Relationships for Success

Mike:What’s up, everybody. Hey, welcome back to the show. Today we’re going to talk about something near and dear to my heart, which is building relationships and building your network out, and with a guy that’s really been inspiring me and a whole lot of other people lately. His name’s Beyond Wynn. It’s going to be a great show.
Professional real estate investors know that it’s not really about the real estate. In fact, real estate is just a vehicle to freedom. A group of over 100 of the nation’s leading real estate investors from across the country meet several times a year at the Investor Fuel Real Estate Mastermind to share ideas on how to strengthen each other’s businesses, but also to come together as friends and build more fulfilling lives for all of those around us. On today’s show, we’re going to continue our conversation of fueling our businesses and fueling our lives. I’m glad you’re here. Hey, Beyond, welcome to the show.
Beyond:Hello, hello, hello, Mike. Thanks for having me.
Mike:Yeah, glad to have you here, man. It’s been good getting to know you over the past . . . you joined Investor Fuel about six months ago, probably? A couple of meetings back?
Beyond:It’s been four months.
Mike:Four months. Okay. Okay. Okay. So, yeah, you were at the last two meetings. So, anyway, you’re just an inspirational guy, a little bit of a motivational speaker, a real estate investor and really doing a lot to kind of give back to the community. And I’m excited to talk about relationships because I talk a lot about it. I talk about the power of building your network and the topic that we’re going to be talking about today that I know you’re passionate about is something that I’m very passionate about too. So it’s going to be a good conversation.
Before we kind of jump into that, and by the way, for people that are listening how you build these relationships to really make a richer, fuller life, feel like you’re impacting a lot more people and ultimately get more business from it, right? So it’s not necessarily touchy-feely stuff. There’s a business end to this as well to where everybody wins. But, Beyond, before we kind of jump into that, maybe tell us a bit about your background and how you got into real estate investing.
Beyond:Well, again, Beyond Wynn, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Younger, I had a rough childhood, rough times 10, watched mom struggle early on, looked out the window, seen no hope, bullied at school, got involved with gangs at a young age and just trying to find my way. And funny thing is, like, it’s kind of like a movie and you’re the only person on the planet. It seems like you’re the only one going through, you know, all of these things and not really understanding how to use your mind and thinking outside the box and just imagining different things. But something magical happens when you get in tune and you understand that, “Okay, you could change the situation no matter what it is.”
So I always wanted something better because I knew it was out there when I watched TV. I seen people living nice lives, it was kind of the opposite of what we were living, but I knew other things were possible, started reading books, and I figured the things that I was doing, it wasn’t getting me to where I wanted to go. So I started experimenting with the things I was reading in books, “Think and Grow Rich,” Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” And at the same time, I was working with my grandfather and my uncle. My grandfather used to have a construction company, so I used to get my hands dirty. I hated getting my hands dirty, so that’s how I was first introduced to real estate, and around 19 years old, I bought my first house for $13,000, and my grandfather put it together for me.
Mike:That’s awesome. And the rest is history, as they say. There’s a lot more to the story there, right?
Beyond:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mike:Yeah. So let’s talk about how you picked up on the importance of building relationships, because a lot of people, you know, we talked about this a little bit upfront, a lot of people, especially when they start in real estate investing, and I’m guilty of this too, is for me it was a survival tactic. It was about me, “I need this for me, I need to make money, I need to feed my family.” But I quickly learned that if I’m not helping somebody else, then I can’t win, right? You got to serve that person. But just talk about how you found the value because I know where you came from, so I know that it was real easy to be selfish, right? To think about, “Here’s what I need, this is what I have to do,” instead of thinking about other people. What triggered that? How did you make that transition?
Beyond:Well, I think it was a couple of things. First, coming from where I come from and just having the poverty mindset and willing to do anything to get money, and then getting on the other side, understanding that I didn’t have to do everything to get money. And really, when I took the money out of the equation, it’s like, I really love people. I really like people. But what I was doing, I was hurting people and it was like, wow, it was like I was playing a movie role. It wasn’t my real life. I was playing a movie role and hurting people and doing all these different things. It’s was like, “No, I really like people. I really love people.” So, in real estate, it was like, “Okay, everything is about people anyway. Every business, everything is about people. And I really like people. Some people really don’t like people.
So that’s why it was so easy for me to want to build a relationship even if we don’t do business, it’s like, I meet people. I’m just so excited to meet great people, to share positive energy, information, even if we don’t do business. So I want to make money, but I really love people and I understand that money is a byproduct of the relationship and that’s a strategy that I don’t have to change. So that’s my strategy for building my business, but the foundation of my life is focusing on the relationships. And it’s funny, the money come with it, everything you want come with the relationship, you know? Pick up the phone and raise some money, get some tickets to the Cowboys game, just everything is just pick up the phone, but it starts with a relationship.
Mike:Right. And so a lot of us in real estate, you know, of course, you’re a member of the Investor Fuel Mastermind. We spend a lot of time talking about lead generation, right? What’s working now, it’s RVMs, then it’s cold calling, and then it’s text message marketing. It’s always something, and there’s things that are constantly changing because that’s just how the marketing world works. Right? But you kind of decided early on that all of these marketing tactics are going to keep changing, all those marketing tactics are ultimately a way to introduce you to somebody to build a relationship.
And so you’ve just basically said, “Hey, I don’t want to necessarily have to focus on what’s hot right now when ultimately what I really want is to build relationships with people.” And that’s what those marketing things ultimately try to get you to as a chance to introduce you to somebody. You’re just like, “I’m going to go right at building relationships instead of using fad type tactics to get those relationships.” Right?
Beyond:Right, right. I mean, like you said, those things change all the time. And even at the meetings, sometimes I go deaf when they talk about all these different things, I’m thinking like, “I just want to meet the people, help them, even if it’s not me buying the house, I could connect them with somebody that can list it to get what they want.” And so they remember me, not really the transaction, but they remember they have a connection to me. That’s been working great for me. So I’m going to 10 times that.
Mike:Yup. Yup. So talk a little bit about what you feel about social media. You and I talked about this a little bit upfront, I know you do a bunch of stuff on social media and we’re focused on it too. But at the end of the day, one of the realizations that I have is that, you know, Facebook, for example, has this limitation of 5,000 friends. Well, I got to 5,000 friends sometime last year and then all these people are messaging me that I want to be connected to and they’re like, “Hey, we can’t connect because you don’t have any space left in your friends,” or whatever.
So then we started to find ways like, “Hey, let’s trim that list because this is an artificial list, like, I don’t even know most of these people. I want real relationships.” And I think that’s common with social media is we have thousands and thousands of friends or followers, but we have no real like substance there to the relationships. And so I know you use it really as a way to be introduced to people, but then you try to take it offline and try to find ways to build deeper relationships with people, right?
Beyond:Definitely. When I listen to people, even the amounts of money that they spend on marketing, and it seemed like it’s just something cute to say when people say, “I have 30,000 people on my buyer’s list,” and you’re only doing one want to deal a the month. It’s the disconnect somewhere. My buyer’s list and I believe we have about a hundred people on the buyer’s list. I average about five, six deals a month. Well, I only got a hundred people on a buyer’s list. So I was never excited to say, you know, “I’ve got 5,000 people on a buyer’s list.” It’s like, no, how many people are you doing business with? Like, how many deals are you closing?
Mike:Yep.
Beyond:Well, even with social media, it’s like, I know a lot of people on social media that got 100,000 followers. But they don’t have any money. But they have 100,000 followers, they brand perfect like nobody I ever seen, their marketing is perfect. You look beautiful, you take your pictures at the right angles, everything is perfect, but you’re dying in real life. So, for me, my social media, like, what you see on social media is actually real. So there’s no disconnect when people meet me in real life, like, it’s real. If I’m going through a tough time, if I’m growing through something, like, that’s what’s going on.
I can confidentially say that because if you pretending to be somebody, you’re going to attract all the wrong people because you don’t even know who you are. You’re pretending. But if you are you genuinely, you will attract the right people. And everything that you want, you will attract it through a relationship. It’s so much easier. So, for me, social media is a place where I can share things that touch me because I heard that if you feel something deeply, others will too. And everything else take care of itself.
Mike:Yeah. And I can tell you too, it’s just, it feels better to be real than orchestrated. And some marketing stuff, you know, it’s obviously a bit orchestrated, especially on social media. But at the end of the day, I think we agree it’s a quality game more than a quantity game, right?
Beyond:It is.
Mike:Yeah.
Beyond:It’s like I used to . . . you see I’ve been on the other side too, that’s why I could see everything clear. And when I say the other side, I mean when I was trying to fit in, when I was dressed up, but I was dying. It was like the weight of the world was on my shoulder because I wanted to fit in and people say you should do this. I want to be accepted in it to this crowd and I’m doing these activities and none of it lined up with my spirit. Like, none of it. So, now, it’s like I feel like I’m levitating because I’m not trying to fit in. I don’t care what you think, I’m going to speak it the way that I feel it, like, you know, so I have an unfair advantage, like, I really like people, you know, I love people.
Mike:Well, in terms . . . but the truth is, is that people can see through what’s real and what’s not real ultimately. So, if people are going to work with you or you have the ability to impact somebody, you need to be real just because people are not . . . if they hear you saying . . . the truth is if you’re in pain or, you know, this is one of the things that I would say has gotten easier for me with social media is I used to only post something if it looked perfect, you know, or like, whatever. And it’s not like I’m like Kim Kardashian or anything like that, but my point is like you pull back on stuff because you’re like, “Well, it’s just not right.” Like, right meaning it doesn’t look perfect, right?
And it’s like the truth is the people that will resonate the most with you, the people that want to build relationships with you want to hear the real message, right? Just like they were sitting next to you, how would they feel right now? And the things that you might say, whether it’s good or bad that’s impacting your life, people will resonate with that because they feel the same way or they know how you feel, right? And so I just think it’s just easier to kind of document, you know, our buddy, RJ Bates says this, “Just document your life or what you’re working on, what’s going on, good, bad or ugly because that’s what people really . . . that’s real reality TV, that’s not, like, orchestrated reality TV,” right?
Beyond:Right, right.
Mike:Yeah. So talk a little bit about what that’s meant for you in terms of the relationships. And you’re, I mean, you’re an amazing guy at building relationships, we know this, that you really do care about people. How has it impacted your business as time’s gone by?
Beyond:As it pertains to relationships?
Mike:Yeah. Just like it causes . . . like you said, you have 100 buyers for example. Well, of course, you’re doing way more deals with a fewer number of people but you’re able to do more deals, you build up a higher level of trust, you’re able to basically build those relationships into something more than just superficial awareness of each other, right?
Beyond:Right. Well, I think it’s easier for me to do business than most people because they’re focusing on something different. I think most people that I know that are having a hard time, they’re having a hard time because they’re focused on the money. We all want to make money, but that’s their main focus, is money. Two, they’re not impeccable with their word. Basically, they’ll say anything to try to get to the money and people could feel it. Even if they can’t see it, they can feel it. With me, I’m going to tell you straight up what it is. Even if it don’t benefit me, I’m going to tell you the truth. So my whole goal is when we do business, this whole experience, you’ll never forget this experience. You’ll never forget that I did exactly what I told you I was going to do.
If you are a client partner and we’d go in on a transaction, you will never forget that I did exactly what I said I was going to do when you wired me the money. When you came to Cleveland and walked through the property, you see the money. And so people will never forget that. They’ll continue to spend money, they’re going to continue to talk about you and it’s no marketing strategy that can beat that. So that’s how my business continues to grow. I have opportunities, I’m in a process of getting more organized and bringing more people in to help me take advantage of the opportunities I have like with one of the biggest wholesalers here.
He said, “Okay, when everything come through, I want to give you the access.” So I had access to go into his portal for all of his deals and get first dibs to [cope 00:15:03], to joint venture or buy them for myself. The same thing with Ben Fredericks. I have the same opportunity to wholesale his deals in multiple states. Why? Because since we’ve been doing business from the first deal, I’ve done everything that I said I was going to do.
Mike:Right. Yup. And the word spreads from that too, right? I’m sure there’s people in your network that want to work with you that came as a referral from somebody else that you treated right, right?
Beyond:Correct.
Mike:Yeah. So talk a little bit about how you nurture those relationships. And I kind of told you upfront or I’ve told this story a few times before about how sometimes people go to networking events or REIA clubs or whatever it might be in our industry or other industries, trade shows and stuff like that. And they hear people talk about, “Oh, networking, your network is your net worth.” They hear all these things and then what they do is they think networking is gathering a big block of business cards that you have, like, your pockets bulging because you’ve got all these cards but they don’t do anything with it. Like, they tend to throw them in a drawer or set it in a stack somewhere.
But once those relationships are started, like, I have a quote and I don’t even remember exactly what it is, but I effectively say something to the effect of that network is a long-term relationship building play. Like, when you meet somebody that’s the beginning of potentially a relationship, but you have to work on that for years and years and years and build and kind of nurture that relationship. Can you share your kind of thoughts on that and any kind of tips to people that are listening, like, how they can get good at nurturing relationships?
Beyond:Well, for me, it’s simplified because I use a system, the SendOutCards system. It simplifies everything. So I don’t have to create a system, it’s already created. I can just go right to my phone and in five minutes I can send somebody a card and a gift. Also there, like, when I put your birth date inside of this system, it reminds me seven days in advance of your birthday, your anniversary. So I never forget birthdays and anniversaries. I can create the campaign. So, if your birthday is in February, I can create the card and set it to go out a week before your birthday right now. So, for me, it simplifies the process.
Mike:Right.
Beyond:Two, when I go to networking events, I identify no more than three people that I really want to connect with. I used to go and I’d want to work the whole room because I heard that’s what you’re supposed to do. And you can pull a bunch of business cards, then I’d wind up with 2,000 business cards, like, so I don’t do it anymore. I identify three people and I connect with them, get their information. They ask me for a card, I tell them I’m going to send them my business card in the mail. And I send them a card.
Mike:Yeah. That’s interesting. That’s interesting. That’s how you get their address, right?
Beyond:Period.
Mike:Yeah. You know, what’s interesting is and, you know, you’ve sent us a gift before. Obviously, you know, we’re big on gifts inside of the Investor Fuel. We give our members gifts, we send out birthday gifts, we do all this stuff because we just think it’s the right thing to do. But that type of stuff, people believe it’s incredibly thoughtful, and it is. But the reality is it feels really thoughtful because it’s so rare, right?
Beyond:Right. Right.
Mike:Like, people just don’t do that because they never get beyond those shallow relationships.
Beyond:And so it’s a huge opportunity in business. And what I mean by that, the whole world is chasing money. So people could see it, feel it, it’s like they preparing their self for it because everybody focused on the money. But if you position yourself to focus on the relationship, you stand out because most people are not focused on relationship. It’s just money. It’s just a transaction. So I want to stand out. I want you to treat me different, right? So I take the first step, with treating you VIP, letting you know that I’m intentional about building a relationship. If I’m doing business in the city of South Euclid here in Cleveland, I go to the building department to pull permits, I send a card and some brownies. The same thing in Cleveland Heights. I send a card and some brownies. Euclid, Ohio, the same thing.
So when I do business in those cities, they know I’m the guy that sends the brownies and the card. I’m treated different. I stand out. The same way at the bank. When I go to the bank, they got the cards that I sent them on a mantle. They don’t ask me for ID. My checks don’t have to wait three days to clear. And then I get stories and feedback from whether it’s the lady that work at the building department or the bank, they like, “Wow, nobody took the time out to do this. I’m glad that you recognize me.” And it’s like, “I’m thankful for you.” Like, we should all be thankful for individuals with great energy. It helps us all. If you interact with somebody and the energy is great, it helps us all. It multiply. It’s a win-win for everybody involved.
Mike:No doubt. No doubt. So what are some tips you could give people that are listening right now that they this resonates with them and they understand the business side of it? The truth is, is it makes life better, right? Like, when you like the people you work with, when you do a good thing, you see the smile on their face and you know, like, there’s a lasting impact, there’s a trail, like, you do right by somebody, you make them feel good, you do something kind and then they go do it too. Like, you can’t necessarily see that, but you know it’s happening. You know, there’s this movie a long time ago called “Pay It Forward” or something, where people would kind of, do these random acts of kindness for each other and it just kind of grows. Right? But it just . . . as a business person in a business that feels sometimes very transactional, it just feels better, right?
Beyond:Absolutely. Absolutely.
Mike:Yeah. So folks that are listening to this and feel that too, what can they do to kind of get started building relationships, focus more on quality and not quantity and putting people first? Like, what’s your way to jumpstart that?
Beyond:The way to jumpstart it? Hmm. I’m trying to figure out how to put it into words because at every turn I’m thinking of how to add value and how I can help you.
Mike:Yeah.
Beyond:How I can create a win-win. Because I feel like if you are great at creating win-wins, like, you don’t have to worry about anything because this is a win-win for everybody involved, like, you create a win-win for your daughter or your son, they’ll want to be involved. When you create a win-win for your wife, she wants to be involved. She wants to cook the meal. She wants to make the reservations. She just want to, and you want to, when it’s a win-win. So it’s life, and then it overflows into business. You start with your personal life, you start right at home, and then it overflows and it multiplies into business. Like, most people are talking about the business is like, step back for a minute.
Talk about your household first and creating win-wins inside of your household because that’s what multiplies and overflows into your business. So some people having issue with because they’re not creating win-wins at home. Yeah, you do it in business, but you don’t do it at home, it’s going to be a disconnect. There’s going to be some turbulence. You’re going to have a problem. So focus on creating win-wins. How can we both win? Everybody’s interested in a win-win. I don’t know anybody that’s not interested in a win-win.
Mike:Yup. Yup. And some of it too is . . . what about maybe thoughts on how to take those relationships offline and make a richer experience, whether it’s in person or at events or, you know, other things where you can physically meet people, or phone calls or whatever it might be, like, something that gets it out of social media. What are some thoughts you have there on how people could do that?
Beyond:It’s a couple of things. The first thing is we all are connected to a higher power, whatever you want to call it. We connected. It’s something that we feel like we have [promptence 00:23:17], or you can call it your infinite intelligence that tells you to do something, but most of us ignore it. I’m sure everyone scrolls through social media and see a person that they feel like they could connect with that. That is something inside of them that recognizes something inside of you, but you continue to scroll. No. Stop by to say hello. Thank them for putting positivity out into the universe. Send them a DM. “Hey, I love the information that you post, hope you have an awesome day.” Start right there.
You could inbox them on their birthday. Inbox and get their address. Send them a nice gift. You could . . . what I do is I’ve bought so many tickets to seminars that I never planned on going to. Why? Because these are individuals that I wanted to connect with and build a relationship with. So I know if I’m about what they’re about, they will assist me. If they selling a t-shirt and I buy the t-shirt, I buy the hat, I pay $200 for your course and then two weeks before the event I let you know that I can’t make it. Why don’t you give that ticket to somebody else? What’s going to happen when I show up in Atlanta and you live in Atlanta and I supported your t-shirts, paid for your event?
You’ll sit down and have coffee with me. So be about people, be about what people about. If you wrote a book, if you created a t-shirt, it’s a reason why you created it and the people that support you, you are more open to listen to them, to take their call, to answer their DM because you are about what they’re about. Be about what people about, not just what you want or what you need at the time.
Mike:Yeah. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. And a lot of people don’t really know, and I’m not saying this from a place of ego, but a lot of people that are really successful, you know, they crave deeper relationships too. I used to work for like a Fortune 500 CEO and he really didn’t have a lot of friends or personal friends, you know, I mean, and it’s just people sometimes won’t come to you because they think, “Well, I’m not worthy of talking to you,” or whatever. It’s dumb. But there’s a lot of people that look put together on social media or maybe they are, you know, have done very well at business, but sometimes people are afraid to approach them, but they’re the most approachable if somebody would just do it.
Beyond:I agree. Here’s another thing that I recommend. Like, everybody have a marketing budget, right?
Mike:Yep.
Beyond:Create or start allocating money from deals to create a relationship budget, where you may be sending Starbucks gift cards, it may be Home Depot gift cards, it may be Cheesecake Factory gift cards. It may be you sending a money tree with a card attached. Create a relationship-building budget where you take Mike out to lunch, you take Mike out to dinner, you pay for Mike and his wife to go get a massage day. Guaranteed, your business will grow, not go, grow to another level.
Mike:It’s funny that . . . that’s an amazing tip because a lot of people don’t really . . . they kind of feel like, “Well, I have to be there or I have to go deliver something,” or you start to find reasons that you can’t do it, you know? But those little things definitely pay off and then people will, you know, people will post it on, they’re so grateful because it could be the smallest thing, but like a $10 thing, you know? But it’s just like nobody’s ever done that before and it just felt cool for them and, yeah, that’s amazing.
Beyond:Absolutely.
Mike:Awesome, buddy. Well, hey, while I’ve got you here, so you’ve been a member of Investor Fuel for a little while. Would you mind just sharing a little bit of testimonial on Investor Fuel, maybe how it’s impacted your business and why you think others that are qualified, that are active real estate investors should be a part of the Investor Fuel Mastermind?
Beyond:Well, the first thing you’d say, impacted my business . . . It’s impacted my life. That’s first for me, you know, like, business is a byproduct, it’s secondary, but just the energy in the room, the conversation that me and Stinson had, I got chills from the conversation. Like, I got chills and it was like, “This is interesting.” But to show up to the event, to show up in San Diego, that was my first Investor Fuel meeting. And the energy matched the conversation that I had with Stinson. Most of the things that people are offering sounds good. The first conversation sounds good, and then nothing else lines up.
So that’s one of the main things that stood out for me. Stinson’s conversation, I got chills from it. And I showed up to the meeting and it was like, it was multiplied. I was like, “Oh wow, this is real.” So just the energy. It’s like some of the stuff I know I won’t use when it comes to marketing, but the energy that’s in that building, the energy that’s in the cities that we show up in, the people that I . . . even if we just have a conversation for two minutes, those conversations, those people, I will never forget them. It’s like the resources that the people are genuinely sharing, you know, coming from the heart. Like, what you do, the platform that you put together to bring people together so we can impact each other’s life while sharing information and resources, it’s incredible. I love it. Not like it. Love it.
Mike:Thank you, my friend. Yeah, and I think back to, kind of, our conversation a minute ago, it’s like, I think a lot of people that are in Investor Fuel, for example, a lot of people that are well connected on social media have thriving businesses and ups and downs, we all have ups and downs, but it’s a venue where you can come there and be real, right, and not be afraid to be a little vulnerable, share what’s going on because the people there generally care about each other. And if you’re down, I want to lift you up, but I need to know that so I can help you. And I think we’ve kind of created this culture of giving and sharing that, really, is unlike probably anything else out there . . .
Beyond:Oh, yeah. It’s family.
Mike: . . . in our industry for sure. It’s a family, yeah a Fuel family. So, Beyond, I want to ask where people can connect to you. Just coincidentally, I didn’t buy this because I knew you were coming on the show because I bought this about a month ago before we had this scheduled. But Beyond put out this book here, I don’t know if it backwards or not, but “Quotes and Confirmations,” a book that you can . . . I bought it on Amazon so you can go out there and get it. Beyond Wynn is his name. So we’ll add a link for Amazon down in the show notes, but if folks want to connect to you and learn more about what you’re doing or reach out to you and start to build that relationship, where can they go to learn more?
Beyond:On Facebook and Instagram, Beyond Wynn. B-E-Y-O-N-D, last name Wynn, W-Y-N-N. I would love to connect.
Mike:Awesome. Awesome. Well, appreciate you being with us today, my friend.
Beyond:It’s a pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Mike:Keep on impacting the world. You’re putting out a lot of good stuff and I love it.
Beyond:Thank you.
Mike:Yeah. Awesome. Everybody, hey, thanks for joining us today. Hope you got some value out of my conversation with Beyond here, he’s a great guy. We’ll add some links down below in the show notes so you can find him on Instagram. He has such a unique name that as long as you do a search for Beyond Wynn, it’s not like it’s a Fred Thomas that you’re not going to have a hard time finding him. But we’ll add links down below for all that. If you haven’t yet, subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, YouTube, anywhere where you can watch and see our videos, of course, investorfuel.com, you can find all of our shows and, of course, flipnerd.com as well. I’d love it if you’d go out and subscribe, give us some positive feedback if you got some value out of this. Until then, we’ll see you on the next episode.
Beyond:Peace.
Mike:Are you an active real estate investor? If so, and you want to latch onto the power of surrounding yourself with over 100 of the nation’s leading real estate investors, all committed to building stronger businesses and living richer, fuller lives, you should jump on a call with us to learn more about Investor Fuel. Simply visit investorfuel.com to get started.