Ep #72 Growing Your Business by Galvanizing Your Current Customer Base with Krystal Covington

Allyson: Hello, my dear ones. This is Allyson Scammell and we have a fabulous episode for you today. I was lucky enough to speak with communications strategist, Krystal Covington, about how to grow your business by galvanizing your current customer base. There’s a lot of focus out there in the business world about how to grow your business by reaching new audiences.

[00:00:29] And new people and growing your audience. But sometimes I think we neglect to talk about the people who are already in your audience and how we can deepen our connections to them to grow our business. So in today’s episode, crystal shares with us, her top tips to creating connections to your audience.

[00:00:56] The biggest missed opportunities Krystal sees when people don’t galvanize their customer base and how can the energy we bring to our customer relationships impact how we feel and perform in our business. We’ll end on a challenge that we’ll have you creating the type of strong connections to your audience that turns them into raving fans and repeat clients and customers.

[00:01:22] So be sure to stay with us until the end. Welcome to She Grows, a podcast for soul guided women entrepreneurs, ready to be seen and get fully booked using their unique genius, intuitive voice, and spirit guides. Each week we’ll explore how to create offerings based on what you do best. So you can have a wait list of ideal clients and bring in continuous income.

[00:01:49] I’m your host Allyson Scammell, let’s get growing.

[00:02:04] Hey there she grows nation. That is the name of this sisterhood of so guided entrepreneurs. If you’re not already a citizen, if she grows nation, then I invite you to join our Facebook group of over 1000 women running heart-based businesses that are in service to each other. And the planet today, I speak to crystal Covington about how to grow your business by galvanizing your current customer base.

[00:02:31] Krystal Covington is a communication strategists collaborating with global leaders of companies from startups to fortune 500. Her team specializes in business growth, strategy, media relations. Community outreach, influencer marketing and content marketing. Her impactful work has been showcased in TEDx Forbes, lifetime Fox entrepreneurs on fire and dozens of other powerful outlets.

[00:02:59] I had a fantastic time chatting with crystal, so please enjoy.

[00:03:09] Welcome Krystal. I’m so happy to have you on She Grows.

[00:03:12] Guest: Thanks. I’ve been listening for a while and I’m so excited to be a part of this community.

[00:03:18] Allyson: Oh my gosh. I love to hear that you listen a lot of my guests. I don’t think listen. So I appreciate that. So tell us we’re talking about galvanizing your current customer base, and let’s just start with if you could talk us through what that actually means.

[00:03:35] Guest: Yeah. So it, it has a lot of different pieces within that meeting. And what it really is if you think about. You might think of what you do as a business. You might think of what you do as an art form, but either way, those people need to have a connection with you. Some of the biggest brands in the world, people have a deep connection to, and want to, continue to spread the word.

[00:03:58] They want to be part of things. There’ve been brands that win. And especially individuals that have been my leaders and coaches I’ve wanted to do everything that they put in front of me. So if they help hosted a meeting, I want it to be part of that meeting. If they invited me to meet someone, I was gung ho to meet that person.

[00:04:16] And so galvanizing your customer base really just means. Making them feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves making it special, making what you do feel like a part of their life and not just you sold them something. And especially with people, as I listened to the show and I think about, who’s probably listening, there’s a lot of people who may be.

[00:04:39] In roles where they are personally involved with their customers at a different level, they might be coaches. They might be leaders in, in special ways to those people. And that just means they need to, it’s just part of their world to really focus specially on having a connection in that way.

[00:04:59] Allyson: Nice.

[00:04:59] So, what we’re talking about here is growing our business. In a way that makes our potential customers and our audience make the, making them feel like they’re part of something bigger. And and that has the effect of really connecting them to your brand. Is that what you’re saying?

[00:05:19] Yeah. Okay. So what are your top tips for doing that? Creating that really profound connection

[00:05:26] Guest: at the simplest level. So I’ll start simple and I’ll go bigger. So at the simplest level, it’s really making sure that when you are engaging with people, that you see them as a person, an individual, and you’re taking that time to really understand their needs and give them the best possible.

[00:05:45] Experience beyond just of course, taking care of what you promised to take care of. And that also means at the next step. So starting with that person, giving them a really amazing experience, then really thinking bigger and saying, how does that person I have a mentor who talks about it as a tree and he’s.

[00:06:04]He’s very smart and simplifying things and he kind of says, there’s an orchard as he has his business, refers to things as an Apple orchard. And he basically says, each person has an orchard and that’s an orchard of connections. So how you treat that, that person. Is going to resonate with them and they will share that hopefully with their connections, but then you further that bond by actually reaching out and asking to be a part of their community, even more so going deeper in the community that they know to broaden your network, introducing them to people within.

[00:06:39] Your communities. So for example, if you have a business where you’re able to host events, where people can be part of a community and meet others, and then you invite them to bring other people in. So you can have sometimes people do engagement activities. Like those events that I mentioned or doing things like contests and games to just get people interacting.

[00:07:03] And that’s really some of that more high level stuff. So some of the bigger companies, they do things like. Engagement games and contests and giveaways, or they might have uptake tag attic now. So they might have tick tack opportunities where you participate with the brand by doing a tick tock challenge.

[00:07:24] So there’s so many different ways to be a part of something with them in lots of different formats. And that’s a special sort of connection that you can have with people, but at the smaller level, which some people may be starting at. You just start off by treating that person, like a part of a special community that you created and then creating opportunities for them to connect deeper and meet new people and allowing you to also connect and meet new people from their network so that you both grow and broaden the people that you know,

[00:07:59] Allyson: nice.

[00:08:00] And so most of the people listening to this show are solo preneurs. So. There are a few small businesses, but I would say most are kind of one woman shows mostly. And so they might be saying, well, I would like to do that, but I don’t have a team of people who can help me, or I don’t have tons of resources.

[00:08:21] So could you give some, throw out some ideas for someone who would want to. Start to create this orchard in their business of these deeper connections. And they feel like they don’t have a staff or lots of resources to invest in something fancy.

[00:08:39] Guest: Oh, it doesn’t take anything fancy at all.

[00:08:41] So, One of the things that I usually suggest people do is schedule yourself one hour a week and make a plan to use that time effectively to basically nurture your con your community. And so you can even schedule in your TA and your, in your calendar and call it community nurturing. And all that means is setting an intention of what you’d like to accomplish with those people saying to yourself, okay.

[00:09:11] I would like to have and you can make it something profit-based I would like to have five new customers. So then you have to think, who do I need to support? Who do I need to connect with? Who do I need to have in my corner? Who do I need to build trust with? Because essentially. What you’re doing the essential piece that makes people want to buy from you that makes people want to work with you is going to be trust.

[00:09:37] I mean, that’s the biggest piece of what makes people make that decision. And so you can also frame it. Who do I need to build trust with today? And you can reach out to one person a week and take that hour and really focus on, Hey, I’m going to reach out and try to make a connection with one person, have a conversation, talk to them.

[00:09:57]Feed into their their, be a part of their community for this day. You can do something like that. Or you can split it up and say, I’m going to take these actions. You can do social media and say, I’m going to use that hour to go and find people that I really want to. Support today and find things that they posted and give them really beautiful affirmations on that.

[00:10:20] And so that one hour can really make a difference. I have a women’s organization that I started back in 2014. And when I first began that granted, I had a lot of free time back then I had a full-time job and I was married, but I didn’t, I all, I am, I’m pretty much a TV watcher. I don’t really do anything else.

[00:10:41] So having all those things still, I. I felt like I had a lot of time. So I would sit on social media. I used to ride the light rail to work. And so I would go and use that time riding the light rail, which was probably about 45 minutes. And that was every day though, 45 minutes every day. But I would sit and plan social media, and I found that I could find my members and.

[00:11:04]People who even visited the organization, I would find these people on social. I would follow them. And I had lists for example, on Twitter, where I could go to that list and see what they’ve been posting about. And I would comment on everything. And I remember somebody once coming to an event and I said, wow, you come to all the events.

[00:11:21] She said, okay. Because you’re everywhere. She said, I feel like I have to come because you’ll know if I’m not here. And I thought it was so funny because I was being really intentional about making these folks feel seen. And because of that, they felt like I would know if they weren’t showing up to events and they felt like I needed them there and I wanted their presence and I did.

[00:11:48] And so that really, it really came out. And so little things like that can make such a difference of all it was doing was going and commenting on the things that they were posting and making them. I feel like I was aware of them and watching them and being a part of that world for them and people doing sometimes take social media very personally.

[00:12:08] Allyson: Yeah. And so this is such a good example because you didn’t spend any money on ads, right. You were just going out and making connections,

[00:12:19] Guest: right. I’ve seen, Oh my goodness. I’ve seen people. I. I met someone last year. My very last event was March 11th, 2020. And it was, I think I had half attendance. So there was about 50 people there.

[00:12:35] And One of the people there gave sort of a testimony of the fact that she had spent about $7,000 in ads because she bought this class that told her, said something like $10,000 and 10 and some sort of conversion. It had some sort of cool math to it, but it basically said that if you spend 10, you get 10 X back or something like that.

[00:12:59] And so. She spent seven and she got nothing and was basically very sad about it and had now started the process, then started the process of repaying her debt and figuring out more effective strategies. And she was close to paying that debt down because she had really focused in on it and took on some other work to get it done.

[00:13:20] But that reminded me that so many people there’s so many people team thing. Ad based tactics and ads can work for certain kinds of businesses. And yes, there are definitely those people that have gone out and said, I’m going to build this humongous business. I’m going to be a million dollar expert or a million dollar thought leader, whatever it is that they’re trying to do.

[00:13:45] And they do figure it out and they do it. So I’m, everybody knows that somebody did it. It’s possible. But it is one of those things that sometimes people get caught up in. And I do believe that starting with, so I started my women’s membership with with no advertising expenses. And I did not believe in that at the time.

[00:14:05] I feel like you have to part of proving that what you’re doing makes sense for people and that it has value is getting people to sign up. On a organic, in an organic way. So I just, I literally, We didn’t have all the fancy tools that exist today. It was only 2014, but I didn’t have that. So I had What did I use?

[00:14:25] It was free conference calls. So conference call technology, and have of group calls with these people and introduce them to one another and make them feel really great and show them what the experience would be working with me. And then I gave them an offer at the end, and I said, email me. I mean, literally email me.

[00:14:49] There was no closing. There was no. Online tool to close or anything. There was no clock countdown or email system. I just said, okay, email me by this date to let me know that you’re ready to go and I’ll call in and process your credit card and we’ll get started and you’ll get this special offer. And it was a very different world than today, but I got five people.

[00:15:16] To sign up for a year of membership. And that was all I wanted. So I said that my promise to myself was I will quit this if I don’t get five people to sign up, because if I can’t get five people to join for a year, that it means nothing to anyone and I did. And then after that I had to commit and I said, okay, well now I’m stuck with this.

[00:15:36] I need to keep going. And now I need more members. And so I had to figure out a sales process, which was terrifying because that’s not the kind of person that I was, but I had a really great mentor who had started a membership program and was one of those kind of like hard line salespeople. And she taught me things to do and told me the hard stuff and gave me the hard critiques and helped me to move forward in being that.

[00:16:03] We kind, I don’t like, I felt like I don’t like to sell person and thinking that sales is horrible and gets people to do things they don’t want to do. And she helped change my mind about that and help teach me. How sales brings people to things that they need. And if I don’t learn to sell, I am stealing from them experiences that will change their life.

[00:16:23] So she’s, she just completely turned it around on me and then, and taught me how to do that process and be really consistent so that I could actually sell as well.

[00:16:34] Allyson: That’s awesome. Sales bring things to people they need. I like that. And what are some of the biggest mistakes you see or missed opportunities when people aren’t Galvin, galvanizing or creating those connections to their customers, to the end, to their potential customers?

[00:16:55] Guest: It’s just, it’s a serious missed opportunity when somebody is so excited about what you do and you don’t give them an opportunity to share. Most people do not naturally go out and post reviews. They don’t naturally go out and bring other people to things. They just go. So for example, on my end, people don’t necessarily.

[00:17:20]Always invite a friend to join my membership. So I had to create opportunities for them to do that. Or even people don’t necessarily, they weren’t taking pictures or sharing things. So I actually had to create moments and tell people, Hey, I’d love to take this moment to take a selfie. So I created opportunities.

[00:17:42] So it wasn’t just take a selfie and tag my business. It was. Hey, I’m enjoying this moment. I would love for someone to help me take a picture with the group. And so I would, and I’ve done this at speaking engagements that I had. So I’d be in front of a big group and I’m like, I don’t know if these people are going to give me a picture of this.

[00:18:00] I need to prove that I was here. So on the stage, in the middle of that moment, I would say, okay. We’re in a really good place to take a quick pause and reflect. I cannot believe I’m here in front of you all. I cannot believe I get the chance to be here in this moment with you. And I want to share this with everyone.

[00:18:19] I know. Will you help me do that? And people say yes. And I say, okay, I’m going to pull out my phone. And then they laugh. I’m going to pull out my phone and I want to take a selfie and I want you all to chance. And I would give them a chance. So whatever event I have them. So I might, if it was my event, we are women of Denver and I’d say, practice one time, we are women of Denver, they get it really bad.

[00:18:42] And then I say, okay, get it right. This title of the video. And I do it, and then we get it right. And then I have this video to post to my social media. And so. Then it prompted them and they say, Oh, I want to do that too. And so people start doing their own little things and taking pictures. And so I had to give them a really natural and fun and authentic prompt.

[00:19:04] For them to participate in that way, but you can also do things that aren’t as fluffy and cool is that, but simply just asking people if you really had a great time or you had a great experience working with me, or if I really helped to transform your life or give you some sort of significant impact, I would love it.

[00:19:23] If you’d leave a remark on my Google, my business, or if you leave a remark or a Sydney, I’ve had people just ask me to email them. A quick one sentence comment that they could put on their website. I’m a tons of people’s websites because I always do it because I always feel like supporting them and getting testimonials matters so much.

[00:19:42]And. You could also do things like when you’re in a meeting with someone and I know it can, it, there’s an approach to it, but basically figuring out the best approach, but saying, okay, while we’re on this meeting and since we had a really great time, so it could be your off-boarding meeting.

[00:19:57] If you’re closing out a project with someone or closing out a a process and just saying, Hey, we’re done, we’re in a transitional moment in our program together. This would be a great time to just record anything that you’d like to say about it, and it will help me to grow and to share what I do with others and articulate.

[00:20:17]How I make an impact and hearing you articulate that will really make a difference for others. Would you be okay with me recording the rest of this zoom and asking you a couple of questions? Some people will say, heck no, I’m not going on video. I’m I don’t have makeup on, I didn’t do that. I wasn’t prepared for that.

[00:20:35] And some people will say yes, but they’re already on the line with you. And then another thing that I’ve done with my membership is. People like to be featured. And so giving people the chance to talk about what they do also can bring you to a testimonial. So I also do if members want to be featured one of the questions at the end, I asked them all about themselves.

[00:20:56] And at the end, I say, what do you like. About being part of women of Denver. So then that video featuring them at the end, they’re saying, I just love being part of this community. We’re are just amazing. They have connected me. They have helped me grow my business. They have supported me. It means a lot. And so that ends up being another, just an opportunity that feels like.

[00:21:18] It’s about them because it is, but then it gives them the chance to also help me in growing as well. Because if people don’t know that this is a member and they don’t know that this person likes being a member then it doesn’t inspire them to also look into joining. So those kinds of things are really great.

[00:21:37] And I, I know that. As people probably like myself, that don’t want to feel inauthentic and just want to make it an easy kind of thing. Those processes can help. And people really love engaging in that way when it’s framed that way. Yeah.

[00:21:54] Allyson: Those are some really great examples. And I totally agree with you.

[00:21:58] Like people like to be featured. They like to feel important. They like to feel special. And I think when you let people or you create opportunities for people to feel special, it does create that trust and that connection. And that is a very good thing for turning a prospective client into a client.

[00:22:18]You said that public relations, isn’t always about getting media press, but the conversations others are having about you. Can you tell us more about

[00:22:29] Guest: that? Yes. So people often think I have a lot of people come to me that say, I need PR and they really don’t. They think that they need to be featured in Forbes to be a trusted advisor, to be a trusted, a lot.

[00:22:45] Most of these people are consultants or coaches of some kind, they’re all solo preneurs that. Often come feeling this way and it’s because they see these people who are really big deals. The people that they follow that probably inspired them to become what they are they are all have all these logos on their website and yeah.

[00:23:03] Yes, those logos can help in a certain way because they’re people respect those logos. They think, well, they’ve been featured in Forbes. That must mean something. But the thing that matters the most is knowing that other people trust you and knowing that other people have had positive impact from you.

[00:23:22] And I honestly think that those things are actually stronger than those logos. It’s starting to become a lot of people have those logos and not everybody does, I guess I know that, but Those just mean that you had something to say to the news, but they don’t mean that you serve someone in a positive way and made a positive impact.

[00:23:42] So those are very different badges and Creating PR for yourself really means having people willing to talk about you outside of your presence and having something, any remark to make they, they refer to that as being remarkable. Remarkable just means people are remarking about you and talking about you, outside of the vicinity of your presence. Real PR to me is those experiences where people are learning about you without you being there and not necessarily from the news and those make the biggest impact. Do people. I’ve been featured in S in some really big stuff and nothing happened from it, but I have had really great people that I gave a really amazing experience.

[00:24:29] A couple in particular, some people are really well connected and I’ve had a couple of really well-connected people. That I give, gave a really great experience too, and went above and beyond because I knew they were because they were part of my world. And I just knew that they, wanted something really impactful.

[00:24:48] I want it to do that for them. And so by doing that for them, then they shared. My value to so many people. And I got tons of referrals from that, but I have been featured in Forbes and I probably got a couple of calls and that’s a, it’s a very different impact. So it was cool. And I had a few people say, Oh, I saw you in Forbes.

[00:25:09] And it was great, but. I saw no change to my finance. And I’ve been featured in some, I had a podcast that I had followed for years. And then when they called and wanted me on, I was like, Oh my God, I can’t believe this is going to change my life. And then nothing happened. And, but the things that have changed my life, like then have just been.

[00:25:35] People that I impacted that brought their whole community of friends and said, all of my friends now want to work with you. And that was more impactful for my life in business than anything else. And I made really great relationships from it. So. I think that all of these things are relevant. All of them are important, but if you have to prioritize one over the other, especially because PR can be expensive in both, if you’re paying somebody else to do it, or if you’re spending the time is expensive.

[00:26:08]Your time is your most valuable. Your most valuable asset is your time. If you’re going to spend your time on one thing or the other, I would spend it on your network, I would spend it on expanding your community. I would spend it on giving really incredible experiences to people and making people feel like they just want to see you get rich.

[00:26:28] So that, that makes the biggest difference. And that connection that you create with people. Where they just want to reciprocate. Reciprocate is so powerful. Yeah.

[00:26:44] Allyson: I love that. I noticed when I get, quote unquote, big name guests on my podcast who have. Over a million followers on social media.

[00:26:54] I get really excited, like, Oh, I got so-and-so and they’ve got all these followers. And then there, they are the very people who never promote the episode cause they’re busy and they’re on a lot of stuff. And so, It’s the people, I, people who have, maybe 5,000 followers, which is still great, right?

[00:27:11] They’re the ones that tend to actually promote. And they’re the ones who actually share the word of the podcast. And I see that consistently. So when people are pitching me to be on this podcast, I don’t necessarily just look for, who’s got the most followers on social media because that often really doesn’t mean I, that this podcast will get more

[00:27:30] Guest: exposure.

[00:27:32] Yeah, it’s so true. And part of that, so I’m on the other side of it, part of that, yes. They’re just so busy. And the other part, I think sometimes they’re when they do share, I think they just have so many things that they’re sharing. That one thing is almost like a blip to their network. It’s.

[00:27:51] Hard for their network to respond to every single thing that they’re doing when they’re posting so much, they have like a social media team and they have so many things going on. It’s not a big deal. So for some ready on the smaller end, we’re like, Oh, let’s put this in our news. Let’s put this other newsletter.

[00:28:08] Let’s put this here. Let’s put that there because that’s the only thing we’ve done all quarter.

[00:28:14] Allyson: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. Yes, that is true. But I, but I noticed the bigger name guests that I’ve gotten on the show don’t even share it after they say they will. And that’s frustrating as the host. And of course I send kind of nice follow-up reminders.

[00:28:29] Like, Hey we sent you the media swipes and we often get a response back. Yep. We’re on it. Yeah, so that’s like, not even very nice, but you know, it is what it is. So, like I said, when I’m looking for guests on my show I, first and foremost, it’s all about getting the right voice in, but yeah, it’s not just about big numbers.

[00:28:48] Doesn’t always translate right into more exposure or more, whatever it is you want.

[00:28:53] Guest: True. Very true. So,

[00:28:55] Allyson: you kind of talked about this a little bit, but I think a lot of coaches are like, well, I want to be featured in Forbes so I can put the Forbes logo on my website, like as featured in and how. Like, how important is that for your brand?

[00:29:12] If you’re someone who wants to be a thought leader and a speaker, and you want to be seen as someone who has some authority and credibility, like how important are those logos, do you think to be the bigger name, more recognizable logos on a website, even if they’re not necessarily landing you clients, but they’re adding to your brand authority.

[00:29:32] Guest: I. I really, I struggle because yes, I’m in the business of PR, but I actually started I actually started leaning towards, I sell people out of it initially, because I think there’s a level where that matters. I think at certain levels it’s not relevant at all. And I think that it’s a fallacy, something that we were.

[00:29:57] PR people are really good at promoting PR we’re amazing at it. And so I do think that there are certain things that people have been trained to believe as art, big deal, because people have told them. So, because we’re, we make money by telling you that’s. So I think at certain levels It is important because if you’ve been around for a long time, you are saying that you’re at a certain scale, as you start scaling, it’s important to pick those things up because it’s a sign of a bigger business.

[00:30:35] If you are a solo prenuer and you’re, your goal is just to build a lifestyle business, which is what my goal was. I was never in the business of trying to run some big enterprise and have tons of people under me, or be busy all of the time I have a son, I want to be home. I like to walk. I like to go for hikes.

[00:30:57] I like to be outside. I don’t care about that. I would never have, I think. If you’re in that position, you don’t need all that stuff. Anyway, all you need is your loyal customers. You need a regular income, you need systems, you need your sales processes. You just need to know how you’re going to build your pipeline every month and have a pipeline of people that you’re consistently checking in on to close.

[00:31:22]Sometimes it takes a few months before someone becomes a customer. And so having that process as much more important as you do decide to scale. For me, I had to do that stuff because I’m in PR. I mean, I got my, my, even my corporate jobs. If I interview at the job and say, I’ve been featured in, this and this, that sounds really cool to them.

[00:31:43] And so for me, my profession means I need to be getting featured because if I’m not anywhere, how will anyone ever trust me getting them anywhere? But I’m not necessarily at a scaling. Capacity or need, so it doesn’t, it’s not, I would not have recommended myself to worry about it because I’m not trying to scale.

[00:32:02]If you’re in something. So for example, people in finance, things like that, those people need it. So I have finance professionals that I deal with corporate consultants, stuff like that because they need to differentiate. In a different way. And those people at those, some of the people that they’re dealing with their customer base, it’s like, well, who says, you’re the authority?

[00:32:24] And they need to, they need to know you’ve been featured somewhere. You’ve been in financial times and those things it helps them to even just close the business. Whereas if you’re not in that situation, you don’t need it. So basically my long answer is it just depends on your situation.

[00:32:42] It only is relevant in my opinion, if you’re scaling and trying to become big so that you can prove, provide evidence of that. Largeness and that scale, or if your customer base is kind of, snooty and needs to see that you have those things. And but otherwise, providing a really great story, explaining to people what your qualifications are and showing people who has been impacted by you are all things that matter more and should take priority.

[00:33:16] Allyson: Yeah. Nice. And you’ve been on a TEDx you’ve given a TEDx talk. Yes.

[00:33:22] Guest: Yes. And do you

[00:33:24] Allyson: feel like, I feel like a lot of the listeners to this podcast would be interested in one day having that experience. Do

[00:33:30] Guest: you feel like that’s something that

[00:33:32] Allyson: opens doors? Is it something that, I mean, how do

[00:33:36] Guest: you, how did that open doors for you?

[00:33:40] If it did that changed my life. Yes. So I was excited. It was wonderful. I was terrified. I almost forgot my speech and was, I had nightmares of falling flat on my face and my blue heels walking up the stairs because I don’t, I’m not good in heels. I was, I wear them because I present. But that was also a time that I was really growing.

[00:34:05] I had learned. To sell from the stage in 2015. And it helped me grow my business. I had a friend who was she was a coach and she had she was really pushing me in certain ways and she. Figured out. She said the right words to get me to fly out from Denver to Atlanta to go to a speaker’s conference.

[00:34:31] And they taught how valuable it is to learn, to tell your story on a stage, because it will change your life. And that was the they talk about it as the greatest way to bring people into what you do and really connect with an audience and build your audience and your income. And I said, okay, fine.

[00:34:51] You’ve convinced me. And I started practicing that. I started doing it on my own stages. And I went from making little bits of, getting a few members here and there to closing, dozens of members at an event by doing a close. And it was just incredible. And then using my own network, I said, now I want to do a Ted talk.

[00:35:14] I felt like I had all these Great experiences. I had practiced being really good at telling my story and telling it impactfully. And then I started telling everybody I want to do a Ted talk because I want to get the, it was more about the practice and more about another opportunity to expand myself.

[00:35:35] And then I had a friend one day say, You said you wanted to do a Ted talk, right? You’ve said that to me multiple times. I said, yeah, I do. She says, okay, well, I’m going to host a Ted talk. And I’d like you to be one of our speakers. And I was blown away. I put that out there a million times and she heard me and she responded to that and put me on the list and I was the first one on the stage.

[00:36:02] And so after that I mean, it takes a few months for it to get published. But after that it was out there. It didn’t even have a ton of viewership, I mean, but it got me opportunities to be featured in publications because people watched the Ted talk and said, I would love to expound on this. Can I interview you?

[00:36:23] And then it also brought me speaking engagements, and then I was able to use that. So I, I was on a tool called speaker match. And I put that on my speaker match profile and I made thousands of dollars from, being a speaker and being hired to go fly or drive out to places to go and speak.

[00:36:45] And so. That was really, it was a transformational moment for me because it was expansive and it put me in front of a big room full of people and terrified me and helped me just have this really big growth moment and helped me grow as a speaker because they teach you how to use that presentation style.

[00:37:07] And then it also helped me to build credibility and to get more speaking engagements, which brings me customers. So it was just all of those things, I think speaking and it’s, and not every speaking engagement is, that opportunity, but I think, when you have those opportunities to speak, it is, again, it goes back to that, the same thing I’m talking about with this whole episode.

[00:37:31] Is it creates connections. It builds your network. It helps people to feel. They’re a part of something. They’re a part of the universe of you now. And when you do a really great job of that, people feel like they’re a part of something. When you talk, they feel like they’ve joined a community of people that have been around you that have learned this, deeper, authentic story that you’ve shared.

[00:37:59] And. That is meaningful. And so I think speaking is a really great way to re build out your network, build your following, build your community, and connect with people who already know you as well. Nice.

[00:38:14] Allyson: That’s beautiful. Yeah, that’s just sounds very exciting. And I think a lot of the listeners will get a lot of motivation from that.

[00:38:21] Cause I know it’s sometimes a bit of a road to get from wanting to do a Ted talk to actually getting on the stage. So, Getting back to creating these connections and building your network. How can the energy we bring to our customer relationships, impact how we feel and perform in our business.

[00:38:42] Guest: That’s a really amazing framing of that question. And I think so I’ll just to bring it to, I like to ground things in my own experiences. I had this experience early last year, the pandemic had hit and I was in a dark moment watching all this horrible news and really, bringing it into me in this ugly way.

[00:39:13] And then I was working. With my toddler who was just learning to walk. So I had to be, so I was so attentive. I couldn’t hardly focus on anything except for him. Cause I thought he was going to break his nose while he was just being so daring. And it was a lot. And so I had this moment where I said to myself I want a different relationship with the people I serve.

[00:39:34] So for a while I had gotten into this place because PR is a very ego-driven thing. People do not oftentimes need PR. They want PR so that they feel big and bad. And so it brings. Sometimes an ugly set of people that I really did not like working with and there, wall street and they’re, really wealthy and they got all this money and they’re just, they were really mean to me at times.

[00:40:08] And just, and I don’t mean every, everybody on wall three Avenue, wall street guy, who’s amazing and sweet and is just the most amazing, the best guy. So it was just there. I was bringing the ugliest people. And I think it was the way that I was presenting myself and connecting with people. I was putting on a show.

[00:40:27] I was putting myself in a position to bring those people. And so in my moment of vulnerability, and I said that I don’t want that relationship with people anymore. And I put out this video and now it’s like, it’s a really bad video. When I made a really bad YouTube video that said, this is who I am. I didn’t dress up.

[00:40:49] I didn’t put on makeup. I put on my little ring way. And I just said, this is who I am. This is my background. And this is how I do things. And I said, I’m honest, I’m not going to over bill you. And I, I. I work by myself, but I also have some assistants that helped me. And this is what my life is and this is who I am, and this is, what I do.

[00:41:10] And I felt like, it was, I think the moment that I was in just changed everything. And after that video, all the people who found me came from that video and they would say, I’m going to hire you because I saw that video when I knew that you were the one. And I was like, really? And then they would, the relationship I had with them was so amazing.

[00:41:38] They were inspiring me as much as I was inspiring them. And this give and take that we had was just beautiful. Like I was creating something for them and they weren’t just some ego project of, what can I get to them? To make them feel good about themselves and make them feel like they’re winning today.

[00:41:57] It was how can I support them? And it was people that were really growth oriented, and really had these big missions and it just changed my life. I w I connected with them and then they brought me more amazing customers. And so, I think. Coming back to what I think you were asking me, that the relationship that you have with your, with the people that you serve and that, that coal, inspiration, inspiring each other, it brings you in, it’s an invigoration to keep being inspired with what you do, because sometimes, I mean, no matter what you do, yes.

[00:42:41] We all left the job world because there was something that wasn’t right there. And we think, we go into our own business and we think, Oh, this is going to be better. But sometimes there are moments when you get in the blah. With what you’re doing as a solo preneur, and you don’t want to do it.

[00:42:57] There are moments where it’s hard. And so the peop having really amazing customers and really beautiful relationships with them and having people that inspire you as much as you inspire them and feeling like it’s a beautiful partnership. It keeps you engaged in what you’re doing, keeps you inspired to keep going.

[00:43:18] And then it also does that thing. I’ve been talking about, which, because they’ve had a really beautiful relationship and community connection with you, they bring you more of that amazing energy, peop more people who will support your business in a way that. Invigorates you and keeps that beautiful energy going.

[00:43:37] I am on a roll now with not having those kinds of people. I’ve even gone back to having really big, more corporate clients again. And and only because. The first one that came back to me. Cause I had said I’m never going to work with another tech company there. Terrible they’re mean they have too many things going on and they want to call me at eight P eight, eight, eight, 8:00 PM at night and have me like do stuff.

[00:44:04] And then one came to me and he said, I saw that video and I want to hire you. And I was like, well, he said the right words. I have a little Sprite. He said the right words. He saw the video, he knows who I am and he respects my boundaries. I said, I have a son, I have a son. I do not work all the time. We have to schedule meetings.

[00:44:25] I’m not going to be available every day. And he said, that’s okay. And it’s been a really great relationship. So I started to try, I’m going to try to stay on this by continuing to, have this beautiful relationship with each co each person that I’m dealing with and continue to put out that kind of content and energy that has that feel of authenticity and being myself and just letting people know.

[00:44:53] That this is me. And no. Putting on faces, no putting on, certain airs so that I get the right people in the bikes.

[00:45:02] Allyson: Yeah. Wow. That is amazing. Crystal. I’ve really loved having you on the show. You have amazing energy, and this has been such valuable information you’re sharing. Can you please tell our listeners how they can find you to learn more about you and the amazing work you’re

[00:45:18] Guest: doing?

[00:45:19] I am@crystalcovington.com crystal Medicaid. And then on social media, it’s crystal go lead. Oh,

[00:45:27] Allyson: beautiful. And those links will be in the show notes. Well, thank you again so much, much for sharing your wisdom and giving us your time. Really appreciate it. Thank you. I

[00:45:38] Guest: appreciate it too.

[00:45:40] Allyson: Your challenge for this week, my friends is to reach out to three people and your current audience with the purpose of creating a stronger connection to them and nothing else.

[00:45:53] Not to potentially turn them into a client or make a sale, but simply to connect, send them a note of encouragement, ask them how they’re doing, offer a free gift and then no sales pitch, no call to action. Just making a connection and see where that connection leads. And if you’d like help. Calling clients into your business right now, then download my free checklist to remove the five visibility blocks that are preventing your ideal clients from finding you your offerings are too important to remain invisible.

[00:46:30] So this checklist will help you be seen and get fully booked. You can find them to download on my website, Allyson scammell.com as well as in the show notes.