How to Quickly Identify the People Who Will Help Your Business Succeed
LOCATION: Holland, Amsterdam, Buitenveldert neighborhood. Conference Code Name: ISOKRATES
REQUIREMENT: Identify individual with knowledge and/or connection to developments pertaining to PROJECT TXT.
RYAN’S STORY
I had virtually no information to go on. I was simply told that there was a small conference taking place in Holland and that some of the best physicists in the world would be gathered there for just four days. The intelligence we had suggested that there were some significant developments being made that could impact United States security, and I needed to find out who was responsible for them. I’d have to work more quickly than I was used to. Sometimes when you’re an intelligence officer, it really feels like you’re going in blind. You know something, but so much work needs to be done before you can get a greater understanding of the bigger picture. My years of intensive training have taught me how to look at a larger group of people and systematically home in on the ones who can provide valuable information.
I arrived at the venue, a beautiful home with a classic Dutch door painted a bright blue. The house was located on a quiet residential street in the southern part of Amsterdam. Inside were generous amounts of food and drinks, notably bittergarnituur and Grolsch, and the fire burning in the fireplace gave the room a nice glow. The general vibe of the gathering was sophisticated but not too stuffy. I noticed right away that the different physicists seemed to be gathered into groups. In one corner I saw a few younger-looking men and a couple of young women enjoying a conversation. They seemed to be having a good time. They were dressed slightly more casually than the other attendees. A few of the men were wearing jackets that didn’t fit all that well, which signaled to me that they didn’t dress up very often. I noticed one of the women tap another person in her group on the shoulder and gesture toward the fireplace. Everyone in her group turned to look in that direction, all sharing a mild look of surprise on their faces. I thought she just gave me my first clue: Whoever was gathered at the fireplace seemed to be of interest to the group. I’d make sure to keep an eye on them throughout the evening. I pretended to check my phone to buy myself a couple of minutes while I carefully considered my next step. I was curious about the group talking in front of the fireplace, as there was a constant buzz of energy taking place in that area. The size of the group remained consistently larger than others at the party—like something was pulling people to that conversation. But I would need some more time to make sure that’s where my target was.
Another small group of people was gathered in the middle of the room. They were talking, and their interactions suggested they had known each other for a while. One man stood out in particular. His suit was nicely cut, not your typical college professor duds. He was engaged in the conversation, but I noticed his feet were pointed ever so slightly away from the others. For whatever reason, this guy wanted to be finished with the conversation.
I walked over toward the table where the food was laid out, at which point the man took the opportunity to approach me and open himself up to a conversation. He was in his late thirties, maybe early forties. He had on an expensive Rolex, and I could see his shoes were Italian and his tie was fine silk. This guy wasn’t a professor or researcher—not with clothes like that. I turned to him, looked him in the eye, and shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Ryan.” He told me his name was Clive and that he worked for a small but powerful engineering firm. His company had been mentioned in my research dossier.
I had a feeling we were both interested in the same person, which is why Clive removed himself from the group he was talking to. While I know enough to have a casual conversation about mathematics and physics, I never fool myself into thinking I can have an in-depth discussion with a true expert. I made a point of keeping the conversation casual and light—but to focus enough on Clive so that he felt important and wanted to keep talking to me. After a few minutes of chatting, I said, “Hey, so do you know those guys over there?” I pointed to the group huddled by the fireplace.
“Sure I do. Everyone here wants to talk to Thad. He’s doing incredible research in the area of particle physics. Would you like to meet him?” Bingo. Not only had I identified the likely target, but I had found a way to get introduced without it seeming too forced. Clive gestured for me to follow him, and he gently broke into the group. He tapped Thad gently on the arm and said, “Meet Ryan. He’s been sent here by an American consulting firm to study new developments.”
Thad looked my way and said, “Nice to meet you.”
I looked right into his eyes, shook his hand firmly, and said, “Well, it’s really great to meet you.”
Then he said, “This is Marcus, Francesca, Lillian, and Frank.” Thad went back to his original conversation, while I chatted with the others. The evening ended a couple of hours later. I didn’t get an opportunity to speak with Thad directly, but by my estimation the evening was a complete success. I went up to my room, locked the door, and began to type up my notes. I was looking forward to moving this operation into the next phase tomorrow.
I put on my overcoat and shoes and walked out of the hotel into the cool evening. It was dark and quiet on the street, and a misty air was descending on everything. I walked carefully until I entered a small but charming park a quarter mile to the north, where I sat down on a bench—the third one on the left side—and pretended to tie my shoe. It was unlikely anyone would see me sitting in the park that late at night, but I couldn’t take any risks. Sitting in the park at this hour was unnatural—tying my shoelace gave me a logical reason for sitting down. I reached into my left coat pocket and pulled out a single red thumbtack. I inserted the tack into the left side of the bench. No one would ever notice it was there—except for Georgina, of course.
The tack meant one thing: “I found him. We are commencing with next steps immediately.” Georgina would be so pleased when she went on her walk through the park tomorrow.
GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR INNER ANALYST:
What’s Your End Game?
Ryan’s story would have started long before he arrived in Amsterdam. Analysts would have created a “requirement” based on a need by sifting through, reviewing, and evaluating information coming in from field officers all over the world. It is their job to interpret and search for patterns that might suggest certain actions that need to be taken to protect the United States. Ryan would have analyzed the requirement carefully, discussing his end goal with the analyst at length so that he knew exactly what was expected of him. Chances are, the analyst narrowed Ryan’s target down from a carefully curated list of maybe ten people in the entire world who had that extremely specific ability. In the spy world, it is too time consuming and too dangerous to cast a wide net when making connections. Ryan would be deliberate about whom he met, carefully homing in on the correct individuals who could help lead him to his goal of meeting the target in his requirement.
When I started my business after leaving the CIA, I only knew a handful of people. I’m fairly introverted (contrary to what you might think and what you see in the movies, most intelligence agents are), and other than friends, family, and some acquaintances from my neighborhood and church, my network of contacts was fairly limited. I wanted to grow my business, but as an entrepreneur and a man with a family, time was my most valuable commodity, and it was scarce. I didn’t see the point of going to events and spending tons of time handing out a business card to every person I met. Sure, maybe I’d get lucky and meet someone with a great connection, but that seemed like a long shot. I wanted to be efficient with my time, and I was convinced this approach would also help me reach my goals more quickly. I wanted to work smarter. My intelligence training had taught me to keep the end game in mind and set out to find people that fit into a specific criterion. Just like an analyst narrows down a list of targets, I decided to concentrate on what I most needed to make my business succeed right off the bat. Since I was starting a company in the survivalist market, I needed to align myself with people in a few particular areas. I did the market research, and I knew the demand for survival gear and supplies was there, but how would I connect with the right group of people who wanted it? How could I get involved with key players who could help leverage my business? How could I do this when thousands of others were doing the same thing?
[ SPY LESSON ]
THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY IN
Spies are never daunted by not immediately having the right connections. They know that no matter how far away, powerful, famous, dangerous, or reclusive a person is, there is always a way in. It’s often simply a matter of figuring out which one of your contacts can bridge the gap. Spies make a habit of not just knowing their contacts . . . but knowing to whom their contacts are connected. Who do they know, who are their relatives, their neighbors, and co-workers? What unique interests do they have, and to whom are they connected as a result? But spies are also careful not to overuse their contacts, always conscious of the “give to get” concept. They’ll offer favors in exchange for a warm connection or make it clear they’ll be available to help out with something in the future.
Being an entrepreneur or salesperson can be very stressful and overwhelming. Thinking about how to connect and get your product in front of the right people can seem impossible. I decided to use my inner analyst to create my focus base, which consisted of the three most important categories I needed to break into for my mission of building a successful multi-seven-figure company.
MY FOCUS BASE:
What My Operation Requires to Be Successful
Once I had established my focus base, building my company into a seven-figure business suddenly seemed doable. Now I could tackle the next big step: finding individuals who could help me reach those three important base goals. Obviously, not everyone reading this book is in the survival industry, but this system works no matter what you sell. Narrowing in on the three core actions you need to take to survive results in your having a solid foundation for your business or sales practice. Remember, your focus base can be anything you like, but do some research to make sure it’s on par with the expectations of your industry. As you start to home in on your focus base, spend some time thinking through these two questions:
Analysts always know what the ultimate goal is—whether it’s taking out a drug lord, getting intelligence about a potential terrorist attack, or finding out which countries are making scientific developments that could be a threat to the United States. There’s no room for error, since the safety of American citizens is at stake—just like the lifeblood of your business is at stake. Analysts must be purposeful and clear when creating a requirement. It’s important you follow the same line of thinking when you envision your end game.
Any entrepreneur will tell you that generating income is what keeps the operation afloat, and that’s certainly true. But dig down one more level. What needs to happen for you to generate income as early in the process as possible? Do you need to connect to people who have decision-making authority? Purchasing authority? Do you need to connect with investors to raise capital? I knew that I couldn’t wait a few years down the road to earn profits, and few of us should have to. The truth is, there’s no point in starting a business only to wait patiently for years to earn a buck or two. It is important to establish a means of earning capital early on in your operation. For my business, that meant connecting with other people who had access to the audience I wanted to reach immediately. Make sure you have a clear idea of how you can make sales or generate income that isn’t solely dependent on immediately having a hit product to sell to millions of people.
[ SPY TIP ]
SPIES NEVER STOP CASING
Casing refers to checking out and carefully observing everything that’s happening around you. Spies never stop doing this—even after we retire. Casing is hardwired into us, and we are always aware of changes in our immediate environment. For example, if a new building goes up that causes a bottleneck of traffic, making it harder to leave the area in an emergency, we’re going to be aware of it and investigate alternate routes. Never depend on just one route to stay safe. The same concept goes for business: Don’t depend on one single avenue, as your livelihood may depend upon a different route.
THE TOP 25 HIT LIST:
SPOTTING THE PERFECT CONTACTS
We’ve all seen criminals on the news who make the FBI or CIA’s most wanted list. These lists have included the worst criminal minds in history—from Osama Bin Laden to El Chapo. But the intelligence world doesn’t just keep lists of criminals they’d like to see imprisoned for the safety of society. The intelligence world also keeps lists of the most intelligent, pioneering, and innovative individuals all over the world who have risen to the very tops of their fields. These lists could include bright minds like physicists (as in Ryan’s story), mathematicians, computer programmers, hackers, and chemists. These people aren’t criminals, but their knowledge is so incredibly valuable that we just don’t want them to get mixed up with the wrong people. In other words, the United States prefers first dibs on whatever these people are working on, which, inevitably, gets them placed on a very different sort of “most wanted” list.
I used this exact same concept when I was ready to establish my top twenty-five hit list. I wanted to find and access the top people who could help me with my mission to develop a seven-figure or eight-figure company. Obviously, you can choose a number that’s more appropriate for your line of work, but twenty-five felt right to me. It was a manageable target but one that still required me to push myself out of my comfort zone.
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR HIT LIST
Step One: Establish Your Criteria
At this stage in the game I had no idea whom I was going to meet, but I knew I needed to develop a criterion for my hit list. I spent some time thinking about what kinds of people would be on my ultimate contact list. Again, rather than show up at every survivalist conference or event, I chose to be deliberate about my networking. The beauty of the internet is that these days it’s easy to do a few searches and find out the top dogs in the industry. After all, you can see who has a huge YouTube channel, or a ton of followers on Instagram or Twitter. A simple Amazon search reveals the bestselling authors in your niche. Putting in just fifteen minutes a day on this type of social reconnaisance can create huge strides. To establish my criteria, I asked myself the following:
Taking the time to focus on what kinds of people I really needed to meet showed me how valuable my intelligence training really was when it came to building a business. Just like in the spy world, there are a limited number of people who meet specific requirements. Casting a wider net does not increase your chances of making good contacts (or recruiting a mathematician with a top-secret algorithm)—it just uses up valuable time.
Step Two: Identify Your Hot Zones
Spies who are sent overseas spend hours walking the streets of the city in which they are living. They get to know the culture, the danger zones, the easiest ways to get around—and, of course, where they are likely to find people who will be helpful. I wanted to follow a similar approach with my business, but I wasn’t going to spend hours roaming around and taking notes. Similar to casing, I knew that systematically planning out hot zones—places where I was likely to connect with individuals I wanted to meet—would save tons of time and energy. Ryan had intelligence about a specific conference, and his sources were able to home in on a particular party. Ultimately, many intelligence officers had done the legwork to determine that the party was a good starting point, and once Ryan got there, it was clear he’d make a great connection.
I wanted my hit list to cover three specific areas: media, survivalist companies with which I could potentially partner, and high net-worth individuals who would be interested in securing my services. I would start out by casting my net broadly, eventually narrowing my options down to the best matches for me. I started seeking out my hot zones by doing the following:
Step Three: General Observation
Spies spend hours of training learning how to observe everything in their immediate environment. Initially, they’ll train their minds to notice all of the general activities in a particular area. This step is about growing accustomed to what’s happening around us. In the intelligence world we refer to the “baseline”—we are always paying close attention to what appears “normal” or “standard” for a given situation. For example, cheering or yelling at a sporting event is normal. Sudden silence at a baseball game may be a huge clue that something is wrong—just as lots of shouting at church might be alarming. In Ryan’s story, he would have observed the layout of the room, including where exits and windows were located. He would have taken note of the number of men and women in the room. He also would have paid attention to simple things, like how the room was laid out and how many waitresses were working. Observing these general characteristics allowed Ryan to determine the baseline of the room, but they also set him up for the next very important step when spotting.
HOW TO DETERMINE THE BASELINE OF AN AREA
You may spend time in multiple environments every day. You might commute using public transportation (which could include a train station or a bus station). You have your workplace, school drop-off and pick up, shopping, or events you have to attend. Every one of those circumstances puts you in an environment with its own unique baseline. The baseline is the temperature of the area—is it loud, quiet, busy, empty, dark? For example, if you work in midtown Manhattan, the baseline is likely busy, loud, and chaotic. If you stepped out of an office building and found the street empty of cars and people, it would be a cause for concern. To establish the baseline of an area, you need to be aware of a few general things. Pay attention to the overall vibe of the room or establishment. If you’re in a restaurant, it might be happy and excited (the opposite if you’re at a memorial service). Note who is present. Is the place crowded or sparsely attended? What’s the demographic? Last, what activities are taking place? Are people eating, chatting, reading newspapers? Who is doing what? Conditioning yourself to notice the baseline of an environment will not only keep you safer, it will help you learn to home in on individuals with whom you may want to connect.
Step Four: Observe for Relevance
General observation is really about laying the foundation for something much bigger. Observations only really matter when they are relevant to your situation. Spies are trained to observe on a deeper level—they can walk into a room, assess the situation, and determine which details matter. It could be anything from a car idling across the street, the driver clearly visible from the window; to a waitress who is pouring drinks, doing it slowly enough that she can hear every word of the conversation taking place in front of her. Why is the car there? Is the driver waiting for a signal from someone in the room? Why does the waitress want to listen in on this conversation? Is she ultimately doing something more than waiting on people? These are the kinds of details that paint the true picture, and those pictures can be very telling. The better you are at observing for relevance, the easier it will be for you to spot individuals who can help you grow your business—you’ll be able to see the real picture.
Ryan noticed a few interesting things. He observed that the individual whom he later learned worked for an engineering firm was dressed differently from the other people in the group. His shoes and tie were expensive, suggesting he wasn’t an academic like everyone else. His feet were also pointing away from the group. This signaled that he was looking for an opportunity to exit the conversation.
[ SPY TIP ]
FEET CAN TALK
Any time you notice someone’s feet pointing away from the person to whom they are talking, it’s a clear signal that they do not want to engage in the conversation any longer. The next time you’re stuck talking to a dud at an event, look at your feet. It’s my bet you’ll notice them pointed toward the exit.
Ryan had also noticed that the group nearest the fireplace was larger than the other groups chatting in the room, and it seemed to center around one specific individual. This person seemed to be the focus of much attention, and there was activity surrounding him for a good portion of the event. This was a good indication that this person was in high demand, likely the brilliant scientist he was tasked with finding. While these details were relevant—and certainly useful—this wasn’t the most notable detail that Ryan observed. When Clive volunteered to introduce Ryan to Thad, Clive gently touched Thad on the arm. For Ryan, witnessing this gesture was like winning the jackpot. It might have just been a quick physical encounter, but it had a much deeper meaning. This showed him that Clive knew Thad well enough to break into a conversation to introduce someone. It also showed that Thad was not uncomfortable being touched by Clive and wasn’t reluctant to meet someone based on Clive’s recommendation. In other words, the two men were in the process of establishing an alliance (I’ll talk a lot about alliance building later on), and this was an ideal setup for Ryan.
Things to note:
Step Five: Cultivate the Warm Introduction
We’ve all been in a position where someone has reached out to us wanting specific information about our careers or the companies for which we work, whether it’s to inquire about job opportunities or to just pick our brains. We want to be helpful, but sometimes this is the last thing we want to spend our time doing. It’s particularly hard to say we’re too busy when the request comes from a friend or relative. And while under normal circumstances many of us might not be comfortable engaging with a total stranger, we’ll agree to do it in a second if the person is connected to us via someone else. Simply put, this is the warm introduction, and in the spy world it is a crucial part of many operations.
Often spies are charged with making contact with a person who is highly placed in the government, is valued for their expertise, has access to powerful people, or who, in some cases, is actually a ruthless criminal. Gaining access to people in these categories makes the job harder. That’s why spies never aim to hit the source directly but to come at it from the side. It’s much safer to connect with someone in the person’s circle and have that individual make the introduction. As a colleague of mine says, “A warm introduction can be a game changer. You suddenly aren’t a threat, you’re being presented as a person who can be trusted.” In Ryan’s case, Clive was perfect for several reasons. He was comfortable in Thad’s circle, and Thad behaved as if he trusted him. Clive was a businessperson as opposed to an academic, so he might have found becoming an acquaintance of an American like Ryan useful; thus he was more willing than the others to do a favor for him. Also, while the physical contact between Clive and Thad suggested a level of comfort, it did not demonstrate a close friendship. If Clive and Thad were tight, it’s possible they would have hugged, or that Thad would have ended his current conversation to talk to him. It’s also likely that Clive would be protective of his relationship with Thad, and therefore he’d be less willing to introduce him to Ryan. Clive was the ultimate warm introduction—he was able to provide access without raising any alarms at all. Subtlety is imperative, remember.
Warm introductions are the key to meeting virtually anyone you want to meet. In my experience, once I determined my focus base, I knew I needed to find people who could educate me, provide tips, and ultimately create partnerships with me. I needed to determine where I was likely to find people who had the access I needed. Thankfully, the internet makes all of this possible, so I could easily send an email to a bestselling author or to producers on the TV shows on which I wanted to appear. I could email pitches to editors at magazines for which I wanted to work. I also sent handwritten notes via FedEx: This is a great way to get the attention of CEOs and high net-worth individuals. I set up a goal for myself: I needed to contact three people a day. It might have been two calls and an email. It didn’t matter as long as I was reaching out to three people every single day. As I started to make more contacts, I was able to leverage them to get other introductions.
The concept of the warm introduction was very helpful when I was trying to beef up my Facebook marketing. I had narrowed down a list of a few pros with whom I was interested in working. The only problem was that my company at the time was much smaller than the ones with which they were used to working. I needed an in so I could convince them that my company had huge potential and they should work with me even though I was just starting out. That’s when I noticed that a social media marketing seminar was taking place near my home, and a little research told me that the main speaker was connected to all of the people I wanted to meet. I took the seminar and made a connection with the speaker. I had spotted him as a person of interest who could really help me out. I let him know how much I liked the seminar, and I thanked him for coming out to Utah. I was sure to follow up a few days later with an email saying how helpful his seminar was, and I was interested in meeting a few people who could help build my business. Could he possibly introduce me? In the end, he introduced me to the marketer with whom I ended up working. His warm introduction made all the difference.
As a person who doesn’t exactly love socializing (just ask my wife), I can’t imagine how I would have built my business without my intelligence training. The idea of going to a big networking party or even a business dinner doesn’t exactly make me jump for joy. If you’re like me and you use this process of the warm introduction, I promise you that you’ll be able to connect with anyone—and without stress. You’ll never dread another networking event again. For those of you who are already master networkers and conversationalists (congratulations, I envy you), rest assured that by following the practices I’ve outlined, you’ll soon discover that you’re making contacts faster, and they’re more powerful and more useful to your business.
[ SPY MYTHS DECODED ]
SPIES ARE ALWAYS FANTASTICALLY FIT, SUAVE, AND GOOD-LOOKING, LIKE JAMES BOND.
False!
Considering that Daniel Craig, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Tom Cruise have all played spies, it’s safe to say that Hollywood has had a major hand in promoting the myth that spies are good-looking and sophisticated. The truth is that spies come in all shapes and sizes, and just about anyone you see on the street could be one. The scenario I’ve described in this chapter featured professors and researchers, who, chances are, are regular-looking people. For someone to fit in and be able to operate, they’ll need to look the part, and that usually means fitting into whatever environment in which they’re working. My colleagues will adapt their appearances carefully when they are out in the field. While sometimes elaborate disguises are involved, that’s not what I’m talking about here. Ryan needed to blend in with a group of academics and scientists. That meant he’d likely wear a suit and tie, but nothing too flashy or expensive. If an intelligence officer is trying to fit in flawlessly at an establishment frequented by wealthy people, then he’d have a much more expensive suit, a good watch and shoes, etcetera. Ultimately, being a good spy isn’t about looking like Brad Pitt, but about knowing how to dress appropriately whether you’re pretending to be a college professor or a car mechanic. When it comes to intelligence work, it’s true that you can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s what’s inside that counts, and in the case of spies it’s the ability to sell anything to anyone.