If you and your organization are not utilizing Instagram and other social media platforms, you are missing the boat! Instagram is one of the best ways to connect and communicate with millions of people. By knowing the Instagram best practices on how to network on Instagram, you will set yourself up to communicate with countless people through direct messages. As a result, you will be able to sell on Instagram and scale you and your business.

The Against All Odds Radio Show Presents:

Get Inspired By The #1 Female Motivational Speaker In The World: Natasha Graziano

The Against All Odds Radio Show, hosts Sean V. Bradley, CSP and L.A. Williams, discuss the power of social media platforms.  Most notably, they focus on Instagram.  If used correctly, Instagram is the most powerful tool to connect and communicate with millions of people.  With the Instagram best practices, you can easily sell on Instagram.  Joining Sean and L.A. is Natasha Graziano née Grano.

About Natasha Graziano

Natasha is a Global Influencer with millions of followers on social media, and has one of the top rooms on Clubhouse. She is a leading Thought Leader to the new generation, The #1 Motivational Speaker Under 40 in the World, Best Selling Author and #1 Social Media Expert. Natasha’s wisdom went viral on social media and has generated over 100 Million views & millions of followers making her one of the most respected names in her field online internationally.

 

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For Weekly Tips How To Sell On Instagram & Social Media

Show Notes: Best Practices On How To Sell On Instagram & Social Media

How To Become The Best In The World

The world is a big place.  There are billions and billions of people.  To become the greatest at anything is impressive.  In order to become the best at something, you must always work on perfecting your craft.  You must put in the time on your craft, working on it and perfecting.  If you want to be the best at something, you have to do what everyone else is not willing to do.

Getting Through The Tough Times

When things get tough, you must remember that the tough times are temporary.  It is these times you must stand up and face adversity in the mirror.  If you truly believe that you will succeed, on top of putting in the time and taking action, ultimately, it comes to fruition.  

The 3 Hour Rule To Success

Natasha wasn’t happy being second place to someone else.  She wanted to be first place to herself.  So she put in the time and effort.  She spent 3 hours each day on her craft.  To put it into perspective, that is 1,096 hours each year.  It is not only a matter of putting in the time, but also being consistent with it each day.

Your Platform To Sell On Instagram

You Need To Have A Platform

Having a platform, at any capacity, will help serve you.  However, the bigger your platform, the more eyeballs you have, the more people your reach, and the more sales you therefore close.  This is because the more people who see your work will mean there is a bigger percentage of the people you can sell to.  This will not only help you grow your Instagram and other platforms, but it will also help you scale your business.

Natasha Graziano’s Platform

In her first year, Natasha was broke and homeless when she built her first million followers.  However, Natasha saw that as it was a million people that she was able to help.  It was also a million people that she was able to reach.  As a result, she made her first million dollars off of her first million followers.  Using social media can make a seven figure difference to you and your business.

From there, she was able to use her platform and followers to further her success.  Whenever she reaches out to actors, movie stars, super stars, and other high profile people, the answer is always yes.  This is because she has the blue checkmark next to her name and millions of followers next to it.

Platforms Will Help You Sell On Instagram

When you go and meet someone, the first thing people do is they go to your Instagram.  They don’t look at anything else.  This is because they want to know more.  They want to see what you are flexing.  They are looking for three main things. 

1. What Is Your Value?

When you first meet someone, the first thing they want to know is the value.  What value are you offering?  They also want to see if you have valuable content on your pages.  What is your content?  Additionally, what are you putting out?  They will want to know if you are selling the best product in town?  Lastly, they will want to know if you are giving the best value with the product you are selling.

2. What Is Your Press?

The second thing someone you are just meeting is you press.  They will want to know where they have seen you.  Additionally, they will look for any articles you have been in.  There are many reasons for this, however, the most important is that they want to know if they can trust you.  Additionally, they will want to know if and where they have seen you.  When you get named in many different places, it will help deliver what your press is.  

3. Who Have They Seen You With?

The last thing someone will want to know is who they have seen you with.  They want to know that you have been associated with people that they trust and know.  As soon as they see you with someone that they trust and know is when they will start to follow.  Subsequently, when they start to follow you they will start to buy from you.  This is because they trust you.

How To Build Your Instagram Account

Rebrand Your Instagram Account

You need to start with your brand.  What is it that you are trying to convey?  If you already have an Instagram, then the The very first thing you have to do is you need to do a rebrand.  If you do not have the money to hire a professional photographer, then you can do it like Natasha did.  

Natasha used her iPhone.  She decided that the brand was about her, so she did the branding on herself.  First, she thought about what she was wearing that represents her in that shot.  Then, she thought about the colors.   Because colors can affect mood and emphasis, Natasha put a big emphasis on it.  Especially because there are certain colors that are proven to boost sales and help you sell in particular.  

Your Instagram Needs To Be Aesthetically Appealing

Next, you need to make sure your page and content is aesthetically appealing.  It also has to be easy on the eyes.  It is best to have a theme.  There are plenty of apps available to help you with this.  If you do not want to pay for the app, there are plenty of free options available, like Canva.  With those apps, you can create a whole template for your theme.  While this is important, it is not the only one thing.  Most importantly, though, is your content.  Is your content aesthetically appealing?  If it is, then people will follow.  

Who Are Your Similar Accounts On Instagram?

Once you have your brand and theme ideas, you then have to focus on your content.  However, you don’t want to create content for the sake of creating content.  You have to do some research.  Who are your similar accounts?  Create a list of the top five like minded accounts.  They should be who you want to be like that are also really similar to you.  

Once you have this list, look at their pages.  Study it.  Learn it.  You not only need to know how they are posting, but you also need to know what they are posting.  Additionally, take a note on how often they are posting.  This is important because you will see what you are competing against.  If you want to be like them, or even better than them, then you need to know this information.  You then need to co-create content, so people that buy their products will also buy yours.

How To Sell On Instagram

Networking & Reaching Out To People On Instagram

Once you have your content figured out and your value is good, you need to sell.  To start, you need to start reaching out to people.  You need to do this on a regular basis as well.  For example, if you reach out to 50 people per day, that is over 18,000 people per year.  More importantly, that is a potential 50 sales each day.  That is potentially over 18,000 sales per year.

People Follow You Because They Want You To Sell On Instagram

When reaching out to people on Instagram, you need to get out of your head.  Remember, if someone is following you on Instagram it is because they CHOSE to follow up.  Now, Why do you think they chose to follow you?  It is because they want you to sell to them! They are literally following you because they want to buy your products.  You are not doing anyone a service or a justice if you do not sell to them.  

How To Reach Out To Sell On Instagram

Reaching out to people is not as hard as some people feel.  You simply have to push it onto them.  Essentially, you have to take your thought process out.  This is especially true if you are nervous.  Just go all in!  When you do reach out to them, you have to get them to engage with you.  Most importantly, you need to get them to buy from you.  Before you start reaching out, though, it is important that you work on your perfect pitch.  When working on your pitch, do not create a lengthy or elaborate message.  Natasha’s advice is to create a small elevator pitch that is about a paragraph long.  It should be straight to the point. 

Best Practices To Connect With People On Instagram

The best way to connect with people on Instagram is through regular engagement.  Natasha recommends going through their most recent 3 pictures and posts and liking them.  Then, you want to go to their most recent post and leave a comment.  Natasha likes to leave a very simple comment.  She typically starts by saying that she loves their work, content, or product.  Then she says that she would like to get connected with them.

All things considered, you have to make sure that every comment is genuine.  You need to be you.  That is the whole reason why they are following you and it’s what they want.  They want to know and feel who you are.  Simply put, authenticity wins every single time.  

Sell On Instagram Best Practices: Direct Messages

How To Communicate Through Direct Messages

Once you like their recent posts and leave a comment, you can then send them a DM.  Remember, your DM should be an elevator pitch, no longer than a paragraph.  Your message should be a little paragraph about what you do and why it might interest them.  

The Importance Of Two Way Dialogue So You Can Sell On Instagram

Natasha further explains the winning route to DMs on Instagram.  People like rapport.  They like a two way conversation.  Additionally, they like to feel like you care about them.  While this is true for in person connections, Instagram is no different.  People want to feel like it is a two way dialogue.  All you need to do is open up the dialogue.

How To Get People To Respond On Instagram 

A great method of getting the communication flowing both ways is to ask them questions.  Natasha likes to ask them about her product.  She likes to ask them what they think about her product.  This then gives you an angle to communicate with them.  More importantly, this touches on how people like to feel as if their thoughts and opinions are heard.

More About The Against All Odds Radio Show’s Hosts and Guests

Sean V Bradley | L.A. Williams | Natasha Graziano

Resources To Help You Sell On Instagram

Dealer Synergy & Bradley On Demand: The automotive industry’s #1 training, tracking, testing, and certification platform and consulting & accountability firm.

The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast: is the #1 resource for automotive sales professionals, managers, and owners.  Also, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!

The Against All Odds Radio Show: Hosting guests that have started from the bottom and rose to the top.  Also, join The Against All Odds Radio Show Guests & Listeners Facebook Group for the podcasted episodes.

For more interactivity, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Club on Clubhouse.

Win the Game of Googleopoly: Unlocking the secret strategy of search engines.

The Against All Odds Radio Show is Proudly Sponsored By: 

Car.com: Visit Car.com today, where they do the research and you do the driving.

Scar Food: Scar Treatment for Scars, Acne Scars, & Stretch marks – visit ScarFood.com today!

Any business owner, athlete, entertainer, or entrepreneur is familiar with the concept of losing, and understandably, the magnitude of loss can be difficult. We are trained in these positions to take our mistakes and losses as a lesson for the future, but no one is there to train you on how to overcome adversity.  We have all heard that you must fail to succeed, but who is there to teach you how to overcome the feelings that come with failures. 

Recognizing the full effort placed into your goal can redirect your disappointment.  Finding satisfaction in your role in your training, preparation, studying, and performance is the first step to get ahead of the curve, and on the right track back to success.

This week on the Against All Odds Radio Show, hosts Sean V. Bradley, CSP and L.A. Williams discuss what it takes to be successful.  More importantly, they focus on the side of success that is not nearly as glamorous, failure.  In order to succeed, you must fail and overcome adversity.

Joining Sean and L.A. is Karl Mecklenberg, a former Denver Broncos Captain and All-Pro Linebacker.  In many ways, professional athletes, entrepreneurs/ business professionals are very similar. While both are known to be risk takers, they are fully recognized as goal-oriented and fully aware of incremental improvement.

About Karl Mecklenberg

Karl Mecklenburg is a former Denver Broncos Captain and All-Pro Linebacker.  Considered the NFL’s most versatile player, Karl played all seven defensive front positions in a career that included six Pro Bowl and three Super Bowl appearances.  In 2001, Karl was inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Karl was a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for eight consecutive years.

After his career in the NFL, Karl Mecklenburg, CSP, earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation from the National Speaker’s Association and is presently the only football legend to have achieved Certified Speaking Professional designation.  

As a highly regarded speaker, Karl tailors his presentations to the needs of the group while teaching and inspiring his audience.  The lessons life in the NFL taught him about teamwork, courage, dedication, desire, honesty and forgiveness, and goal setting are his “Six Keys to Success”.

Fail To Succeed: How To Overcome Adversity

Karl’s Path To The NFL

Karl had to overcome adversity during his entire journey to the NFL.  In his junior year of high school, he did not make the varsity football team and played on the JV team.  He was not sought after by colleges to play football for them, nor did he receive a student athlete scholarship.  Instead, he ended up being a college walk on.

When the NFL draft came, it looked like Karl was not going to make it.  He waited until the very end, where he was selected in the 12th round as the 310th pick.  He was the 20th to last pick in the NFL draft and was not expected to make the final team.

How Karl Solidified His Position On The Denver Broncos

Karl did not let that get to his head and worked hard throughout the Broncos training camp.  He believes it was this work and dedication that led to the moment that secured his position on the team.  It was his first preseason game and Karl played in the 3rd quarter.  With this time on the field, his tenacity, and his training, Karl was prepared to seize the moment.  He recorded a few sacks, forced a fumble, and was named the defensive player of the game.

Karl’s Successes and Failures In The NFL

In his 12 years playing football for the Denver Broncos, he only experienced 2 losing seasons.  He even played in three Super Bowls.  It was a dream come true; however, he and the Broncos got beat and got beat badly in all three Super Bowls.

After the first Super Bowl loss, Karl thought the sun wouldn’t come up.  But the sun did come up.  It was heartbreaking, but life goes on.  That was the lesson: clarity and consistency.  Karl’s thought process was “This is who I am, this is the direction I am going.  I am a pro football player and I have to get ready for next year”.

How To Overcome Adversity Star, Karl Mecklenburg

How Karl Approaches His Failures

Karl believes that you need to persevere and overcome your losses.  Karl made it to the Super Bowl three times and lost all three times.  Personally, Karl approaches it like many other things in life.  Football is a team game just as business, family, and community is a team game.  If you do everything you possibly can to come out on top, then at the end of the day, you can look yourself in the eye.  

Karl’s best advice is to make the right decisions and choices along the way.  If you prepare to your very best, are clear and consistent in the cornerstones of what is important to you and the team, and do everything you can to succeed, then your failures are not actually failures.  You can look yourself in the eye no matter the outcome, whether you win or lose.

Karl’s Perspective On Success & Failure

In his career, there were games that Karl lost but played very well and felt good about the game.  There were also games that Karl won but he played poorly and felt bad about the game.  It is important how the team does; however, you don’t have control over the entire team.  The one thing that you can control though, is your preparation and your performance.

Karl used this same approach when recovering injuries.  When recovering from injuries, Karl would see other players lifting weights, practicing, and training while he was there trying to walk again.  This is where he realized “what can I actually do?  What can I control?”.  Karl used this time to make connections in the locker room and the training room.  

Typically, football teams have cliques, offensive players will hang out with other offensive players, defense with defense, older players with older players, etc.  Karl crossed a lot of those lines.  The advantage was that when he got back, he had those connections all the way through the team and was able to lead the team as a captain with everyone as opposed to just the group that he would naturally fall into.

The Keys To Success

Success Is Dependent Upon Your Attitude

If you get down when you fail and think that you are unable to do something, then you won’t be able to.  Karl’s entire path to the NFL was a rough road with failures, but he did not let the tough times make decisions for him.  If he let himself become what everyone else said he was, he would not have enjoyed a 12 year career in the NFL. You are who you say you are.  It is what you do, it’s how you control your situations, and how you prepare and go into each day.

Success Is Tied To Preparation

Karl goes into each day doing a little bible study, thinking about the people he is going to run into that day and how he can positively affect them and how he can help them.  With this routine, he is prepared for each day.  When opportunity arises, he is able to jump right on it.  Having a routine to properly prepare for each day will give you more chances where you can rise to the occasion to be successful, regardless of what other people are expecting out of you.

You Need To Have The Courage To Try New Things In Order To Succeed

Most people are afraid to fail.  They say they want to accomplish something, but they are so afraid of failing that they don’t put themselves out there.  You need to have the courage to try new things.  

Karl never played the linebacker position in football until his third year in the NFL.  He was a third down pass rusher and special teams player but his team said he would be able to help them as a linebacker.  He trained the entire year as a linebacker, but never played the position in a game until the 10th game of the season.  He played 6 games that season as a linebacker and ended up making the pro bowl as an all pro linebacker.  

You need the courage to try new things.  Everyone has more potential and possibility than we can use in a lifetime, but you need to have the courage to try new things.  You won’t have the chance to be successful if you do not have the courage to try new things.  Improvement is always changing, and if you don’t change, there is no way you can improve.

Decisiveness Is A Trait Of Successful People

Karl’s book, Heart of a Student Athlete: All-Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families is a great place to start for anyone striving to make it to the NFL.  It talks about a number of different factors that allowed Karl to become successful and make it to the NFL.  His number one piece of advice though, is decisiveness.  

Decisiveness is all about preparation; going into each situation understanding what might happen and then allowing yourself to go.  Karl was the 310th pick in the draft, but what made him one of the best to ever play the game is that he was decisive.  He would take that first step.  If you take the first step in the right direction.  before anyone else does, all of the angles will change in your favor.  Taking the first step in the right direction before anybody else does, you have it made and you have the opportunity to be successful and open a whole lot of doors.

Practice, Drilling, & Training

Practice, drilling, and training is huge.  It is closely tied to your clarity and consistency in your pursuit of what is important to you.  Is what is important to you something you are thinking about and doing every day?  Are you taking another step towards that desire, passion, or mission each day?  You have to practice, drill, and train.  Through this, you will fail, but you have to allow yourself to fail.  Then you need to acknowledge the fact that you failed, followed by setting goals to fix those failures. 

Overcoming Adversity

Failure is a part of becoming successful.  People misunderstand success.  They believe success is because someone had a golden life.  This can not be further from the truth.  Everybody who is successful has had to overcome, overcome, and overcome.  If you are not getting knocked down and failing, then you are not pushing hard enough, and are likely not reaching your full potential.

You Need To Believe That Anything Is Possible

If you don’t believe that something is possible, then it is not possible.  There are at least 100 other people that are pushing for what you are pushing for.  If you are not pushing for it, they will get there before you do.  Karl’s whole concept of success is based on where your passion, mission, and desires fall.  

Success Is Dependent on Focus

Karl’s passion, mission, and desire was that he wanted to be the greatest player to ever play the game.  There were 110 other players in training camp and every single one of them were more gifted athletically than he was.  Why did Karl make it and they didn’t?  It was because of that focus.  When Karl made a decision, it was based on being the greatest NFL player to ever play the game.  

Sean V Bradley | L.A. Williams | Karl Mecklenburg

Dealer Synergy & Bradley On Demand: The automotive industry’s #1 training, tracking, testing, and certification platform and consulting & accountability firm.

The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast: is the #1 resource for automotive sales professionals, managers, and owners.  Also, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!

The Against All Odds Radio Show: Hosting guests that have started from the bottom and rose to the top.  Also, join The Against All Odds Radio Show Guests & Listeners Facebook Group for the podcasted episodes.

For more interactivity, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Club on Clubhouse.

Win the Game of Googleopoly: Unlocking the secret strategy of search engines.

Heart of a Student Athlete: All-Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families by Karl Mecklenburg

Car.com: Visit Car.com today, where they do the research and you do the driving.

Scar Food: Scar Treatment for Scars, Acne Scars, & Stretch marks – visit ScarFood.com today!

Known Teen Kingpin & Outlaw, US Marshals Top 15 Most Wanted, and 25 years in Prison. These were the odds stacked against Seth Ferranti. However, he had success out of prison. With the help of his now-wife, who he married in prison.  He opened his own publishing company. Additionally, he had a thriving journalism career. Not to mention writing & producing the Netflix Top 10 Movie White Boy. This week’s guest has been all of these things, and so much more.

This week, Sean V. Bradley, CSP, and L.A. Williams go on the run with the former outlaw, Seth Ferranti. They discuss Ferranti’s kingpin days and being on US Marshal’s top 15 most wanted. As well as how he faked his death, and later wrote for Vice Magazine. Finally, they talk about his relationship with White Boy Rick and how he wrote and produced the Netflix documentary, White Boy.

About Seth Ferranti

By the time Seth Ferranti was a teenager, he was regarded as an LSD Kingpin. This lifestyle led him to serve 21 years in Prison. However, his story really begins during and after his prison sentence. While in jail he opened his publishing house, Gorilla Convict.

As a writer, he wrote pieces for VICE, Real Crime Magazine, and many others. Most notably after prison, he wrote and produced the documentary White Boy. Currently, he is working on a project called Night Life. It follows a pastor who sets out to deter violence in the most dangerous area in St. Louis.

From Prison To Netflix’s Top 10 White Boy: Seth Ferranti 

Life As An Outlaw

Seth didn’t have an easy life growing up. He got roped into drugs at the age of 13. By the age of 17, he was supplying marijuana and LSD to 15 colleges in five states. When he inevitably was arrested, he was facing a 70-year sentence in jail. With this in mind, he planned to fake his suicide and go on the run. This landed him on the US Marshals Top-15 Most Wanted list.

After being on the Top 15 most wanted for about two years Seth was captured by the government. He was relieved when he got caught. Seth was tired of living a lie, and missed his family who he hadn’t seen since faking his death. He was only 22 years old, but he was facing a 25-year prison sentence.

Writing for Vice, Don Diva, Penthouse, Real Crime Magazine & More

When Seth first went to prison he started having thoughts of who he could be after his sentence. He kept asking himself how he could gain an edge, so he wouldn’t have to return.

While in prison, Seth obtained his associates, bachelors, and masters degrees. It was during his courses that he found his passion for writing. Additionally, he had a lot of inspiration. During that time, he read a lot of books by prison writers. It didn’t sit well with him that prisoners never had a say in their own narrative. He wanted to show the humanity of the people the media painted as monsters.

Seth also saw there was an interest in these stories because of the urban fiction boom in the early 90’s. He realized he could take the stories he had heard, and write about them. While in prison, he wrote for a lot of different publications. This is also when he began writing articles for Vice about prison. However, it wasn’t until he got out of prison that his career in journalism took off.

Writing and Producing A Netflix Top 10 Movie: White Boy

No matter what Prison he was sent to, Seth kept hearing stories about a guy named “White Boy” Rick. So, he reached out to his wife to try and find Rick’s information. When Seth first corresponded with Rick, he wasn’t sure what to do with the information. Seth didn’t think Rick’s story fit the “gangster” characters that he was trying to write about. Seth had to do his research on the war on drugs and corruption. It wasn’t until later that he was fully able to wrap his head around Rick’s story.

The documentary came when Seth got the chance to interview Shawn Rech for Vice. Rech had a movie on showtime called A Murder in the Park, a story about a wrongful conviction.  Rech, being mostly inspired by true crime stories, took an interest in Ferranti early on. When they met up again, Ferranti shared the work he had done with White Boy Rick. Rech was excited by this, and asked if Seth could get him to do a documentary.

Due to Seth’s passion for storytelling, he had always thought about doing movies in addition to his writing. Instead of requesting financial compensation for his work, he requested Rech’s mentorship. Seth understood he could gain a lot of industry insight if they worked together.  This led Seth to agree to procure Rick for the documentary, but in return wanted to get Rick out of jail. To mentor and teach documentary directing was Rech’s goal in mind for Ferranti.

More About The Against All Odds Radio Show’s Hosts & Guests

Sean V Bradley | L.A. Williams | Seth Ferranti

Additional Resources

Dealer Synergy & Bradley On Demand: The automotive industry’s #1 training, tracking, testing, and certification platform and consulting & accountability firm.

The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast: is the #1 resource for automotive sales professionals, managers, and owners.  Also, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!

The Against All Odds Radio Show: Hosting guests that have started from the bottom and rose to the top.  Also, join The Against All Odds Radio Show Guests & Listeners Facebook Group for the podcasted episodes.

For more interactivity, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Club on Clubhouse.

Win the Game of Googleopoly: Unlocking the secret strategy of search engines.

Car.com: Visit Car.com today, where they do the research and you do the driving.

Scar Food: Scar Treatment for Scars, Acne Scars, & Stretch marks – visit ScarFood.com today!

Hyundai of Bedford & Kia of Bedford: World-class customer support you can trust and is located just minutes from Cleveland & serving the Bedford, Cleveland, parma, Beachwood, and Euclid areas.

Last week, Sean V. Bradley, CSP, and L.A. Williams sit down with Entrepreneur Magazine’s Jason Feifer. They discussed the qualities of successful entrepreneurs. As well as understanding your worth, finding confidence and networking as an entrepreneur. Finally, they cover common mistakes new entrepreneurs make.

Against All Odds Radio Show

The Against All Odds Radio Show broadcasts live every weekend and is podcasted every Monday.  Click Here for markets and times.  Be sure to tune in next week. Also, check out all of the previous episodes of The Against All Odds Radio Show.

Likewise, join The Against All Odds Radio Show Guests & Listeners Facebook Group for the podcasted episodes.

The Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast has a new episode every Tuesday at 4:00 PM EST.  Be sure to tune in next week. Also, check out all of the previous episodes of the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast.

Additionally, join the Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group.  Lastly, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Club on Clubhouse today!