Ep. 253 INTERVIEW – Paul Forsberg

Million Dollar Phone Call: INTERVIEW with Paul Forsberg – Business Consultant who shares how armed only with $50 and a laptop closed a multi-million dollar deal.

Voice over:

Get ready for an unfair advantage over your competition. This is The Sales Edge podcast. Where globally recognized sales expert and trainer Joe Pici helps you sharpen your skills for booking more appointments and closing more deals. And now here’s your host Joe Pici.

(JP):

Welcome to the sales edge podcast. And today, we’ve got a business consultant, a guy who we’re gonna allow him to give you some of his background, but Took an Enterprise from way back. When something you got started in a family. Businesses has leverage that into business Consulting and I can’t wait for you to meet him. He’s he’s a client of friend. But before that, we want to thank our sponsors Pici and Pici inc., which is a speaking coaching training consulting, firm helping our clients, recapture lost Revenue book, more appointments, close, more business, get that Competitive Edge and sell more virtually.com, Sr web-based. Form where every Thursday night. I’m out there live doing a group coaching Group Training. There’s downloads there any courses, we recommend you look into that one because in the next week that completes sales training report Mastery system will be up Live On Demand where you can watch it anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world on demand and get 14 courses. Each course will have anywhere from four to twenty five modules, but this is podcast believe it or not 253. We’re excited. And let me introduce you to a very special guest, you know, he started out. He is why I started out as clients. Now, they become tremendous friends, Paul Forsberg. Hey, Paul, welcome.

Paul Forsberg (PF):

Hey, thanks Joe. Thanks for having me on, appreciate it.

(JP):

I’d like you to give this audience a little bit, understanding a little, by a little history of where you come from and where you are now.

(PF):

Well, I got a fisherman and a little town called Montauk, New York. My family is bunch of fishermen. I was a fisherman, 18 miles to high school, 60 miles to the nearest stop light. So, that middle of nowhere, actually, and on the I grew up to be a fisherman. I want some fishing to leaving a family business, to buy my own boat. I learned how somehow to rather than sell boats. I sold financial statement. So I would buy a book, get it working and sell a financial statement. Copious amounts of money compared to what other have until the vote for that. Led me into and pretty much into business Consulting. At took over Marina, that was failing. I turned it made it very profitable and 10 months, got a construction guy. Got a hold of me asked me to help him with his business. I retired from the construction business and about I think I was involved in that in four years or so. And from there. I’ve just gone all the buying businesses or starting them building them up. And selling them off my soul, the real estate company to Warren Buffett outfit in two years. They came in with open checkbook. And as we told them, ask me how much I wanted. I told him and I wrote a check and this is brokerage company that I actually sold to a largest business brokers franchise in the country. Same deal. I was Consulting with one of his people and the owner of the franchise approach million broke at a checkbook. So from there, I pretty much just kind of semi-retired.

(JP):

Okay, we have an ear on your semi-retired is keeping you on the road a lot these days. And so, you take it on here, you’ve taken on a new project that you’re really excited about. Can you tell the folks, what you’re doing right now?

(PF):

Yeah, I have I got a call and it was about how insane a or so of 2019 from that old friend and old client, that asked me to come run a boat in the Gulf of Mexico on the boat guy. Okay, so, Here’s our grand boat. So I did that. And after my month-long project, he mentioned to me that he was involved and also wind up in New England, which is a renewable energy. It’s one of the fastest growing Industries in the country and it’s in its infancy stages. I mean, if this is tip of the spear type stuff, so I went up there to run about just to take a look. Now. It’s got contentious industry. So I was really quiet. I mean, I know a lot of people from up there but no one knew I was there.
But my except for my wife for about 3 months. And from doing that, I saw a couple of opportunities, a couple of holes in the system. So to speak where I could bring some value to the industry. I knew no one and you offshore wind industry now the fall, but anyway, actually gelignite, I gave it to you by learning York from your course from cold:. I picked up the phone. I made a couple calls and it took me a little bit, but I made one contact that. One contact. Took me three months to get. A core story. From that, I took from the core story to the, to a contract. It took me. I was at October, I had to call the core story. I got my first contact them that person in May of 2020. We ended up with 20/20 with a 460 or four hundred and seventy thousand dollars. Say it was a sales hit by the end of 2020. This year 2021. We broke through the Millions for. Looks like we may hit two million this year and my wife and I did it. With a laptop and fifty bucks and an industry that I knew. No one absolutely. No, no email address, no context, no nothing and it just going crazy and I really have to give it to you Joe because if it wasn’t for you, I would have never had the cojones to make a telephone call. I wouldn’t know what to do.

(JP):

Well, I have a question for you here, because this is the sales edge podcast. And a lot of our listeners are business, owners, their growth strategies there in the there in the pie, Life where their career where they want to grow something. So I’d like to find out from you. You you have a number of ways that you generate leads and business. That’s what that’s probably one of your sweet spots. I think you were telling me you have four ways. expand on the four ways that you generate leads or business.

(PF):

My number one is my podcast on my blog. I’m sorry. I started a Blog and that and but with that blog on the I post on LinkedIn and I comment on other people’s other articles, newspaper, articles trade magazines, comment with a link to my blog that generates eyeballs to the block from there. Of course, I offer some free stuff, some free information if I get their emails and telephone calls and that telephone number. Let’s instantly generates a phone call. So I’m sorry. Go absolutely from blog to telephone call David to, but you have to pick up the phone within 24 hours. I learned. That is, if you don’t pick it up, if you don’t pick up the phone within 24 hours, if you don’t love it. And pretty much don’t bother calling because they forget who you are, right? And I can’t tell you how many people really appreciate the phone call. It’s really quite shocking want to do it because they have one, but you get enough. People say, hey, thanks for calling. You want to make that goal because you want that. Thank you. The Third Way is LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn. You found because I’m selling business to business is professional 2 profess. Type stuff it’s not selling to reach other I think. So. I really enjoy like them and the fourth one case. I don’t know. I mean there’s so many.

(JP):

You talked about something called RSS.

(PF):

Yes. All right. This is the really simple when it’s really simple syndication. I think it is it something like that to our SSC on whatever I have on my email on my My emails. Okay, use MailChimp from the mess now. So if you cannot if you get on my email list, you’re going to be in my RSS feed which means, every time I put a blog post up, you’re going to get a notification that there’s a new notification of a block. Now. What is so on in you in your inbox relatively often? Can I bought my blog my truffle balls commanded by the twice a month? I do the best I can to do that. Sometimes there’s less sometimes more but so average about two toys until you can hear from me all those people that have requested information. No, I spoke to I’ve heard for me, here, for me, at least every other week, and I am now just starting which has been a huge success so far, as I figured out how to RSS feed other people’s postings or Professional Publications that go on to my blog, right? So someone posts something say about a new Finance strategy for offshore wind up just taking something out of the sky and because I actually one of my clients just did they just raised to point? Three 2.4 billion dollars. So that notification comes onto my blog where I say could Kudos, congratulations, and everyone gets it to me. So and that’s generating a lot of calls because they want to know more. All right. So see this really it’s something else. It’s it’s really, it’s an interesting concept. I’m not really totally fluent on it yet except for my blog posts going to MailChimp and stuff but it works really really well.

(JP):

Well sounds like you’ve created your own funnel here at that works for you as busy as you are Is, I mean, you’re on the road a lot or you’re out on the boat a lot. So this funnel seems to work really well for you. Yeah, you talk about the renewable energy. I don’t want to assume anybody out there has any concept. Can you give people idea what you mean When you’re in what you’re doing in the renewable Energy space?

(PF):

Sure, you know it with a green New Deal and with the renewable energy with the cut back on the carbon emissions and all. That sort of thing. Okay, we have on land, you have windmills. We have solar panels. We have a little, those different things will also in the ocean that building windmills. Okay, Big Willie Nelson 900-foot tolls in lot, massive than monster. Each windmill. It was capable of powering. I think it’s 6,000 homes about ourselves as a ton and they’re going to put about 5,000 of them out. There. There are none. Now. There’s actually there was a test. So five that were working family. Well, then they put two more up less here. And that’s working. Well, so the entire East Coast is going to have about 5,000 of them are. So it’s going to be a man. It’s a massive undertaking. It’s going to be bigger than you all. Show up Oil Business. No, kidding. Yeah, it really big and so you found yourself a way to wiggle into that thing in you. Yeah, man, my family has both in the area so and a fishing boat will fishing. Tree is kind of suffering. So this may be a way to provide more services for. You know for my family to provide marine services, it’s almost like driving a box, you know it but so is it is a big thing and for the family and that but it’s just it it’s a growing industry that people are learning how to say. This is you have people in suits and offices, you know, in suits and ties that have an idea. But as so they they try to get these ideas out, but they need people like me that have the boots on the ground experience to the axle make It happen. Exactly. Now and so, what I’m doing is I am I have a tremendous following of people are interested to getting to get involved in your show when business because they’re looking for a new career looking for business opportunities, accepte and they had no idea of how to get into it. But because I have the ear of the developers and the guys in the suits, actually, who contact me for information. I have become a lead Source after the largest lead, suppose. I believe in the country. Now for also when that were these big hedge funds, Have interest in me and my group of the folks that we put together here. They’re working as like a little Consortium, you know, so it’s really quite interesting.

(JP):

I’ve known you for a lot of years and if I had to label you you are a business strategist and and I think you realize that too. So you wrote a book. So I’d like you to explain to these folks, the book you wrote what it’s about and I’d like you to pick one of the areas in drill down a little bit with it.

(PF):

Sure. Yeah, I wrote a book here there. Yeah, it turned out to be an Amazon bestseller. It’s titled, the fundamental elements of every successful and scale and saleable business. Now, I wrote the book when I, when I had the business brokerage company, I wrote the book to help some of my clients, expand on their business, clean up the books, to make them more sellable. That’s where how it came because those people are owned a business. They have a pretty much as a high-paying job. They have nothing to sell because they Lucky person, the king salesperson. I was at in one of my real estate company. I was responsible for 85% of the sales. When I got sick. I had cancer. My company really suffered because I was out of the game. So, so I learned from know that mistake. And when I had the business brokerage company, I wrote a book on on its to help people. Help my help people wanted to sell a business. Help them get their books in order and get things. Operating properly. So they could sell that business. What? And it’s based on besides fundamental elements really quick is when what you have to know what you want. Okay, a business has to have leadership. You have to know who your customer is. That’s number two, because number three is marketing, and you must be able to Market to the customer will not be as good range of good, good year or any of those companies that can have a good year, blimp or, or Coca-Cola that could never. Ties at the Super Bowl, you know, we have to be can’t waste. My we have to really know what we’re going to do. I know a smaller company, so we have to know who our customers, so we can Market their that customer and then you have to enter the telephone and know how to make the sale. That’s a key part is know how to make the sale. Did you know that about 90% of the population are incapable? They don’t have the personality to answer the telephone to make the sale and its really soft. And it’s only about 10% of the people that actually know how to do it. Right? And but why me, and it’s a learnable skill that you can learn how to do it. And then the second one of the, I believe now is the most important role of all, is what you make the sale. You have to be able to resell that customer. So you deliver your product in a way, like apple. If you’re, anyone has an Apple product that you listening here. If you have a battle phone, Apple computer doesn’t matter the box that the Apple The box that your product content is. So shocking. It goes on the shelf and that Mac product sells, or any I go in my closet right now. And I have a bunch of Max, I use all night and every time I go there, I look at the box, I touch the box, and I go back to the apple or the Mac website to see what new stuff they had because he has to resell. So did so the five is, you know, your customer. I mean, know what you want. Leadership. Know your customers mark. After that customer answer the telephone to sell a product and deliver. Way that keeps selling and gives a customer coming back. It’s as simple as that. And every failed business. I’ll just I’m going to use one really big name company. Everyone knows it. General Electric. Yeah, sales leadership didn’t know who their customer was. The company. Wants them out from a superstar down to the drinks, you know, and in every instance, that’s the way it is out of the final element. If you’re missing one, even if you can Shake Rattle and Roll. But Going to get by, you’re not going to make a lot of money. You’re going to get by. If you mission to you’re gonna have a hard time making payroll if you miss three of those, your business is done. It’s all, yeah,

(JP):

When you put this whole program together, you know, because I get in and out of small medium and large companies and as you were mentioning them, I’m going. Oh my gosh, that companies got a gap over there, that company has a gap over there. So I know that you have a consultent business along with writing this book. When you go in, to help a company. Where, how do you help them? Where do you start?

(PF):

Well as a consultant I go in and sit down and and and basically on the five fundamentals, I have a regular script. Okay, let’s grip it like a question. That question, the answer sheet that they pre fill out your pre-qualified themselves. So it’s somewhat and then I will expand on that. What’s good with the business? What’s dead? And you know what it is. It’s The speak to a client. I asked them who their customers. 90% of the time I get a deer in the headlights. Look, I mean, it’s quite shocking Faith, because they think everyone is a custom and as he not, thank, you know, so that’s where we start. And if some different from a conversation, we’ll see what we can do, to expand the business, to identify the customer Market. Probably so many people think that they can advertise on Facebook and that’s going to be the major cook, the magic bullet or do some type of Of posting on Facebook and I think that’s going to generate leads and customers. And as far as I’m concerned, if it’s not done, right? It’s a waste of money, you know, unless you know, specifically who your customers.

(JP):

Well, I remember at our sales bootcamp you came back for a refresher couple months ago and you had all your stuff together and and in the course of an hour, you you landed two Mega meetings and you just looked at me and you said This meeting could generate millions and it would all started with a phone call.

(PF):

A simple phone call. That’s correct. Yes. Yep, and I like to end my love, my phone calls most of them actually, if if I have a good meeting with someone on the phone. I will ask them at the end. Hey listen, do you know of anybody else? That could use my services? And you know sometimes I say yes, sometimes I say no, but I do it and then I thank them for and Most of the time I’ll get someone, hey, you know, maybe want to call someone a job for the network. So it’s kind of a cold referral, you know?

(JP):

Okay. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to move you to another interview. But before we move, I’d like you to tell these folks, where they can find you how to reach you and where they can get your book.

(PF):

My book is on Amazon. It’s the five fundamental element of every successful and sellable business. Is my name is just type in my name, Paul Forsberg and it will pop up a printed or Kindle. And to contact me. I mean, my email is PBforsberg@icloud.com. And my cell phone number is 321-427-4100 I had a website for a while. I actually took it down temporarily because I’ve been set So involved in this also rented to get a gun. Now, I have actually a, I went from my bedroom to now, I have, we have five locations. I have five salespeople, have a Southeast Regional representative. So I really don’t do much anymore. Unless it’s going to almost open more business and I’m going to be getting back into the Consulting As soon as this business is sold or until over soon, as it’s completely on its own, which will be by 2020 by January of 2022, it’ll be on its own. It will be on autopilot.

(JP):

That’s great. Well, thanks, Paul. We’re going to be moving you over to sell more virtually platform. But before we do folks, take out your phone get your text box type in the word sales, edged one word. Send it to 5, 5 6, 7 8 that will take you to a Pici and Pici link, hit the link. It will take you to a splash page. There’s tremendous e-courses and downloads and, and links to this podcast, but right now hit the link to sell more virtually.com. When World on that site and see if it makes sense to you to become a member. If this podcast is a value to you. If you liked it like it, share it, and make a great comment.

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Thanks for listening. New episodes will air each Tuesday and Thursday. So make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and give us a five star review. The Sales Edge is sponsored by Pici and Pici Incorporated. A firm which provides training, consulting, and keynote presentations. Empowering corporations and individuals to attract and retain quality clients, for higher revenues and growth. Make more money in sales, speak with Joe in person by calling 407 947 2590 or visit www.piciandpici.com