PPB March 2015

2015 PPAI EXPO REVIEW

INNOVATE

28 •

PPB

• MARCH 2015

KEYNOTE LUNCHEON

WHAT’S THE STATUS OF YOUR real-life relationships?

The answer will reveal how close you are to growing your

business, developing your career and succeeding at life in

general.

Serial entrepreneur Troy Hazard addressed a crowd at his

keynote luncheon, titled “Revenue Through Relationships,”

and explained how building relationships with yourself, your

friends and family, and your customers is the only way to get

to the next level in any endeavor. Hazard then used experi-

ences from his 23 years in business as owner of 11 different

companies to teach listeners how to engage people and

build a network over time.

The first step in the process is to develop relationships

with yourself, by determining what you really want, and solid-

ifying bonds with family and friends. “If you don’t have these

things right, you can’t focus on how you serve your clients,”

he explained.

The next step is to be distinctive, emotive and collabora-

tive when prospecting and working with clients. Hazard

admonished the audience to adjust their language to suit

customers and to avoid falling into ruts with their business

operations. “When the phone rings, how do you interact with

them? Take the time to connect instead of going through the

motions,” he said. “This way, you’ll understand their jour-

ney.”

Before concluding, Hazard asked everyone in the room to

build relationships by energetically engaging with others—

both on and off social media. “We are not present in busi-

ness anymore,” he said. “We still need to shake hands, kiss

babies and interact with each other.”—TAMA UNDERWOOD

Troy Hazard: Get To the Next Level

With Real-World Relationships