072: Kevin Thompson | How to Make $14.5 Million from an Ugly Website

How does a guy who lives in a small town in rural Washington State go from working on commercial fishing boats in Alaska to running a business from his home office that brought in over $14 million over the last 10 years? One answer: relationships.

In this episode, I want to introduce you to a man who is a master at building relationships and turning those relationships into phenomenal amounts of revenue. You’ve probably never heard of him before. His name is Kevin Thompson. He spent over 7 years on those commercial fishing boats in the Bering Sea just like The Deadliest Catch. One thing led to another and he ended up building a website on the side to supplement his income. Other people started asking him how he created the website, and how he built it, so he started showing others how to make money on the side with a (new) website.

That was over 10 years ago. And the website looks like it hasn’t changed one… single… bit. (Ready to be blown away? Check out this beauty.) Now, there are thousands of people who do this kind of training today. So how does Kevin do it? It’s very simple. What Kevin does is he spends over six figures a year to go to high-level conferences and masterminds where successful entrepreneurs gather, builds trusted relationships with those successful entrepreneurs who have large followings online and/or email lists, and he convinces them to help him to sell his training program on how to make money with a website. Now I know what you’re saying: I don’t have six figures to spend on conferences each year! But just wait. This is a strategy that you can apply to your life?. You DO NOT need to spend thousands of dollars going to exclusive events and conferences. In the interview, we break down this strategy for you? the key to this strategy is what Kevin calls a 5-step strategy session.

Now Kevin uses this process to build relationships with others who are involved in internet marketing to promote his online training program BUT if you are an offline entrepreneur or service professional like many of my listeners I really think you can use this 5-step process in almost any industry, almost any line of work, even if you’re just starting out. I think you will find, like Kevin has, that this technique will make a huge impact on the person you want to connect with, and they will want to reciprocate and help you in return. It’s a really powerful structure that allows you to do good, to help people, and to help yourself without having to feel like you’re selling or engaging in any pushy marketing tactics. It really is brilliant. Enjoy! Resources from this Episode:

• Get Mold Solutions
• Strategic Coach

Right Click here to download the MP3Click here to subscribe via iTunes Advertise on the Smart Business Revolution podcast

Transcript of Interview:

Intro
John Corcoran:Just a moment. Okay. Three, two, one. Okay. I?m talking with Kevin Thompson. And Kevin, I have to say, so you have got really one of the ugliest websites I think I?ve seen in a long time. It is not a pretty website. It looks like it hasn?t been changed in about 10 years. And I want to start off with that because I think it?s a recognition that things don?t have to be perfect, and you actually have done a tremendous job. You?ve been phenomenally successful in terms of income. And you live a very happy life. You?ve got, we just talked about it off air, you?ve got seven kids. You?ve got a wife.
You live a very comfortable lifestyle. And it?s all off the back of what anyone would describe as a dated looking website. And I think that?s a great point because you?ve put your effort into building relationships with people who can help you. So tell me what it is you do and how you?ve managed to be successful in spite of ? there are a lot of people out there who would take a website like that and would spend a lot of time fiddling with it and trying to make it look pretty and all of that kind of stuff. And you?re like, ?No, it?s the relationships that matter.? So please. If you don?t want to give up now and say thanks for the diss.
Kevin Thompson:So we should put things in context and let them know what website we?re talking about is a website called Automaticincomecoach.com. And you?re right. It is an ugly website. And in fact, I did a project with, who was it? It was about a year and a half ago. I think it was with Brian Proctor. And I was talking with one of their JV gals. And she saw the website as we were talking on the phone, and she chuckles a little bit. And I was like, ?What is it, Felicia?? And she goes, ?Well, I get it, Kev. It?s strategically ugly.? I was like, ?Well, that was kind of you.? And the reality is, I will let everybody know, that website, yeah, you?re right. Yeah, we could go fix it maybe and all that.
But my belief is that I?m just one of these guys, and I always have been that way, that just says, ?Hey, here?s what I am. Here?s what I?m all about. Here?s how I see I might be able to help you. And if you agree, if what I?ve shared resonates with you, if it makes sense to you, if you think that I?m the guy that can help you, then here?s how we can keep this relationship moving forward.? And then I let them know what that looks like. And I?ve been doing that for years.
John Corcoran:So for people, who aren?t familiar with the business model, how it works, explain just kind of real basics of you mentioned JV, which stands for joint venture. Just kind of the basics of what your business is and how you work with people.
Kevin Thompson:So what I do and what the automatic income coach is and the product, my core product, is a product called the automatic income system. We?ve been offering this for over 11years now. All it is, it?s my version of how to set up an online business, how to build an audience, how to maintain a relationship with that audience, how to be the rock star and the super hero to that audience, so they want to buy what you have to offer and, of course, your positioning all of that so that you?re giving them what they want versus trying to sell what it is that we want to sell. And so, in a nutshell, that?s what I have been doing for the last 11 plus years.
But the way that I?ve been growing my business, as you alluded to, is by partnering and collaborating with other people who were in a position to help me spread the message.
John Corcoran:Okay. And that?s the core of what I want to dive into. But before we get to that, I want to go even further back because, at one point, you were working on commercial fishing boats? So how did you go from that to teaching people how to start an online business?
Kevin Thompson:So the reason I was working as a commercial fisherman up in Alaska, I actually did that for seven years from 1988 to 1995, I had this desire to own my own business. I thought, at the time, that it took money to have your own business. And a friend of mine had given me this advice. He was like, ?Well, gosh, Kev, if you want to make a bunch of money,? we lived here in Seattle, he?s like, ?go down to Fishermen?s Terminal. Get you a job on one of those fishing boats. Those guys make all kinds of money.? And I?m like, ?It sounds good.? And so that?s what I did.
And little did I know what I was getting myself into because if you?ve ever saw that show on television, The Deadliest Catch, that?s what I did for seven years, until almost losing my life in a nasty storm in ?95 and almost getting thrown overboard. And that?s when I decided you saved up enough money. Let?s finish up your contract and be done with this whole fishing thing. And so that?s what I did.
John Corcoran:So it scared you just enough to get off the boat. And then where did you go from there.
Kevin Thompson:It did. So I had saved up a good amount of money, and that was the whole purpose of me doing that job was to save up money so I could start my own business. And I had met this guy in Seattle. And he owned a carpet cleaning business. And he did okay for himself. And I thought gosh, if he can do it, so can I. So that was my whole motivation. I thought well, let me get into the carpet cleaning business because this might be the way to do this. And so I invested $80,000.00 of the money I?d saved up just to buy the van, the cleaning machine, all of the supplies, all that.
And for that first year, it was a challenge because I didn?t have a clue what I was doing, didn?t know the first thing about being an entrepreneur. I went through about another $120,000.00 that I had saved up. So $200,000.00 in total. And so this whole idea of like well, if I just had a bunch of money, then I?d be successful. No, not true because I had that. What I did not have is the knowledge and the skill set to be an entrepreneur. And I didn?t even start getting that knowledge until after I had gone through most of the money that I had saved up. But the following year in ?96, I was reading a trade magazine for the industry, and I saw this article in there by this guy named Joe Polish.
And one of the promises he made is I can show you how to get more new clients in a month than you now get all year. And I?m like well, that sounds good to me, so I sent off for this information he was offering. Long story short, I get hooked up with him. And over the course of the next three years, Joe teaches me really good marketing. And we turn that business around. And I get to the top of the cleaning industry. I was probably the top 1 percent in the cleaning industry. And not doing bad, making a good income. Of course, it?s all relative. Carpet cleaners, quite honestly, don?t make that great of income after all of their expenses are paid.
But in relation to other cleaning industry professionals, I was doing really, really well. And the challenge was is that I didn?t feel like I was successful. And what I figured out was that I loved the marketing side of it. What I did not really enjoy was owning a carpet cleaning business, managing employees, that kind of thing. And so in ?99, I attended a Dan Kennedy seminar. I met these two guys. I met this guy Perry Marshall and another guy, Yonnick Silver, who were doing some stuff online. And I started studying from them. And the following year, you mentioned my ugly website, I?ve got another one that?s just as ugly that I started ?
John Corcoran:That?s reassuring. I?m glad to hear that. I wouldn?t want to see a pretty one.
Kevin Thompson:Yeah. I started this other website in 2000 called Getmoldsolutions.com. And that website is probably another one of the ugliest websites on the internet. But I got that website where, within a couple of years, we were making $10,000.00 to $12,000.00 a month with that website. I still had my carpet cleaning business at the time. And Joe Polish, in 2002, invited me to come to his big, annual seminar for the cleaning industry professionals and share what I was doing with my website, with my mold website. And so I did that. And I was nervous as heck. I had never spoke in front of an audience before.
And the audience was about 500 people. But what kept me going is I was just excited to show them what I was doing. And at the end of my presentation, I was mobbed by people who wanted me to help them do the same exact thing. And so Joe pulls me aside, and he?s like, ?Kevin, you?re going to come back here next year, and I?m going to let you speak again. But between now and then, you?re going to document what you do and how you do it so that next year, you can give these people what they want from you.?
And so over the course of that next year, I created my very first version of the product I?ve now been selling all of these years called the automatic income system. I went back the next year. I spoke at Joe?s event again. And long story short, I made $35,000.00 in sales of that product. And I?m like, ?You know what? That?s a whole lot more money than I make cleaning carpets in an hour. And I want to do more of this.? And what I didn?t even realize, it?s like you don?t know what you don?t know. Joe and I, we just got to know each other because he had taught me good marketing.
I was really grateful to him for that for helping me turn my cleaning business around. And of course, when he found out I was doing this stuff online, he was like, ?Yeah, come on down here and share it with everybody.? And when we made that $35,000.00 in sales in October 2003, I gave Joe half of that.
John Corcoran:Wow. You just wrote a check?
Kevin Thompson:Yeah, because that was his event. And he put all those people in there. And all I did was I just showed up and spoke. I had an immediate audience to be able to offer this stuff to, and so the right thing to do was give Joe half of that, which I did. And I kept half, which was still a very nice pay day for me. And what I didn?t even realize at the time is I had just done my very first collaborative or partnering project or joint venture or whatever you want to call that. I had just done it without even realizing at the time what I had just done.
John Corcoran:And what did Joe say when you handed him this check? Or you mailed it to him.
Kevin Thompson:So for one, he was really happy. He was like, ?Wow, Kevin, you did really good. And these people loved you.? So it was a great experience for me. It was a great experience for him. And it definitely let me know that I wanted to change what I was doing. I did not want to run that cleaning business any longer. I wanted to start teaching people what I knew about setting up an online business. And so the following year, in April of ?04, I actually sold the cleaning business and got out of that all together and moved fully into what I?ve been doing now for like 10 plus years into this now.
John Corcoran:So it?s been 10 years. How much money have you made from that business, from this ugly website?
Kevin Thompson:So right now, we just finished up 2014, and that now just put us at $14.8 million in sales over that time period.
John Corcoran:From this ugly website?
Kevin Thompson:From this ugly website, yeah.
John Corcoran:And it?s because of SEO, right? I?m kidding. No, no. Tell us about what your process is. So where does all that money come from?
Kevin Thompson:So it?s me teaching ? we?ve been selling this core product, the Automatic Income System, for all of these years. But really, after I had that initial thing happen with Joe, another guy reached out to me, and he saw what I was doing, and he said, ?Kevin, you?ve got a model that works here. And I?d like to put in a little bit of money and help you expand this.? And so we had an arrangement. He understood direct mail really well. And so we started renting mailing lists and mailing post cards driving to a website where we offered a tele seminar presentation and gave them a call to action at the end of that.
And from about ?04 until ?06/?07, that was working really well for us. And it was a great deal for him because he kicked in the money, and he got his investment back right off the top, and then anything over and above that, we just split 50/50. So it was a win/win deal for both of us. And it allowed me to grow the business in a way that just wasn?t possible on my own. But in June of ?07, I was having a conversation with this other guy that I had met and had known for several years. I was at a seminar, and we were catching up. And he?s like, ?Man, Kevin, that thing of yours, the whole Automatic Income thing, that?s going really well for you.
And we should introduce you to my members.? And this guy, Mike, what he did, he taught better marketing practices to home inspectors. And I was like, ?Really? You think your home inspectors would be interested in what I have to offer with my online marketing training and all that?? He?s like, ?Yeah, I really do.? And it turns out, he was right. And long story short, he sent out a couple of emails to his home inspectors. We did the same thing. We held an event for them, and I just took them on this behind the scenes tour of my business.
And at the end, I just said, ?Hey, if this makes sense, if this resonates, here?s how we can keep this relationship moving forward, and here?s what that would look like. And I gave him the offer. And we made $48,000.00 and some change in sales. And I was like, ?Wow, that was really good. And I want to do a lot more of that.? And the challenge was I had that previous experience with Joe. And Joe and I had already known each other. And that was a great experience. Now, I have this other experience with Mike, and it was a really great experience, too.
John Corcoran:So how do you sustain it is the question.
Kevin Thompson:Yeah. And then I?m going off thinking, oh, I could just find all kinds of people to partner and promote me and help me, and I could do all this stuff together with. And the reality was is it wasn?t nearly that simple. I mean, over the course of the next three years, I did a lot of projects. Some of them were good ones. Some of them were profitable, some of them were not. Some of them didn?t make a penny. Some of them were with people that I really enjoyed working with. Others were with people that I would never partner or collaborate with again and would never do it again.
John Corcoran:And how are you finding these people?
Kevin Thompson:I just was reaching out to people and networks that I was part of or what have you. Joe Polish runs a Master Mind group, and in 2008, I ended up joining that group. And I met some people there, just going to other seminars, getting introduced now from other people. And like I said, it was all figured out over a period of time. And for the three years from ?07 until the end of ?09, I really struggled trying to figure this out and piece it together. And it wasn?t until early 2010 when we made the big discovery, it actually came out of having a meeting with an accountant because, when you do all these partnering projects, you have to report to the IRS every year.
You?ve got to give all your partners 1099?s. And when my accountant prepared my 1099?s for that year, and he was going over it with me, he was like, ?Kevin, you did 34 projects this year with all of these different people. But yet, there were only six of them that produced over 80 percent of your revenue. In fact, the other 28 produced less than 20 percent. If you just did a couple more with people like these six, you didn?t even have to do all those other ones.? And I?m like, ?All right.? So that?s when I really started looking at it and I was like what makes these six people so ? and there were some good ones in the group of 28, too.
But I was like I actually started with those other people and started finding out what made them so different? Why were those projects so successful?
John Corcoran:What did you discover from that?
Kevin Thompson:So what I found out was that those people, those really successful partners, for one, they had a good size audience. They had a really good size audience of people that the second big thing was is that they had a really good relationship with those people. And so when that person made a recommendation or an introduction or whatever, it carried weight with their audience, with their subscribers, with their clients, what have you. And then the other thing that was really important that we found out is there had to be already existing buyers of something. They had to have bought something because a buyer is a buyer is a buyer.
And if somebody is not a buyer, they?re not a buyer. And so as long as there was a percentage of existing buyers that had bought something from that other person, and those other two things were in place, I could pretty much gauge that if we partner and collaborate together and do this, this is going to be successful. And I came to find out that yeah, now that I know what these three indicators were, that?s what I?m looking for.
John Corcoran:That?s a great exercise for someone to do. To really look at where their success comes from, ask those tough questions, figure out what the common denominators are, and then be able to continue that.
Kevin Thompson:You bet. You bet. And quite honestly, even once I had this figured out, now I could reach out to people far more effectively. I could share results of projects that we had already been doing. But even at that, I would still run across that hurdle once in a while when somebody would see my website, they would kind of ? I don?t know, Kev.
And quite honestly, I was totally fine with that because one of the other things that I knew that I?d had experience with is that it doesn?t matter how excited I am to do a project with somebody or how successful I think it will be, if that other person does not feel the same way, and they?re not 100 percent in just like me, I?m just like okay, that?s totally fine. Let?s not even worry about doing this because if they?re not 100 percent in, it?s just not even worth doing. It?s just not even worth doing.
John Corcoran:Do you give up on some possible opportunities with partners who could be quite lucrative because you can feel that their enthusiasm is tepid?
Kevin Thompson:Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And it?s not that I give up. I don?t give up. I just know how important it is that they be as enthusiastic as I am and will need to put their best foot forward just like I am on a project. I want them to give 100 percent to the project just like I will. And it?s not that it takes a lot to do it because it?s rinse, lather, repeat. And I?ve got a process in place. It?s easy. But if they?re not 100 percent engaged and willing to put their best foot forward, like I said, it?s not really worth doing. And I don?t want somebody who is not that way.
And quite honestly, I have been turned down by people in the past that took a look at the website and were like, ?I don?t know, Kev.? I mentioned the folks at Brian Proctor and Bob Proctor?s office, Jessica there, she kind of chuckled about it. And she?s like I get it. And it didn?t stop us from doing a project. And we did very well together. But sometimes, when they look at that, they?re just like ? and I?ve been turned down in the past where they were like polite. But then now, they?ve come back around later. And in fact, not too long ago, I just did a project with somebody who politely told me no a year and a half ago.
But since then, they?ve probably talked with some other people or whatever, and they reached back out to me and said, ?I think we need to do this.?
John Corcoran:So with the website, do you intentionally not upgrade it? Because it sounds like there have been some people who have declined to do projects with you who would otherwise. So why don?t you upgrade it? Why don?t you just give the ?
Kevin Thompson:I?ve actually tried it. I?ve tried it in the past. I hired somebody to just take the content and redo it. And we didn?t do the whole website. All we did was the sales part of the process that people saw coming through that process. And we tried to upgrade that and make it nicer, more visually appealing and all of that. And the results went down.
John Corcoran:Really?
Kevin Thompson:Yeah. The results went down. And I think what happens is, especially because I am working with mostly aspiring entrepreneurs. And they look at me, and they probably look at my website and go, ?Well, gosh. If Kevin can make this work with that website, then so can I.? If they look at a nicer website, now they might be thinking something else. And I don?t know this for sure. This is just what I?m guessing from the one time that we did try to run people through a website that looked more visually appealing.
John Corcoran:Interesting. I wonder if people can even apply that ? anyone who is listening to this who has got an offline business, if they can apply it to their offline business. You?ve got the whiz bang, fancy office, and maybe sometimes, your customers don?t want that. It could be.
Kevin Thompson:I really believe, more than anything, people just want to connect with other people on just this authentic, powerful, clear level where you can just be yourself and just say, ?Hey, you know what? This is what I know. This is what I don?t know. This is how I can help you. This is how I can?t help you.? Whatever that is and just being completely up front and authentic about that. And people can recognize that.
John Corcoran:So I want to zero in on your process for building these relationships. You?ve figured out the criteria and the type of people that you want to partner with on your projects, and they promote your product. And you do a free tele seminar for them, and then you sell your product. But I want to find out, once you?ve zeroed in on the type of person that you want, the criteria, where did you go find them? Did you just call up people who you knew already and say, ?Can you recommend me to other people?? Did you go to ? you mentioned seminars and conferences.
Kevin Thompson:Yeah. So that?s part of what I did, for sure, was I started reaching out to people who already knew me and that I already knew or had relationships with. And I started asking for introductions. And really, it was really pretty doggone simple. And now, I?ve got a process where I just do this with everybody now. And it?s how I?ve been able to do over 400 collaborative projects at this point is I just flat out ask them. Usually when I do a project with somebody, when we?re done with that project, I?ll have a follow up phone call with them, and I?ll ask them three questions on that call. I?ll ask them what about this project went really well for you?
What about this project do you see that I can improve upon? And then now, after you?ve had this experience with me, who else do you know that I should be having a conversation with? And it leads to introductions from them introducing me to other people. And I will let you know that I have a compensation plan in place for that as well. But in most cases, the compensation, that?s not why people are making the introduction. In fact, some people have flat out told me, ?Kevin, I don?t want to be paid for this.? To which I just tell them, ?That?s totally fine. Here?s what I would like to do. I want to maintain my integrity, so I want to compensate for this.
But if you don?t want the money that is totally fine. We can make it to your charity or whatever you want to do, and we?ll give it to them.? Because I can tell you that they?re not, in most cases, the reason they?re introducing me is not because of I?m going to get paid for this. They?re introducing me because they like me. They like the person that they?re introducing me to. And they want the best for both of us. That?s why they?re doing it.
John Corcoran:Now, let?s say you?re introduced to someone new, and you?re evaluating whether you?re a good fit for one another. You?re having conversation. You?re meeting someone. You?ve doing a get to know you phone call or coffee or whatever. What does that conversation look like?
Kevin Thompson:For me, are you familiar with Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach at all?
John Corcoran:Yeah. Actually, I?ll recommend to anyone who is listening to this to check out 10X Talk, the podcast with Joe Polish, you mentioned, and Dan Sullivan. I?ve listened to every episode twice. Dan, I?m in one of Dan?s 10X programs. And Dan is just an incredible coach for entrepreneurs. And being completely candid, the process that I use, I call it a strategy session process, but I learned it from Dan Sullivan. And he calls it the DOS process. And what it is, it?s a series of five questions that we ask people. And so basically, when it comes to entrepreneurs, there are two things that really, really motivate entrepreneurs.
And if you want to start a conversation with them, all you got to do is be like, ?Hey, you know what? I?d just like to have a conversation with you. And maybe we can figure out how to make your life easier or how to make your business more profitable.? And every time I have asked an entrepreneur, ?Hey, would you like to have a conversation about that?? Nobody has ever been no, I don?t want to do that. No, that would be a waste of my time. Everybody is in. If they?re an entrepreneur, they?re in.
John Corcoran:So you?re coming it at it as I just want to be helpful to you.
Kevin Thompson:Absolutely.
John Corcoran:And then in your conversation with them, what are you doing? Are you giving them feedback, tips, advice? Certainly not web design, but something else, right?
Kevin:Sure. And so I will let you know that, for me personally, I break this conversation or this strategy session into two different parts. The first, I will call it the fact finding part of it. And the reason I do that is because, on that first, initial call, I want to find out all about them. And it is, it?s 100 percent about them not about me at all. And I do not want this secondary conversation going on in my head about, okay, what am I going to tell them? How am I going to help them? What am I going to do? That?s just not even existent because that part of it comes in a second call that we?ll have, whatever, six, seven, days later when we finish the first call.
So on the first call, it?s all about them. And I?m asking them ? so the first question I ask them, and like I said, I didn?t figure this out myself. This came courtesy of our friend, Dan Sullivan. He taught me this. And so the first question that I?ll ask them is if we were meeting here three years from today, and quite honestly, you could use whatever time qualifier you want. I like to use three years. If we were meeting here in three years from today, what would have had to happen for you both personally and professionally in order for you to be really happy with your results?
And when you ask somebody this, they are going to start getting so animated and tell you about all the projects they?re working on, the things they?re working on, the things they?re most excited about, where they?re going in their business. I mean, and if need be, I?m going to ask clarifying questions based on what they?re telling me. And I?m also, if I?m on the phone or on Skype or whatever, I am sitting here at my keyboard taking notes on everything they tell me. And I let them know, you?re going to hear me plunking away at my keyboard because I want to remember everything that you tell me. And so then we ?
John Corcoran:I have to stop you there because we actually ? our relationship initially started in that kind of an arrangement. So you and I both belong to a group put together by Dove Gordon. And you gave a presentation in that group. And then you said, ?Anyone who wants to talk to me, we?ll set up a strategy session?, which I did. And I have to say that I feel a little uncomfortable being on the receiving end, maybe it?s my personality, where I?m getting all the benefit, and I feel like I?m not giving enough. So during that call, when you and I have that call, I was constantly asking you questions because, naturally, I like to help people.
So my question for you is when you offer to do these strategy sessions with people, did people ever feel uncomfortable because they feel like they?re ? 1) they?re going to be asked to buy something, or do they ever feel uncomfortable because you?re focusing too much attention on them, or not at all?
Kevin Thompson:So let me ask you this then, John, because we went through that process. You felt uncomfortable because I was focusing all the attention on you. But you certainly didn?t feel uncomfortable because you thought I was going to ask you to buy something.
John Corcoran:No, no, because you and I were part of this same group. But there have been other situations that I?ve been in where it?s kind of an unsaid thing. I think your business model is different because you?re not ? when you?re doing the Automatic Income Coach stuff, you?re not selling anything. You?re actually ? it?s a collaboration. And if sales are made, then you split the profits.
Kevin Thompson:Sure. And so somebody in that spot where I am out there actively looking for people to help promote me and what I do, people who are in a position to help me do that, I?m actively looking for that. But I?m not doing it by saying ? with my hand out saying, ?Hey, can you help me? Look how great my stuff is. Can you help me promote this?? Because that?s not the message people want to hear, and that?s a message that just shuts people down.
And that?s not who I want to be either. I don?t want to be ? I want to be helping first, and then through this process of discovering things about people and figuring out how I can be of service to them, what happens is people are, just like you just said, ?Well, jeez, Kev, how can I help you??
John Corcoran:Oh, brilliant.
Kevin Thompson:That?s what they want to do because they?re like, ?Man, you have given to me, and this has been so beneficial for me. What can I do to help you?? And so then it comes around to that, too. And of course, not everybody I talk to is going to help promote me, and that?s totally fine. But they might help promote me. They might not. It might be that I need to make an introduction for them or vice versa. They might want to make ? oh, do you know so and so? They would be a perfect fit for helping you. Or who knows?
But what I can tell you is, after having hundreds and hundreds of these kind of conversations now over the years, and having done over 400 collaborative projects, it?s been pretty doggone rewarding. And I have got some relationship capital built up with some absolutely amazing people, amazing entrepreneurs. And the fact that I can now pick up the phone and call them or text them or whatever, and I get a response because of the place I hold in their lives.
John Corcoran:I think I didn?t let you finish all the questions that you use in your process. So do you want to follow through with that? I think I interrupted you.
Kevin Thompson:Sure. So we ask the first question. And then once they give us all that feedback, and we ask a couple of follow up questions if we need to to gain more clarity on what they?re telling us. The second question that we?ll then ask them is okay, fantastic. What do you believe has prevented you from making all of this a reality already? And now, what they?re going to do is now, they?re going to start telling us about their roadblocks, their pain points. And quite honestly, that?s what I?m looking for. I?m looking for pain points because, if there is no pain point, if they think that everything in their life and everything in their business is just hunky dory, we got no basis for nothing.
There ain?t nothing I can do to help them if there are no pain points. So I?m looking for pain points. And I want them to tell me what are the roadblocks? What?s standing in their way? What keeps them awake at night? So then, once we talk about that, and I get all that feedback, my third question is like fantastic. ?What would it be like for you, John, if you didn?t even have to worry about any of that?? Well now, they?re going to start getting all animated. They?re going to say, ?Oh, my gosh. I could do this and this and this.? And they?re going to tell you about everything they could do if they didn?t have to deal with those problems, those challenges, those roadblocks, those pain points.
And so then the fourth question I?ll ask is I will ask them, ?What do some of your best customers, your best clients, say about you?? And they?ll start telling me what their best customers and clients say about them. But what they?re really telling me is what they believe are their personal strengths. ?Well, my best customers tell me, wow, whenever you say you?re going to do something, you do what you say you?re going to do.? ?Or man, when you make promises, you over deliver on that.? Whatever that is, but they?re going to start telling you about their personal strengths.
And then the final and fifth question that I ask is simply, ?You know, John, what is the personal and professional cost to you for not achieving everything that you and I have been talking about?? And they?re probably not going to come up with a financial number. They?re probably not going to come up with a dollar number. What they?re going to come up with is stuff like well, my gosh, it would be ? if I don?t do all of this, then I won?t feel like I?ve reached my true potential. I won?t feel like I?m going to impact as many lives of people as I could impact. This stuff is really important to me.
And that?s what I?m looking for is that kind of stuff because that?s the heart centered stuff right there of why are you really doing all of this stuff anyway? And if a dollar figure comes up, that?s totally fine. But if it?s only the dollar figure, and they don?t talk about any of the other stuff, it?s like if all of their motivation is just the money, quite honestly, that?s not in alignment with me. And so that?s kind of a qualifier there.
John Corcoran:All right. So you go through those five questions. And then what do you say? You say let?s have another meeting later?
Kevin Thompson:That?s exactly what I do. I?ll say, ?John, man, I?ve taken all these notes. And what I want to do, I want to do justice to this. So what I want to do is I would like to take some time to give some thought to this.? Maybe based on what they?ve told me, there are some people that I might want to make introductions to them for or what have you. ?And so why don?t we do this? Can we take a look at our calendar right now, and let?s set a time to follow up.? And I?ll usually book a time to follow up like six or seven days out. That way, it gives me time to think about this.
And by the way, I?ll let you know when you have a conversation like this with somebody, and especially when you?re taking notes and all of that, nobody else listens to them like that. And when you come back for that second conversation, and now, you just start, ?You know, John, on our last conversation, you told me this and this and this.? And I?m just basically reading their own words right back to them because I took notes on what they said. And now, I can now go in with, ?You told me some of your big challenges, some of your roadblocks are this. And here?s how I see that I can help you with that.?
And now, I?m just giving them my candid opinion of what I believe I can help them with. And maybe that includes me making an introduction for them. Maybe it includes me helping them. So for example, one of these conversations that turned into a project for me was I was having a conversation with somebody, and they run a very successful business. And they were in the middle of a huge, big project. They were in the middle of a big, huge marketing campaign. And everybody on their team was involved in this. They were investing a ton of time and effort and resources and finances in this.
And quite honestly, if I would have just said, ?Hey, would you guys like to promote me?? They would have been like, ?Are you kidding me? Didn?t you hear what I said? We?re busy. I don?t got time for that.? But because I got the insight, I was able to come back on that second call. I said, ?I know that you guys are really busy right now, and you?re also investing a lot of time. You?re also investing a lot of financial resources in this right now.
If there were a way for you to get an influx of cash into your business, influx of revenue into your business, and it hardly took any of your time, and it also made you look like a rock star to your clients in the process, would that be something that would be worthwhile to you guys right now?? And he?s like, ?Gosh, yeah, if it didn?t already take any of my time because we?re busy. But yeah, we would definitely welcome some revenue right now.? And I just laid it out for him. And he?s like, ?Kevin, let?s do this.?
And so but if I hadn?t been listening to them, and if I would have been thinking about me only and what I wanted to do, and not being able to convey it in a way that was a big benefit to them, it wouldn?t have happened. There?s no way because they were busy. And that was their viewpoint was we?re busy. We don?t got time for this. But I was like, ?Hey, we can make this easy. It ain?t going to take no time, provide some revenue for you guys while you?re right in the middle of this.? And it was exactly what they wanted. And that?s exactly what we accomplished for them, too.
John Corcoran:It?s really about framing it around what they need and what their business needs.
Kevin Thompson:Absolutely. It?s about what?s important to them.
John Corcoran:What I love about this strategy, too, is that, honestly, I think anyone could do it. I think it would be a great tool, even if you?re 22, 23 years old, and you?re listening to this, and you?re working your way into a career, and you meet someone you admire. Almost anyone can do this if you can get the time of someone. Rather than going to coffee with someone where you?re looking for a job, and you?re asking for advice, you could actually set it up this way. Say I?d like to meet with you and give you advice. And who cares if you don?t have that much experience? Then you give yourself the six or seven days, and then go Google it.
Go do some research, come up with some ideas, and then come back to them and give them some ideas. And then that person will probably be so grateful, they?ll go and recommend you to someone else and maybe get you a job.
Kevin Thompson:That?s right. Yeah. It?s all about just being of service to other people. And like you just said, even if you don?t know, you could Google stuff. You could find somebody who was an expert. I know at this point so many people who are experts on so many different things. It doesn?t matter if I don?t know ? I mean, there are only a handful of things, less than one hand, of things that I know how to do really well that I can speak effectively to, that I can teach to other people. And outside of that, I don?t even know what I don?t know on so many things. But I do know lots of people who are experts on other stuff.
And so I have that in my arsenal. And when somebody else is telling me ? like I had a conversation a few years ago with a guy who runs a huge direct response mail company. I mean, these guys are worth millions. But all they did was direct mail. And he was telling me, he said, ?Hey, we?re wanting to do some stuff online. We?re wanting to do some stuff with Google and this and that. And we just don?t even know what we don?t know.? And I?m like, ?Well, do you know this guy here?? And he?s like, ?Well, I know of him, but I don?t know him personally.? And I?m like, ?Well, let me shoot an email and introduce you guys.? And so I just sent an email to each of them.
The subject line said introduction from Kevin Thompson. Both of those guys knew me already. And it just opened the door for them guys to talk. And amazing things have come from that. And it was a win/win deal for both of them. And now, it?s been a win/win deal for me, too. And I do that a lot. And I can tell you that I get a fair amount of checks in the mail every month from people who send me checks because they?re like, ?You know, Kev, you introduced me to so and so, and we went on to do this. And here?s just a little token of my appreciation.? And not everybody does that. But a lot of people do that.
And I also get ? there are so many ways that it will come back around. But the relationship capital side of this where everybody I?ve ever done that for, I have got massive relationship capital with where now, I can pick up the phone. I can text them. I can email them. And I?m going to get their attention. And whatever they can do to help me, they?re going to want to do that just because they like me because I?ve already provided value to them.
John Corcoran:That?s great. I love that. And I?m a huge fan of making introductions as well. So I want to run through your process a little bit more here because we?ve covered, so far, you set up the business. Then the next thing we talked about was figuring out the criteria of the right type of person that?s ideal for you, defining what those criteria are, really figuring out who that is so you can hone in on it. And then we talked about this after you?ve met someone, the conversation that you have. How do you approach it? How do you try to be of service?
Now, the last piece that I want to talk to you about is I know that you really invest in yourself and invest in your business and going out to the ? putting yourself I the places where these types of people hang out. The events, the organizations, and you invest some significant sums in doing that. So talk about that involvement going to seminars and conferences and your philosophy on doing that.
Kevin Thompson:So my belief, and I do invest heavily in that, because, for me, I love being surrounded ? I mean, having a successful business and making a nice amount of income and being able to take care of my family in the way that I want, I mean, that?s all good and great. And I love doing that. And I love running my business. But that?s not the end game. For me, the end game is that I like doing what we?re doing right here right now. How long has it been since you and I met? I know for a fact, three and a half four months ago, you and I had never even talked before.
John Corcoran:Yeah.
Kevin Thompson:And now, here we are. We got connected. We had a phone conversation. You asked me to do this interview. And now, I have no idea how many people will hear this interview. But the thought of what we?re doing here and whoever does hear this and whoever is impacted by that, that excites me. And the fact that you and I are just doing what we do. And for me, that?s the end game. I love hanging out with other great people, spending time with them, getting to know them, finding out what they?re all about, finding out how I can be of service to them, letting them know what excites me and how they might be able to help me.
That?s the end game. Surrounding myself with just incredible people. And you know what? I?m going to be doing this until the day I die because why wouldn?t you want to? And when I look at my life, and yeah, I mean, I?ve got this business. But what my business really does is it facilitates me to do all of this. And that?s what I love.
John Corcoran:It?s all about getting closer and closer to the stuff that you enjoy and stripping off all of the other stuff that you don?t enjoy doing.
Kevin Thompson:Yeah. And so I mean, I mentioned to you before we started this interview that I?ve got a trip I?m getting ready to go on in a week. And one of them ? part of that trip, the first couple of days of that trip is this Master Mind group that I?m a part of. And it?s run by this guy, Kevin Nations. And I will let you know that that is not an inexpensive Master Mind. In fact, it?s the most expensive one I?ve ever been in. But it is an incredible group of entrepreneurs. And I love getting together with them. I love getting to know them better, meeting new people that are in that group since the last time we got together, all of that kind of stuff.
Then the second part of this trip, I?m actually attending an event in Los Angeles put on by a friend of mine, Giovanni. It?s called Arc Angels. And I?ve never attended this event before, so I don?t know exactly what to expect. But what I do know is there are some absolutely incredible entrepreneurs that are going to be in attendance there. And the whole purpose of this event is to bring already successful entrepreneurs together with startup entrepreneurs, put them all together in a room, and I don?t know what the structure is or anything like this. I know Giovanni has been doing this.
And like I said, I don?t even know what to expect from this. I just don?t even know what I don?t know. What I do know is I?m excited to be in that room for two days and just have that experience. And what I do know is incredible things are going to come from that. And like I said, it?s all about I?m just excited to be in that room because I?ve seen some of the other people who are going to be in there. There are going to be some rock stars there. And I?m just humbled to be there myself.
John Corcoran:And what?s your process like when you?re in a room full of people who are successful? Are you intimidated by any of them? Do you just march up to them and stick your hand out and introduce yourself? What?s your process like?
Kevin Thompson:Years ago, I definitely used to be intimidated. I definitely used to be intimidated because I had this whole thing going on in my mind of well, I?m here business wise, and this person is way up here. And I used to be intimidated by that. And I?m not anymore because I found out that people are just people. And no matter how successful somebody is in business, what I have discovered is that most people feel underappreciated and because I?ve tried this on so many people.
So I can tell you specific examples where I?ve done this where it?s just opened huge doors for me because, I mean, I remember years ago, I met a gentleman who people told me that I could never partner or collaborate with just because his business was so much bigger than mine. And quite honestly, I believed him. And he?d been a hero of mine for a long time. And when I finally had the opportunity because I got introduced to him where I had a conversation with him. And I just flat out told him. I said, ?You know what? Man, you are a marketing and business legend. You have been a hero of mine for a long time. I own some of your stuff.
And I just want to let you know how much I appreciate you and what an impact you?ve had on my life.? And that just opened the conversation wide up. And so knowing that, I go into these rooms, and I don?t care who I?m talking to. And I don?t care how big their business is. I don?t care how successful they are. It doesn?t matter. They?re people just like me. And so when I go into a room, I?m not a business card collector. I will get business cards. But I?m looking to just get to know people. And if I make a connection, all I?ll do, so I will meet people at these events. And I will meet some people that I will end up saying to them, ?Hey, you know what, it?s been so great getting to know you.
I mean, we should definitely follow up. And if you?d like, I?d love to have a conversation with you and find out even more about what you do. And if there?s a way that I might be able to help make your life a little bit easier and make your business a little bit more profitable, I would certainly be all in on that.? And they?ll be like, ?Yeah, gosh, I?d love to have that conversation.? ?Well, great. Give me your card, and let?s set a time to follow up.? And I?ll have a strategy session with them and just take them through the process that we?ve just been talking about.
John Corcoran:That?s so great. It?s funny. I was just doing an interview earlier today where I was being interviewed. And that process you were talking about, I usually refer to it as the sincere compliment strategy, which is just giving a sincere compliment to someone. And if it?s sincere, if it?s honest, if you?re not being a phony, if you?re just complimenting them, especially if you show a little bit of knowledge about that person?s business or something they?ve achieved, or if it?s a pet project, sometimes that?s a great one. Like there are these famous Hollywood actors who they will do certain movies that are just for the paycheck.
And then they?ll do the other one like the artsy flick that they?re doing because they?re passionate about it. And you compliment them on the passion project, and then you?ve got a friend for life. So it?s a great strategy session. Now, this process, the whole process that you?re through, you?ve moved with your business to a point where now, people actually ? you actually show people in a more formal way. So tell me how that came about because I think it was history repeating itself with Joe Polish that actually led to this newest incarnation of your business, correct me if I?m wrong.
Kevin Thompson:Yeah. So I?ve been doing this in my own life and in my own business since ? I mean, I did the project with Joe back in 2003. But I just didn?t even know what I didn?t know. But in 2007, when I did that project with Mike Crow, that?s when I was like wow, I really want to start doing more of this. And so we really got actively engaged in it there. And so over the years of doing this and doing so many projects, and just communicating with lots of people that I did not do projects with but maybe made introductions for or what have you, people started telling me, ?Gosh, Kev, you know what?
You should be teaching this process that you do because nobody is teaching that, and nobody is doing it like you are. And you just have this incredible way that is so simple of connecting with people and just getting the attention of amazing entrepreneurs.? And I?m going to let you know, my business, I just run it right out of my home. Up until now, it?s just me. I do have a virtual assistant and her team that helps me out. And quite honestly, I partner with lots of business owners and entrepreneurs that have businesses way bigger than mine. But it is what it is. And I just like doing what I do.
And so now, it took me a while because when people ask me, ?Kev, how the heck do you do this? How do you meet all of these people? How do you get their attention? How do you get them to like you so much and just want to do so much to help you?? And I was just like, ?I don?t know. I just do what I do.? And it wasn?t until people that knew me well suggested that I start teaching this stuff that I actually had to look, well, what the heck do you do? If you were to show somebody this, what are the steps that you do? What chronological order is it? What would you tell them to do? And so we started teaching this.
And we?ve got a website at the JVJedi.com. And you can go there, and you can get some more information on this. And if it makes sense what I do, I just kind of do what I teach. I mean, if you meet the criteria ? and what I?m looking for is to share this process and help people who I can make the biggest impact on. And like you mentioned, anybody can use this. I mean, if you?re just starting out in business, anybody can use this process.
John Corcoran:That?s what I love about it. Honestly, I hope that anyone who is listening to this, even if they?re not involved in any online business whatsoever that they?ll apply it to their situation. I think, honestly, the approach that you discuss can be applied to almost any person?s situation. So I hope that they?ll take it and apply it and use the ideas.
Kevin Thompson:Yeah. Anybody can use this. But the person or the entities that can ? and this is what I like is who can I have the biggest impact on? And anybody can use it. And they go out, and they?re going to start using it. And the stories that they?ll be able to come back and share about what happened, about maybe them getting this job that they loved, or maybe they start making introductions, and they?re even getting compensated for that. Who knows? But the existing business owner who is already successfully selling whatever it is that they are selling, maybe they?re partnering and collaborating already.
And quite honestly, I?ve spoken not too long ago with a gentleman who is in the kind of health insurance business. And they have 40,000 plus people who have used their health insurance to get treatment and who are really happy with what this company has done for them. And we just started talking. I said, ?So let me ask you this. Do you have an ongoing, really great relationship with those 40,000 people?? And he said, ?It?s okay, but it could be better.? And I?m like, ?Do you think that if you had a really incredible relationship with those 40,000 people, do you think that would affect revenue??
And he?s like, ?Oh, my gosh, it would.? And I?m like, ?You?re right it would. A huge impact on revenue. And I can show you how to do that.? So the applications for this are so big. And that?s what I really am looking for is who can I share it with that I can have a big impact? That they can take it and apply it to what they?re doing. And I?ve been sharing it with a gentleman who runs a fulfillment company. And he?s been using this process to communicate with his existing clients in a way that he just didn?t do before. And he?s been communicating with existing clients as well as new clients bringing on board. And he just picked up a new client that he used this process with a couple of months ago.
They started talking. Now, he just told me this last week, this new client came on board. He?s like, ?Kevin, this client is going to be worth millions of dollars a year to us. And we?ve picked them up because of using this process.?
John Corcoran:Wow.
Kevin Thompson:And so there are just so many applications.
John Corcoran:And so a couple of years ago, I think it was maybe a year or two ago or something like that, it comes full circle. And your buddy, Joe Polish, who runs ? anyone who hasn?t heard of him, by the way, he runs an organization called Genius Network, which is a Master Mind and coaching program. It has an annual event. He asked you to speak, right?
Kevin Thompson:He did, yeah.
John Corcoran:Okay. Tell us that story.
Kevin Thompson:In August of last year, he asked me to speak at his event. And at that point, I had ? people had already been telling me, ?Kevin, you should start teaching this process. And Joe, he hosted this big, annual event for the Genius Network Master Mind. And if you?re a member, you get to go. If you?re not a member, it?s $10,000.00, and you get to go. And the goal is to come to that and find out more about what this is all about and being surrounded by these incredible entrepreneurs. And then you might want to become a member.
And he does have a lot of new members, people who come to that event. And he asked me to speak at that event this last year. And quite honestly, I said, ?Why do you want me to speak? What am I going to speak about?? And he?s like, ?Are you kidding me? You?re going to speak about your JV stuff, your partnering and collaborating.? So I?m like, ?All right.? So I put a presentation together. And I?ve got to tell you, I was a little bit nervous because there were 235 people scheduled to be there, and every single person in attendance is an already successful entrepreneur. I mean, and some of these guys are running big, big businesses. I mean, to put it in perspective, Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank was there.
Tim Ferris, the Four Hour Work Week guy is there. These guys are some serious entrepreneurs. And I ended up sharing a little bit about my process. And one of the things that I shared was this whole active appreciation strategy because ? and I don?t even really look at it as a strategy. I mean, it?s just like what you said. It?s just this is just who I am. I like showing appreciation for other people, and it has opened so many doors for me. And so I shared this process with them, and I challenged them. I was like, ?Do this. You?ve got your cell phone. You?ve got contacts in there.
Do this today, and when you do, come back to me later and tell me about your experience with it.? And for the rest of my time at that event, people were telling me, ?Oh, my gosh. I did this, Kevin, and you?re right. Man, this was incredible.? And so for me, that was kind of like the turning point for me of having that experience and having all of these entrepreneurs come back to me later and say, ?Kevin, I want more help with this. You definitely know what you?re talking about.? That was a big turning point for me. And that let me know that yeah, okay, Kev, you need to start sharing this with a lot more people. And so yeah, that was definitely a big catalyst for sure. That was a big catalyst.
John Corcoran:And then didn?t you come back again a year later and speak again? Or was that just the first time that you did that?
Kevin Thompson:No, no, no. That was the first time that I spoke there. So I think you might be getting confused when I spoke at Joe?s event years ago for the cleaning rep people.
John Corcoran:I thought the same process happened where Joe said, with the new business, you need to create a business out of this, and then you started doing that.
Kevin Thompson:No. So he had me speak at that event, and that?s when I realized, yes, you need to create a business out of this. And you need to start doing this. And now, we?ve been doing that ever since.
John Corcoran:Very cool. Well, Kevin, I?ve taken so much more time than I thought I was going to. But I really enjoyed that. I love this process. It really resonates with me because it?s all about giving. It?s all about being of service to people, helping them out. And I think that you demonstrate in the amount of success that you?ve had so far, and you?ve got a lovely, large family and everything and live a happy life that, if you focus your energies on developing relationships with people and then engaging in active appreciation and trying to help them and trying to be of service, that will reap amazing dividends.
And you didn?t even touch on all the different conversations that you have with people where it just ends up you help them, and you don?t do projects together or anything. And you get good karma, and the person goes out in the world, and maybe a year later, they introduce you to someone.
Kevin Thompson:Well, what you do, in that case, is you?re building relationship capital. That?s what you?re doing. You build relationship capital. That person forever remembers that. And when you want to get a hold of them later, and you want to run something by them, or you want to ask them a favor or whatever, they are more than willing to help you in return.
John Corcoran:Yeah. Kevin, so where can people learn more about you?
Kevin Thompson:They can just go to JVJedi.com. Or actually TheJVJedi.com is where they want to go. And we?ve got some information we?ll offer them there. And if it makes sense, and you want to set up a strategy session with me, and if you?re the right kind of person I can have a big impact on, I would absolutely be honored to have a strategy session, a one on one call with you. And I?m more than happy to make that available to you.
John Corcoran:Excellent, Kevin. Thank you so much.
Kevin Thompson:You bet. My pleasure.