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[0:01] And we are live on the pirate broadcast. This is a fantastic Friday here in Well I'm in Arizona.
Zach you're in Maryland and we are going to have an amazing conversation today. And I enjoy and appreciate everyone that joins in.
And if you're listening afterwords please leave a comment down below.
And actually we encourage you to reach out ask questions if you feel like you know somebody that you want to have on this show or you want to be on this show.
Hit me up. I'm I'm open to this and the whole premise is that we are here to highlight people doing some amazing things and share in what what.
Interesting conversations we can have with LinkedIn and the people of LinkedIn and maybe beyond LinkedIn let's let's get some converts get them in the in the room and see what we can do to enhance it.

[1:00] So let's do it. And today I have it especially I'm excited about this because it's Friday and and this this is just the icing on the cake.

[1:11] Zach Metzler is boom shackled OK.
He's the killer message. And Zach has actually done some work for me and I just appreciate all the gratitude in the world for you. Zach for being here and so much.

[1:27] Thank you so much for being here and spending your day with us because I have some things I want to pull from you and we're going to talk about some interesting things and laugh and have fun.
Yeah. I thought you the boards the pirate broadcasts. Thanks. I want to go our. Hey thanks a lot.
This is open. I'm really excited to be here. I appreciate the opportunity.

[1:47] Yeah. Well so Zach just a little snapshot.
And if you're not connected with Zach you want to go to LinkedIn slash i n Zach Metzler and connect with him.
He's an awesome individual that you need to be connected with. He's brilliant and he's a wordsmith and he can craft those words in a way that no other has done before.
Well thanks. I I just really I just love the way you think also.
And before we were on the show we were thinking about the possibility of creating.
Some interesting opportunities out in the workplace and we were talking about competition versus not thinking about competition in an abundance mindset.
So I want to find out what have you been doing. What are you've been up to since we last talked and then we'll get into these other conversations.

[2:37] It's been a long time since we last talked. It has now and yesterday. Yeah. It really has.
So I've been building up the killer message killer message scam it's a Facebook group and it's a private group all focused on messaging and positioning how to be better at knowing what to say and how to say it.
Yeah and I like to say it's the most important thing in business because when you know what to say and how to say it and how to connect with that buying audience you sell more stuff.
And when you sell more stuff you make a bigger impact on the world than your wallet. That's just how it goes.

[3:12] That's sort of a two step process.

[3:14] Yeah. So that's that's really I've been focused on that.
And then I have an advisory offering I've been building called the sounding board and that's been fun too. That's a lot of fun.
I worked with some amazing amazing people and companies it's really it's really mattered to me.

[3:31] That is awesome. That is awesome. And I have to believe that everybody that comes in contact with you and the killer messages is really,
appreciative of what you're able to show them and walk them through because I appreciated the whole process and it was simple It wasn't difficult.
I didn't lose any blood or limbs or anything like that.
And it was just it was a process that it it took a little while and you know you had to think through things and and think about and here's the key here.
Here's the key I think Zach is that you have to think about what your client is thinking about always know what I am thinking about.

[4:13] That's that's right. You know it's I learned this I heard this quote,
it's years ago now I went to a marketing training so I was in the corporate world for 20 years I did product marketing for tech and,
I got a certification from an organization called pragmatic marketing and their product management and product marketing.
But there was a quote I heard there that has forever stuck with me and I've used it again and again and that is your opinion though interesting is completely irrelevant.
It's true it's true it doesn't matter. As a business owner as an entrepreneur or even as a sales pro or a marketing pro it doesn't matter what you think.
What matters is what your audience thinks.

[5:00] Oh that is so true. And here here's the second half.

[5:05] And this is some good advice that I got from you as well is if you're not completely clear on what your audience wants.
Go ask him.

[5:16] Yeah. Yeah. This stuff is not that. I can't say that it's not difficult because it can be difficult but it's not complex it doesn't have to be there doesn't have to be so many moving parts,
you want to know something ask ask,
Hey How Much Is That Doggie In The Window.

[5:38] Well so a great example sounding board right.
So my sounding board is it's an advisory service and it's it's there two things to it you.
There are two sessions a month where we get on and we talk through anything you want to talk through if you don't know what that is.
Then I have a method or our program that we walk to experience part of this or not that call that we did.
And then it's Ask me anything. Unlimited ask me anything.
All month I use Marco Polo an app you ask a question you get an answer within 24 hours yeah it has.
And I feel really great saying this.
It has a fantastic name the sounding board. That's what it is. It's the sounding board. I did not make that up.
You know what I brought it. What I did. I'm not just somebody I put a thing up you know over a year ago I put probably about a year ago I put up a question on LinkedIn calling entrepreneurs coaches speakers.

[6:39] I have a product question for you I'm building something I have a product question this isn't a sales question are you up for a quick call.
And I just I followed up with people I sent it to some emails out to people I spoke with people I knew I spoke with people I didn't know and all that I did is explain exactly what I just said to you.
This is the product offering what do you think and remember the number. I don't remember how many was.

[7:09] Eighty two percent of them said Oh you mean like a sounding board.
Yes that's exactly what I mean. So that's that's how I came up with the name.

[7:19] Ask your audience ask your audience that.
And that was great advice. And I continue to do that and I think I've seen it elsewhere and I think the,
name escapes me.

[7:34] He's built an entire industry around the oh it's the ask method last method yeah yeah yeah I had the book I forgot his name however.

[7:49] A simple survey. Throw it out there. Get some results back and find out what people want and understand what they're really what their pain is.
And I think that's really important to understand because it's not that difficult.
In fact you probably walk through the process where I ask you a few questions on the pirate broadcast and I actually had somebody come on and they said my found my funnel my funnel is faster than yours.
It's like you had too many questions.
I want to know that the people want to be here and now you know if they're willing to ask a few questions they'll be on.
If they don't want to answer any questions they won't.
So it's it's a qualifier. It's like but it's not difficult. I mean no it wasn't a difficult process.
One though was pretty simple.
Hey I just want to give a shout out to Jessica and Angie and Kemal and Junaid these I just thank you so much for being here.
There's a couple of people in the room and I just love and appreciate the fact that you're here and we're talking with Zach Metzler on the killer message,
and how to get your message out how to craft your message and how to think about what your clients need.
And also a little bit about length in.

[9:11] I noticed on LinkedIn speaking of linked LinkedIn shift gears on his actual bit I noticed that you in your and you may still be doing this. You're an announcer.

[9:22] I have I'm an announcer. I'm still doing this. I've been doing this since 2002.
I I announced I'm a volleyball announcer Division 1 Merrill University of Maryland.
Yeah big win Wednesday we beat Indiana.
Yeah it's super fun it's super fun I started out doing baseball at Maryland and that was just I got the gig I was trying to get into doing voiceovers and I'd always wanted to be a baseball announcer and got,
got a information that they were doing open tryout for University of Maryland baseball which today is really good. They're fantastic these days.
They when I in 2002 they were awful really really bad.
So the trial was in February. It was snowing in College Park and I showed up.
I was the only one to show up and I got the job.
And so that first year of 2002 I guess it was too.

[10:23] So yeah 2002 I had two rules to always be on time and never say no.

[10:31] And so volleyball coach like the third baseball game an assistant volleyball coach came to the game and she said you know we need we need an announcer.
Would you like to be an announcer. And I said yes.
And I said But you know I don't know anything about volleyball. It's like oh we'll teach you real tea.
And she said she said the greatest gave me the greatest advice that anyone could have given me for volleyball which was she said you have to understand one thing and you will be great in baseball as a P.A.
ANNOUNCER Your job is to inform the crowd.
Now batting number six Russ Johns in volleyball. Your job is to incite the crowd.
So. So it would be like it would be like Shaq like a term you know stopping the lockout.
Russ Johns with the kill said You got it. I get it.
I love what I get excited I can't help it. It's just who I am I get excited about stuff and when I do like it you're going to feel it and you had it.

[11:37] Molly Ball is the perfect sport for me to announce that I love it,
and I had to tell your back story no cause this this is another thread and I feel here's my philosophy is if you have an opportunity to talk with somebody long enough you'll always find a thread of connection right.
So back in it was probably two thousand fifteen fourteen maybe thirteen.
Around that I started.

[12:09] Live streaming and broadcasting high school varsity sports,
so I would hire these college athlete announcers these people that wanted to be announcers and I would send them out to a high school varsity sport games games and they would call the games live,
and then we would stream it to the radio station and broadcast out to the towers of the radio and I broadcast and that's how I got into podcasting because it was like OK and you know streaming media and all that stuff.
And it was actually earlier now probably. Yeah. Now in 2013.
And so we would broadcast these games and I had probably I don't know five or six broadcasters working for me and I did a weekly show for the Fort Bend so-called fort.
But in the High Court Fort Bend focus I think is what it was called.
And all these things. And it's just brought all of these people together and we were doing the,
the Sugar Land Skeeters which is an entertainment league that there is probably I don't know 12 14 teams around the country that have ballparks and they go go back and play and we broadcast all those games and it was just crazy.
But it's the fact that you can see something and you take an opportunity and never say no.

[13:32] Right. Yeah. Yeah. Well and it's especially it's something like especially something like sports.
So when when I was coming out of school all that I wanted to do was work for major league baseball team.
And you learn in sports you can't say no.
I mean if if to let me rephrase that you can't say no to opportunity.

[13:56] No matter what that opportunity may be if you want to progress if you have a vision for where you want to go,
you have to you have to say yes when the opportunities present themselves and I've taken that lesson in even now as as a as a business owner as an entrepreneur.
When I have certain opportunities I don't say no or I think about before I say no I really think about it.
Is there going to be another opportunity like this. Because often often you get these opportunities and like oh my calendar's full or Oh I can't really no I can't do it.
But you say note enough times that those doors close.
Yeah. And when you have a vision of where you want to go you have to have to look at those open doors and figure out OK.
Is this the opportunity that gets me that break.

[14:46] And sometimes you have to do one thing in order to get to another thing. That's right. It's like it's a.
And in order to give a shout out to Blaine BURR It was Ryan Levesque asked me. Yes yes yes yes.
They explain appreciate you. Thanks for being here and I thank you so much.
And that brings up you know one of the things that we are talking about on LinkedIn and the opportunities out there is is I don't see I don't I don't get this sense of competition out there.
Yeah I get I get more a sense of abundance and I think when you're in an abundance mindset because I mean.

[15:28] Act opportunities are always coming at me you know and the more the more you put yourself out there and the more you allow yourself to be connected in and actually have conversation,
these conversations develop into you know they might not be today they might be not right next week they might be next year.
Right. If you keep the relationship going and you continue to have a conversation just like we're having you know we met in Vegas randomly through another mutual friend Bobby the bear Bobby Bear.
And and we've been chatting ever since. So and we were talking about the possibility of working with corporations or large sales organizations.
You know you could craft some message.
I can craft some assistance on the on the Lincoln side and the sales lead process.
And it's just one of those things that OK let's imagine what it could be rather than.
What's my piece of the pie.

[16:28] Yeah I think the bigger the bigger goal is to what can we create.
What can be created. How can we do this.

[16:37] Also the difference. It's also the difference between being an entrepreneur or maybe even a visionary and being being a corporate.
Being in the corporate world and being in a suit for lack of a better name because I know when I was when I was working in tech we absolutely had competitors.
It was the competition was real. I just.
It's different. I don't I don't see competition the same way. Doing what I'm doing and like you it's the same thing.
It's there's so much business out there there's so much opportunity out there.
I want to work with people that want to work with me and and so it's not it's not the same.
It's not going after the big brands or the big logos or you know and looking at those those dollar figures it's who do I want to work with.
I don't worry so much about the dollars because the dollars will be there. The money will be there.
It's it's who do I want to work with and what kind of difference can we make together.

[17:43] That's that's I think it's really a mindset I think is truly a mindset because when you start thinking that way like you said.
The dollars show up. It's so funny to see you run it. It is and it's so funny too.
So this good. I can't believe we're going down this path but I'll tell you it's a buyer's market right now.
We are our car right now is is in the shop and it had this problem where it was sucking oil and we got it fixed. In fact it was part of.
This is a much longer story as part of this class action suit with Subaru and it was fixed and the guy said this is back in June.
If if the oil light comes on bring it to us immediately.
The oil light came on yesterday. So I brought the car to him this morning and he said Everything OK. Your car didn't sound so good.
It in like well yeah I guess. I mean you you tell me.
Of course. Like my wife's first. First thought was Oh crap like I don't want a new car.
My first thought was all right this is a sign I have contracts I got a big contract that's comin. Because if we need a new car.
OK. Great. Awesome. Let's go.

[19:04] And it's weird how it's weird how that works.
Like yourself out there and you you start to see signs I mean it sounds really woo but you'd start to see signs and then stuff just comes out of the woodwork it's you know.

[19:19] But you're right you've got to just keep putting yourself out there.

[19:21] Yeah you've got to put yourself out there and this you know here's and I'm at the point in my life where I want to I want to give back.
You know I want to give back. I want to help other people highlight other people like yourself and it just bringing to the table and it's and it's the thought process of that to be able to bring different ideas to different concepts.
If it lands on somebody's.

[19:46] And it makes a difference. I'm a happy camper. I'm a happy camper and I know that.
You know I got people around me that you know I have all the gratitude in the world and I have all the reason to have gratitude and you know could it be different. Sure. Does it need to be different.
I don't know. I don't know that it does.
It's I'm good where I am and I have things to keep me busy.
Friends to get on the pirate broadcast and I got two minute tips I can share I can.
I could do anything I want and I could put it out there and connect with anyone.
And it's just amazing to me. It just always blows my mind because I started in advertising back when the hand painted billboards. Right.
So I'm I'm a of that vintage. So it's like I've seen the transition and I've seen the transformation in the industry.
And it's amazing to me to go full circle and come back and I almost feel like a musician again where I'm I'm creating these episodes like a little little piece of you know creativity you know.
And that's that's what it's about is what can you create.
Well can you go out and create that will bring joy to somebody. And so it's like now if five people met you over the course of the next month or so as a result of this.

[21:16] That's a wolf that's that's a win. That's huge. Absolutely.

[21:19] Absolutely so Zach.

[21:22] So you got if you've got the killer message and the Facebook group talking about that what's going on on the Facebook because it's so great.
So it's the killer message scam you answer is X you can go to your your LinkedIn profile go to contact it is right there just click on it you go Yeah yeah.

[21:44] So you answer three questions and you're in. That's that's really the appeal.
There's an application application process.
They have it. But you answer three questions if they ask method right. You go.
And you're in. You have to answer the questions I decline. And if you don't. Yeah but you ask the questions and you're in.
And once you get in. It's just it's a lot of the same content that I post on linked only deeper.
So I go I go a level deeper than I do on LinkedIn.
And so often what I'll do is if I do a text especially a text post if I do a text posts on LinkedIn and I'm talking about something messaging or positioning,
all I'll highlight something and then in the killer message I'll talk about why I did that how I did that why it's important.
Just go a little deeper and then people ask questions it's a little boring.
It's a smaller group than the world you know.

[22:43] Right now I think we're at one hundred fifty six hundred fifty seven.

[22:48] But like any group you have we probably have two dozen people that are really active in there.
Yeah. And you know it's it's posting every day every other day around there.
You know I'm trying what I'm trying to do now. Hint hint Russ Johns is get other people to start posting stuff in there as well.
But it's all it's all around messaging and positioning and and.

[23:14] All around messaging and positioning again what to say and how to say it so you better connect with a buying audience.
And I've said this I mean this is it rolls off my tongue now.
I. Communication is the most important thing in business because when you get it right.
And when you connect with that buyer you make a bigger impact on the world than your wallet carrier.
Yeah I totally agree with you and I.

[23:41] It's it's interesting because when I was in high school I had taken a vast English class for some reason I don't know why I wanted to the credit I needed.
That was the only time I could get it. I don't know what it was but.

[23:55] I have always been a writer that writes Like I talk. It's not my.
And I've been hammered for you know my grammar.
At times it is like I don't know how I got this far.

[24:10] But that's that's come in vogue. I mean it was I remember when I started out so I'm my wife calls me grabber boy because it's my eighth grade English teacher Mrs. Farron it's her fault.
We go into class and it was like class we're doing adverbs today. Repeat after me and we'd spent forty five minutes.
How when where why how often to what extent again how when where why how often to what extent. Again I can repeat I can. Right now I could tell you all of the linking verbs.
So that you know when when someone says I feel badly of mice it crushes my soul like OH.

[24:47] BUT BUT TODAY grammar is still important but yeah it's important to to especially as as a small business owner it's important to write conversationally.
And maybe it's not exactly how you talk but it's understanding the voice that you want to portray and how you want to position your company.
And then it's writing with that voice. So for example when I think of me there's so many. This is all product marketing.
There's so many layers to this thing.
So when I think about me I write.

[25:23] Core values or what what I want to be known for I want to be known for excitement.
I want to be known for fun and I want to be known for value for sharing value and incredible value.
And so when I when I write.

[25:37] If you read stuff that that I write first of all it sounds like this.
It sounds like me and one two I use all sorts of slang in there.
I don't say let let's or I don't say let me do this for you or you know let me set this up.
I say let me l e and m e let me do this. Yeah.
You know I love it.
What do you think is is the word. What. No spaces.
A what. Yeah a y a. What do you think.

[26:11] Yeah. You know I love I love. I just love your style.
Thanks. I just want. I just want to highlight you to a few more people out there in beyond the link to community. And I'll.
I'll drop into the I'll drop into the base Hailer methods killer message.
You know we need to bring this into the killer message in this broadcast and highlight. Oh sure they'll be great. Talk to it. I'll drop it in there. Yeah.
Well you can get to it. People can do that.
And also I think it's really important for people to understand that you know it takes practice for you to find your voice.
Did something happen overnight. You know a lot of people just say hey I'm. I can't launch anything until it's perfect.
And that's that's the wrong approach in my opinion. That's absolutely right.
In reverse of what needs to happen is and this is what I'm doing all the time is lunch something.
Get a response get some feedback. Craft it continue to adjust it.
You don't like the way this layout is is exactly. This is based on a recommendation that Roger from Bobby the bear said because he was watching the show on mobile.

[27:26] So the positioning on the comments and the way that the layout was the labels covered the logo.
So I changed it up so you can actually see this on a phone in a different way and it maintains the broadcast and the logos so you can see who's on and really give us.

[27:46] I want to give a shout out to Rogers who's apparently at you know. He asked me what to wear and I think he's wearing his his.
I told him in 80s or 90s hair band glam band rock concert shirt so I think he's wearing his warrant shirt.
So rock on. Rock on rock bottom.
Wilkerson. That's another guy everybody should follow Rodger Wilkerson. Yes he is. He just shares so much value is so fun.
Yeah. Funny too. What a funny guy. Really great.

[28:18] Do his wit and wisdom is is just beyond measure. So.

[28:24] And there's I mean I mean the list could go on.

[28:27] Yeah you're right you're right you're right though going back really quickly to what you were saying about about it takes practice.
Yeah I've seen a theme over and over again and it's alive.
I've seen it a lot coming from Richard Moore who is another one of those guys where he talks and in some of these posts he'll talk about how do you do this.
You know well there's no hack that I hate to tell you. It's not a hack.
You've got to put in the work you've got to put in the work. And it's it's not hard to do but you have to put in the work and that's that's like judging the messaging and positioning work that we did.
It's not it's it's incredibly simple to get this stuff right but you have to put in the work.
It's not necessarily easy but it's simple.

[29:15] Yes it's absolutely and it's fun. I enjoyed everything about it.
I enjoyed the process and I will definitely do it again.
So I I'm going to do that. So this wraps up this episode Friday morning I know Mornings are tough for some people.
And I was I was doing this show back on.
I was going to do it every day. Is it just for me it's easier to get that mode.

[29:44] However some people said hey watch take the weekend off and get caught up on some other things that you need to get done.
It's like it's like OK I can do that.
And I think five days a week and then broadcasting and rebroadcasting this goes out on YouTube and LinkedIn and I'm I'm probably going to,
launch another podcast as a result of this and stream that because my whole game is automation and you know building systems that support that kind of thing.
And so once I get that going then I'm going to be launching the link to logic platform and developing that. So we'll have a conversation about that.
Yeah that sounds good and so come back join in leave comments and I'll and I'll be more than happy to respond to them.
And if I can't help you I'll I'll hand you off to somebody that can help you.
And I know that this thing will continue to grow and build.
And I enjoy you. And thank you Zach for being here. I really appreciate it.

[30:49] Yeah. Thanks for us. I see you. Thanks everyone watching. Yeah. This was super fun. If you'd like to be on I highly highly recommend it.
Contact Russ. He's super super.

[31:01] And thank you so much Zach. And as you know as you know kindness is cool.

[31:08] Smiles are free and you enjoy the day Boom Shaka aka Shot clock.