How to Build Authority & Drive Revenue with a B2B Podcast with John Corcoran

0:01Light that spark fire nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on fire. The only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down how to build authority and drive revenue with a B2B podcast. To drop these value bombs, I brought to John Corcoran in the EO Fire studios. John is a former White House writer, speech writer, and attorney, and author, and a B2B podcasting expert whose company, Rise25, helps B2B businesses create podcasts. And we'll talk about podcasts being a building tool for client relationships. We'll talk about high value prospects and strategic partners and how podcasting helps there, the biggest mistake businesses make when it comes to podcasting, and oh, so much more.

0:42And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to John and our sponsors. Franocity has helped hundreds of people leave unfulfilling jobs, invest in recession-resilient businesses, and create legacy income for their families through franchising. Visit Franocity.com, that's F-R-A-N-O-C-I-T-Y.com to book a free consultation and start your franchising journey with expert guidance. John, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up, Fire Nation? Hey, man, great to see you again and talk to you again. I would say that what a lot of people disagree with is that there's this attitude, especially with the online community, that you have to be everywhere and have a lot of exposure and stuff like that.

1:30I say that's nonsense. Just find a channel, find a tool or strategy or something like that, that really works well for you and double down on that. And that'll take you a long ways. Fire Nation, we're going to talk with John today about a lot of cool things, specifically about how to build authority and drive revenue with a B2B podcast, Business to Business. And John, you believe that B2B podcasts are the ultimate tool for building client relationships and referrals. Tell us more. Yeah, man. And I remember you and I met and you'd been doing this podcast for three months. We met at New Media Expo in 2013.

2:11That was January of 13. So it was super early in 13. It was super. I think you started in September or something like that. But I'd already heard of you and I'd already heard of your show. And like, really, that's what it's about is like the podcast is just such an incredible tool for connecting with people. And a lot of people think, you know, to the extent that they're aware of podcasts, as you know, people have different awareness of podcasts. Now it's way better than it was when you and I started a long time ago. So people are aware of it, but they have certain assumptions about podcasts. They assume that it's all about getting the downloads and the exposure, which is great for lots of podcasts, but there's lots of B2B businesses out there that don't have to pursue that strategy.

2:51And they can use it regardless of whether 10 people listen to it or a million people listen to it, because it's about using it in order to have an amazing conversation and build an incredible relationship with someone that you respect or admire. It could be a client, could be a referral part, could be a strategic partner, but that's really what it's all about. And that's what I really get passionate about showing people how to do. Well, I would actually add to that because I think everything you said is completely true, but it can also be used as a solo topic-based podcast to build authority, influence your expertise on a certain topic that can then drive leads to whatever your funnel might be.

3:27So it can be a combo of both. Like I even love those variety podcasts that do interviews that build the network and the connections and the knowledge and the audience, but then also sometimes intersperse these great solo topic podcasts that kind of build your host, like as a host, now the spotlight's on you, your expertise in a certain area. So John, let's get specific about how we can use a podcast to connect with high value prospects and strategic partners. And just to dovetail on what you were just saying right there is like doing a solo podcast. What's really cool about that is that it actually is going to get done.

4:04So there's all these people that have this dream of I'm going to publish a book one day. And you know, you talk to them every year and they haven't made any progress on that. Whereas like just going on Zoom or whatever it is you want to record on and just having conversation, you can do that today. You can do that tomorrow and it'll actually get done. So that's really an important point is that it will actually get done. And then as your your other question about how do you actually do it? First of all, the most important thing is, you know, people will spend 15 hours researching what microphone they should buy, but they won't spend any time thinking about who I'm going to actually talk to.

4:38And that is the more critical decision. Sure. Microphone is important, but it's a decision that you make, and then you move on. Right. And what's really important when you're going to use it for a B2B business is that you really think through who are the clients, referral partners, to Sheetra Barnard's prospective clients, centers of influence, industry authorities, speakers, authors in your industry that you should be building a relationship with. And so that's really critical, spending the time to do that. And then secondly, actually doing it. The funny thing is I tell people all the time is that actually the outreach, reaching out to people, to your network and telling people about launching the podcast and inviting people to get involved and asking them for guest recommendations, that's in the early, early days, arguably more important than the actual launch of the podcast.

5:23So people put all this energy and effort into actually launching the podcast, but they don't put much effort into the actual outreach. But that outreach will get you into conversation with your clients, with past clients, with referral partners, with people you respect and admire. And that's what they're doing it for, right? So that's really critically important. So that second piece. So those two pieces I think are really important. I really liked what you said about you'll get it done with a solo podcast, because that's so true. So many people underestimate just what it takes to number one, identify the people that you're going to interview, then reach out to them, somehow connect with them, somehow convince them to schedule a show, somehow convince them to show up for the show, somehow record that show, somehow edit that show, then somehow publish that show.

6:08And then guess what? You got to do it all over again. Like you got to do it all over again. And guess what? That's great because it's a high barrier. And that's why the competition is pretty low of people doing it right. I mean, I'm the only daily show in the world that's doing an interview seven days a week because the barrier is so high. So the competition doesn't exist for somebody like me. And I love when things are hard because it should be hard. But to your point, which I love is, if it's a solo show, hey, sit down, you know, go to ChatGPT, type in something like, hey, this is my area of expertise.

6:37This is what I want to talk about. Give me 50 titles to 50 potential podcast episodes. You choose your top 10 from that list. You say, okay, these are my favorite 10 chat GPT. Give me 40 more based off of these top 10. Now you're going to have 50 great podcast episodes. You can sit down and record a dozen at a time because they don't have to be 30 minutes long. They can be five minutes, seven minutes, 12 minutes long. They can be as long as they need to be. On a Sunday, you can record months worth of interviews, schedule them out to be live. And then you walk away, get back to focusing on your business, knowing that you're having a show that's releasing on a weekly, multi-day per week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, whatever schedule and frequency you decide, it's going out there and it's out there.

7:21And who knows who's going to listen, but people that listen, they could find their way to your funnel because you're delivering them value and solutions to their problems. So, John, you talked about 2013. I mean, I launched in September, 2012. We met in 2013. I mean, things were going on. They were crazy. Things were new. I made a lot of mistakes, like a lot of mistakes. So what are you seeing today? are the biggest mistakes that businesses make when it comes to podcasting? It's funny, it's the same mistakes as they were making, you know, 14 years ago. And so, you know, oftentimes those mistakes are, well, one, how many people have you seen, John, that have attempted to do what you do?

7:58Countless. Right, like so many, and they weren't successful. So, John, you're really a unicorn because you realized early on that if I'm gonna do this, I need to put incredible systems and processes in place. And it was really interesting going through your process now. And I was on your show, I don't know, eight years ago or something. No, even more, man. I got the date right here. So you were on July 22nd, 2014. That's 11 years ago. Oh my gosh, wow, time flies. So yeah, and like you are a unicorn because you put those systems in place and you realize that that's the only way this is gonna survive.

8:31This is the only way I'm gonna be able to do this long-term is if I put these systems in place. And most people are not good at putting systems in place, but they think that they can just wing it. So they attempt it and we've seen it a million times before. You see that people start it, they have a big splash. They do it for like three months, six months, and then you check again nine months later and they haven't put out an episode in six months. And so that happens all the time. People, they fade, they pod fade is even the term for it, right? And so what I think the antidote to that is, is you gotta figure out how this is gonna be valuable to you and how you're gonna get ROI from it.

9:05Again, if you're doing this for a B2B podcast, I'm not talking about an entertainment podcast or a hobby podcast or a passion project or anything like that, if you're doing it for a B2B business, you gotta figure out how I'm gonna turn this into clients, referrals, strategic partnerships, speaking opportunities, whatever it is you wanna do. And when you figure that out, when you actually get that, that's when people are actually gonna keep on going. That's when they're actually gonna be able to keep doing it for two years, three years, four years, you know, 14, 15 years, like John and I and my business partner, Jeremy, you know, have been doing it.

9:35Because then you realize that, wow, this is like the best thing ever. if I were to quit doing a podcast, it would actually make my life harder because it would be harder to build relationships with all these amazing people, be harder to gain knowledge. It'd be harder to create content marketing that goes out while I'm sleeping and is telling people about my business and my brand while I'm running my business. And so that I think is an important point right there. Actually, one more thing I'll say, because you mentioned ChatGPT. Yeah, it's incredible. Like ChatGPT was not around 14 years ago. And people sometimes now are assuming that AI can do everything.

10:09It can't, and nor should it. It can supplement many of these things. But I think that with all the, you know, things are going to be so easy to fake in the years ahead. You can, you know, take an avatar yourself, show yourself talking and stuff like that. What can't be faked is relationships. What can't be faked is true human connection. And that's what I'm really, what I'm talking about here is using a podcast to build human connections. So yeah, you could, the technology exists and you could fake your voice and you can fake your video and you could create a talking head podcast where you talk about your industry expertise.

10:44And there's gonna be plenty of people that do that, but I would not recommend that you do that with your best client. I would not recommend that you do that with your best referral partner. You know, that should be an authentic human connection. You should be connecting with them over Zoom or Riverside or whatever and building bond and rapport with them. because if you do that with a podcast, I've found few other things that work as well, except for, of course, being in person. But, you know, there's a world of people that you can't be in person with all the time. I mean, John right now is in Puerto Rico.

11:18I'm in San Francisco. And here we are connecting over this, over this wonderful tool that we have. And it sounds like we're in the same room. Your audio quality is amazing, brother. And we have a lot of great things to talk about. When we get back from thanking our sponsors, starting your own business can feel intimidating. where do you start? How do you grow? When will you start generating revenue? All valid questions. If you love the idea of creating wealth and freedom, but you're not sure if starting from scratch is the way to go, then I'm excited to tell you about Franocity. Franocity has helped hundreds of people leave unfulfilling jobs, invest in recession, resilient businesses, and create legacy income for their families through franchising.

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12:22Visit Franocity.com. That's F-R-A-N-O-C-I-T-Y.com to book a free consultation and start your journey with expert guidance. John, we're back. You believe that podcasting isn't about downloads, but it's about the right conversations. Tell us more. Right now, especially after COVID, there is a lot of skepticism out there. And as you advance in your career and you become more successful and the people that you want to connect with, the clients that you want to serve become more successful, it gets harder to connect with them. And you can't just be like, oh, you know, hey, March is looking kind of light and send an email out to all of your clients.

13:03They'd be like, hey, clients, you know, March is looking a little light. Do you mind referring me some of your best clients? Because I'd love to talk to them about the services that we provide and I'd love to tell them about how we build a better mousetrap, right? And I see people do that all the time. It's shocking to me. Like, what do they expect the results going to be? I mean, I was in a WhatsApp group, was very successful entrepreneurs the other day, and this person posted something like that. They're like, hey, you know, we're a little slow right now. can someone refer me business so I can talk to them about my service?

13:32I'm like, no one's going to respond to that. Whereas a podcast is an excuse to get into conversation with people. It's an excuse for someone to put down the phone, put down everything else they're busy about and prioritize giving you 45 minutes, giving you an hour of their day, a half an hour, whatever it is. And during that time, you are able to have a conversation with them during which time you can build trust, authority, and respect. I've had billionaires and CEOs of publicly traded companies come on my podcast and I'm nobody. You can do this too. It is because that I'm doing it for a podcast.

14:11If I were to reach out to billionaires and CEOs of publicly traded companies and say, hey, can I have 15 minutes of your time? I'd love to talk to you about our service. That's not going to work, right? But because I'm recording it for the purpose of the podcast, it gives me that opportunity to build trust, respect, authority, let that get them, you know, get to know about me. And if you do it right, it's a really good opportunity for you to educate them about what you do. Now, the, what people don't do well is that they don't, you know, involve or don't explain who they are and what they do. I've been, I guess, on lots of podcasts over the year where after the, you know, when I'm done with it, at the end of it, I have no idea about this person because they haven't told me about themselves.

14:50I haven't been, you can't expect that I've been to their about page or their LinkedIn page. So I fully understand what they do. They haven't told me about what they do. Right. John, I'm sure you've experienced that lots of times where you've been a guest on podcasts. You're like, I have no idea what this person does. And you're certainly not going to hire them or inquire about their services if you don't know anything about them. Right. But if, if they do a good job of weaving it into the conversation, like you would over a beer or like you would over a glass of wine at a bar or something like that, then that person is going to naturally want to know more about them, particularly if the timing is right.

15:22Even if the timing isn't right, then you build trust, respect, authority. You've got a connection with that person and you can remain top of mind with them. And one of the best ways to remain top of mind with people is by continuing to put out your podcast, because then you're putting out this content across different channels, across LinkedIn, across Spotify. And without you even knowing it, these people that you are building relationships with, every time they pull up their Spotify, every time they pull up their Apple podcast, every time they pulled up their LinkedIn, they're seeing this content being pushed out there.

15:52And so you're top of mind with them. And so I've had plenty of times where like I interview someone and then like three years later, they refer me someone or they introduce me someone to be on the podcast. And I don't even realize that I haven't, maybe haven't even thought about them for years, but I'm top of mind with them because I've continued to put out my podcast. So that's really what it's all about. And one thing that's interesting, I've been interviewing a lot of people on entrepreneurs on fire recently. I'm, I'm, I've been going through this kind of like a decade ago, which is why I like, I reached out to you and a bunch of other people that were on my show a decade or more ago and kind of doing like, well, what are they up to now?

16:25Cause they were awesome back then. What are they up to this awesome right now? And a lot of the conversations I've been having with these individuals are saying, John, like I'm occasionally still getting referrals from the podcast. I was on your show 10 years ago, which is just insane. So you never know, Fire Nation. Just keep it going. Now, John, how do we leverage our podcast for business development? There's so many different ways. First of all, as you said there, you're creating something that is timeless, not timely, if you do it right. I mean, there are people that their business is very timely, but if you try and focus on something, strategy, advice, content that is time lists, then people will discover it 10 years later.

17:12And they'll think that it might have been recorded last week, right? You know, I get emails like that all the time where people are like, you know, like, I just checked out this episode that you just did. And I did that eight years ago, you know, and so that really has a snowball effect. Because if you do that on a regular basis on a weekly basis, or twice a month, or multiple times a week, or whatever, it snowballs, because you have all this content that you're putting out there. So just continuing to do that is is incredibly important. And then once you've created that content, it's virtually unlimited different things that you can do in order to leverage it.

17:44So you can slice it and dice it. You can turn it into little, you know, digital snippets. You can share it on social. I mean, we've done physical newsletters where we take our, our episodes and then we, you know, and this is not something I recommend you do, you know, have your team do it and don't certainly don't do this right away. Cause I didn't do it for years of doing the podcast, but I instructed the team on here, take my episode, create a little summary from it, put it into a physical newsletter, which has other content as well. And you mail it out to your prospects, prospects and referral partners.

18:13Lots of people have turned it into a book, right? You know, lots of people have done that. They've taken their content, their interviews, their episodes and turned it into a book. And you know, that's happened to me where I've been a guest on a podcast and either after the fact, or as part of the process, I know that they're turning it into a book also. And so that's makes it even more appealing for me to be a guest on a podcast when I know that it's also going to be put into a book as well. And then there's all kinds of other things, digital newsletters, sending digital newsletters, of course, sharing content online.

18:44There's a high quality, high caliber blog that's going to go up onto your website. So you're attracting people. It's got SEO value to it. So there's so many different ways that you can leverage it, you know, the podcast further. Fire Nation, I'm taking notes. I hope you're taking notes because John's been doing this for a long time and he is dropping some value bombs here. John, one final value bomb. What is the one thing you really want to make sure our listeners get from our conversation today? What is that one takeaway? And then plus, share with us how we can connect with you if we want to learn more.

19:19What is your call to action for Fire Nation today? The number one thing I would say is that if you're listening to this and you're inspired by the idea of starting a podcast, don't put it on your bucket list. Don't wait for some proverbial day far off in the future when you're going to have time to do this because that just won't happen. The truth is you actually will save time if you start a podcast for a business because it will give you access to people you wouldn't get access to. It's a tool for doubling down, building great relationships with your existing clients and referral partners getting introductions.

19:54And it's so rare in business that you're doing multiple things at once at the same time. Usually you're doing one individual thing, like you're, you know, hiring someone, you're doing an interview, you're doing bookkeeping, whatever it is that you do in your business. Whereas in podcasts, you are doing business development, you're doing referral marketing, you're doing content marketing, you're doing SEO in one conversation, it serves all of those different purposes. So in that way, it actually is incredibly time-saving. And then, yeah, if you want to reach out to me, you can definitely do that, john at rise25.com.

20:26Rise25.com is our website. You can reach out to me on LinkedIn, John Corcoran on LinkedIn. Happy to connect with people, always happy to talk about podcasting, whether with John or with anyone else. Fire Nation, you're the average. Of the five people you spend the most time with, you've been hanging out with JC and JLD today, so keep up the heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type John, J-O-H-N in the search bar. The show notes page will pop right up, as will, by the way, that July 22nd, 2014 episode. If you want to check that one out as well, rise25.com, something to check out.

20:59And John, 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 flippity flip side. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and John for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, what can 4 ,000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs teach you? how about how to achieve financial freedom and fulfillment. My first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, is a revolutionary 17-step roadmap that will lead you to the lifestyle that you've been dreaming about. This book took me 10 years of accumulating the genius of the world's top entrepreneurs.

21:35And you can get it all in one place when you visit UncommonSuccessBook.com. I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Franocity has helped hundreds of people leave unfulfilling jobs, invest in recession-resilient businesses, and create legacy income for their families through franchising. Visit Franocity.com, that's F-R-A-N-O-C-I-T-Y.com to book a free consultation and start your franchising journey with expert guidance.