Contracts & Chaos

144: Listener Question- Building a Vendor Network Without Making It Weird

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In this episode, we’re answering a voice memo from a listener who asked: “What’s the best way to tackle a vendor list of 100+ local companies and actually build real relationships with them?”

We’re sharing how we’d approach it, what not to do, and how to turn a giant list of names into genuine connections that become part of your business long-term.

And this is officially your invitation to send us your questions! Whether it’s lead gen, client issues, social media, boundaries, burnout, or whatever chaos real estate is throwing at you this week, drop us a voice memo and we may answer it on a future episode of Contracts & Chaos. We love hearing what’s happening in your world and making this feel more like a conversation than a podcast. 💛

Like what you heard? Make sure to follow and review the podcast, and shoot us a message with your thoughts at 

contractsandchaos@gmail.com

@YourHomeGirl_CLT 

@Real.Life.Brenna

SPEAKER_01

Welcome back, everybody. We are doing something different today. I'm so excited. We have a listener that sent us in a voice memo. So we're gonna play the voice memo, which is a question for us, which I think is so cool and unique. I gotta tell you, this is a hard question, right? It took us a minute to be like, wow, how that is a great question. How would we approach this? So I'm going to play her question, and then we're gonna see if we can tackle it and give some ideas.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. That is what we do.

SPEAKER_00

Hey Brenna and Alyssa. This is Diane from Kingwood, Texas. I love what you two are doing with contracts and chaos. I love living listening to it. Here's my situation. I have a trusted vendor directory on my website with about a hundred local businesses on it. The contractors, plumbers, handyman, um, pot painters, you know, all the people that my clients need before, during, and after those. I built the list from recommendations that I got from different moms groups. So the names came from real people, and I keep it updated, and I'm pretty transparent that I haven't actually necessarily used these people, but they've all been recommended. But here's what I've realized lately. I am sitting on a gold mine and I haven't touched it. So every single one of these hundred businesses is already connected to homeowners. They're already in people's houses and they already have the trust that I'm trying to build. So theoretically, we could be sending each other business. But I really don't have a relationship with most of them beyond their name on my list. And a lot of them don't even know they're on my list. So what I'm trying to figure out is a game plan, not whether to do it because I know I should, but how do you actually approach a vendor that you've never met and start building a real relationship with them and figure out whether there's someone that you want your name attached to? What does that vetting process look like in practice? And how do you prioritize where to start when you have a hundred people on the list? Anyway, hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

Wow. That is a great question.

SPEAKER_02

I feel like Delilah.

SPEAKER_01

It's a great question, right?

SPEAKER_02

It is. It's a great question. I think it's one a lot of us.

SPEAKER_01

It makes my vendor list look real weak, her 100 vendors on her website.

SPEAKER_02

I well, but so also remember, she's not used all these people. These are recommendations. But I do love, did she say she has it on her website as like a landing page? I love that. I need to create this landing page for my website because I'm literally, as always, taking notes of hey, add this to Alyssa's ever-growing to-do list.

SPEAKER_01

So I no, I think you're right. Because in instances like this, I don't think that you're trying to make business relationships with a hundred vendors, Diane, right? So I think I think step one is to focus on quality over quantity. Now, I wouldn't take people off your list, right? Unless they're truly horrible, don't show up, charge too much money. You know what I mean? Those, those types of things. But as far as figuring out who you actually want to run alongside in your business, I think you have to break down that list, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yes, I agree. I think my first step. So let's so she asked us two questions here. One, how do I pro how do I build that relationship? Two, how do I prioritize? So let's our thought is we prioritize first. Because then we work on the city.

SPEAKER_01

Because you don't want to be building relationships that you don't want to keep, right? So, or putting time and effort and potentially money and things into building a relationship with a with a vendor that you're not using all the time, right? So we've had we have a episode, gosh, it's a ways back now, but we talk about ranking our clients, right? A, B, C, I forget how we did, or no, five stars, right? So you can do the same kind of idea like tier one, tier two, or A, B, C, however, it makes most sense in your brain, one, two, three, um, to break up this list of a hundred vendors into things that, like you said, these are all things that your clients use, but there has to be an idea of what you know that you use the most, right? Who are you recommending the most? Is it most of when I think of my lenders, right? I think of my home inspectors, uh, lenders, um, HVAC people, the things that you use in almost every contract. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, the closing attorney, the cleaner that you're gonna need for the move outs, um, the roofer for when you need repairs, those people that you're going to need in just about every transaction, I would focus on them first. Those would be my tier one. And then tier two would be the people that like vendors that people ask about occasionally. So landscapers, painters, um, depending on your price point, painters might be in your tier one because you may be like, we always get a fresh coat of paint. I don't know. Um, movers, because some people ask for them, some people don't. I've actually never had a client ask me for movers. Oh, I was thinking that up the other day.

SPEAKER_01

It's funny.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I just um one client right now was stressing over how to schedule them. Like, when should I have them come? And I was like, well, this, this, and this. But never asked me. And I said, I think I did send her. I said, hey, here's the people I used. They were super flexible. Um, but I don't, I've never had someone ask. But that would, those would be my tier two landscapers, painters, movers, pest control, flooring, electricians.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, something like that. Even like I feel like your general handyman would go in that yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So the guy you call when you have a repair request that doesn't need a full-on copy.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I think like handymen can go in tier one too. I mean, maybe have a backup. I don't know. So that's my other question. I'm gonna add a question to this question. For your tier ones, do you have one vendor in each of those categories, or are we having multiple in each of those categories?

SPEAKER_02

So I think that depends on one, how busy you know that if you know how busy that vendor is. Like my contractor, my guy Harry, I'm not giving anyone his name because I can never get him to show up at my house anymore because he's so busy. I mean, it's great, but yeah, I'm gonna have to find a second or a third. I think it also depends on like how often are you using them? Is this where if you have three transactions running at once and they're busy and you're busy, you're probably gonna need a backup. Or I also think of it as like kind of the same way we do with lenders. Yes, I have my preferred, but here's also another couple that may have, you know, different programs that you qualify for. Um so I like to give options because some people mesh really well with some people, some people don't. Like I know there are people I have had clients who say, Don't ever send me a vendor that may show up with this political sticker on their truck. Okay, noted. Yeah, like I don't know, but if I have an inkling or they've said something, I'm probably not gonna wreck. So I would have a couple, um, especially for those big vendors you use a lot because they may be really busy because other people are recommending.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, or maybe you're really busy and you're keeping them so busy that you need you need a backup, right? Um, tier three, we're talking about like, you know, more of the specialist kind of thing that you're not using all of the time, maybe a pool company or one of those people that comes in and like organizes your house, right? Um, a designer, interior designer for laying out your furniture and things like that, junk removal, uh, fencers. I mean, these are all, like you said, all of these vendors are people that we come into contact with throughout a real estate transaction, one way or another. Not all of them, each transaction, but they all have something to do with a home, right? Taking care of a home.

SPEAKER_02

Right. And the idea and can I make a recommendation here? Of course. Once you've narrowed down the home vendors, I also think a great thing to add here is other non-home vendors. Like my crowd is gonna want to know, hey, listen, what mechanic do you go to? Because I'm a car person, or what mechanics do you recommend? Um, I have tire shop, maybe things like things, especially if you if you are focusing like Brennan on transplants, people relocating, they don't know. So, and maybe that's a separate page, or maybe you also have a page of like my favorite restaurants, and I got obviously this is above and beyond in a ninja move, but I think that tier three, or maybe we call it a tier four or a specialty tier, I think it would be really cool when you have once you've gone through this and you have the time to put that stuff in there too, so that you are seen as local knowledge outside of the house.

SPEAKER_01

I have a local business directory that I actually got the idea from a um a girl in Girls with Grit. And she had like a Google Forum set up that she had local businesses like fill out the Google form and she created like a download, like a PDF that had all of their information, but it's broken up into categories. And um saying this because I have to tell you that the links that get clicked the most in that um directory are hairdressers and babysitters.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, like it makes sense to me. I was literally talking to uh my lender and I went to the lake on Sunday. Um, and we were talking like just chit-chat, we're both single girls talking about everything. And that was one of the things we said was like, because we're both transplants here. I said, I've spent 11 years looking for a hairdresser I like. I've spent 11 years looking for a nail person I can stick with. And I think that's really important. Like one, to help your clients, but two, it also shows that you know what's going on in the neighborhood.

SPEAKER_01

You know, um again, it's those who the good those homegrown businesses that love to share and support, right? So if you're supporting that local bakery or you're shouting out the nail girl, right, that has little little studio place, those people are more apt to. I had our local weather like Facebook page tag me in a um a post that needed a real estate agent yesterday. I think shot at it because I was like, they're like, oh, Brennan's in the area and she's a supporter of our page, you're gonna be in great hands with her. And I was like, what?

SPEAKER_02

That's amazing. I know, I know. That show, but so side note that shows that you're doing the other things we're telling people to do of like be in the community pages. I actually, I don't know if I tagged you twice on the same one because I did, but I love it. People were looking in hickory, but I was like, I don't this was a couple hours later. Is this the same post? I'm not sure, but it showed up on my feed again, so I'm gonna tag you.

SPEAKER_01

It's great.

SPEAKER_02

But that's that's the thing is like doing those things. And then, yeah, so maybe that gets added to your form now of hey, really reliable weather source, hyperlink to their post.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's it's awesome because and it's so funny you say that because my sister's like, I see you tagged, and I'm gonna tag you, but I see already somebody tagged you, so I don't. And I said, Girl, you better tag all of you, but you all tag me again. Nobody's gonna know you're my sister.

SPEAKER_02

And even if they do, like, even if they do, so what? Just like it's another tag, and they can phrase it in a way like, yeah, I know she's my sister, but they've already sold them houses. Hey, she helped us find our house. Yeah, we've we've actually bought a house with her, and it was better than our experience in Maine with a different agent. Like, yes, take the text. And moving on, we are squirreling. Um, so yes, our first step.

SPEAKER_01

Um Well, it would be our second step, because first step is prioritizing the list. So that once you prioritize your list, yes.

SPEAKER_02

Our first step is prioritizing tier one, tier two, tier three. I was that's sorry, that's what I was trying to say, but I couldn't remember Diane's name and I wanted to refer to her brand name. Sorry, Diane. I should know that. It's my stepmother's name. Anyway, squirreling. First step, prioritize the type of vendor. The ones you use the most often are the ones you should go through step two with first, in my opinion. And then when you've done tier one, come back and you'll do step two with tier so on and so forth. You understand what we're saying. So, step two is how we decide if there's someone we actually want to be our vendor. And this is gonna be a lot of Google searching, um, maybe a quick phone call and playing stupid, um, asking your friends if they've actually used them. So I would say my first step would be if it's someone that needs license and insurance, I would be calling and asking for the license number and a copy of their insurance policy. And then because I've seen people get burned before, I'd call the insurance company and the licensing agency to make sure those are still current. Because I could give you my license number and I could give you an insurance document, but that doesn't mean I didn't get my license taken away, and it doesn't mean I didn't cancel my insurance three days later.

SPEAKER_01

A lot of times, I mean, I feel like good businesses have license numbers on their websites too, which is great, right? Um, some of these, like handyman, I don't always find always have a insurance or that's where I would website. You know what I mean? But you have to use your judgment on those, right?

SPEAKER_02

Right. That's where I would go to like Google Reviews or the person who did recommend them, I'd call them and say, Hey, what were they like? I know you recommended them, but why? What was the reason? How did they like were they good at solving problems or did they create them? You know, if something went wrong, did they own it or did they just be like, oh, well, it like to have that conversation.

SPEAKER_01

Go back into that Facebook group that you got found their recommendation for and be like, hey, what was your experience with XYZ company, right? Because people are gonna I'm sure if you need to post it anonymously because people will share, they'll share good experiences and you'll get the the dirty, gritty, bad stuff too, right? But this is important because if you're recommending people to your clients, and I know you said you're really good at letting them know that you may have not worked personally with these companies, it's still your name attached to these people, right? Yeah. So you just want to make sure that they're a stand-up good company that you would want your name attached to their work, right? And then the next thing, right? I mean, obviously, would you recommend them to your your family and your immediate friends, right? If you're like he doesn't show up until like three hours later, or you know, they leave a mess of the job site, or he's not very thorough, or like if you have those like lingering thoughts in the back of your mind, I would probably not have them on a tier one, right?

SPEAKER_02

Agreed, agreed.

SPEAKER_01

How do they communicate? This is just like hiring a real estate agent, right? Like, I feel like you go through the same things of do you want to work with this person? Do you want to work with them again after that and again after that, right? Are they easy to talk to? Do they communicate? Is there somebody in the office that answers the phone and answers your questions? Is there, you know, um, are they, well, we'll get into that in a second, so I'll skip that. But like, would they be honest? Are they gonna be like, oh wow, that was a mistake or an oversight, or that, you know, cracked sooner than we thought it was going to, and they'll fix it? Um, those kinds of things to really make sure that you're recommending people that you can stand behind.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. And then I think that brings us to the next part. The second part of your question was how do you approach someone you've never met? So, okay, so we've already done the we've organized, we've done the detective work like behind the scenes to crowdsource information. But how do you then approach them? I I would pick up the phone. I you don't need like an elaborate pitch, you don't have to be awkward, just call and say, hey, I've heard your name come up in several, you know, several times from people I trust or in different groups. I would love to meet you and just learn more about your business. Can I buy you a cup of coffee? Can I stop by next week with a dozen donuts for your crew? It like again, it doesn't have to be a picture. You're not asking for referral. You're just asking, right, you're just asking for out of curiosity, or maybe even say, you know, I'm highlighting local businesses. So also make it a two for one. If like as you're meeting with them, make like document it, take some photos, get some video.

SPEAKER_01

Because I know, I know now.

SPEAKER_02

If you don't like them, you don't use it, but if you do, then you do use it. Like, no need to go back twice.

SPEAKER_01

People also have like a newsletter that they send out, right? How easy is it would it be to do a spotlight business of the month, right? And those can circulate through your top tier as well. That's giving them when we get into the you know, asking for the referral and being a business partner, right? They're sharing with you, you're sharing with them. That's something that you can give, right? If your email list is 800 people or 1,500 people and you're, you know, sharing that information out, that's that's marketing for that company.

SPEAKER_02

And and like that first meetup, that coffee or that pop by or whatever it is, that's not like an inner view.

SPEAKER_01

It's not like it's not like, hey, how long have you been in business? Like you obviously talk with them, but this is gonna be more like a first date, I feel like.

SPEAKER_02

Right. It's like a quiet evaluation. Like you want to see how do they treat their employees? How are they answering the phone? Um, when you're talking about things, are they complaining a lot? Are they gossiping? Did they put their competition down? Like, did they insult them? Um, were they on time? Were they professional? Did they listen? Like, do you think they are someone that you would be comfortable working through a sticky situation with? Like this is like you said, it's a first date. We're just feeling them out.

SPEAKER_01

Um I think you can get a good first impression meeting somebody for the first time, right? In person, like you. Do they seem like a good person? I mean, I feel like I have a pretty good read on people, right? I I don't know, juju vibes, whatever it is. I'm like, yeah, I would hang out with this person, or I'm like, oh goof.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Like I can, I can tell you right off the top of my head, there's one very large business owner locally who has a lot of billboards, and his billboards give me the ick. I accidentally scrolled across his personal TikTok the other day. It gave me the ick. And I was like, ah, yep, that was right.

SPEAKER_01

I think the next thing is is you have to you have to actually try their service before you know for sure, right? You and again, this is not saying take people off of that list on your website or stop um supplying that resource to your community and clients because I think that that's amazing. But as far as like having a building a relationship that you can hope to get business from, you need to have some experience firsthand with that company. Whether it's, you know, you have your bathroom redone by the tile guy or you're recommending them to a client for an inspection or as a lender or something like that, that you have firsthand knowledge of how that experience went. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02

Right. Yeah, and I think if we're gonna use the dating equation, the coffee or the stopping by with donuts is like that first date. This is like the first weekend getaway. This is the okay, we're gonna dip our toes in the water and go out of town for a night. So, like, yeah, even maybe use your house. Is there something that you need done? Have them come over, or like you said, a client or a friend, like, and and during that process, watch the same things. How are they at scheduling? Do they show up when they say they're going to? What's their pricing like? Have you used a similar vendor before to be able to compare the pricing? My thing is like I had an HVAC vendor once give me a quote, and then the job ended up being a bigger job because of their fault, and they tried to charge me for the additional labor, and I said, No, you broke it more while you were fixing it. Like, and your your guy on site said that he told me to tell you, not I'm not paying because they messed up three times today. So, you know, were they consistent? Um so maybe you need to have them do two or three things, but like you said, keep them there until they give you a reason not to. But I would definitely be this is like an audition or that overnight getaway with a new bow of we're we're gonna test run this and see what this is like and how you actually function.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I think once you've gone through those steps, that's when we really start building this relationship, right? Because you want to tap into their database, their clients, their maybe their social media reach, right? But you don't, I feel like people lose immediately if they just like call. You've never worked with this pe these people, they've never had your business or anything like that, and you're like, hey, I'm trying to put together this like community giveaway. Will you give me? Me a hundred and fifty dollar gift card to put in this basket.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Right? Can't do that. And and you don't want to if if you haven't auditioned them, I don't want to do that anyway because I don't want someone to feel like they have to use someone and then find out later like they're awful.

SPEAKER_01

I think that you come from contribution first, and it doesn't have to be a negotiation from the start, right? Like I'll put you in my newsletter if you put me in your newsletter, right? I feel like you get back what you give, right? And if you give out of pure, genuine support of your local community, they are gonna give it right back. Look at look at that local weather page, right? Like I I don't pay anything to that weather page. I don't. So, but here, so an example would be like if you're going to their business, and this works a little bit better, not so much for a home inspector, unless you're taking like videos for your clients and stuff, but like if you're going into a local bakery and you're taking little clip videos or a picture of your croissant or whatever, and you're sharing that on your Instagram, if you're um doing an educational video for home, right? Like home sales or what buyer steps to do, things like that, and throw out a name, right? Mention them. Like if you're in the did she say Dallas Dallas, where's she Dallas Fort Worth? I forget.

SPEAKER_02

She's Texas. I don't know you're in Texas.

SPEAKER_01

I can't remember where in Texas. But wherever in Texas, if you're looking for a reliable plumber, right? My favorite is blah blah blah. And then sure tag them in it, share it, send it in a private message, right? Send it to me like, hey, in case you didn't see this, you guys are mentioned in this video, right? And don't be, I mean, you can say, I guess, feel free to share or whatever, or just be like, I appreciate you and everything you do for my clients. They will automatically share it, right? It's a shout out, it's a good thing for their business.

SPEAKER_02

I was at the Fourth of July thing this weekend, and there's two local pop-up businesses I really love in town. And so I made the Fourth of July reel, but then I made another one saying, Hey, look, I got to check out these vendors, and I made them collaborators, and now their audience is in the world.

SPEAKER_01

Well, that's the other thing too. A collaborator, if you're on Instagram, is super cool because if they accept being a collaborator, then all of their followers see your stuff too, right? Because it shows up on their page as well. Like you guys work together on that.

SPEAKER_02

Um, but so also I think we we skipped something. What are the red flags when we're going through this process? We kind of mentioned some of them, but like if they're sitting there just bad mouthing their competitors, um, or they instantly are like, well, what are you gonna do for me? Or you have to put me on your vendor. Or if something goes wrong and they disappear, like there are red flags. These are icks that these are things where I would be like you're coming off the list. Maybe if it was pressuring for referrals immediately, maybe not off the list because you know, girls gotta eat. I get it. But things like if they're bad mouthing competitors, I don't want to send a vendor like that to my clients who's gonna come in and just be shit talking the whole time. Or if they don't answer quickly or they're awful at scheduling, like, okay, yeah, they're coming off because we all know if it's it's one thing if it's not during a transaction. But during a transaction, we're on tight timelines. I need things done in a timely manner, so that's gonna be an off the list, at least for during transactions. Um or if they only if they're the type of person that only reaches out to you when they need business. I'm probably that keeping in mind.

SPEAKER_01

I gotta tell you, and I love them, I love the mortgage industry, right? We need them, we love them, but I gotta tell you, my phone starts ringing when things start slowing down, and they're like, hey, I've never worked with you before, but I'm a great lender in your area and I'd love to have coffee because I saw that your production, you sell houses, right? Which is good. You work with buyers, which means you need to work with me. And I'd love to buy you a coffee so you will work with me is basically how that voicemail goes.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, pretty much. Pretty much. Or they like they've stalked your Instagram or your Facebook and try to find something they can relate to you on. And I'm just like, that was one post four years ago.

SPEAKER_01

You scrolled a long way. You are killing time for no reason. Um, I think a couple other just as far as like sharing audience sharing opportunities and like building that relationship, like if you do any local events, right? Ask them if they want to set up a table, if they want to sponsor again, if they want to do a gift basket, something a lot when you're building a relationship, include them into that, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, like for you with the PTA. If the PTA, that's different than doing a uh giveaway to your clients because that's kind of going out into the ether. They don't know that it necessarily you asked them for it. But that would be a great thing, have a booth at a local event, like that you're organizing or helping with, um, or even just making them aware of how to sign up for those events, because maybe they don't know. That could be a great outreach to other business owners, is like your own little business owner newsletter of hey, here's this local community event coming up, they're looking for donations, or you can set up a booth here to sell your wares. Like, did you know this is how you register? I think that's a great business idea.

SPEAKER_01

If you're doing like any little things that they're like not necessarily, because we you can get sponsorships from businesses to make events better, right? But if there's something that you're doing, like you're having a little girls' client appreciation event and you know a lady that has the little rolling boutique, right? Or the little permanent jewelry setup or whatever, include them in that opportunity to build their business while you're building yours. Um, I mean, I don't think you have a podcast, Diane, but like we we've had lenders on here, we've had speakers on here, you know, um, to share a platform and and support them and because and they're all people that we have vetted and used, right? Right, not just throwing somebody on the podcast just to throw somebody on the podcast, somebody that we would actually stand behind and be like, no, like we love this stuff, you know. Yes. Um, yeah, I just think that the opportunities there are endless, but I think a hundred vendors is a lot, so I would I would sort it out for sure into those years.

SPEAKER_02

Definitely sort it out, and then your first screening might be literally just Google reviews and then work from there to so you're not having because a hundred vendors is gonna take a long time. Um and and because a a spread sheet full of like vendors and names isn't an asset, it's not it may like your clients may click on things or people come to your website, but building that relationship is the asset. That's what you really want in the long run. Um so let's do a quick rundown. Green flag, red flag, yellow flag.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god, you love this stuff. Okay. Are you gonna ask the questions or do you want me to ask questions?

SPEAKER_02

I'll ask the questions.

SPEAKER_01

All right, yellow, green, red. Good, uh, yes, no.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Green would be good, yellow would be ig, red would be no. They're 20 minutes late to coffee. Like for that first. Yeah, it's an if. It's a because I get it.

SPEAKER_01

I still don't know you yet, right?

SPEAKER_02

Like right. If if they didn't show up or they're 20 minutes late and then cancel and say, can we reschedule? No. Um, they trash every competitor. It's a no. It's a hard no for me. It's a hard no. Um, they immediately ask you how many referrals you can send.

SPEAKER_01

I feel like this is controversial, but also that's a no.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and you know what? I'll be honest, as a green agent, I made that mistake. I made that mistake of saying, Well, what's my ROI for working with you? Like what, please tell me, instead of asking, what can you do for my clients? Like, that's I think that's the difference. Um I think needing to ask this one is an obvious, it's the opposite of what you said. They ask thoughtful questions about your business.

SPEAKER_01

Like you're getting to know each other, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. Um, they've already researched you.

SPEAKER_01

Green flag.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. We all know I do the same thing about them.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Now, if it's a if it's a creepy Facebook dive and they found my prom picture my mom reposted five years ago, sketch. That's not. But if they're like, hey, I noticed that you like I was scrolling through and you do a lot of business. Sorry, Rexian. Um, in this neighborhood. Hey, I live there. Okay. That's that's different. Um, they send you a thank you note afterwards.

SPEAKER_01

Listen, that's a gold flag. I don't know. That's a winner. That is mad. That's a winner, winner. You need to put them on the top of your tier one list.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. Um, they introduce you to somebody.

SPEAKER_01

Also a golden flag, a golden opportunity. You know, those are the people in the communities, the connectors that make such a huge difference, right? Because it's that spider web effect. Like you ever see like a picture of the brain or whatever, and it's the neurons, like the pathways, they start to like all light up. You know, that's what I imagine that is, especially in like a smaller community. When you start talking, you build a relationship, say, with that hairdresser, right? And then that hairdresser's client is like, you know what, we're getting a divorce, we have to sell the house. Well, I actually know somebody and you connect with them, and then you connect them with your lawyer, you know, like whatever it is, it just all tangle weaves in together into a into this little mesh that just makes businesses grow, little communities flourish, and I just love that.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. Yeah, I love it. Like, and I've done that with a client who was relocating relocating to the area, and he's like a fractional finance. I he's kind of like he's a part-time CFO for multiple businesses. Like, if you can't afford to hire one, he that's how he does it. So he needed to be connected. First person I introduced him to was the director of the Gaston Business Association that said you need to meet Steve. And boom, doctor. And he now I run into my rotary meetings, like all the things. I'm like, okay, perfect. But yeah, that's that grows them, that grows you. They'll they'll send when they meet people, send them your way. Um yeah, I think the biggest thing is like takeaway from this is how do you eat an elephant? It's one bite at a time. Always. So don't feel like you have to tackle all of like filter or sort, filter, um, build, and then analyze. Yeah, and build. That would be that's if we had to break this down, it's sort, filter, analyze, build is the four steps I would take to get through that list. That's great.

SPEAKER_01

Um, I hope this was fun. Thank you for sending in this question. I like this. Um, hopefully you guys did too. It's something completely different that we haven't done before. But if you feel like you need to send either one of us a voice note, we I would do this again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I would totally do this again. So maybe we need to, I guess we could put one of our phone numbers in the because it has to go. Can you email them? I don't even know how they work. This has been a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01

Well, you can I know you can send it through like Apple voice memos. You can send them on Facebook, you can send a is that an app no, you've never sent a voice memo?

SPEAKER_02

No, I mean in a text, like I've sent a voice text.

SPEAKER_01

You can send them in Facebook, you can send them in Instagram. So if you all Oh, that is an app. If you want to send us a voice memo or a message anywhere that has a question, I think this was really cool. And I hope, Diane, that we answered your question. And on that note, we will see you guys next week.