Rainmakers: featuring business development's elite
Rainmakers: featuring business development's elite
Interview with Bob Connolly, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer - Lockton Northeast Region
Bob Connolly has extremely strong relationships with many large company CFOs, General Counsels and Boards of Directors. Listen as we go back to the basics on how to build an amazing professional network and how to be thought of a value added, trusted advisor to influencial business people.
Bob Connolly, Featured Guest
Carl Grant, Host
Seth Grant, Producer
Welcome to Rainmakers! I'm here with Bob Conley, Chairman and CEO of locked in North East region. Bob, thanks for joining us today
Bob Connolly :Hey, Carl.
Carl Grant :So Bob, you know, runs division of locked in, it's an insurance company. So essentially he sells insurance. But the one thing I want to say about Bob I'd known him for many years is, is if I'm looking to get toa board of director or a CFO or a general counsel, that one guy I know that if I reach out to him, Bob will always have that contact and and we'll be in with those guys and I don't know how in the world, somebody who's selling insurance and there's thousands of people that sell insurance get to know the people that you know, how do you do that?
Bob Connolly :So it's it's a great question crime and I think our business like a lot of other professional service firms are arguably a commodity. So I've always tried to differentiate in terms of, sort of, really at the end of the day, being detached and putting the clients best interest first. At the end of the day, all you have, all you have to sell in life is really your reputation. And so we, I try to come at it through the lens of helping clients solve business problems, first understanding their industry, understanding their business plan, understanding kind of where they're headed. To me that context is critical for us to do our job. And I think we really try to become more of a trusted business advisor and less of a vendor, if you will. I found that that approach over time is generated lots of opportunities. And that can be doesn't have to be insurance, it could be sourcing a board member or sourcing somebody else for the C suite or sourcing an m&a deal or introducing you and your team. So kind of depends on where they are in their trajectory. And You know, again, that's that's sort of where our focus is, I think everything is really trying to specialize and couple different industries. So a lot of a lot of that Rolodex that you spoke over is really in the tech community, or in the in the government contracting space around and see, but also build out some networks and real estate, and financial institutions. And frankly, each of those ecosystems is pretty small. And you can kind of get a sense of who the buyers are, which companies are up and coming. And we're ultimately, you know, if you're if you're spending time in that space, you can already get a sense of what their issues might be as that company continues to grow.
Carl Grant :All right, so you got a marketing degree from University of Maryland, right? And I take it well started you know, kind of the same place you get your degree and you go out I don't even know how you make it the bridge from from getting a marketing degree to becoming an insurance guy. So for the young people listening and wondering, how do I how do i do what he does? If you can touch on that, then I want to ask you some more questions about how you do what you do.
Bob Connolly :Sure. I mean, so I was, I was going to go to law school, I spent two years on the hill before I stumbled into the insurance business fell in love with it. And what I like about it is, again, you really need to understand the company's business first, before you can actually do a good job. And I was fortunate in my early 20s, to work at a firm where I had some great mentors. You know, I was always intellectually curious when and learn about those businesses. And again, I think whether you're wearing a law firm hat or an accounting hat or a banking hat, to some extent, the business challenges are similar, just the book selling is a little bit different. So in my 20s, when I stumbled an insurance business, I really try to become an expert in my craft first and not just be a generalist, and at the time, it was really specializing and ensuring directors and officers, it's a business that will get you into the C suite. It's a business that will get you fired private equity. And if you understand the technical issues and the legal issues that come with that, then later on in my career as that network begin to mature and develop, I could always instill even to this day, fall back on technical issues, whether it's related to public company issues, or IPOs, or m&a, or spax, or whatever is happening in that ecosystem. But again, me being a subject matter expert in something I think is critical.
Carl Grant :Okay, so I think of insurance kind of like an audit, right? I sold audits for a while, and everybody needs one, but nobody wants to be sold one. Right?
Bob Connolly :Right.
Carl Grant :So somehow you've made it, you know, you've made yourself valuable, a valuable person to know beyond the fact that you you sell insurance. And so when you go out and say you you've seen, you know, someone says CEO of name your company out there, big, big company, you know, either private equity back or going public, and you want to get to know that guy or gal. How do you how do you do that? How do you make the approach
Bob Connolly :So yeah, it kind of depends because each I always say it's a I believe in rifle shots, not not shotguns, and I will probably a little more deliberate on that approach, I probably spend more time understanding the company who's backing them what the issues might be, what's their risk profile look like. So we just did an IPO for a FinTech, right. And that IPO in the FinTech space is different than I've got another client, that's a life science company in terms of how the public markets may treat each of those and therefore what that risk profile might be. And then I'll take a look at the board and the management team and really start to understand, okay, our buyer tends to be general counsel, or CFO. And then I'll take a look and try to get a sense of Okay, am I connected to anybody there through LinkedIn and other social media platforms? And can I get a soft intro? And that's basically it. I mean, you know, but when I was younger, Canada, I was probably making more cold calls. So part of it depends to it. Some of the younger folks is not being afraid to pick up the phone. But you need to know what you're going to say and how you're going to say it. And going back to my rifle shot comment, what value are you bringing to that conversation? And you probably have about 30 seconds to articulate. But as I got older, the network matured into my late 30s, early 40s. And now now in my early 50s, it's definitely easier to sort of take a look and see, you know, My drive to get a connection to that company, and maybe asking for a soft intro. But even today, occasion, I also pick up the phone and make a phone call.
Carl Grant :Yeah, I remember one time I was going to meet the CFO of a venture back company in New York. And I've been doing this a long time, like you, you know. And then remember this the first time I got nervous a long time to go meet this guy because he had already they already raised a whole bunch of venture capital that I didn't know any you know, my shtick is I help companies raise capital, help them connect with CFOs and general counsel's and, and you know, value added connections that I couldn't think of anything I could do for this guy. And so I sat down with him and I had, like you said a few minutes in his office, and I actually had butterflies and, and I was like, what I'm gonna say to this guy, you know, and, and I remember so he came from investment banking Bob and, and he and to get from being an investment banker to the CFO of a company, he had to network his butt off to get that job. And so he was really into what I did. And it ended up being a great meeting, you know, I sat down with him, and he said, He's like, who's on your who's on your target list? You know, who have you been meeting with? And, and I just pulled out my pipeline and started going through it with him. And he's like, oh, I'll connect you there. I'll connect you there. And we ended up doing their IPO. Yeah, so you know, you just you never know I have you ever had any like that where you actually, even though you're, you know, you're the guy. You hit?
Bob Connolly :Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, sometimes too. I think sometimes people have the perception. We have the meaning that I'm going to come in and sell them something and so so already their defense mechanisms are sort of up. And they're waiting for the pitch. I don't really have a pitch other than what I just said. And I think sometimes it's sort of disarming. And I'm really legitimately there just to sort of build a relationship and rapport. And whether whether that turns into something next month or three years now, that's okay. And so I think to some extent, you know, they're there, some people aren't really ready for that they're waiting for the hard sell, you're like, I don't, I don't really have a hard sell. And I find that that approach actually attracts the client to kind of clients you want. And to be candid, there are other there's other buyers out there that they're just looking to spreadsheet against everybody else. Those are not the folks that I want to do business with. So sometimes when you're in those meetings to kind of find those people. And you realize pretty quickly that it's just it's just an exercise and not really interested in building long term relationship.
Carl Grant :Yeah that's funny, as you mentioned, I think a lot of the young young folks coming out and just starting out, they're out trying get the quick sale. And and I do the same thing I do the same thing you do I, I don't sell, right. I mean, I, when I go out and meet with somebody, I try to figure out what I could do to help that other person accomplish their business objectives. And right, and then they then they like me, and then they want to work with us and, and just like, you know, insurance, everybody needs insurance, right? Everybody needs a law firm. They have lots of legal needs over time. And eventually that relationship grows into, you know, you know, and usually when I introduce them to a lawyer here, it's like, oh, you know who you need to talk to, to help you with this. With this business issue that you're dealing with? It's not because I want to sell them a lawyer. It's like, I got a guy who focuses on FinTech. He's the guy I got to talk to him. He knows everybody in the in that industry, and then it naturally evolves into them working together.
Bob Connolly :I mean, my mindset is I know I gotta sell something three years from now I may as well be this person, right? So I'm not in a hurry for me in our sales cycles are long like yours, it can take six to 12 months. But my mindset is I want to get one new meeting a week with somebody we've never talked to. So if I meet with 50 companies over the next year, we'll probably swing the bat on 20 of them will close 10 that math for me hasn't changed in 20 years. And each industry is a little bit different clearly, but that those are metrics that are fairly straightforward in our space. And, and so it's again, just starting those conversations. And it could be I mean, I've got one coming up tomorrow, ironically, on a relationship that I started talking to four years ago, and it's a CFO at a life science company. He's at his third company, and he's finally ready to do some business. And it's because I've been giving him advice and supporting him and sometimes, you know, sometimes there's politics applied, he can't pull the trigger and other times, you know, we there's incompetent, it's doing a good job. But he landed at a company and the company is really struggling and he called me and said, We need some help. So I think again, if you have that long term perspective and other best interests in mind, Over time will be incredibly successful.
Carl Grant :And you find sometimes you do favors for some of these people and you cultivate the relationship and they're never in a position to hire you, but they refer you other business.
Bob Connolly :Oh, yeah, that happens. And again, I think it's all about detachment and really doing what's best. Occasionally, it's just not a good fit. But you're still there to help them and you don't know where paths will cross. And occasionally, sometimes, you know, some people will take advantage of your, of your approach. But I still feel like in the long run, actually, it actually what I love about sales, I can actually, it actually attract the kind of clients I want to do business with and have some fun with.
Carl Grant :Yeah, so I'm always hesitant to hit you up for an introduction, because I know I'm asking you to expand capital, you know, capital in that relationship. And so I know it's, you know, it's a big ask when I asked you, you know, hey, Bob, you know, this guy, this general counsel, this company, it's about to go public, and, and yet every time I reach out Which isn't that often right? I don't, I don't bother you that much. But if I reach out, you always get me to that person. And, and so you've got so much trust in these relationships, it's like this guy. Last thing he needs to do is no another representative from a law firm, right? I'm sure he's been pitched by 10 law firms already, but they take your recommendation, and they always take the meeting, and how is it that you get that kind of trust, to get them to do something they may not even want to do?
Bob Connolly :So I'm pretty protective of my network, meaning I'll only refer people that are really calm, because ultimately, it's a reflection on me, right? So I really try to align myself in the business to people that really know their stuff. And so not only are they technically sound going back to my earlier comment, but they can also help in the business community. And clearly you're one of those guys. So it's an easy thing for me to do. But I've also been pretty vigilant about protecting it from happening because I'll get calls from other folks I don't know as well, asking for those kinds of introductions. You know, I go slow with this because, you know, if you refer somebody and they don't know what they do. And sometimes I'll pick it up and said, hey, look, I think it's worth your while, I'm sure you're happy with who you're working with somebody I trust, once you give them 15 minutes, and in most cases, people will respond very well to that.
Carl Grant :And do you always do the double opt in? Right? Were you, you know, like, I want I want this introduction. But does he want to know me? Do you always check first?
Bob Connolly :Um, sometimes I will. Sometimes I'll pick up the phone if it's if it's a really tight personal business relationship, and I can send a quick email, I'll do that. But usually I'll call him give them a heads up. So there's context to the introduction, not just sending a blind note. And I'll and again, I'm also the type of person that doesn't do it a lot in the same company. Right, so not bombarding them with all you know, here's here's the guy selling legal services. Here's somebody selling real estate services. Here's somebody selling a lot of services. So you know, pretty judicious to make sure it's the right fit.
Carl Grant :Yeah. And I appreciate that. So last last question. We're coming up on our time here. So if there's a young, you know, man or woman who's maybe a marketing major at University of Maryland, and they're listening to podcasts, or watching on YouTube, and they're like, yeah, I have no idea what they're gonna do with their life and they see, they see you or they hear you, as I want to do what he does that sounds like fun. What advice do you have for that?
Bob Connolly :I mean, it's gonna, I'm sure they've heard this before. But, you know, I always believe in the culture of the firm first, so get get into a company where, you know, it's gonna be supportive of sort of a long term approach to talent development. Being a firm where you can have it's kind of mentors and support and training, particular in your 20s that they're super, super critical. But also, at the end of the day, I think tricky in the current environment. And I'm really seeing it now is try to put yourself in an industry where that's going to be relevant. A and B, if you can drive revenue in an organization, you're always going to be wanted. And that was where I sort of made the shift from sort of a line broker, if you will into on the business development side, because companies are always looking for that kind of talent. And then I would say why you're doing it and what I did in my 20s, I sort of had my day job holding a broker desk, but I started selling on the side started going out at night on the side just to sort of see Can I do it too, I like it, and started to nurture that network a little bit, and then, you know, got a taste for it. And I was ready to ready to go, but that probably took Honestly, I was 20 to 22 when I started and then I realized it probably took a good five years. So you know, patience is also something I think is important. It will be rewarded.
Carl Grant :Bob Connolly, Chairman & CEO of locked in North East region. Thank you for joining us today. Appreciate it.
Bob Connolly :Thanks, Carl.
Carl Grant :All right. Take care. Transcribed by https://otter.ai