Mick Unplugged - Greg Wasserman | Time, Relationships, and the Long Game to Success

Episode Date: August 15, 2024

In this episode, Mick Hunt talks with Greg Wasserman about the power of networking and building lasting relationships in the business world. Greg shares insights on the importance of genuine interactions over transactional connections, his approach to sales and partnerships, and his journey influenced by his family's history and professional experiences.Greg Wasserman's Background: With over 15 years in advertising, sales, and partnerships, Greg emphasizes the importance of relationships and connectivity in personal and professional growth.Defining Moments: Greg discusses the influence of his upbringing and family history, mainly being a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, on his value system and career ethics. Discussion Topics:The significance of relationships and conversations in shaping one's career path.Greg's personal and professional philosophy is that "Life is about time and relationships," and how this motto has guided his interactions and success.The impact of meaningful connections in the media industry and how these relationships have facilitated various opportunities.Key Quotes:"You never know where one conversation will take you today. So have that conversation, see where it goes in the future.""My relationships are it; how do I come here and go? Yes, I'm trying to sell you a widget, but no, I am selling you myself."Next Steps:Connect: Follow Greg Wasserman on LinkedIn to engage with his content and insights.Reflect: Consider how your relationships influence your career and personal growth.Engage: Use # MickUnplugged to share how this episode has inspired you to focus on relationships in your professional life.Connect & Discover:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gregwassermanWebsite: castmagic.io ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mic Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because, so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary. So let's unleash your potential. Now, here's Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged, where we go deeper than your why to find out the because that really fuels you. And today we have a fascinating guest

whose because is fueled with curiosity, love, fitness, and adventure. With over 15 years of experience in advertising sales and partnerships, he has a unique talent for fostering growth and connections. He's a guy that I've been admiring for a very long time. Please help me welcome the incredible, the insightful, the dynamic, the adventurous, Mr. Greg Wasserman.

Greg, how you doing, brother? Amazing. I'll date this. It's Amazing Friday, and I get to talk to you, and we get to share some amazing stories with great people. Can't go wrong. You can't go wrong. And for those that don't know, Greg, I affectionately call him G-Dub.

So G-Dub, man, like one of your mottos. Life is about time and relationships. You never know where one conversation will take you today. So have that conversation. See where it goes in the future, right? I love it. So how has that motto influenced your personal and professional journey? I mean, it takes you back to the playground.

If we can visualize ourselves in the playground back in the day, like I wasn't the smartest kid. My brother is the brains of the group. I'm the athletic one. But like for me, it was always just understanding. I had friends in all different groups. And one of my best friends, like we would play magic cards. Like I'm like like that wasn't my thing but that was his and so you become friends with that group you realize like hold on some of

those kids were playing basketball with like you're on my teams like we're all at the end of the day just connected by our human connection in that regard so that is kind of fueled me in the slogan if I will that I've really been living by didn't really start solidifying until the last few years, but it's something I've always believed. As you mentioned, like my career, I spent about 15 years in the media world. And for me, media sales, you're calling on brands and agencies and you're like, hey, I have whatever service I'm trying to sell, whatever ad unit, whatever product it is, right? And like, let me talk. But for me, it it was always like i may not have the right solution for you but look media buyer planner whoever you are i guarantee you i know enough sales people so let's

just start with a human connection and ignore what i'm trying to sell and go i like this person greg or in my case i i want to do business with you i am am the kind of person who's, while I'm in a revenue role, sometimes like, I don't want to do business with this person. Like, I can't stand, like, this person's going to be tough to work with. This is not going to be fun. And it'd be great to have the money, but like, I just can't do it. Other people, they're able to say like, nope, it's just about the money. I can move past all that other stuff. For me, it's always been, and I guess it's the emotional side of myself. So I couldn't have been able to do that. So for me, it was about how do I have a conversation and go, look, what is your business? What are you trying to accomplish? And if I don't have

the solution, my ethos is about how do I create the connection so that instead of the 50 other me's that are emailing you, I can go, hey, here's three people in my network that probably can serve what you are looking for. And too often, most don't think about that. I mean, imagine any person that's being sold to, they're like, you're just trying to sell me, you're just trying to do this. And I'm like, no, I'm just trying to have a connection. I don't know where that conversation is going to go. And so it's been the last few years where you're probably in the part of my career where I've got enough clout where early in your career, like you're just a young kid, whatever it is. It's like, yes, but that is who I am. And so I will build more connections as my career goes on. And that's where I'm at today.

I love it. And I'm going to go to your beginning in a moment, but you just hit on something that I've been speaking about in some of my keynotes a lot this year, and it's the modern buyer and the modern buyer habits that we have. And Greg, you said something powerful. People don't want to be sold to, right? Part of my keynote, I tell people this, like people want to buy. They don't want to be sold to. And your job, if you're in sales now or even customer service, is to be a concierge in the experience because it's 2024. Everyone does so much research that they pretty much know what they want, right? They might have a couple of questions. I hate it when salespeople are overly sales. We know you're in a sales role. I'm a salesperson, right? But your job now in this modern era is to be a concierge

in the buying experience. What do you think about that? Statistic, I think is what 28 touch points in a buying process. And it's not until the end of that process that human connection and human reaction happens, right? It is, as you said, they're researching, they're talking to other people. They've already done enough where they're like, great, I have an idea. Now I'm going to reach out and talk to either salesperson or sign up or whatever the case may be. So it is your job to how do I influence those 24 other points or whatever the actual number is so that they know, like, and trust whatever your product is and that it's the consideration when they're going to go and do it. And so for me, my relationships is it. Like how do I come in here and go,

yes, I'm trying to sell you a widget, but no, I am really selling you myself. That is also why a company is hiring you. It's like, I was talking about this earlier today with my mentor and coach where it's like people want the Rolodex and they're basically like, hey, if I'm going to hire you, can you call X, Y, and Z and get me in the door right away? And do you have those relationships? Well, if your focus is on relationships, it doesn't matter if I have that relationship now or not, I have a large enough network, or I have the connection to create that trust where it's like, I can reach out and build it. So it's like, I don't have that connection, but you know, I know 8,000 other people and maybe one of those 8,000 other people who know, like, and trust me are willing to open that door for me as opposed to me just trying to call it. Like, there's so many different pieces to that. And that also then

goes to my, because if you are focused on relationships, if you're focusing on how do I continue those conversations and it's not a transaction, it may be transactional in the moment where like we have that conversation, but I want it, which is why anyone that reaches out to me on LinkedIn, which is where I live,

I'm like, give me a reason. If they don't, I will probably respond going like, thank you for reaching out. I'd like to make LinkedIn more about personal connections than just quote unquote followers. And like, why'd you reach out? Like what, what could we help each other with? And let's have a conversation today because I don't know whether you're trying to sell me fine. If you're trying to sell me great, you don't know me. So like, let's, let's have that. And that's all that is. Um, there's people that have a school of thought where I have to focus on the now.

And I like playing the long game going like, sure, maybe this doesn't give me the revenue, doesn't close the sale, doesn't lead to X today. I can't, I don't have, none of us have a crystal ball. So having this conversation between the two of us today and anyone that's listening to us, whether it's live or later, that just opens up a door that this conversation never would have had happened if we didn't have that. So why am I going to try and control it? That's amazing, Greg. Talking about your because, and I like to tell people, your because is going to change over time or it should change over time. When I was younger, my because

was a promise that I made to my mom, sister and brother. And that was my because. That's what fueled me every day. As I got older, I had kids and I have nieces and nephews. My because is very simple. It's about the legacy that I want to leave. Right. You know, my grandfather told me a long time ago, you come into the world with a name. Your your sole job is to make sure that when you're no longer here, that that name is reflective in a positive way. So for you, Greg, like what was your initial because, like what were the things that fueled you when you were Greg, the teenager? And then how did that change, you know, early on? And what is it like now? What are Greg's becauses? I mean, if we look back, I'd say fear was probably a big thing. Societal, family, familial, your internal strifes that we tend to

have. For me, the because was, I remember having this question is like, how do you define the success? And for me, the answer to that was, is my parents did so much. I'm a grandchild of Holocaust survivors. So I look at what that channel went down. And so I'm like, I want to be able to take what my parents gave me in the life they gave me and do so much more, make more money, be able to provide more than they were able to provide for me. And that was the driving force. And because that's a lot of pressure that broke me that literally adding everything to it that didn't allow me to live my authentic self, who I am. It was trying to be something and live up to a perfected expectations that I put in my

mind that was probably not incredibly healthy. But the because of relationships that's always been there, that has always been ingrained, I get it really from my mother. And so I look at that coming from her and my father was all about family, my mother's friends, connections, let's make those relationships. And I've come to realize and seeing that like, we are a species where connection is key. We don't live in a solitude, we don't live. I mean, that's why solitude confinement is such a punishment, right? Like we need connection. So I feed, especially as an extrovert, I feed off of connections. I feed off of those relationships. Like I'm the person in the back of the Uber. My girlfriend loves to joke about it because like I'm making friends with my Uber

drivers. Like I'm sitting there for an hour chatting with them because everyone's got a story. I'm not sitting here like, let me just sit on my phone and Google and whatever. It's like, no, like let's have a conversation. So I think for me, once I started coming into out of that success mindset and that perfectionist mindset, that because, and really living more authentic of like, what's leaned into who I am, relationships is what I am. And how do I then turn that into the end of the day, make a living? And how do we think about that? It's karma, do good, be good, and it'll come back to you. It's also then the, what is it, putting drops into the bucket. So how do I just keep feeding and giving and giving?

Because you know when you start giving and you're doing that, it will come back to you. And you can look at it as going like, why do bad things happen to good people? It's more of, what am I learning from these lessons? What are these things teaching me? And that's also been a different mindset shift. I love it. You know, I know that you're so passionate about relationships. And, you know, I am a follower for the listeners and viewers.

I am a follower of Greg on LinkedIn. And on LinkedIn, you post a lot about podcasting and partnerships and mental health, which is a passion of mine in business. How do you balance these diverse interests? And here's the important part. And maintain engagement with your, I know you don't call them followers, but with your friends on social. Because you don't just post. And for those that aren't following Greg, definitely follow Greg on LinkedIn. We'll have links for that later. But Greg is very, very, very engaging on social. I think it was my mentor that helped me understand this. It's like, figure out three to five things that you want to be known for, you can consistently talk about. And that's where I mean, I guess I had already started my Monday. So every Monday, I do three podcasts I think people should listen to. And that all came about because I was working in the podcast industry. I was talking to podcasters all day. I sit in front of a computer for 11 hours a day. I go work out. I'm an afternoon workout kind of guy. And then you come home and you're like, let me go sit on the couch and watch TV. I'm not a family man. So that is mine. Family,

you're probably doing something else, but like it's your escape, it's your relax. And then everyone likes to talk about like, what are you watching? What do you watch here? As we're sitting here doing this as a podcast, and those that want to listen, it's like, there's so much content that you can gain, whether you're watching on YouTube, or you're watching it live, or you're listening to it, they're like, you don't have to sit there on a couch and subject your eyes to more strain. I can still get, as hopefully everyone listening here, value by listening. So that's where that whole promotion came. I'm talking to podcasters, let's do that. And I was in the podcast space, but it was also from my network standpoint, LinkedIn is a business platform. I want to let other people know, hey, you're in the business

world. Here are shows that you should probably be listening to that will entertain you, educate you, and turn you away from whatever you're probably watching on Amazon, Netflix, or whatever channel you're on, right? So then it was expanding beyond that. So recently I started my Tuesdays, my Giving Tuesdays goes back to how do I give back to the community? I used to do that better, and I felt like I wasn't being authentic to myself. I'm like, I am not giving as much as I want to. How do I start giving back to people? And then the other piece is mental health. Part of that came about.

I never used to speak about that. I went to a rehab program, started dealing with my own mental health, and realizing because I read other people's posts on that. Well, it is a business platform. If we can start understanding business people are humans, we are all dealing with the family issues, the stresses, the sales, whatever we're dealing with. We should be talking about these things. These aren't just Instagram or Facebook. We have to talk about what is the mental strife you're going through in the business world and being able to.

And so seeing other people doing that helped me. And so I don't go to your point about engagement and community and so forth. It's like, I understand. I'm in different avenues talking about different things, but they're important to me. So maybe it's not like being so niche, but it also then goes to who I am. I'm a jack of all trades. I'm a master of none. So how do I continue to keep the thread of relationships in there? I am providing you with podcasts. I'm educating you and giving that. I'm giving my Tuesdays. I'm giving you mental health. So it all back to, you know, like, and trust Greg because he's providing value.

And it's not just a, here's a bullet point, step-by-step on how to grow your podcast, how to grow this. Like, that's just not my style. You're going to follow other people's content for that kind of stuff. Totally agree. And you're a great follower, man. Like I pick up so much from you. And like I said, I'm a big proponent and advocate for mental health as well, too. You know, I was reading a study where, you know, 67 percent of employees feel stressed in their job and they're not fulfilled in their job. And that's just from a work perspective. Right. But but what happens is people take work home and then now you're stressed at home and you're not fulfilled at home. And, you know, one of the things that I'm proud of you is the fact that you're open about your journey a little bit and that you are providing resources. And maybe it's just someone needs that encouragement.

And that's what I appreciate the most about Greg. So I just wanted to personally say thank you for that. I appreciate it. I mean, that helped me reading and seeing that from other people. You don't know what's title back to the because like I don't know where that one conversation is going to lead in the future. You don't know where that one post. You don't know where that one listen to your show. Whatever the content you're consuming is going to change and impact a person's life.

So the joy is put it out there. Have those conversations. Have those connections. And you will change not only your life because you're vocalizing it, but you can change someone else's. And that becomes a huge reason of like building that relationship in the because. So for the listener or viewer right now, because again, if 67% of employees are stressed or unfulfilled at work, then probably at least 67% of the listeners right now are going through that same thing, right? So what's one piece of advice that you would give someone? Because one of my purposes is to not give mental health the stigma, right? Like in the 80s,

90s, early 2000s, you couldn't come out and say you had mental health problems, right? Like they equated mental health with crazy, which was so sad. But now I want people to be able to open up and know that there are resources. So Greg, for the person that's listening, that's they're struggling or they're stressed and they don't have that avenue or they don't know what to do. What's the one thing you'd tell someone to do or advise them? I mean, get a therapist would be a first good step. I mean, the nice thing is being able to talk openly with someone instead of burdening your family or friends and worrying about the shame of like, I don't want them to think about whatever it is I'm telling them about. So having a therapist is probably great, if nothing

else, just to have someone who is objective to just listen and go like, I feel so much better, at least I shared this. Or you may feel like crap because you shared it, and your therapist is going to go like, I'm so glad you did, because you are now dealing with some form of shame or vulnerability. Or what is it? Brene Brown says, you know, vulnerability hangover. It's like you were just so vulnerable. You are now feeling that like, I can't believe I said this out loud moment. And it's like, but once you start overcoming that, you start feeling better.

You start feeling better about yourself because you're like, I can share these things that this is who I am. So yeah, having a therapist would probably be your first thing. And knowing that there's also resources out there. Like for me, I kept everything in. And I think that's another piece. Therapists, just like people, you don't know what you don't know. So don't settle for the first one. Find something that makes sense, which also then goes to, as you said, everyone right now is probably talking about mental health. So talk to your friends and going like, hey, who is a therapist? What do you like about it? I've now started doing that with my friends going like, I don't know what I'm supposed to say, not say with their therapist. What do you talk about with them? So all those things started allowing you to overcome fears, not just in your mental

health, but just in everything. We're all, from a business standpoint, we're all afraid of looking imperfect. And so I don't want to ask my boss for a question because I don't want him to know or think that I'm stupid because I asked this question. So I'm not going to ask this question and I'm going to try and figure this out on myself. And then you've just wasted so much time. So we have to create a better environment where it is okay to ask the quote unquote stupid question. We grew up saying there's no such thing as a stupid question, but why is it that we live in a world now where we all feel shame or like an idiot if we do ask that question? So as leaders, we need to do a better

job and allowing that to happen, that safe space so that we can bring the question. I don't really understand what you just said. If we go back to my childhood, I was the kid in class who raised his hand, or probably didn't, and asked the question that everyone else was probably thinking. I'm like, well, if I'm thinking this, I can't be the only person that's thinking this right now. So I'm going to ask it for myself and other people. Like, I'm so glad you asked that question. Like there's value in doing that and being the person who has the know-how to speak up and ask those things. And part of that is just having a therapist you can share these things with. That's awesome. And then picking up on something else that you said, and I totally agree with,

you talked about having a mentor. And I think that that's also very important for people as well too, right? Because one of my mentors, Les Brown, one of the first things he taught me and said to me was this, Mick, the world tells you that experience is the best teacher. Well, if you experience failure over and over again, you've just learned how to fail a lot. The best teacher is wisdom, because wisdom knows the shortcuts. Wisdom knows where to lead you. Wisdom knows what to talk to you about. How do you feel about the power of mentorship? And then I know you talked briefly, but how has having a mentor or mentors impacted your life? So I came out of my recovery program, and part of that was realizing I was afraid to ask for help.

Part of it was just the upbringing, don't want to be a burden and so forth. So I came out of it and realized like I need help. First step was going to a program in the first place and getting help. The second is like I don't know what I don't know. So let's start asking for help. No matter how many times, I'm from Chicago. So no matter how many times I've heard the quote that like the best athletes, even Michael Jordan, the GOAT, had a coach. The best still have coaches. Why? Because that makes them better. They're able to point out

what they're doing wrong. You think about all these athletes that have them, you're like, I don't need a coach. I don't need a mentor. But it's like, no, you do. So it became a completely different me. I had my one-on-one with my coach this morning. Also from a business standpoint, goes back to, I would love to ask these questions internally at my company, but you're afraid to because the environment's not there. So I can ask these questions that I don't know the answers to, to a mentor and going like, this is how I'm thinking. Am I thinking about this correctly? How do I approach this? Those would be great things that you would love to be able to talk internally, but there's a fear there. There's not time. There's not a safe space, whatever it may be. So having a coach now allows

you to take off blinders, see what, sorry, see what may be in your blinders and so forth. So it has been incredibly eye-opening to have someone to talk to. And the joy is while they're helping me, we help them because once again, every conversation, you don't know what's going to come. So while your quote unquote expert coach is there to guide you, we are providing them a value just as back. We're probably the ones paying in that regards, but hey, we're paying and giving them value, whether it is how do they take the knowledge from that one conversation and be able to feed others? How do they build it from a platform? Because that's what they've got. But like, in the day, there's a relationship that's tied between the two humans, coach and coachee, mentor, mentee and everything. But we're both learning from each

other. And so to give yourself that gift of learning from another person, asking for help, and then also providing that help back to them, it's priceless. And you can say, like, I don't want to spend $5,000 or whatever the case may be. You'll say probably, and everyone here is listening, we all all know the one thing you can't take away is your education and you talked about wisdom like i can't take that away so you invest in yourself and so investing in myself whether i'm going for college or i'm taking study guides or i'm buying and hiring a mentor whatever the case may be those are investments in you therapy that's an investment in you you can't unsee and unlearn what you kind of just gathered there. So yeah, wisdom, back to your original piece, like wisdom's key. Having that

mentorship and learning from someone. I will say to the flip side, the quintessential learning from your elders and your elders going like, well, because I've lived longer than you, I know more and therefore I'm going to tell you what to do. I think it's also having that relationship where it's like, allow me to fail. Let you fail, and then let's talk about what did you learn from that failure? Less about how do I prevent you from failing? Michael Jordan, no one was trying to prevent him from failing. It was a matter of like, you're going to fail so you can succeed. What do you learn from that failure so you can move forward? If you are trying to prevent the failure, you will never be Michael Jordan because you only know success. No, you had to fail, right? So there is something to be said

about that as well. Freaking love it. Ladies and gentlemen, I told you you were going to be enlightened. Greg is that guy. Greg is that dude. G-Dub always brings it. So Greg, man, totally appreciate you taking some time to just chat with us today, man. This is awesome. A great experience for me as well. I know LinkedIn is your jam. Where can people find you? Obviously, I'll have all the notes there, but other than LinkedIn, where else is Greg at? Right now, just living on LinkedIn. So Greg Wasserman, simple. You'll see the tagline at the top. Life is about time and relationships.

So if you're confused, which Greg, there you go. But yeah, I mean, one day I'll probably build a website. But right now, like LinkedIn is where you find me. It's where I engage. It's the easiest way to create conversations, connections. But also remember, I'm the kind of person who's posting and I'm tagging people. Like my Tuesdays, it's all about, are you looking for a job? Are you hiring? Are you promoting something?

Therefore, I want to tag other people that would find value of that. And that makes it easier for us to all connect and stay connected. Love it. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Greg Wasserman. Greg, thank you again, my brother. I appreciate you so much. And for all the listeners, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.