you have already belongs to someone else's network. And if we can just simply enhance that relationship with that network or find that network, keep showing up in that network, then it becomes a really efficient and effective way to be able to grow a business.

[03:15] Michael Griffiths: So when we talk about leverage connections, it's about, well, how do we leverage other people's networks? How do we leverage our own networks? How do we actually form relationships and get into conversations with people so that we actually can do business? Because nothing happens unless you're in a conversation.

[03:33] Chris Schwager: And what's the biggest mistake even good business owners, particularly in the leverage connections, what's the biggest mistake you find them making?

[03:40] Michael Griffiths: Probably more so now than ever before, um, there's just so much noise Am I AI? Am I not? Am I good at what I do?

[03:51] Chris Schwager: Are you?

[03:51] Michael Griffiths: Am I not? Sometimes. Depends who you talk to.

[03:55] Michael Griffiths: Um, but yeah. So authority, influence, being remembered, staying front of mind, demonstrating that you can actually make someone's life better, they're more important now than ever before, and most people forget that. They just go, "How do I get a lead?" And as soon as a lead comes in, it's like, well, that person should just buy from me.

[04:21] Michael Griffiths: But 95% of the time they're not ready to buy from you. So you sit there, do nothing. They sit there going, "Well, I don't know what to do next." And we turn ma- we just make business harder than what it should be, verse the great things that you guys do in terms of, of video, in terms of being able to go, "Great, here I am."

[04:42] Michael Griffiths: You're now more of an authority. You can show how you make people's lives better. Like nothing happens, uh, faster than through video with those sorts of things. So I think that's the biggest mistake people make. They, they're on a lead generation quest thinking that that's gonna solve their problems, where in fact it's not lead generation that we need.

[05:05] Michael Griffiths: It's actually the ability to deepen relationships, to show how we can actually make people's lives better, and to then create that bond, connection, trust, which then turns someone from potential client into real client.

[05:20] Chris Schwager: All right, I'm gonna call bullshit. Not on that, but the other day you said, yeah, the average person now needs 14 hours.

[05:27] Chris Schwager: Is that the way I correctly heard it? And 14 hours before they're confident to be making a decision on you? Is that, is that what I heard, or was it s- 'cause I've been like, it's just stuck in my mind. 'Cause, you know, the seven touch points to 20 touch points and all that kind of stuff, and tell me more about that 14 hours.

[05:48] Michael Griffiths: Yeah. So again, because just society is just full of noise, you go on your social platforms, and you can be stuck there for three hours without even realizing and achieve nothing, and been pulled in 30 different directions. So I go right now, no matter if you're a HR consultant, you're an accountant, you're a bookkeeper, you're a coach, uh, you're selling a widget, that person has probably spent money and didn't get what they were after.

[06:21] Michael Griffiths: And that's the biggest thing that we are against. It's not are we capable of doing it, it's I have been let down before. And because most people have been let down before in some way, not necessarily with the thing that they want from you, they are very skeptical. They are very hesitant. And therefore, people these days need more and more and more time understanding that you actually are the right solution for them.

[06:55] Michael Griffiths: So for a lot of people who don't create content at all, and content can be videos, it can be written, it can be podcasts, it can be on socials, it can be emails, it can be face-to-face events. It just gives you a chance to be able to share your genius, and it gives you a chance to showcase how you can actually help people.

[07:20] Michael Griffiths: And today, more than ever before, people need to consume that. So I think one of the big mistakes, going back to the previous question, is very much that you bring a potential client in, a prospect in, a lead in, whatever your terminology is, and you go, "Oh, great, that person's gonna buy from me now." It's like, well, no, they're not.

[07:43] Michael Griffiths: Really all they're doing is starting their journey with you. And yeah, we saw a research out from, from Google where right now it's could be anywhere up to, to 20 touch points and, uh, up to 14 hours of consuming your, your z- uh, zone of genius before they feel confident that you are the solution for them.

[08:08] Michael Griffiths: Now, obviously, depending on their pain point, depends on how fast that goes. But when you think about it, that each person might have to consume up to 14 hours of your genius before they go, "Yes, I am ready," it's like, ooh, what are you actually doing to help propel that forward?

[08:26] Chris Schwager: Where, where do you stand on the, um- Never follow up principle.

[08:31] Chris Schwager: This, this concept of, um, if you're following up on sales, there's a high probability you're just spending all your energy trying to win someone over who could have been closed in the first meeting.

[08:48] Michael Griffiths: Yeah. Okay. So I, I'm a huge believer you don't actually choose when someone's ready to buy. You could influence, but they decide.

[09:03] Michael Griffiths: So by asking the right questions, you can help uncover maybe what their roadblock is or their challenge is or their obstacle is. Then you can have honest conversations around, around certain things. But the majority of the time, someone who's not ready to buy simply comes down to there is a gap missing in their understanding on how you're going to remove that pain point for them.

[09:35] Michael Griffiths: So following up and going, "Oh, just checking in, Chris, to see if you're ready to go," well, that's not changing the gap. The gap is still there. So we need to be able to, A, understand the gap, but if they're not gonna tell us the gap, then that makes it really hard. But I always go, the best way of following up is to continue to try to demonstrate how- Yes

[10:01] Michael Griffiths: your thing is gonna make their pain what? Point go away. So, um, as, as you know, Chris, and people who have been around us before, we love drawing, getting out the iPad, recording things where we draw things out, because that's a great way of being able to demonstrate for people to be able to visually see, okay, here I am here.

[10:26] Michael Griffiths: This is where I wanna be. There's the gap. How do I actually get rid of that gap? And more importantly, have the confidence that it's actually going to work for them, and that's, that's the key. So really when I look at sales, sales is just simply either I don't understand how you're going to solve that gap for me, or I don't have the confidence, and sometimes that confidence is within ourselves, not the actual other person-

[10:57] Chris Schwager: Mm-hmm

[10:57] Michael Griffiths: that this is going to work for me. And when those two things- Yes ... are eliminated, that's really when a sale is made.

[11:04] Chris Schwager: Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. And during the week it was profound. You might not think that I'm, I'm, uh, paying attention when I'm off walking the dog or whatever I'm doing, but one of the things that came up in, in this week's session Was what are you doing after those opportunities are there?

[11:25] Chris Schwager: Um, meaning for us in, in our particular situation, we, we have deals created and then feedback meetings booked, but that's it. Uh, and after that meeting's either gone ahead or hasn't, and they've decided yes or they haven't, there's very little correspondence that is very much talking directly to their situation rather than some kind of generic, you know...

[11:56] Chris Schwager: I mean, it, it is, uh, some kind of spam EDMs thing. I'm like, "Oh, here's a great tip." Or, um, or the value emails which aren't s- aren't, still aren't specific enough to check in with them with something like an email that actually also validates why we're here to, to support them and to solve that challenge.

[12:20] Chris Schwager: Um, curious t- for you to just expand a little bit more on that because that's something that, you know, we're gonna use our second brain to help us roll out. Um, and I think it'll be incredibly powerful at just, again, not just staying top of mind, but also just being, uh, far more connected with their particular situation rather than just a kind of a loose cannon, you know, m- newsletter.

[12:44] Michael Griffiths: I wanna probably just change people's terminology and therefore mindset because the, that hunter in us, and we've all got hunter in us because that's our survival brain going, "Hey, we need a roof over our head, we need food on the table, we need to be able to provide," et cetera. So we all have the hunter in us.

[13:05] Michael Griffiths: The hunter goes, "How do I win?" It doesn't go, "How do I serve?" Or, "How do I add value?" Or, "How do I ensure the other person wins?" Where we get the farmer in us, and the farmer is great. The farmer plant seeds, it knows how to harvest the crops, it knows that there's seasons, it is patient, it does the, the nurturing, and in the end it gets this great stretch.

[13:34] Michael Griffiths: Right? So where we have the farmer in us, we have more of the, the, the questions such as, "Okay, what do I need to do to be able to help this person right now?" And that's a very different question to, "How am I gonna get this person

[13:58] Michael Griffiths: to buy from me right now?" Because when we ask the, the how am I gonna get someone to buy from me right now, we tend to do generic, boring content, value emails, EDMs, whatever someone wants to call them. When we go, "Okay, I just had a gr- conversation with Chris around XYZ, this could be really helpful to be able to share for other people who are in that situation."

[14:23] Michael Griffiths: And it's more of a giving mentality. Yeah. It all comes under this umbrella that we call remem- the remember me system. Because in essence, what you are always trying to be is remembered, because that is what deepens the relationships. Uh, I was speaking to a, a group of people yesterday, and it was, it was about just being able to, uh, network and have one-to-one meetings and, and therefore, hopefully, either pick up business or increase the referrals.

[14:58] Michael Griffiths: And I'm like, "People don't choose to do business with you or even pass referrals to you just because you do a good job." Now, our logic brain says, "Well, that's all it should be." But it's not. So people go, "Okay, we need trust, and they need to know us, and they need to like us." And we hear that all the time.

[15:22] Michael Griffiths: Know, know, like, and trust. And again, I just go, "No. Garbage." It is a feeling. That's all it is. It is a feeling. "I reckon Chris is gonna do a great job for us. I really think that Chris is going to be able to..." And then they come over and they justify it with logic. So where does the feeling come from? Well, the feeling comes from brain chemicals.

[15:50] Michael Griffiths: Dopamine, do I feel really good around you? Oxytocin, the bond, the connection between us. And it's those two things alone which actually will improve sales, because you are going in there thinking, "How can I just simply serve, add value, build connection, create bond, bring up the commonalities?" And we've seen so many times, and, and the people listening, you could probably even go back to an instance yourself where someone said to you I just, I don't know what it was.

[16:31] Michael Griffiths: I just knew it was the right decision to bring you on board, to work with you, to- That's exactly right. Mm. They don't know what it is. Mm. So when you're playing with this thing over here, which you really... It's not even tangible. It makes it really hard for the logic brain to go and mind map it and go, "Well, if I do this and this and this and this and this, I'll get this result."

[16:56] Michael Griffiths: It's like, no, not necessarily. When we are being remembered, we just have to focus on three things. How am I gonna make your life better? How am I gonna deepen the relationship with you? And how am I going to make you feel that I actually care about you- Mm ... more than what I care about myself?

[17:18] Chris Schwager: Yes.

[17:19] Michael Griffiths: And if I can do- Yeah, that's right

[17:20] Michael Griffiths: those three things consistently-

[17:24] Michael Griffiths: You're always gonna, you're always gonna be okay with sales.

[17:28] Chris Schwager: It's amazing how, uh, simple that is, and yet how I'd say the average person, including myself, doesn't use that methodology re-religiously. It's all about, "Just get to the next one." That's the hunter in me, right?

[17:45] Michael Griffiths: Yeah.

[17:45] Chris Schwager: Um, and this is what I find exciting, even some of the things that you were teaching us during the week around commenting on, on, you know, LinkedIn posts and whatnot.

[17:56] Chris Schwager: You know, are you better to say... Are you better to reply with a comment that says, "You're amazing. You're fantastic. I can't believe you... This is so helpful for me. Thank you," rather than putting your own, injecting your own opinion in there? Because they're doing two different things. One's praising, appreciation, giving them the, the chemical, giving the chemicals that they need, and the other is just not doing that, is it?

[18:22] Chris Schwager: It's not, it's not hit-hitting their, hitting their brain in the same way.

[18:26] Michael Griffiths: This... Yeah, 100%. So many people feel that they have to take the spotlight and show that they are clever by commenting with their own insight or their own perspective. When I put up content, I'm not asking you for your perspective. I'm sharing mine.

[18:48] Michael Griffiths: So the best thing we could possibly do is simply to just go, "Thanks, Chris, for sharing that. That's actually really insightful and helpful." Whether it is or isn't doesn't matter because how does that make you feel? All right? That's a hit of dopamine. That's a hit of oxytocin. And now our bond actually is a little bit closer than me going, "Oh, thanks Chris.

[19:17] Michael Griffiths: That's really insightful. What I feel is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." And you go, "I didn't ask you what you feel." So, so I've actually just shot myself in the foot and created cortisol, the negative brain chemical, rather than what I was actually trying to do, which was get seen by you and hopefully deepen the relationship by you.

[19:41] Michael Griffiths: But I just did it the completely wrong way.

[19:43] Chris Schwager: So powerful. One of the big things for us has been inviting people to our weekly sessions, and I think this might have even been your idea. Um, after a sales call, whether they buy or n- or not, they get a, they get a, um, complimentary invite to the Video Confidence Collective, which ha- happens every Tuesday.

[20:05] Chris Schwager: And I see that as, Jesus, I'm just giving a, I'm giving everybody my value in that one hour anyway, and by virtue of them popping in for another hour with, with Chris, and they've already spent maybe half an hour to an hour prior to that in a sales meeting, well, I've only got 12 hours left to get them closed.

[20:25] Chris Schwager: But I th- I see it as this opportunity for them to, to really understand that the way I show up on video is exactly the way I show up in person. There's nothing really different about it. And it's, uh, loose. It's out of the formalities of a sales environment, and it's in a, a training, nurturing education environment.

[20:46] Chris Schwager: Um, I just think that's a really great tactic to deploy, and, uh, I definitely think it remains memorable to people that they've sat through and committed to another hour with me to learn something new. Um, I think it was your idea, but do you think... How m- how many more of those can I possibly stack in order, in order, in, in my favor to get to the outcome that I'm looking for?

[21:13] Michael Griffiths: If we go back to, let's just go back to generally, I suppose, sales Somebody has a, has a sad face because they've got a particular pain point. Every single person in life has their six core needs. I-- And when we feel like we are growing, life always feels better. So we don't want a sad face, we want the happy face.

[21:43] Michael Griffiths: And there is this gap here that takes us from sad face to happy face. Now, on your original call with them, they might have ticked off three out of five before making a decision. Mm. Maybe it's one out of five, maybe it's four out of five. But not until they can answer that question, "This is gonna work for me, and these are my type of people."

[22:15] Michael Griffiths: So every opportunity you get to be able to showcase that, the better. And for most people in business, they don't have the model to be able to do that. If I'm a HR consultant, for example, how do I demonstrate that I can make your life better? That I'm the right person, that I'm the right fit? That... But you've gotta come up with a way to be able to do that because you're not the only HR consultant that they're speaking to So whether that is through the content that you put up, whether that is through the value emails that you send out, whether that is through running a webinar, masterclass, lunch and learn, in-house little get-together.

[23:03] Michael Griffiths: But you have to find ways that allow the potential client to deepen the relationship with you, to gain a greater understanding of how you're gonna make their life better, and to be able to answer the question, "Yeah, this person's for me." And that's a feeling.

[23:24] Chris Schwager: It's

[23:24] Michael Griffiths: so- That's not a- So true ... logical thing. AI is making us dumber, and we need to stop that.

[23:32] Michael Griffiths: If you want clients to run towards you faster, because you need to make sure, like to me, creating... Sorry, I'll reword it. Sharing our genius, and whether that's done through content masterclasses, emails, quick little videos. Sharing our genius is the number one thing that every single business should be doing.

[24:05] Michael Griffiths: It can't be outsourced. It is your genius. You know, no matter what you are, I'm a bookkeeper, I'm an accountant, I'm a consultant, I'm a coach, I'm a whatever you are. You have these frameworks, you have these systems, you have this real-life experience, you have these war stories. You have this genius, and if you don't share that genius, no one can run towards you because they don't actually understand how you're gonna make their life better.

[24:40] Michael Griffiths: So that's the first tip, and that's why I, I love what you guys do because it gives you an easy platform to be able to do that. It's not difficult. And if just being on camera scares the daylights out of you, okay, I get it, but you're gonna have to build a bridge, because if you're a HR consultant- Yeah

[25:04] Michael Griffiths: and there's 10,000 of you, 9,995 of them are letting fear doubt, their little inner voice stop them from doing this.

[25:17] Chris Schwager: Mm.

[25:17] Michael Griffiths: The other five, they're getting 80% of the clients because they're willing just to- Mm ... build a bridge, get over themselves, and share their genius, and the person who- Yeah ... shares their genius the most wins So knowing that, we then go, okay, how can we take that premise of understanding human behavior to why people buy to create your own growth engine that brings people in, that allows you to nurture them, educate them, be remembered by them, and get more people as clients than ever before?

[26:06] Michael Griffiths: And that in essence is what I, what I just love, A, teaching, but B, being able to do.

[26:12] Chris Schwager: By virtue of you listening to some of the power that comes out of Michael's mouth there, that, uh, you'd agree that if you are struggling with lead flow generation, building relationships, holding relationships, referrals, et cetera, then you gotta get some help on this because we needed that help.

[26:30] Chris Schwager: We needed that support. In the last year, Michael's blown our minds, and he really expanded the things that we've implemented into all types of different areas. Um, this is not just learning theory. This is putting things into practical workflows and steps in order to proactively grow your business beyond what's currently floating out there, which is do the ad, do the social media video, right?

[26:58] Chris Schwager: These are the things that we are, w- almost propagandist things that we are sold on these days, and not many people talk about picking up the phone, deepening relationships, that- um, a me- mechanics of getting these things done and out there and implemented correctly so that they do work for your business.

[27:17] Chris Schwager: So Michael, I appreciate you being here. I appreciate, uh, you pushing me on this stuff for the last year. It really does show up in our business. Uh, if today landed for you, that's the whole point. Visibility gets us seen, gets you seen- Yeah ... and trusted, and Michael just showed you what happens next. Go check him out.

[27:35] Chris Schwager: Go check him out at michaelgriffiths.com.au. And if you want more on, of this, just come and join us inside the Video Confidence Collective, and we'll show you how we also combine a little bit of the mindset and the skillset in order to make you a better video genius. Thanks, Michael.

[27:52] Michael Griffiths: Absolute pleasure, Chris.

[27:53] Michael Griffiths: Been great being with everyone.

[27:54] Chris Schwager: Thanks for listening to the Video Confidence Collective podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and subscribe to us on YouTube so you never miss an episode. For more resources, check out the show notes, and follow me at Chris Schwager or Ridge Films, and see you on the next episode.