When I was 12 years old, I started working at my dad's consulting firm. My dad was a Cuban immigrant in Nicaragua. He was actually a nuclear physicist, but in Nicaragua, he reinvented himself as a consultant. It was a small but solid business and we had good clients and my parents work hard to get them. radically changed.

The business took off exponentially. We started getting massive clients, many of them just through word of mouth, like the largest distribution company in the country, the largest rice farm in Central America, the largest bank in Central America, the most prestigious hospital in the region. They were all our clients at the same time. And this all happened because my dad connected profoundly with a very important businessman in the region. This person loved working with my dad.

and refer him left and right. Our company's name began circulating among these very prestigious circles. when I moved to the US at 22, I reinvented myself as a marketer. I found that many consultants and coaches needed a tech savvy person that they trust by their side. I get a few clients through my relationships, friends, family, people that I work out with.

They were friends. And I thought, this is my opportunity. I'll go to Akim's website. I'll find something that needs to be fixed. And I will let Akim know. So I did that. I audited Akim's website. And I found a few minor issues in the layout that needed to be fixed. And I called my client first. And I asked if it was OK for me to send these things that I found to Akim. She agreed. She encouraged me to do it. And I sent an email to Akim.

with screenshots and explanations on how to fix these issues. I told him to share it with his developer if he had one, otherwise I would be happy to help him myself. And I sent the when I saw a message from Leandra, who worked with Akeem at the time. She was saying that Akeem wanted to meet with me. Fast forward five years.

and Akeem and I are still working together. Akeem is sort of like my mentor and he has referred me to many people. I adore Akeem and I can think of a better person than Akeem to kick off the This is of Trust podcast. Working with Akeem, I come from the lesson that I had learned with my dad. The best way to grow a professional service firm is through relationships, referrals, and reputation. Akeem has a jaw-dropping client roster, including Tekeita.

Owens Corning, Charged Industries, and WinTrust, just to name a few. He helps C-suite executives show up with a relaxed authority and to amplify their personal impact. He's the author of four books and a two-time TEDx speaker. If someone knows how to win the business of trust, that's Akeem.

Welcome to episode number one of the Business of Trust podcast. I'm your host, Hugo Sanchez.

Hello, I'm Welcome to the Business of Trust Podcast.

Ayugo, I am so happy to be here.

Thank you. This is the first episode of the podcast and I couldn't think of a better person to record than with you. You and I have been working together for five years and if there is one person that I can think of that absolutely does the work of relationship building and nurturing better than anyone is

Well, I am honoured, thank you and I can't wait to have the conversation.

Thank you. All right, so why don't we just with why don't you tell us the story of how did you get started in this line of business? How did you end up in executive coaching?

I probably had to build a business around it and I was a terrified business anyway, I did it. I had a lot of help. had consultants. I was no mastermind. But I launched my first business because I had a book.

had done some coaching, but the business was 75 % leadership training, which I was more comfortable with, 25 % executive coaching, and then later I changed stuff around.

You quite like big transition in your career from director leading this training company Influence. Can you tell us a little bit about that story as well?

last job before I founded Influence, which was founded around the book I wrote, for five years I was a facilitator and trainer for an international training company based in Canada called Landrum and Learning Services. And we trained other corporate trainers. And I facilitated 20 different programs for Landrum. And that experience...

gave me, I mean, really gave me the confidence to think that, ⁓ I might be able to do this on my own. 50 % of my work at LandJuven meant going into big corporations and facilitating programs. So without those five years,

I might have felt a lot less confident. So that was important, know, and that set me up to do it. But at the same time, I felt like I was very green when it came to running a business. So that was a whole other learning curve.

Thank you for that. And one of the stories that I always like to hear, especially after people have had a long trajectory and they're successful now, is always looking back to the first client that you ever got when you started this business. Because you are new in this, you don't know that many people, so it's a big win.

Well, ⁓ I did something you're not supposed to do, but I'm going to tell you the When I left this company, Landgerman Learning Services, I had the classic one year non-compete. But at the same time, everybody who knew me knew me from Landgerman. I just moved to South Florida. And there was a big financial institution. And they said, can you come in and do some training programs for us? Now, legally, I should not have done that.

So the way I justified this in my mind, and this is the work thinking when you need clients, said they would never spend money to bring in Landrum because Landrum was really expensive. And at the time I could do similar work, but would be much less expensive. ⁓

And so I started doing whatever programs this institution needed me to do. So the introduction was to somebody who had met me through my previous employer. I obviously wasn't doing the kind of programs that had been for the land German that would have been plagiarism. So please don't ever, ever, ever do that. But that was my first client. And I remember the ethical dilemma of having a non-compete.

Yeah.

and saying, well, you're going to say yes.

Well, something that is interesting to me from the story is that they reach out to you, they look out for you, they ask for you. And something about trust that I've learned is that we develop trust with other people, not necessarily with the brand as a whole, but with people inside organizations. And when they came to and they look for you, I'm guessing this was a relationship that you have built already by doing a good job.

Yeah.

Yeah.

in the previous company.

Totally, and I remember the person who brought me into this financial institution, she had attended a program that I had given in New York, a public training, we would do them at these big hotels. And then suddenly I lived 30 minutes outside of Miami, there were Miami. So suddenly she went, my gosh, I really like this facilitator, and he's in Miami now. And definitely the connection was established in a public event.

Mm.

That's how that shook down.

Because you and I

work together and we've been working together for five years. I know the deep emphasis that you put into relationships. And is this something that you learned early on in your career? Was this a lesson that you learned what you will trying to grow influence? When did this happen for you?

You know, that's everybody's fear. Like you're constantly chasing clients. so my business model, and I was blessed to be in a mastermind group in New York with really smart people was to instead of me chasing individual clients, let me let my clients be larger entities, which means if I do a good job there, there's plenty of work for them to to keep bringing me back. So that was a basic foundation to not always chase clients.

which meant that the relationships that were established in these organizations were really important. And it started with a relationship with somebody who liked me and I adored this person. But then I remember somebody else was brought in to be the director of learning and development and he inherited me.

But I realized his name is Brian Wallace and you recognize the name because we still work with Brian Wallace over 20 years later. But I realized that I don't believe in forcing connection, but some of it is my job is to be a good relator. So I related well to Brian even though our life stories are completely different. And when Brian was offered a big job at HSBC Bank North America, much, much bigger than this organization.

This has happened in my entire career is I was brought along.

and suddenly I was doing similar work in a much bigger play around. But the backdrop was that think Brian and I had genuinely connected around some shared interests, but on the surface also, but behind it also be having very different interests and different people. So the point here for me was to play well with people who may be different from you, but you share some deeper values and interests, right?

Hmm.

think of the champions that we have in our careers. And these are people who, like you said, they love our work, they trust us, and we carry through our life. And these champions, they have the power of bringing our business to a whole new level.

because they open their doors to us. Not only they bring us along whenever they move across organizations, but they also refer you to other people, other I'm sure you've had many champions, but can you tell us the story of one particular champion? You may or may not share the name, but how did that relationship happen?

I can share the name. So when I first started Influence, I was starting to have my own clients, but I still had to work as a subcontractor for other companies because I didn't have enough clients on my own. So I worked for a big British...

Training company that was just getting their foot wet in the United States. They were headquartered Outside of Boston and the woman who ran the your the American outfit and was trying to grow it was a woman named Kit Williams I can mention her well a year and a half later after having done a bunch of work with kit Kit was fired So kit had to go job hunting and to me. This is a classic story. She ended up as a senior director

in one of the hottest biotech companies in the United States at the time, Genzyme in Cambridge. And this is the beauty of having an authentic connection with Kit. And I never think Kit said, and this is important about how champions work, Kit said, I cannot get you any work at Genzyme. However, I can introduce you to people.

I will do that and the rest is up to you. And that's what a good champion does. They don't have to, you know, they open the doors for you, you walk through the door, and then you better know what you're doing. And then you better be, to go back to it, better be a genuine connector, not a bullshitter. And then client by client in-house at Genzyme, you develop trust there, and then you get referred in-house. So that's how it's worked.

Hmm.

aware of it.

Yes, absolutely. And if we go to your website, we will be able to see the impressive roster of clients that you have. A lot of them are in Big Pharma. And would you tell us a story of how you got your best client?

Well, let me be specific about one client right now. I'm not sure that I have a best client, but for me... ⁓

As an executive coach, really good client is a large company that believes in people development, that's genuine about it, that doesn't just go through the motions. But then, in the spirit of this podcast and trust, so I want to mention another client, Takeda, a big international pharma company, where I have the privilege of supporting really successful executives.

How did I get my foot in the door? It's interesting, there a lot of executive coaches in the Boston area, which is where the R &D section is headquartered. And they all said to me, well, gosh, how did you get into Takeda? We're trying to get in, but they're not paying any attention to me. Well, again, somebody who had met me at Genzyme 10 years before was now working at...

At Takeda, there was a specific training need, a coaching need. I got the phone call and I was then introduced to the head of HR for learning and development. And what happens usually in my work, I was given my first person to coach.

My first person is always like an audition. You know, I feel like I have to prove myself. They want to see, he make a difference here? So at the same time, I'm here to support this person and create visible results. And at the same time, am, if we're lucky, have a genuine connection with the head HR executive. Now after six or seven years at Takeda, now,

you

People come and go. So ironically, the person that brought me in seven years ago is no longer there. So I continue to find new internal champions or allies who can broker coaching deals for me. So I'm constantly establishing new relationships with new champions who get to know me for the first time. So that process keeps continuing.

that's also what I love about the journey.

And it sounds so simple, right? It's like there is it, but there is also an art to build in very profound relationships with people. Akeem, I want to fast forward to now, not only you're doing executive coaching, but a lot of people come to you and they ask, gosh, how can I create a business like yours? And I know that you are doing this

executive days to work together with people. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

right before the pandemic happened, because sometimes I had this big international training company that I sold because I didn't want to do training anymore, I just wanted to do coaching. But I was constantly approached by people who said, gosh, how do I develop or build an international training and coaching company? So I decided to just an experiment. said, if you're willing to come, I was living in Hollywood, Florida at the time, if you're willing to come to

four to four day. We're going to spend a whole day working on your business. And I have a bunch of tools. I know how to do that too. I can usually tell by the way why a business isn't making as much money as it could. And also believe this is my body is that the business is here to support my lifestyle. You know, so I believe in lifestyle based businesses where I don't give up my life just so I make a lot of money.

So that was an experiment. I had a whole bunch of people who came and spent a day with me and we worked on their business and I found it incredibly satisfying. then, you know, a year ago I moved to just outside of Lisbon, Portugal. And again, I thought to myself, wow, I live in a very sexy city. People love to come to Portugal. And I had to stop doing this because of the pandemic. But I said, let me see what would happen if I offer this again. ⁓

Mm-hmm.

So I'm ready for people to come and spend the day with me in Lisbon. I do have my share of business wisdom now and I have diagnostic tools. So I feel like, and again, I'm a great believer, I'm not here to show anybody how to have a better funnel and chase you don't know. I'm very much based on building on people who already know us and love us.

And that sounds so obvious, Hugo, but you have no idea on those days in Hollywood, I would have people who had great networks and they were busy chasing people that they didn't know. That was insane. That was absolute insanity. You start with the people that know you and love you.

I love that you ended up with that because I was going to ask for someone who's starting and what would be the best piece of advice that you would give them. And it seems like you just gave it, but did I get that right?

But let me even spell it out.

This is a little exercise you and I might do. I might say write down 20 people who believe in you, know you, and trust that you're able to deliver on the promise of your work, your business, even if it's brand new. So that's important. Meaning those are people where you have established authority. Now, number one, if they can be a client of yours potentially, great.

If not, people want to help us. So ask for help. Who can they recommend you to? But begin with those connections and start from there.

It happens a lot faster though.

When I first started working with you, and I'm going to share this story because I would come to you with ideas of like, I can we can do this and that and like, and you would say, Hugo, that's a great idea, but not for me. It seems like you were so clear and I always like loved that about working with you, that you were so clear about like what type of client acquisition channels work for you and which one were not for you.

Thank you.

Let me just add this point as well. There are definitely times in my life when I thought I should do more chasing after strangers. maybe end with this. I always feel like, let's say if you've had a business for three years and you've had some clients, if your existing clients aren't sending you other clients, then I would urge you to look at the value that you're delivering.

Yeah.

because people are wired to want to help. And in my life, people have helped me, but because I delivered value for them.

And I want to add to that that you are incredibly generous. You are a very generous person, not only with your work and your time and your energy, but with your attention to and not only with people who are your clients, but also with friends, past clients. You're not jealous of like holding you. are such a generous person. And I believe that that that's a key component to building these relationships, lifelong relationships that come back to you.

Yeah.

Because I know a lot of people and I see people who fake their way through business relationships. And I would say don't fake your way through any business relationship. If you can find a way to authentically connect with anybody. This sounds so simple, I, ⁓ know, in my work world, there are people who were a junior director at some point and they're now the CEO of a company.

so don't dismiss somebody because they don't have access to resources. At some point they will. And if the connection was genuine because you value that person, the universe will reward you. Don't do it for the reward. Do it because you're a good human being. But that's how it works. And if you were a jerk, the referrals are what come.

when I explore the options out there, I see so much of this, like, what I call bro marketing of, it's very, it's hyper-transactional. There's a high focus on, like, do this, like, the automating and doing the max amount of, getting the max amount of value out of the minimum amount of actions. And while...

Thank

That might work for some people, I think for people like you or people for me or some of the other folks that I work with. That just doesn't feel right. There is a beautiful component around business development that is ultimately relationship building.

One thing I learned 20 years ago, this is like a little joke, but it said this to me and I was supported by Business Strategies New York. I decided that I wasn't going to be a cheap date. And the behavior you just described is what I would call cheap marketing. It doesn't work. And I'm going to support people who are at certain level. I'm blessed to support people who are already successful.

Mm.

if you support people with certain stature, you can't do that kind of stuff. It's just too junior and too cheesy. This is where we need to trust the relationship and trust that then it goes from there.

Yeah.

Thank you, Akim. That's a lovely way to end this conversation. But before we go, if somebody wants to learn more about you and get in contact with you, where would you like to send them?

Well, you can find me on LinkedIn. My name is Achim Novak. My website is Achimnovak.com, which you and I are just recreating, which I'm excited about. I also have a podcast in this fifth season called My Fourth Act, where I speak with people who've created brilliant and unexpected lives and that you can find My Fourth Act everywhere, but it also has a website called MyFourthAct.com. So those are...

some places where you can start. ⁓

Akin, thank you so much again for your generosity of time, of advice, and for sharing all your knowledge with us. I mean, just a portion of it. Thank you.

It was my pleasure, Hugo. Thank you so much.

for now.

I started this podcast to interview people who have succeeded in the professional service world. And most importantly, to put into evidence that your best clients will come from relationships, referrals, and reputation, not from ads, automated funnels, or webinars like you've been told. If you want to learn more about how to implement a relationship-based marketing strategy in your business, please check out our website at mundesmedia.com.

I'll see you in our next episode.