Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Matthew Pollard the Rapid Growth Guy

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

Known as the Rapid Growth guy, Matthew Pollard is responsible for five multimillion-dollar business success stories, all before the age of 30. His humble beginnings, the adversities he faced, and his epic rise to success show that anyone, with the right motivation and the right strategies, can achieve anything they set their mind to. Today, Forbes calls him “the real deal,” Global Gurus lists him as a Top 30 Sales Professional, SellingPower Magazine just named him their 2023 Sales Kickoff Speaker of the Year, Sales World Magazine lists him as a Top 50 Speaker, and BigSpeak highlights him as an internationalTop 10 Sales Trainer. He’s also the founder of Introvertu.com and the bestselling author of The Introvert’s Edge book series, which has sold over 100,000 copies and been translated into 15 languages.Learn More: https://matthewpollard.com/Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-matthew-pollard-the-rapid-growth-guy

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of influential entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us Matthew Pollard, who's the rapid growth guy, and we'll be talking about his books and his approach to serving entrepreneurs to help them grow. their business. Matthew, welcome to the program. Mike, I'm excited to be here, mate. Thanks for having me on. You are so welcome. And I always love when I hear about, like, oh, hey, what's your business name or what's your, you know, expert title? And when you hear certain words, you're like, okay, that sounds good. You know,

like, you know, the growth guy. That's cool. But growth in what? A decade? I love when I hear the rapid growth guy, because let's dig in and roll up her sleeves and grow fast. So, Let's kind of get a little bit of that background and story. You know, you transitioned from commission only door to door sales and then you founded your company. Walk us through kind of your story and your transformation and what sparked you to shift from like a sales rep to a strategist and a coach. You know, it's really interesting.

So when I moved, you know, I'll explain to the first question first because I think that a lot of people that are listening probably feel that if they're introverted or they have a quiet demeanour that they just can't sell. And for me, I'm the last person that should ever be talking about sales marketing. And what happened was I had a reading speed of a sixth grader in late high school. I was super introverted.

I had really bad acne. And literally my family and I agreed that at the end of high school that I would take a year off to find myself. And I mean, I was lucky at the age of 16, I got diagnosed with this thing called Erlenz syndrome, which basically means I put on a funny year. care of colored lenses, which didn't exactly help me with my confidence. And I could learn to read, just not like everyone else. I had to start the process. I was just exhausted by the end of the

year, by the end of the high school. And we all agreed I was going to take a gap year. So I took a, I took a job, but a real estate agency. And before people say, oh, he's destined to be a salesperson, I was the guy in the back office doing data entry. The problem was three weeks in, my boss pulls me aside. It's like, Matt, I am so sorry to tell you this. We just got a phone call from head office. You're out of work. They're shutting down this premise. So there was no jobs. I mean, this is Australia at Christmas time. And I'd promised my dad who'd broken his back 80 hours a week supporting the family. I was going to support myself.

There was no way I was going to go home without something lined up. So I literally applied for all the jobs in the paper. There were only two. And they both said commission only sales. So the whole concept of that was terrifying to me, but not as terrifying as going home without anything lined up. So I was like, you know what? I'm just going to apply and see what happens. Well, I got two interviews.

And then I got two job offers. And I was like, wow, okay, maybe they see something in me. I don't see in myself. So I walk into the first day of training for the job I took, selling business to business telecommunications. And, you know, a little bit of quiet confidence. And so the trainer said, Matt, they just hire everyone. This is commission only sales.

Right? They've got this saying, you just throw mud up against the wall, see what sticks. I guess it's a fun saying until you realize you're the mud. Well, anyway, after five days product training, not a single second of sales training, I get thrown on this road called Sydney Road in Melbourne, Australia. It's like hundreds of doors, all junk stores, one after the other, which I guess is fine if you're going to get told, no, why not have not far to walk. But I realized, I didn't know what to say. I'd given five days product training, not a single second of sales training.

And so I just walked into the first door and I luckily was politely told to leave. Then I was less politely told to leave. Then I was sworn at. My favorite was always getting told to go and get a real job. I mean, this was the only job I could get. Well, door after door, this just kept happening until I got to my 90 third door where I made my first sale. And I remember I was ecstatic for about 45 seconds. So I had my second realization for the day.

I got to do this again tomorrow. And the next day, the whole idea of that was not okay. And I think that what happens is a lot of people just accept that that's the way it's going to be. And that was going to be a horrible year. So I went, you know what? What if sales was a system? And I really believe that that's what changed my life. And I went home and I was like, well, I can't pick up a Zig Ziglar or, you know,

or Brian Tracy book. That's going to take me a year to read, let alone apply. But I typed in sales system into YouTube and all these videos came up. And every day, I would just spend eight hours applying what I learned. And then I would rush home and perfect the next part of the process or work on the part and perfecting the piece that I was already working on. And I did that every day. So every day was a 16 hour a day.

Weekends, I'd spend 16 hours practicing. And I'm not suggesting to anyone that's listening to that they do that. There's smarter ways to do it now. But the truth was that I would get better every single day. Soon it was 71 doors than 42. and then 16 and then eight. And eventually I got it down to making a sale on average every three doors. And I remember it was about six weeks in.

My manager pulls me aside. And I was like, oh, God, what have I done wrong? Like he's got this puzzled look on his face. I was the quiet guy that handed my paperwork downstairs, didn't talk to anyone upstairs. He's like, Matt, we just got our national sales figures. And we're kind of blown away by this. I mean, they'd never really even spoken to me much. All the boisterous salespeople would talk upstairs.

I kept to myself. And they're like, you're the number one salesperson in the company. this just happens to be the largest sales and marketing company in the southern hemisphere. They employ 1,000 reps. And on week six, after my complete full, you know, after a full month working there, I had become the number one salesperson in the company. And that's where I realized that sales was a system. And then they looked at me and they're like, you can sell.

I bet you can manage. I don't know why people think that. No clue what I was doing. And I was like, look, I don't want to manage. And they're like, well, we'll just give you 20 people. Matt up against the wall. See if anyone's. sticks. Well, everybody quit. But I went back to YouTube and I learned how to manage. And very soon,

I was managing groups of 20, 30 people. Successfully, I promoted about seven times in the space of 12 months. And about a year later, I decided that I was going to start up my own business. And anyway, fast forward just shy of a decade, I'd been responsible for five multimillion dollar for success stories. Wow. You know, you did it like the super hard way you were driven. You know, you were on 16 hours a day, YouTube stopping, pausing, taking notes, and then implementing. So like you said, there's easier ways today to get that done. But something you said just a second ago made me think of a question. What's the difference between a system and a script with respect to being authentic and real, meaning this.

I know that we've all been to sales trainings that go, you know, start with small talk and then find out what their dream is and find out where they are now and find out that gap and put the knife in and stick it into the they feel that uncomfortableness and where they are now and how can we get you? That's a script, right? Maybe it's not word for word, but it's a framework and a script. So talk a little bit about how you created a system to not feel like a script so that it's really, really authentic. You know, it's interesting.

I feel like, firstly, a lot of people have an issue with the word script. And don't be wrong. I don't want people to feel scripted. But the fact of the matter is that especially, and we should talk about this, because I feel like there's a lot, like I call myself the rapid growth guy. I speak specifically to introverted service providers. Now, that's not to say I don't have extroverted clients. I actually have many. It's not that I don't have product-based clients.

I have many. But I'm very specific when I'm on podcast like this, when I'm speaking from stage that people understand if that's the type of person you are, you know, you're my people. And that makes selling so much easier because they seem as the only logical choice. So there's a lot you can do before you get to sales that makes sales so much easier

and makes the system so much easier. easier because if you remove a lot of the variables for the people that you're attracting, then all of a sudden, sales does become a lot more. You know what? I really could press play on a tape recorder. Gosh, I just showed my age there, didn't I? I could press play on the MP3 or whatever, what it is these days. But you really could just press play and pause for people to say their pieces in

between because, you know, I understand the introvert psyche a lot of times better than they know themselves. And a lot of people that are listening are like, oh, I've got lots of types of customers. It's different for me. And it's like, yeah, but there is a group of people. that you understand better than everyone else or you deliver better results for. And if you just focus on messaging to them, you know what, extroverts will say, you know what, I'm not really introverted myself. I'm actually extroverted. But, you know, I know for a fact that I'm selling

myself and I feel uncomfortable. So I feel introverted. Or, you know, I'm never going to be able to sell my business unless I don't, I stop becoming the primary salesperson. So I need a sales system. So the difference in my mind between a sales system and a script is, it's funny. So my book's called The Introverts Edge. And a lot of times, my publisher hates me when I say this in fact, but I say go to the introverts edge.com and you'll be able to download the first chapter completely for free. And because I'm so passionate about helping introverts realize they're not second class citizens, their path to success is just different. I'm like, download the first chapter. First, I'll give you unparalleled evidence that as an introvert, you can actually outsell your extroverted counterparts. But then secondly, I literally outlined the full seven steps of the sale. And I'm like, if you do nothing more, then just put what you currently say inside the, those seven steps. A couple of things will happen. The first thing is you'll realize some things don't fit. Throw that out. You shouldn't be saying it to customers. The second thing is you'll realize there's some big things out of order. Fix that. That's probably why you're forced to talk about price way too soon. And then thirdly, you'll realize there's some gaping holes. And usually that's around

asking not questions, the right types of questions, and telling stories. And I don't mean testimonials and case studies. I don't mean humble brags. I mean stories that really show that you understand the person that you're talking to and their unique needs. And as soon as you fill those gaps and put things in order, I mean, you'll easily double your sales in the next 60 days. Just following that at the introvertsedge.com, that format on the first chapter, to go to the next step and say,

I want to focus on scripting. The problem that I find with scripting is not that people write scripts. It's that people sound like they're reading the script. And so for me, I would prefer to stay with a system than go with a script if that's what I was going to do. And a lot of people like that, I'm absolutely right, because I don't want to sound script. And I'm like, just do me a favor. Tell me what your favorite movie is. And actually, a client the other day, he mentioned this. He was like, oh, I really love gangs of New York. I'm like, oh, Leonardo de Krio is amazing that, isn't he? He's like,

oh, yeah, he just embodies the part. I'm like, you know, he's also reading from a script, right? So what's the difference? Right. The difference is just practice. So for me, a great script is something that you learn every single word and you learn how to emote, you learn how to pause, you learn how to deliver it incredibly well. For the average introvert, the power of that is instead of being stuck in your head trying to work out what to say, you know exactly what to say, which actually comes across as more authentic because you can be more focused on their body language and you can step away from this group because you're not worried about what the next word is because you know it.

And because of that, you can customize little elements to really fit the person in their uniqueness. So therefore, you can highlight, you've listened. Another thing introverts are great at. And probably you would know the research more than me, but probably an introvert would probably deem themselves as, you know, I just like figuring things out, working to the background, you know, fixing puzzles, fixing things. Well, in reality, what you just described there is someone in the background listening for clues in a conversation. and then applying that, air quotes, script properly. But the big thing that I want to bring up is, isn't it also true that in reality, sales is just having a great conversation with someone believing in a product or service

that you are representing, discovering some problems that someone has and going, well, hey, this might help fix it. And it's really a conversation. And it's also a solution that if you do it the right way and you believe in and have a good product or service, it should be a high five all the way around. It should not be fitting a square peg in a round hole. So really, if you approach it through who can I serve and how can I help improve their life personally, professionally, whatever, that then takes the sales element out of it a lot of the time. You know, it's really interesting question because,

especially in today's world, a lot of sales are done over Zoom calls. And when people ask me, like, how do I do small talk at the beginning of a Zoom session? I'm like, well, if you've got a book session. You know, the truth is, people don't want to do small talk anymore and storytelling. And I know people are going to have big issues with me saying that, but the fact is, storytelling is one of the most unparalleled rapport generated. I know people think small talk's better. It's not true. When you tell a story, the science says it activates the reticular activating system of a person's brain. Our brain's actually synchronized. And because of that, it creates artificial rapport that especially introverts are great at turning into these deep,

lasting relationships. So when I start a sales conversation today, you know, a lot of what I try to do is highlight that I've done my research. Like the salesperson that says, you know, tell me a little bit about your business. I hate that. Most people do as well. My first question is, Mike, oh, I'd love to. Checking up my website, what questions do you have and you watch them fall apart because they've done no homework. Now, for the average person that has done homework, the problem is that they don't say it. So they're like, oh, you know, tell me a little bit about yourself or your business or whatever. and the average person then tells them this monologue, and they resent having to because you've made them do that. And they think you're just like every other salesperson.

So because of that, it just doesn't work that well. So I just like saying, like, I'm so glad we can get on a call together today. And you're responding, yeah, me too. And I'll say, well, while I've taken the time, of course, look at the notes that you left on your reservation or from our last networking conversation. And of course, I've checked out your website and your LinkedIn profile. Because a lot of that is static or because it's been a little bit of time since our last chat, what I'd like to do is take a quick step back here a little bit more about you, what you're struggling with and how I can be the most help to you in the time we have

together today. And then I just stop talking. And what you'll find is because of that, they won't give you the 30 minute monologue of why they started their business. They'll tell me exactly what I need to then listen to, because we need to listen, and then ask them one question, I'll make one statement that allows me to connect them to a story that I've planned and prepared in advance. How do you know that you have the right story to tell?

and that really comes down to the type of business that you're trying to attract. See, I feel that the average person fails before they even get to the sales process. And actually, let me give an example. I worked with a language coach out of California. She taught kids and adults Mandarin, charge $50 to $80 an hour for private consultation. And there were all these people moving into California willing to charge $20 to $30 an hour just to start their businesses. There were people in China offering to do it thanks to this global economy we live in,

for $12 an hour on Craigslist. now, and thanks to our friends in Silicon Valley, people are offering to do it for free. I'll teach you manner and you teach me English. So she just comes to me and she's like, Matt, teach me some sales techniques to close more deals. And I said, look, this is a long battle to the bottom. Like, why I can teach you sales techniques, you're still competing like for like. What I'd like to do is show you how to avoid the battle altogether. So I looked at all the clients she'd worked with over the years.

And while she'd worked with hundreds, there were two people specifically. And it was just two. These are executives being relocated to China. And she helped them with far more than just language consulting. She helped them understand a difference between e-commerce in China and the Western world, the importance of respect. Like you can't learn the language. You've got to reduce your accent, how to handle a business card.

The difference in rapport, like for us, we might at the end of 45 minutes in a sales conversation, if we're bad at sales, say, do you want to move forward? And if we hear, let me think about it. And we hear that again next week, we know we're not getting the deal. In China, they're probably going to want to see you five or six times. They're probably going to want to see you drunk over karaoke one. or twice before they even discuss business. And the reason for that is they're talking 20 to 30 years deals, not 12 and 24-month contracts. And she helped them understand all of this.

Wendy, you're doing so much more for these people than just language and tuition. What are you doing? Just a few things. I'm just trying to help. Like, you're stuck in your functional skill. And everybody listening is too. I said, is it fair to assume as a result of the assistance you're giving these people? They're going to be more successful in China. And she's like, I mean, yeah, I mean, that's the point, right? I said, great, then let's call you the China success coach. Forget about Mandarin education for a second. Let's create what we ended up calling the China Success Intensive. Now, she loved the idea of this, but she's like, well, who do I sell it to?

I said, well, who do you think? And she said, well, obviously, it's the executive. And I'm like, I mean, that makes sense. I moved from Australia to US. And I was terrified. Imagine going to China where they speak a different language. But I don't think it's the right client. She's like, well, then the company, the company would pay.

I'm like, yeah, I mean, I get that. A lot of times they've got millions of dollars writing on the executive being successful. I still don't think so, though. Now she's frustrated. She's like, well, who then? And I said, I think it's the immigration attorney. Now she looks at me like I'm speaking of foreign language. I said, think about it for a second.

These people make $5,000 to $7,000. They'd be lucky to make $3,000 in profit after they cover marketing costs, cost of doing the visa or the bureaucracy that comes with that, their staff, their rent. I said, so just go meet immigration attorneys, offer them $3,000 for a simple introduction that results in a sale. They love the idea. They're like a simple introduction.

Sure, what have I got to say? She just had them say, congratulations, you've now got a visa. I just want to double check. Are you as ready as possible to be relocated to China? And the executive would always say, yeah, I think we're good. We've got our place sorted now. You know, we're learning the language. Kids are getting pretty good at it too.

We got our visa. But now did you mention it? Why do you ask? Because that might uncover something, a curiosity loop for them. That's all it was. And what happens is people would say, I think you need to speak to the China success code. There's more to it than that. She'd get on the phone.

Easiest sell in the world. They were terrified to go. organization was motivated to pay, she charged $30,000 for doing this, minus a $3,000 commission. She made $27,000 for the easiest sale in the world instead of hustling every day to make $50 to $80 an hour. That's how you become the logical choice. You need a unified message. It separates you from everyone. You need to know your market.

And then after that, sales is a breeze. Most people say, oh, I need to learn how to sell to get more customers at higher prices. And I'm like, no, you actually need to learn how to attract the right clients. So sales is easier. You know, what you just said there is, as you would agree, a three-day, eight-hour-a-day weekend seminar in and of itself. How to identify and your ideal customer profile, your target audience, what drives them, what are the motivators? And then how do you get in front of them? And then how do you do what you just said, you story selling and all of that?

So I think like you just said, it takes a system. and if you want to have those rapid growth results, you've got to have a system and you've got to follow someone that has figured it out and put it together. And, you know, nobody listening to this right now wants to spend 16 hours a day or an hour and a half a day, you know, trying to figure it out. Just show me what I need to do, teach me, and I know that's what you've got. So give us a 30,000 put overview of your system and course. And then how can people learn more and connect with you? I appreciate you asking. And I think that that's one of the things that most people need to look and understand.

I mean, for me, yeah, I had to really work hard when I first started to figure out the system. But the fact is, we all get the opportunity of standing on the shoulders of people that have come before us. And back then, all I had was YouTube. And YouTube was really a new thing back then. So today, we really get the opportunity to learn from people that have come before us. And I think for the average person that hates networking, because, you know, they go in and they say, what is it you do? I'm an accountant. Oh, I'm an accountant.

How much do you cost? Now we're talking about price we just met. Or, you know, I've already got an account. Now it's awkward. You need to know how to introduce yourself. That's why I call myself the rapid growth guy. And when people ask me, you know, what exactly is that? I then don't lead with the elevator pitch because I mean, I feel like that's the worst thing in the world. It sounds so transactional. I lead with what I call a portion mission statement. And for me, that's one of the most profound things for attracting right types of clients. And again, I cover that in my book, the introverts edge to networking, which again, you can download the first chapter at the internet. introverts edge to networking.com. I talked about where you can download the first chapter of the sales book. I think for the people that are listening, though, what most people really need to do is create their unified message, their version of the China Success Coach, or in my case, the rapid growth guy. And for that, if people go to Matthew Pollard.com forward slash growth,

you'll be able to download a template. Now, I would recommend that you don't do this with a partner, but don't do it with somebody that's in your own industry. And so maybe get them to listen to this podcast. Share it with somebody else. It's not in your industry. and then get together for two hours and work on them for an hour and get them to work on you for an hour. This template will help you create a unified message, discover your niche of willing and wanting to buy clients.

It's funny. I did this at the National Freelance Conference. Gosh, it would have been two years ago now. And at the end, I said, look, do me a favor. Put up your hand if you now believe you've got your unified message and you've discovered this niche of willing and wanting to buy clients. Like 97% of the room put their hand up. The sad part was, I said, look, do me a favor. Just keep your hand up if this is the most time you'd ever spend.

actively working on your marketing and your business. And about 85 odd percent of the room kept their hands up. The whole session was 90 minutes long. That's why I'm saying, get somebody to listen to this podcast, do the exercise at Matthew Pollard.com forward slash growth. And then you learn how to be able to utilize that in the networking world and then benefit from it in the sales world by not having to feel like you're convincing and conjoling customers in order to just listen to you and see.

you as anything but a commodity that fights on price. I love it. Well, Matthew, there's been just eye-opening and very simple to really digest some easy-to-do steps, nothing complicated, but follow the system and trust the process. So, thank you so much for coming on today. It's been a real pleasure chatting with you. My absolute pleasure, Mike. Thanks for having me on. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders to learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes. Visit www.

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