Conversations With Coffey

Drastically Increase Your Connections And Get More Clients With Networking

• Guy Coffey • Season 1 • Episode 10

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This episode features Toni Harris Taylor, an expert in networking and digital marketing who is known as The Networking Queen. 

We explore the significance of networking for franchisees and how to leverage relationships for business growth. 

Toni tells us about the importance of follow-up, overcoming personal discomfort in networking, and building authentic connections rather than focusing solely on digital marketing. 

You'll transform your networking approach after watching this episode!

You can connect with Toni here:
Website: https://toniharristaylor.com/home
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/toniharristaylor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toniharristaylor/

Connect with Guy Coffey:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/guycoffey
Website: www.guycoffey.com
Instagram: @guycoffey
YouTube: @guycoffey

Part of follow up, yeah, is to ask a very simple question. What are you working on? And how can I help you? I like to say that digital marketing, social media is the extension of your relationship. It's the extension of your in person life, but the best account of being partners are the ones that's going to be in the room with you and they're standing at the door waiting on you to show up.

But I know what I offer will change people's lives. Shame on me for not getting out, but it ain't about you. It's not about you. It's about

hello and welcome to franchise business. Real talk with me. Gee coffee and my special guest today. Tony Harris Taylor. We're looking forward to having a great conversation with Tony in regards to what she's doing in the franchise industry itself, but also some very tactical recommendations on how to network in your community.

To help your business and your community. So with that, I am going to turn it over to Tony to tell us a little bit about yourself, and then we'll just get right into the conversation. Thank you so much for the opportunity. So Tony Harris Taylor, I live in Houston, Texas. I have a couple of brands behind me.

So you see the crown that's THT, the networking queen. And my clients gave me that moniker, by the way, because I'm a global networker and connector. Um, my business brands are drastic results. See, I got the t shirt, so it must be true drastic results, marketing and sales coaching, where I work with franchise professionals, specifically franchisors to teach their franchisees and friend dev teams, how to show up, be up, follow up to blow up their businesses.

And then I also am a franchisee myself. Network and action is. The brand that I am a part of and five year anniversary this year. And so we bring that franchise suppliers together. I have a group that brings them together for coaching, community connections, collaborations, so we can make more cash together.

I love it. Um, I think one of the things that you mentioned show up to blow up basically in, in summary, you have more alliteration and better descriptive words than I do, but. I think one of the things there that you kind of hit on was the follow up. And I'm kind of guessing because I'm not guessing. I'm going to say this.

I met you. You reached out to me a while ago. We had conversations and your follow up. You've connected me with other people and we barely even knew each other. So I think the follow up is probably the key in, in, in all this being of service to someone else before you're asking them to be of service to you.

And I'm sure you have recommendations on how to that. So it's a win win for everybody. Absolutely. You know, when you follow up, it can't just be about buy my thing. And I'm really teaching. Entrepreneurs period that it's all about the relationship. And the best way to build a relationship is to help somebody else first.

I didn't write it. It's in the word. So the more you give, there's more happiness in giving than in receiving. And so part of the follow up, yeah, is to ask a very simple question. What are you working on and how can I help? If more people ask that question of each other in franchising, in entrepreneurship, I believe that not so many people would struggle.

And so I'm on a mission to teach that. So what are you working on and how can I help? What are you working on? How can I help? Okay. Not usually what you hear at a networking event. It's not what you hear at a networking event. It's all about people saying who they are and what they do. And that's important.

Don't get me wrong. And I, you heard me articulate. So I practiced who I am and what I do, but I quickly turned the conversation around at an event to learn more, to show more interest. In that person. So there's a saying, be more interested than interesting. And I'm more interested in the person I'm talking to.

Um, and then when they see my heart, which I think a lot of people have removed from business. We just don't share our hearts enough. And we think it's all about business. When people know you like you and trust you and see your heart, the world is your oyster, as they say. Yeah, I can definitely see that. I also see it at networking where is where people are going and this has been me in the past as well, um, where I'd really like to meet some people.

And, you know, I'm, I have a need for a new supplier or a vendor or maybe a mentor or someone that I want to learn something from, cause they're really, really good at it, but, and maybe this is a guy thing could be, I don't want to show that I need help. Like, I want to be like, yeah, I'm just curious, you know, about this or something like that.

And, um, I think that is another barrier to people actually making better connections and just being authentic because almost everybody needs something else. And if you're conscious and aware and don't have too big an ego, you can see people all around you that are better at certain things than you are.

So ask. Absolutely. Vulnerability is part of networking. I don't know everything and saying that up front. Now, listen, I'm going to talk to the suppliers in the network cause I'm a supplier as well. And so just because someone shows their vulnerability and say they need help doesn't mean you start selling them right away.

Again, it's about building a connection. The sales will come. In fact, I'm coaching a couple of people in the franchising space. Now they're suppliers. And I'm like, they hired me to teach them sales. I'm like, how much time are you spending building relationships? Because once you build relationships, unless your price is way too high, you don't even have to sell.

And then when you get referrals and people say, you just need to talk to Tony Harris Taylor. I have to sell. I just got to build a connection to make sure they like me because someone else knows, likes and trusts me and they are willing to say my name. That's what we all want. Sure. Sure. Absolutely. And it's, it's the way to go.

I've, I've recently been through some sales training and, uh, the sales trainer had a really good term for it. And I think it applies to networking too. It's like, you can just smell when somebody is just trying to make a sale, you know, and it's, she's, she says, she calls it commission breath. You can smell it from a mile away and it's not, Attractive is desperate.

And here I'm so I'm probably going to step on some toes here, but I'm allowed. Right? Sure. Hey, you have the mic. I think that the organizations. That bring suppliers in as sponsors, set it up that way because they charge so much to be a supplier at an event that people are desperate to make the money back that they just invested.

And so when I spend 20, 000 to show up at an event, I gotta close, I gotta get some of that money back soon. And it's unfortunate because the. It's it's made people act out of desperation and that's not, that's not cool and it's not fair either. And when I set up my organization, it is not going to be that exorbitant amount of money to play.

And then people will chill out. And it'll be a, it'll be a more level playing field too, as well. Right. So it's not just the people with 20 grand in their budget to go to five shows in a year, it'll be other people that are starting out. Might have a better. Product service or offering for that group of consumers or, you know, who's going to be in the, at the show.

I like that. It's unfortunate, but I think that the host of these events sometimes set the suppliers up for failure. Right. And so we need to fix that. So that's one of the things you're doing in the franchise industry to, to help it out. So as, as you know, we've, we've discussed, you know, are the, the The people that are listening to this are primarily small business owners, current franchisees, prospective franchisees, or usually emerging franchisor systems.

So, in terms of networking, I've just seen it as a franchisee, um, in the fitness world and as a franchisor in the beauty industry, um, the importance of local networking. Face to face on the street, handed out business cards, go into the local events, things like that. And some people get it and really, really, um, make the most of it and become ingrained in their community and actually have a place in their community as well.

Um, and some people. Uh, I've had it from, from our franchise or when I'm wearing my franchise or hat is that, um, they take that as a sign that your, your digital marketing is not working. So why, why do we have to do this? Digital marketing killed relationships. I love digital marketing, by the way, you and I are here because of LinkedIn.

So it's, it definitely has a big place, but what it did was kind of spoiled people to think that it was the only way. I like to say that digital marketing, social media, is the extension of your relationship. It's the extension of your in person work. So, when I meet people at events, and yes, I put cards in their hand, I book appointments on the spot, but my way to stay connected to them so they keep seeing me is the digital.

Okay. Bye bye. All right. Versus the opposite. People think you can post something and the floodgates will open and unfortunately, I think franchisors have, um, done themselves and their franchisees a disservice by putting all their money into the, uh, digital space because it's slow. Digital's hard. And, but if you were investing in teaching your franchisees how to show up, how to network, how to build local relationships, they would then understand that digital is just a complement to who you say you are when people meet you in person.

And it would also further the word of mouth because maybe you do, you know, one of our locations is in a, in a mountain town. It's three and a half hours from pretty much anything. Um, so it's very, Easy to target digitally, right? But we're also very active in the community, but maybe someone's new and they see something from anytime fitness and steamboat, but then they talk to somebody that's actually interacted with, you know, our team or me or Stephanie.

And then they, hopefully they, they get a good, good recommendation on that. Um, so that it's, that is still an extension of an existing relationship. It's just not with that exact person yet. Absolutely. Yeah. So, digital has, I'm not pooh poohing on digital, I have digital clients, so I think it's very important.

It's just not the end all be all. Right. And I, I mean, I have 8, 000 people on LinkedIn, so clearly, and I'm maxed out on my Facebook connection, so clearly it works, but you gotta know how to work it. Yeah. And that's part of what I teach. Well, how do you work these relationships, get those people off of the platform into a Zoom call or whatever call, so that you can build a deeper connection.

Yeah. Yep. Like you and I did. Right. Exactly. Right. It's working. We did. We scheduled 30 minutes in an hour later. We're like, Oh, I don't want to go. No, you hang up. No, you hang up. No, you hang up. Right. It was great. I loved it. I loved it. Like you got, I got a lot of energy just from talking to you, Tony. So, um, I want to circle back and, um, just talk about like when someone goes.

To a local marketing thing, I was, I was having a conversation, the gym that we own, as I said, is, you know, far away from our house. Um, so I go to a couple other gyms and one of them, I was talking to the sales guy there and, and I was like, well, how did you, how are, how are sales this week? And, um, just cause, you know, we're just.

Business nerds. We ask you these things, right? And he's like, well, I had eight prospects and I closed three of them. I'm like, all right, well, shouldn't you close like 70 to 80%? And he goes, well, that would be great. And I'm like, so what are you doing with those other five that you didn't. That you didn't.

He's like, well, they just, they just didn't, they didn't buy. I'm like, yeah, but you have their names, phone numbers and like, who are they? So like, are you going to do that? And, and then I, and he goes, yeah, but tomorrow we're going to this big event and I think we're going to get a lot of leads there. I'm like, what are you going to do with them?

It's like, we're going to have a raffle and then they're like, what are you going to do after the raffle? They're not going to do anything after the raffle. Like someone's going to win in place to stay connected. Right. Right. Or even a plan to be like, uh, a week from now, I'm going to call all these people and or a day from now and say like, it was a pleasure to meet you.

Like the followup, the followup, followup. And That's where the digital comes in, right? You do need an email list. You do need to send them something, have them on automation. You do need to invite them onto a one to one. Um, and so that's where that digital piece comes in. And it is sad, um, to spend all that time trying to get leads and only focus on what can close today.

Okay. So I'm not ready today, but next month I will be definitely January, December 31st. I'm gonna be ready. Yeah. How are you staying connected to those? Right. Yeah, exactly. And so there is a way to leverage and scale that, right? Whereas, because a lot of people, especially if they're in the weeds, most, a lot of franchisees, tell me if you found this to be true.

A lot of franchisees, you know, they're starting out. Um, you know, maybe they're not even to break even yet, depending on how long they've been in it. And you talk to them about going to the chamber of commerce or join an NIA or another networking group. And they're like, I'm, I am trying to keep the wheels on here.

I'm trying to make sure that The front desk person showed up today and I'm trying to make sure the payroll's done. And, you know, something's wrong with the sink in the bathroom. Like, how do, how do I do this? You know, and it's, I know it from, cause I've been at the start and then I've been closer to the exit where there's.

Plenty of margin and you have, you have the margin to hire people to do things and you have the systems in place. So things don't take as long, but in the beginning, it's hard is, do you have a, like a way to, to, to tell people to like, well, not just tell them, but show them and maybe influence them to, this is, this is more important than the sink working for a half a day, to be honest, like you gotta start doing this.

So how do you coach people on that? If you don't mind sharing some of the secrets. Yeah, I can illustrate this in a story. I think. Oh, perfect. So my grandson is five and the second he opens his eyes and his feet hit the floor, he wants to eat breakfast. So I had a prospect or coaching that is a cooking school for children.

And the closest location was, um, in Austin, which is two and a half hour drive for us. Booked it because we need this boy to learn how to cook. And he was excited about it. Before we could have our appointment, the location closed down. So he spent the night with me a couple of weeks after. And he said, Tita was for breakfast.

Oh, can I at least wash my face and brush my teeth first son? I said, I'd be glad when you learn how to cook your own breakfast. He said, Tita, I'm sad. They call me Tita, that's Lebanese for grandma. I'm sad. Why are you sad, grandson? Because my cooking school closed down. When I asked the franchisor, why did this cooking school close down?

He said it was because they said location. And I'm sure it was the location and operations and all of these things. But I was willing to drive two and a half hours. Because I knew there was value there. And so sometimes the franchisees are so busy in their business that they don't understand they have to go get the clients.

The sink will wait. Or call the plumber and have somebody open the door for them. The sink will wait. But you cannot stop marketing or else you'll be flat out of business. Yeah. And so, and the other thing is most. People are so busy working in the business, doing the little things, sweeping the floor and all that stuff.

It's because they're focused on themselves. Hmm. Yeah. What do you mean? They're uncomfortable getting out there. They don't know how they haven't been taught. How yes, the brand will say, go to the chamber of commerce and network, and they may even teach them one or two things, but they don't teach them strategically how that's my belief.

And so, because they're uncomfortable, they're focused on their comfort zone. Oh, I hate networking. I just pass out a bunch of business cards. It doesn't make it. I don't like it. I don't want to go. I'm an introvert and they don't go, but they're not thinking about the Ezekiels of the world. My grandson, we get ourselves out there, not for ourselves.

But because I believe what I have can make a difference in somebody's life, left up to my comfort zone, left up to me cleaning my office, which is a mess right now, or getting on a call like this, you know, I have to opt for showing up even when it's not good. Timing, or I'm uncomfortable, and I am sometimes still uncomfortable.

Listen, I go in franchise rooms, and there's a handful of brown people in there. You think I'm not uncomfortable? And I know what I'm doing, but I know what I offer will change people's lives. Shame on me for not getting out there. So it ain't about you, franchisee. It's not about you. It's about the people you're meant to serve.

Yeah, that's a really good way of putting it. And I can think of examples in our own situation where it's worked out that way. You know, it's, it's just been the best for the client. And if we didn't have that conversation or if we didn't knock on that door, hang a door hanger or whatever the case may be, we wouldn't have had that client and they wouldn't have gotten the results that they got and in fitness and in beauty, yeah, fitness and beauty.

We always say it's about, you know, improving the self esteem, um, and the confidence because when they feel good about themselves, they feel good about everybody else. So nobody is improved if you are in your head. Thinking about the toilet being stopped up and not in. So my coaching is you have to make the time, put it on the calendar, pay for it and show up no matter what's going on.

Short of somebody being in the hospital to show up. Right. So as we kind of wrap this up, there's one thing that, you know, you hear about with. Fitness journeys and other things where like someone holds you accountable. So that is a big difference. You can put that out in the world and you say, this is a priority for me.

And then you have someone that you have to check in with, or they see your numbers and they're like, Hey, did, um, did something change from last Tuesday when you said this is a real priority for you? Cause I haven't seen any change. Um, is that where coaching like from you would come in? Do you have a service like that?

Or do you have a recommendation on how people could kind of. Put in some form of accountability. Yeah, so my coaching program, when people coach with me individually, the accountability is there. Most of my coaching that I do with The franchisees are in a group situation. I often encourage them to have accountability partners within the group, but also the best accountability partner is the workout partner, right?

The person who's going to meet you there. So who is it that's in your network? They're an awesome networker that you can tag along with until you get your legs under you. You, they are counting on you to show up and be there with them. And that person preferably already knows everybody. So they can introduce you to everybody, but the best account of being partners are the ones that's going to be in the room with you.

And they're standing at the door waiting on you to show up. Right. Someone in person. Okay. And then I, I do think that that's one of the advantages of franchising, you know, with the franchise. I've, I've always found that franchising has this kind of sharing ethos, like everybody shares with everybody else and, you know, best practices and things like that.

So. You could also reach out to somebody in the franchise system that's known to be a really good networker and say, Hey, you know, I'm trying to improve on this. You know, we work together. Could you help me out or something like that? So that is great. So we're going to have all the ways that people can get in touch with Tony Harris Taylor.

And so, um, so there'll be opportunities to reach out and find her on LinkedIn and social media and things like that. And I just wanted to thank you so much for being here today, Tony. I really appreciate your. sharing your wisdom and your energy and wish you all the best in all the things that you have going on.

I know there's something big coming in 2025 and definitely want to swing back and meet when, uh, when that's launched. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Guy, for the opportunity. And, uh, this is the beginning of our relationship together and y'all stay tuned. Don't be shocked when you see us in the same space.

Sometime soon. Thanks, Tony. Take care. You