1 (2s):
Who's ready to rock today? Fire Nation JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. Brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network with great shows like Content is Profit. Today we'll be breaking down the process of building a network that multiplies your net worth. To drop these value bombs, I brought Zach Benson into EOFire Studios. Zach is the founder of Assistagram, a company that empowers influencers and Fortune 500 companies to connect with real followers in their target audience. Dubbed “the influencer’s secret weapon” by Entrepreneur Magazine, he has helped influencers such as Robert Kiyosaki, Russell Brunson, and John de Douma cut through the noise to accrue millions of new followers on Instagram. And today Fire Nation, we'll talk about how to connect with anyone, we'll talk about growing our social media channel and reaching millions and so much more.

1 (46s):
And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Zach and Business Made Simple hosted by Donald Miller is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. The audio destination for business professionals, Business Made Simple takes the mystery out of growing your business with episodes like How to Get Out of the Day-to-Day Operations Without Crashing Your Business. Listen to Business Made Simple wherever you get your podcasts, Zach, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

0 (1m 18s):
Hey, what's up Fire Nation? Zach Benson here. Hello from South Korea, it's 3:00 AM What what I have to say is basically like, I think a lot of people say like you should just simply outsource everything. But I think that you should do the work first yourself, like everything from you know, A to Z so that you know how to do it and then you can outsource it.

1 (1m 42s):
I cannot agree more. I mean everybody's like John, how do you build such a great team? I mean you're small, you're mighty, but your team is like so efficient. They know what to do. I'm like, because I did all the flipping work for the first couple years and I learned every in and out so that when I hired people, I knew exactly how to train them exactly what I was expecting of them. I knew exactly, you know, where and how and why they should be working on these different things. And that process was ingrained. So I love getting your hands dirty. I love knowing. And by the way, there are a lot of times when emergencies pop up and my team may not be rocking and rolling because you know, they're in the Philippines and it's a different time zone and I gotta get stuff done and I can just jump on my computer and do it.

1 (2m 23s):
Cause I know the work, I know how to do it cause I've put in the reps. And today our nation, we're talking all about building a network that multiplies your net worth. This is Zach's fourth time on Entrepreneurs on Fire because he drops value bombs every single time he gets on here. And Zach, we all have people that we'd love to connect with. Tell us how we can connect with anyone.

0 (2m 49s):
I think the first thing that you have to do is like when you see somebody like maybe a star or celebrity or someone that you just really look up to, like in your live, like with them in person and you see 'em on stage maybe after their talk. Like you gotta give them a compliment and know that like in the first 30 seconds you have to give them a compliment. You have to like show them some love and respect and then you only have like maybe 20 more seconds. So you have to be super quick and straight to the point of how like you can add value and help them with something that they've talked about, whether it was live on stage or like a, a podcast or whatever, right? You have to give them a solution to what they, their biggest challenge is

1 (3m 31s):
Fire Nation express a genuine interest in others. Cuz at the end of the day, everybody's favorite radio station is W I I F M. What's in it for me? I mean as unselfish as we try to be, sometimes that's just a natural part of being a human. So if you could express interest in others, man, they're gonna love that. Let's talk about complimenting somebody in the first 30 seconds of meeting them. What does that look like?

0 (3m 54s):
I think you gotta start off with a, a smile, right? Greet everyone with a smile and make them feel good and comfortable. So you know, yeah, like communication, like Stephen Covey says, right, it's like maybe 10% communication, like words that come outta your mouth, your body language and then listening. So you have to greet them with a smile, make them feel good, and then simply ask them a question that piques their interest and then just simply listen and make them feel understood. So I mean, you know, these are basics, but I think it's, you know, it's, it's what works.

1 (4m 28s):
Give me an example of a time you did that where it really worked. Like dig back into the memory banks. Like I want a real example of this working, what that actually led to.

0 (4m 39s):
Basically it's like bringing up some stuff from the past. So like I think if you do your research and your homework and you make them like feel that like, whoa, whoa, like this kid like did his homework, right? He knows a lot about me and like what I'm working on and stuff that makes him feel loved and respected. So I guess like a time when I did that was like with Roland Frazier, right? Like the co-founder of Digital Marketer and Traffic and Conversion. And at the end of of his event, you know, he, he, prior to that he interviewed Richard Branson, founder of Virgin. And then he was like, dude who can connect me with the Rock?

0 (5m 22s):
And I came up to him and I was like, Hey Roland, what's up? You know, he knows me cuz I spoke at some of the his events and I was like, I can connect you through the rock. And so I just simply like made that happen for him. You know, it didn't happen because like the Rock has some outlaws and stuff in movies and stuff, but at least I made the connection to his team. So I think when you're able to do something like super fast and you don't think about it too much and you just decide and do and make it happen just like that without ask, asking anything in return, then you know, good stuff happens later. What

1 (5m 58s):
I wanna talk about next is something that you're a big believer in is finding out what people's biggest challenge is and then you finding a solution to it. That's key because people are really struggling with a lot of things all the time. And if you're gonna give them me solution to one of their biggest challenges, I mean, wow, what doors can that open? Talk to us about this and then a time you did that.

0 (6m 20s):
Yeah, so I travel all the time, right? It's like a, you know, normally like another country, another culture. So I'm always on the plane. I always like, I basically live in hotels. So I guess like, yeah, one time on the plane and first class I was on my way to Costa Rica and I just, yeah, strike up a stroke, strike up a conversation with the people next to me and then they're like, oh, like cool, you're going to Costa Rica. And I was like, you know, yeah, like for sure. And then, you know, figured out like what they're passionate about, like people that they love, they respect, they admire. And this guy next to me was like, man, I really love like Grant Cardone.

0 (7m 0s):
And I'm like, cool. Like, you know, actually, yeah, his team actually, you know, hired for me, hired my company for some stuff and then because of that like quick conversation where, you know, I just started that where, you know, it was gold to him because he was like Loving Respects Grant. And then from there I just figured out like what he was like really struggling with and all of his problems and I was like, you know, we could probably help you with that. So yeah, I, I, yeah, made some deals on the plane. Something

1 (7m 34s):
Else is pretty crazy that you've always been really good at doing is finding a creative way to stay in touch. Like you're really big on that. I mean you can, you know, you can compliment somebody in the first 30 seconds and meeting them. You can express a genuine interest in them. You can provide solutions to their biggest problems, but then you can just forget about them and they're gonna forget about you and that can just waste away over time. So you're not really building a long lasting relationship, a connection, a network. You have found creative ways to stay in touch. So talk about this strategy and then again give an example or two of you doing this.

0 (8m 10s):
Yeah, so I think the biggest thing is like, you know, people love to talk, right? And they love to talk about themselves, like you said I mentioned earlier. So you just simply have to like, you know, take mental notes or whatever and remember that. And then the next time that you have a conversation or you hop on a call and be like, Hey, we met here and here, you know, on the way to Costa Rica, you said this and that. And maybe it's like they mentioned their daughter's name and she was, you know, a volleyball player and you remembered her name, right? That makes them feel special because you really remembered that. So I always try to remember like the little things because the small things matter most. So I don't know, like I, I guess like, yeah, that, that's helped me a lot just to remember the little details because I think a lot of people forget those things.

1 (8m 59s):
Fire nation, there's so many examples over the years where people have reached out to me cuz they wanted to connect for various reasons and they've made an impression, they really did. And I was like, wow, this is cool. I'm gonna kind of make a mental note of this. And then they just disappeared. I never thought about them or heard from them again. But then there's other people who made an impression and they find ways to keep making an impression. Like, I remember I met this one person at a conference and I was telling him that I was just kinda getting into golf. He sent me these custom golf balls entrepreneurs on fire on them. Every now and then he'd follow up with like, you know, how am I doing and do I need any recommendations on swings? And like every now and then he'd reach out, just a nice little ping, nice little reminder. And then kind of recently he just had a awesome idea for what his business is doing and how it could make a great show and entrepreneurs on fire.

1 (9m 45s):
And honestly if, if I hadn't remembered him, I would've just thrown him to, you know, my application process, which I give her 400 applications per month and who knows what that would've led. I mean he may or may not have gone through that, you know, that crazy mess. But instead I said, Hey brother, this is my direct email, let's chat. I want to hear more about this. We chatted, I'm like, this is a great concept. Now he's coming on the show and I'm streamlining, you know, his release because he's got something going on. And this has been a person that's stayed in touch, has continued to add value that's provided solutions to my problems over time. And I remember him because of that. And we have a lot more to talk about on this topic and more when we get back from thanking our sponsors.

1 (10m 26s):
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1 (11m 6s):
HubSpot has 1300 plus integrations that you can add for customization like you've never seen before. HubSpot CRMs powerful tools will help marketers wow prospects, sales teams lock in deals and service teams improve response times and overall service. Get started for free at hubspot.com. That's hubspot.com. Zach, we're talking about building a network that multiplies your net worth and I wanna talk about growing our social media channel and reaching millions. I mean you've helped Robert Kiyosaki, you've helped Russell Bronson, you've helped myself and continue to help me grow my Instagram channel. You know, make sure that it's getting out to the world and getting a lot of, you know, just eyeballs and ear balls and all the different things.

1 (11m 53s):
So let's talk about that. Let's talk about growing our social media channel and reaching millions.

0 (11m 60s):
Yeah, so I think the biggest thing is like, you know, you gotta make a big impression in the first couple seconds cuz like social media nowadays, like people are always clicking, you know, moving on to the next content, the next account, whatever. So really it starts with like your thumbnails and your cover photos and everything that you do on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, whatever it is, right? You have like maybe a few seconds to like peak the peak their injuries, get them to click, get them to comment, get them to you know, hard it, love it and then click follow. So I really think that nowadays, yeah, that that's the first thing. And the second thing is like, yeah, like the content, you gotta have other people and influencers and celebrities engage with it cuz then it gets seen on their walls and then other people follow you.

0 (12m 49s):
So

1 (12m 49s):
Let's give an actual example of that. Like what is a real world example of somebody who you actually think does this really well? Maybe it's you, maybe it's Russell, maybe it's Robert, maybe it's one of your other clients. Talk about this in action.

0 (13m 2s):
Devon Rodriguez, art, we met like in 2017, he had like 10,000 followers. Now he has 40 million followers on yeah, TikTok, ig, YouTube collectively over 40 million followers. So like he basically draws people like on the subway in New York and all over the world and they hands them their portraits and pictures. So you know, you have to figure out a way to, yeah like, like create like a viral strategy like that that, that that can go viral and that everyone can share. And essentially what he is doing is just drawing people's, people's portraits surprising them and then giving it to them for free.

0 (13m 46s):
So you know, he's hitting all the points.

1 (13m 49s):
Let's talk about engagement groups and how they can explode your growth. How they can increase your reach. First off, what are engagement groups and how do they work?

0 (13m 59s):
Yeah, so engagement groups is basically like you and like 14 other friends like inside a group and you're all like liking and commenting on each other's posts several times throughout the day. So think of this as just like your engagement family. So you're all helping each other just get more reach because nowadays, like all platforms just want you to spend a bunch of money to you know, get more reach or like, yeah, I mean nowadays it's like, you know, even met us like hey you can pay this amount of money and, and Australia and some of these other countries we like gave them a benefit to get, get more reach, but now they're taking it back for the us, right? Like you can basically pay to get verified and then, but you don't get any more reach.

0 (14m 42s):
So it doesn't really help but engagement groups really work and basically what you're doing is you're reaching out to people that are in the same niche and industry and post the same content as you and basically getting them to join your group in the dms, right? So it all goes down in the dms and you just support each other with likes and comments. But with the more followers you have the bigger groups that you can get into. So if you have like, you know, 50,000 followers or a hundred thousand followers, you can get other accounts that are similar size or bigger to engage with your content. And when you get enough likes and comments in a short window of time and throughout the day it, it hits the algorithms and boosts you to the top and more people see your content,

1 (15m 27s):
Fire nation powerful things when you look at what's working and apply it to your business and something that hasn't working for a while. And this is something that you always preach and something that I've gotten really good at because of that is using the right hashtags to get seen and known everywhere. Talk about what that looks like and really the success that evolves from this.

0 (15m 49s):
Yeah, so hashtags still work. You know, 2023, like what you wanna do, like what we find works best is to use like between like five and 15 hashtags on a post. So after you post up your piece of content, your creative then in the comment section add your hashtag. So we wanna mix it up with like big, medium and small hashtags. So let's say that you're into real estate or e-commerce, like if you look up those hashtags, keywords, they probably have millions and millions of posts on them. So you want to narrow down and find, I would consider a big hashtag, you know, with like maybe a hundred thousand to a million post per keyword and then medium hashtags like a hundred thousand to you know, 250,000 posts per keyword.

0 (16m 38s):
And then small ones like 25,000 to 50,000 posts per keyword. So you want to mix them up and use five to 15 hashtags per post. That's what's working best right now. So

1 (16m 49s):
We've talked about how to connect with anyone you know, expressing a genuine interest, competing in the first 30 seconds. Ask 'em what their biggest challenge is, get a solution to it, find creative ways of staying in touch. We've talked about engagement groups, we've talked about hashtags. What is the final thing that you wanna talk about now, Zach? What's the one thing you want Fire Nation to get from our conversation today?

0 (17m 13s):
Yeah, I lost a new book. It's called Reach. So basically how to connect with anyone and yeah, reach the next level. So that's exciting.

1 (17m 21s):
Tell us more about this book.

0 (17m 22s):
Yeah, so it's called Reach. So basically, yeah, I talk about how to connect with anyone, grow your influence and build a lifestyle business cause’ I think a lot of, a lot of people now wanna figure out a way to work from anywhere, just work from their laptop and then also figure out a way to create passive income that pays for their ideal lifestyle, right? Then the, their dream life. So I just wrote a book called Reach and it's out now and it talks all about that stuff.

1 (17m 54s):
So where does Fire Nation go?

0 (17m 55s):
Yeah, so I mean you can simply go to buyzachsbook.com, you know, and then buy Zach books, buyzachsbook.com and then, you know, can go either grab the Kindle version or you know, the print copy,

1 (18m 12s):
Buyzachsbook.com. And Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with ZB and JLD today. So, keep up that heat for everything that we talked about today with the links to all that go to eofire.com type Zach, z a c h in the search bar, the show page will pop right up. And Zach, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Zach for sponsoring today's episode in Fire Nation. Are you ready to rock your very own podcast?

1 (18m 52s):
Check out our free podcasting course where I will teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free freepodcastcourse.com. I'll catch you there or on the flip side, Business Made Simple hosted by Donald Miller is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network. The audio destination for business professionals, Business Made Simple takes the mystery out of growing your business with episodes like How to Get Out of the Day-to-Day Operations Without Crashing Your Business. Listen to Business Made Simple wherever you get your podcasts.