Business Development Is Not Sales: What Business Coaches Get Wrong with Kelly Kennedy

What if the biggest thing holding your coaching practice back isn’t your skill, but your business development discipline?

In this episode, Cam sits down with Kelly Kennedy to unpack what business development actually looks like for coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs. Kelly shares his journey into the field and breaks down the key difference between sales and business development, emphasizing that great business development is about opening doors, not closing deals. They dive into practical strategies like mastering your calendar, leveraging LinkedIn for consistent outreach, and building visibility through content and community. Kelly also challenges coaches to embrace social media as a non-optional growth lever and to balance technology with genuine human connection as AI continues to reshape the business landscape.  

Biography

Kelly Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Capital Business Development and the host of The Business Development Podcast. With over 15 years of experience in sales and business development, Kelly helps entrepreneurs and organizations generate new opportunities through strategic outreach, relationship building, and disciplined execution. He is passionate about equipping the next generation of business developers with the tools, mindset, and systems needed to grow sustainable businesses.

Links

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellykennedyofficial/

Learn more about Kelly’s work: https://www.kellykennedyofficial.com/

Check out The Business Development Podcast: https://www.kellykennedyofficial.com/ 

Use code AC20 for 20% off Ninety: https://ninety.io

Join our free LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16297012/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This episode is brought to you by Amplify, a team of fractional CFOs helping business owners finally make sense of their numbers. If you've ever felt like you're guessing your way through financial decisions, you need to talk with these folks. Amplify helps with forecasting and scenario planning, but what really stands out is how their guides walk alongside you with clear reporting that shows the next best step for your business. Their forecasts are dynamic, so you can actually see how future decisions will impact your cash in real time. I've also been loving their framework called Cash Flow Mountain, which visualizes how cash moves through your business like water down a mountain. It's a great way to see how your scorecard connects to the VTO through your financials. Head on over to amplify.business to check it out or schedule a free call so you can stop guessing about your numbers and start making confident decisions about the future of your business. Welcome to the Ambitious Coach Lab, powered by Nike. I'm your host, Dr. Cam Lawson. Each week we explore the real tactics, tough conversations, and breakthrough moments that drive coaching success. Let's jump into today's episode. Well, hey, friends, we've got Kelly Kennedy with us today. Kelly is the founder and CEO of Capital Business Development with over 15 years of experience in sales and business development. He's also the host, which is how I came in contact with Kelly, the host of the Business Development Podcast, along with being the creator of the Business Development Mastery Program. So I will let our guests figure out what the topic of choice is today. But uh super excited to have you here, Kelly, to be able to talk all things business development. So welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Absolutely, Cam. It's an honor and a privilege to be on your show. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Absolutely. Yeah. So I when I first rolled into a business development role, I was like, all right, how do I diversify my skill set? I had always kind of been in some sales, more account management type roles. So I think the skill set was there, but it was like, all right, how can I learn more? So I was like, surely there's a a podcast about business development. And so I literally searched into Spotify, business development podcast. And I think it was real early on, and when you had just started, but I mean, the name is so clear. And so it popped up. And ever since then, I have been a faithful listener. And so when we were thinking about guests for this to talk about business development, I was like, well, hey, I know somebody that is an absolute expert on this.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

So my goodness, I um I never set out to be the expert on this cam. Uh, it's funny, man. Like when I when I started doing this, it was it was simply because there was almost nothing for business developers, right? Like I remember I started business development at 23. And dude, I was running as fast as I could away from sales. I went to college simply to get away from sales because as a kid, you know, I got out of high school and basically ended up right in it. So I worked at a car lot all through high school parking cars, right? And I was like, oh, why can't I sell these things too? I know them better than probably the salespeople at the time, right? And so um I went and talked to my sales manager and I'm like, hey, like I'm 18 now. Can I sell these things? And he's like, no, no, you cannot. You need to go get sales training. And I was like, oh, okay, you don't do that? Okay. So I ended up going and working at Visions Electronics in Edmonton, selling TVs of all things, and kind of did that and cut my teeth, learning sales and did that for about six, eight months. Went back to the dealership, started working there. It was right in the beginning of 2008. And obviously, most of us remember as young people what happened in 2008. People could no longer buy cars. And uh my uh my dreams of being a car salesman went out the window, probably for the best.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

After that, uh, I ended up working part sales for a number of years with a bunch of oil and gas companies in Edmonton. And uh yeah, right around, I want to say like right around 20 years old, um, I ended up getting laid off. We were kind of in the middle of a bit, the the company was slow. And my sister pulled me to the side and was like, Kelly, what are you doing with your life, man? Like, go back to school. And I was like, I would. I don't know what I want to do. Uh, but I don't want to do sales anymore. And she's like, well, just go, just go do business. After that, you can go get an operations job somewhere, run a company, whatever. I was like, Oh, that sounds nice. I'll go do that. There you go. So I did a diploma program, fast track. It was a hellish year. It was literally two years, smashed into one. We got five days off for Christmas break. That was it. We every other vacation, there was no other vacations, no other days off. It was just go, go, go, which, you know, when I look back, beneficial. It the timing worked out well. And right after that, I got hired by a local inspection firm in Edmonton who was looking for an operations manager to help them with their admin work and just kind of run the scheduling. So I started off with that, and very quickly they realized that I was pretty good at working with people. And so my boss pulls me to the side and says, like, Kelly, you know, you're really good at this, but you know what we could really use right now is a business developer. Would you mind doing business development for us? Dude, I sat down at my computer and I started Googling what is business development? Nobody ever taught me this, not even in school, right? Like it never came up. And it's funny because that's been the story ever since. I really, I initially wasn't very good at the position because I was trying to sell. And the funny thing about business development is the less you sell, the better you are at it. And I found that out, you know, later into my business development career. I hate to say it. But uh ended up down that path, worked 10 years at that company, COVID came, got pulled to the side, and was like, hey, we don't know what these next couple of years look like. Oil and gas downturn is probably inevitable. Um, I hope you have another plan because this might not be here in a year. And uh after that, I started capital business development, decided I could do retainer business development services, probably better and more useful than full-time teams. Went out and was successful at that. And about a year into that venture, uh, two years into that venture, uh, I realized that there was nothing in this space still for business developers, right? There's barely any books. And you could probably count on your five fingers how many books there are for business developers. There was very little podcast, there were podcast episodes dedicated to business development, but there weren't podcasts dedicated to business development. This is in 2023, right? Like it was hard to believe. And uh, when I saw that the business development podcast as like an episode name or a show name was even possible, I was like, okay, well, this is just fate. I have to, I have to take it on. And the goal was simply to educate and inspire the next generation of business developers. Now, that was entrepreneurs, that was business development experts, that was salespeople, that was anybody who whose job it was to grow a business. And I and I started out just doing weekly shows. I would give a weekly advice show every Wednesday that quickly pivoted into entrepreneurship shows every Sunday, because obviously I'm an entrepreneur too, so I wanted to explore both. And uh, we are now 229 episodes this morning into the business development podcast. And we are a little over two years old. I think two years, two months, something like that.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Man, that is an awesome story. It sounds like uh you didn't set out to find business development, business development kind of found you.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

I see, it really does, man. It really does. And I can't, it's funny because I've used that line plenty of times. I always say business development chooses you. And uh, I can't tell you how many people reach out and they're like, me too, me too, right? Like never set out on this path, but yet here we are. Now we're talking business development, we're in that world, and we need to know what it is. And I think maybe it's it's interesting because there are lots of business development definitions, right? Um, I've set out to define it plenty of times on the show. There are plenty of business development definitions, but I think because they're taken from so many different standpoints, like some are taken from marketing directors, some are taken from salespeople, right? But you don't get a lot that are specific from business developers. And so I think maybe this might be really valuable for you. I've only lived the life of a business developer. And so I decided to define business development early on on the business development podcast. And the definition that I use is this business development is the strategic process of identifying and pursuing opportunities that drive new business growth by building relationships, generating interest, and creating partnerships. It involves researching and targeting the right customers, reviewing marketing materials to ensure that they are effective, and engaging in proactive outreach through cold calls and emails to generate leads, also known as active marketing. Business development must always focus on new opportunities for an organization. If you stop focusing on new opportunities, your funnels inevitably dry up. Instead, business development specialists act as champions for the company, driving interest and connecting the business to potential clients and strategic partners to secure, once again, new business. And I think that has to be the definition for business development because so many people toss it in with everything else, right? But business development is really the beginning. It's the new thing. It's finding people, new people for your organization. It's not repeat sales, it's not selling them once you know them. It's generating that lead, that interest, that person as a potential prospect for the future, warming them up and getting them ready to become customers. Once they become customers, it is no longer business development. It now falls into the account management realm or the sales realm where you're going to get that repeat business over time. But business development has its own niche spot. And it's really important that people understand that it is very different than sales. You're not necessarily the closer, you're the door opener.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yes. That's so good. I love that door opener versus the closer thing. Because I think a lot of times, and it's probably maybe because some of the um like core skills probably cross as far as business development sales. I mean, correct the relational aspect of it, the maybe hunter aspect of it. But I think from a fundamental difference when you truly get it down on paper, it is it is different. The motions are different. And so, what would you say again, the audience for this is really heavily geared towards coaches, advisors, consultants, probably a lot of solopreneurs. Yes. Yes, my people got into, yes, right. Uh that got into you know what they do, they love being able to get into a session room and work with clients. They didn't get into the business development game, but it's a core part of how to do what they love. If you don't have a client, you have to go find a client, you have to open that door and find that. And so, what from a tactical standpoint, what maybe what advice would you give? And we can stick on this for a while because I'm sure that's that's a very loaded question.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Yeah. Yes, this normally takes, you know, a solid three months to run through the cork uh the coaching program, right? So we'll try to condense it in a way that's valuable for your audience in a short period of time. The biggest challenge your audience has is they're working in the business. And I'm right there with you. I do that too. So I'm I understand the solopreneur challenge. I've I've been doing it for a lot of years, coming up on my fifth year of uh capital. And our biggest challenge is time. And one of the one of the things that is most valuable for any solopreneur, entrepreneur is getting, you know, viciously good with their time, right? Like you can't just like willy-nilly like you did when you were an employee. You have eight hours a day, you have the same amount of time. You know, if you're if you're if you're working over time, maybe you got 10 to 12 hours a day, but most of us are under the exact same time constraints as everybody else. And as a solopreneur, you have to be more efficient with that time than everybody else because you're doing more with less, right? And so I think it's really important that we start there. You know, I can get into the process, but none of the process is gonna matter if you cannot get good with your time. There's a few things that go into this. Um, one, number one, obviously, is your calendar. I always recommend to all solopreneurs you no longer live off of, you know, willy-nilly. Everything in your day is now calendar scheduled from your LinkedIn time, your digital introduction time, the time you're gonna make your calls, the time you're gonna do your work. You need to start blocking off this time and not just blocking it off, but honoring it. You know, making sure that you are religiously following your calendar because focused work is the most valuable thing you have. You can do more in a focused hour than most can do in an entire eight-hour day. And I think that that's really important for people to understand is that once you start valuing your time like it's worth a thousand dollars an hour because solopreneurs, it is right, you have to start valuing that time and blocking that time off. Once you start that and you start to get really good at that, you're gonna find you actually have a lot more time than you thought because you're wasting a lot of time and you don't even know it. So when you start blocking off this time, it's gonna, it's actually gonna make you you more valuable, it's gonna make, it's gonna make you more effective at your job and it's gonna put time back in your pocket, which we all need to do. Learning, which right now is gonna be absolutely critical, right? Or just any other task. Maybe it's literally just like your self time or some time with your kids or whatever. But the secret is in time management. And I, you know, I mean, I'm not an expert at this. I'm still learning, right? But I'm I recognize every single year how valuable that time is.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

There's uh there's a new tool that I started playing around with, which is called Motion. Yep. Which basically takes, all right, hey, I have my set, you know, meetings and things that are whether that's a weekly thing or I've got appointments that I've set. What motion will do is I'll be able to upload my task list, kind of those just busy aspects of being an entrepreneur or a just a professional. And then what it will do is it will start to fill in, okay, hey, you've got a 30-minute block here. We're gonna add this task because you've allocated 30 minutes for this. It's fascinating. There are so many tools out there that can help with that. But I completely agree. I think getting you can't just have here are my meetings, my sessions, my appointments. Yep. That's all I have on my calendar. You have to start because what's gonna happen is it's gonna get eaten up. That LinkedIn time will, that's the first one to go for me often if I don't have it on my calendar. So I started to put it on there from nine to 10 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have LinkedIn outreach on my calendar. Nobody can book over top of that. And so that has transformed the way that I go into things. So I appreciate you saying that because I've even got to the point where I started to put personal things on the calendar, like appointments and got to run to, you know, even drive time. Like I've got, you know, and so like all of those things are absolutely part of being an entrepreneur. And then you start to see, okay, I've got, you know, two hours of drive time. Can I start to fit in a phone call on that and all that? And you start to think outside of the box for that. So I love that aspect. And uh one thing that I did, you mentioned, I mean, we kind of alluded to it a little bit on the LinkedIn aspect because I think instinctively most coaches, consultants, advisors know that LinkedIn is a place that they have to play on. Yes, but it's also the Wild West, yeah, where there is a massive amount of opportunity, but a lot of people don't even know how to start when it comes to that. Yeah. So when we're thinking about from a calendar block, I mean, what would you recommend as far as? I mean, I've taken some of your suggestions of the hundred connections that you get a week. I've taken that to heart. I mean, which is really cool. And so, can you talk a little bit about your LinkedIn strategy and maybe how that's evolved over time?

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Yeah, yeah. Well, honestly, it's evolved more in the past year than it had in the previous 10, man. Like, you're absolutely right. LinkedIn is like the Wild West, it's changing all the time. How we utilize it is changing, but you have to remember, you know, impressions are absolutely everything. You only get um 4.73% engagement on any of your posts, right? And that's per, that's per. So if you factor that in every single time a hundred people see your post, it's likely that only four people engage with it in any way. And so if you want to make an impact as a coach, which we all do, you have to get your name out there. And so impressions is absolutely king. LinkedIn has some really incredible ways that we've started leveraging in order to do that. Groups is one of them. And remember, groups is not all created equal either, right? Some groups might have a lot of people, but still get really low engagement. Some groups might have a few people, but all of them engage, right? So we have to trial and error these groups to find our people, to find our audience. One of the goals that I've had, Cam over the past year has been how do I get 20,000 impressions on my posts per week? Right. Because if I get 20,000 impressions on my posts at, you know, 4.73% engagement, that's probably, you know, let's call it 80 people who ultimately are going to engage with my stuff across multiple platforms, multiple groups. And that's great because I need to get as many eyes on what I'm doing as possible. And like all entrepreneurs, especially solopreneurs, we don't have unlimited ad budgets. You know, we can't we can't afford to pay 10 grand a month in ad spend, like some of these big companies can, right? So we have to get really creative. And one of the best ways to do that is utilizing LinkedIn groups. And that's what I would say to all solopreneurs, all coaches, you have to get your message out there. Your, let's call it, even if you have, let's assume, you know, you're you have a lot of people. So you got 20,000, 30,000 people following you or more. Great. But once again, almost every single group has hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions of people. So it still trumps your following. Not to mention, your following already knows who you are. Very likely. Very likely, if you're a coach, you've been posting for a while, maybe a year, two years, three years, you have lots of content. Most of the people who you're connected to, they know who you are. You need to get in front of people who don't know who you are. LinkedIn groups is one of the best ways to do that. Podcasts like this, another incredible way to do that. So we have to start leveraging LinkedIn groups. That would be my like number one recommendation to solopreneurs and people trying to get their message out there. Stop just sharing on your pages. Start joining groups and remember, vet them. If, for instance, your posts on one group are only getting 50 impressions, 100 impressions, it doesn't matter if they have two million people. They are not engaging with your content. They are not your people. Drop that group, find another group, and wait for the ones that start to give you a thousand, two thousand, five thousand impressions on your posts, and then just double down there because those people love you.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

I think there's also an aspect of you from an impression standpoint, getting your name or your personal brand out there. And I think you can do that obviously through sharing, and I love that aspect. And I think also through comment sections, right? Of being able to go in and interact with people's content and adding value to that. I cannot tell you how many messages I get. I'm sure you're similar and I'm sure our audience has felt this. You get these probably business development people that are just doing it, probably an AI tool. It's probably something that's just auto-hunting for them. That's then sending them a message, and I have no existing relationship, I don't even know who this person is. Yeah. Versus that individual who is intentional. Maybe they connect with me. I'm like, oh, that's intriguing. And then they start interacting with my stuff and comment. I feel like I have a relationship with them in a weird, like weird way. Yeah. Like a very 2025, like digital relationship. But when they've added value or asked me questions and allow and help me from an impression standpoint, yeah, but then they come in and start a conversation in an organic way. It I'm more inclined to respond to that. Yeah. And so I think from a comment section standpoint, I would argue that relationships, LinkedIn relationships are one in the comments, not in the inbox. I think so many people just want to go like straight to the chase. And I understand a little bit of the strategy behind that, but I think it's just such a low, it's just not, it does not work. We people we are influxed with messages all the time. So I feel like utilizing that strategy, I feel like in the group standpoint, adding value to other people's, and that takes time though. Well, but it can be very valuable.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Yes, yes. And you know, you kind of alluded to where we're going with this. Why? Why do we care about the impressions? Why do we care about having a whole bunch of people find out who our stuff is, right? We actually want them to follow us, to connect with us, to start to engage with our content, right? And they do, Cam. They do, right? Like I probably get anywhere between 150 to 200 new followers every single week. And it's just from this strategy. And most of them start to listen to the podcast because they start to see all of the stuff coming up. And then they become listeners and then they start to ask questions and comment and say, Oh, I agree with this, or that's great. Um, so it does go there. It absolutely does go there. But we have to still have that funnel. We have to have that fishing rod out there finding our people, right? And I think many of us as coaches, as you know, as business owners, we forget that. We just assume that, like, oh, they'll find our website or oh, yeah, they'll see something that I post, right? But you have to help them, right? You have to help them. Um, you alluded to my other rule, which is my hundred contacts a week, right? Everybody, if you have a LinkedIn Premium account, you get a hundred invites every single week to your page, right? Um, but it's one of those things where if you don't use it, you lose it. You don't get 200 next week or 300 the week after. It's like, nope, that week's done, that's gone, the whole thing resets, right? So if you're paying for LinkedIn Premium and you're not sending a hundred invites to follow you every single week, you're leaving money on the table because you can you can get granular, which we all should as coaches, to identify who are our people? Who is it that we are looking to coach? And once you can identify those positions, right? And I always say, Positions because you don't want to search people. People is hard to search. Positions is what we want to narrow down on as business developers. So, you know, in my case, I'm looking for entrepreneurs, I'm looking for CEOs, I'm looking for presidents, and I'm looking for business development executives because they are all my people. For you, your mileage may vary, but try to identify what are the positions you're looking for. And then on LinkedIn, super easy. Go to the search bar, type the position, hit people, hit location you want to find them in. LinkedIn's going to populate you a list of people, your future prospects that you should be connecting with a hundred every single week. And think about it from the standpoint of even if they don't engage with you, if they connect with you, they are now seeing your posts. And if they're your relevant audience, over time, people that can buy your product are seeing your stuff at a larger and larger capacity week over week. So it's a win-win strategy. And if you're not doing it, you're 100% leaving money on the table.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

And then I think there's a compound aspect on it where as you let's take, I mean, I'm glad you pointed out like a geographical area because a lot of these, I mean, a lot of coaches and in of our audience are in specific areas and they like to, I mean, they don't necessarily some love to travel, but a lot like to stay somewhat close to their area. So it's absolutely easier, right? Yeah. And so I love that because then you can filter it down. But then as you start doing that and building, I've seen this. I'm in Greenville, South Carolina, so not a huge area, but growing. And what I've found as I've done this is now I've become this connector in my area. It's like, oh, you know this person. It's like, well, yes, LinkedIn relationship, you know. Yes. But they feel like they've interacted with my stuff. And now you start to build a little bit of a brand presence in your community where you're connected with, which then opens up doors that you probably didn't even know were going to open up because you have mutual connections. So there's that underlying benefit that you get from it as well. But it really goes into I just I've taken that to heart and I've seen that pay off so tremendously in my networking ability because I almost get a little frustrated if I don't get that like a little notification, like you've sent all your connection requests. It's like, yeah, I know before Sunday, I gotta do that. And so that has reaped dividends for me. So I think if anybody takes anything out of this, being able to utilize that search feature, narrow it down by position, and then utilize that every week, that is going to explode for these coaches.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

And it's crazy, dude, because that's how I've been using that same thing for myself and for all of my clients for years, years and years and years. And most people didn't even realize that it that it exists, right? But once you can like factor that in, you can use that for hiring, you can use that for finding prospects. Like it is the best way to connect with the best possible people at like almost any given time. And you can find anybody, like everyone is on LinkedIn. If like if anyone takes anything away from this, it is the best prospecting tool in the world, bar none, period. Like it is incredible. And so you have to start treating it with the respect it deserves, really. And you know, the other thing to that is, with regards to the respect it deserves, is that most people are not completing their LinkedIn profiles, right? Especially if you're a coach, especially if you're a leader of any type, you guys need to be completely filling out your LinkedIn profiles because it makes you easier to find. And when your profiles are completely filled out too, LinkedIn recommends you to people that that would be valuable for you, right? Start to look at other coaches. I want you guys, if you're hearing this today and you're not like an avid LinkedIn, maybe you're just getting started. Look at other coaches that you want to be like and start to emulate their profiles. Look at everything they fill out, do the same, look at the way they fill it out, do the same. Make sure that you're using your featured section, make sure that you're asking for recommendations. The new world of recommendations is on LinkedIn. Most people don't even know they can ask for them. So we have to start utilizing LinkedIn to its full potential. Um, if you're still going to like conferences with like the idea of meeting potential clients, great. Understand it's probably like the worst way to do it though. Like, right? I always say to people, if you're doing that, if you're doing those like networking events, they're awesome. Don't get me wrong, I'm a person. I love going to them, but I get very little value from them. And the and I think most companies do too. Like, you know, when you're at a conference event, sure, you got to be there, especially if you're a big player, you need to show people that you're there. But I think most of those do not ever return the cost in sales that they cost in order to show up and attend those events, right? And I think even as an individual, if you're going to those events with the idea of meeting the right person, you should have just been doing this on LinkedIn because at least you could have qualified the person before you connect with them. You can introduce yourself and you can introduce yourself to a hundred people in a day, as opposed to four or five, right? Like the future of networking is online and specifically is on LinkedIn. And so I think if you're not doing that today, if you want to just change your business tomorrow, literally start utilizing LinkedIn. It's going to be the tool of the future. It is the tool of today and the future.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

Yeah. And it brings up a really interesting point. And I'm glad you mentioned that because I would argue that there are, let's just call them levers in business development, right? LinkedIn is one. Yeah, the events game is one. Uh, speaking opportunities is one, podcasting is one. How do you manage? Because I feel like there is a um, maybe a tension may not be the right word, but um pressure for coaches and consultants to go in and try to kind of beat all things to all men because they see such and such coach doing it this way. So they need to do that and they need to add that. Then you start to get burned out, and then it's you're a jack of all trades. And how do you kind of manage? Maybe it comes down to a personality aspect of what you enjoy doing, but how do you kind of figure out the lanes that you should play in without burning yourself out?

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Only stick to what you know. Period. Period. Do not speak to things you don't understand. You know what I mean? I won't sit and speak to business operations or EOS, like you mentioned, right? Not my world. I'm sure many of you listening, your world, you know it like the back of your head. Absolutely. That is what you should speak to. I speak to business development. That's my lane. That's the lane I know. It's my career, it's what I've dedicated my life to. I will speak to that all day long. You won't see me in a room talking about how to run your business, how to run operations, how to implement EOS systems. I won't do it. I will talk to you about business development. I can teach you how to do lead gen. I can teach you how to build a process that's going to be effective for you. I can teach you how to manage your time because these are all skills I've had to learn in my career, in my own business to be successful. But I won't speak to things that I don't fully understand. Or in the podcast, when I speak to things that I don't fully understand, I acknowledge that and I give the references to which I found the information at, right? Like there's a lot of things we touch on the podcast that I'm not an expert in. But I do my research up front, I cite the sources and I let audiences go and find out more if they like, right? But understand that if you're not an expert in something, you probably shouldn't be speaking to it. But if you are an expert in something, you should 100% be speaking to it, right? I think on a certain level, just like I felt with business development, we owe it to the next generation to help them. And Marcus Chan, uh, I've had him on the show. He's an incredible individual, teaches sales. He's he's he has a book called Six Figure Sales Secrets. Shout out to Marcus Chan. Incredible book, incredible book, incredible person. And um, he always says, give away 90% and sell 10. You will make way more than enough on that 10%. And I, you know, I've been following that principle ever since I chatted with him. The podcast, we give away everything. But if people want that extra little bit, they can have that one-on-one, three-month coaching program with me with Business Development Mastery. But if you just need some information, it's completely free on the podcast. And I think as coaches, we have to look at it that way. We live in the information age. People can find anything you know. Anything you know, someone can find it, but people will still pay you because they want to do it with you, right? Nobody can do it the way you do it. But they but that information is still available to them. And so for the people who want it free, the podcast exists. For the people who want something a little more personal, a little more to their business, that's where the coaching comes in. It's the 10%. And so if you are a coach, if you're an expert in something, you absolutely have to start speaking about it.

SPEAKER_00 30:23

That's that's really good. And that brings up an interesting uh thing that I wanted to mention because I know this is a core part of who you are, and it it resonates really deeply with me too, is this idea of making business development more human in a human-centered way. Because obviously we are moving very rapidly into an incredibly digitalized and AI-based environment in the business world.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

A thousand times more powerful AI by 2028. That's that's hard to even fathom. It's two and we're two and a half years away, right? We're two and a half years away from a completely different world, Cam.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

That's what if you think about it though, I mean, Chat GPT has not been around that long. No, and and it's already transformed tremendously in the two, three years that it's been been in existence.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. I we can't even imagine. It's funny because uh I was sitting with Shelby. My show this week is actually on this, by the way. Oh, cool. I was sitting with Shelby on Sunday and we were sitting at the kitchen table, and you know, we have four young boys. We're like, man, like we we've we figured out that that that uh AI is advancing at a rate of four, like basically it's quadrant, it's doubling in power every six months, right? And so under that math, it's actually a thousand times more powerful by 2028 than it was. If it was one times powerful in 2023, it's a thousand times more powerful than that in 2028. We can't even as humans imagine what the world will look like when that happens. Like you actually have to hop on ChatGPT and have it like ask it like, hey, what does a 1,000 times more powerful AI mean to us in our future? Like, what will it change? Like, try to outline like cars, computers, business, work, life. It's incredible. If you want like a fun exercise, do that right now. Ask ChatGPT what a thousand times more powerful AI looks like and what does it mean for the average person? It will absolutely blow your mind. But the scary part about it is life is going to be completely different now. The way we do business, completely different. The way business development is done, completely different. But the thing that AI cannot replace is human-to-human connection. It can't give empathy, it can't, um, it has no emotional intelligence, right? That is what the future of humanity is, right? It's we get to be more human than ever, right? And so we have to remember that leadership in the future isn't about top-down control. It's about who can connect and empathize with people to get results better because everybody's going to essentially be augmented by AI.

SPEAKER_00 32:58

Yeah, that's it's a common topic that comes up because I think a lot of coaches are, you know, like, oh, what like people, my clients could go to AI and and interact with that. But I think there's something, and you said it perfectly. There is something about as a coach goes into a session or a consultant goes into a session, the AI tool is not going to be able to read a room and understand that there isn't a subtle emotional cue that there's tension. And it may get to that point. I mean, I have to, you know, a thousand times more powerful. It may be able to, but there's something about as humans, we can instinctively understand there's something going on in this room right now. We need to address it. Yeah. And I just I don't see a path forward in the near term how AI will be able to do that better than humans.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

It's very unlikely. It's very unlikely. But what it will mean is that the technical skills that we all have are going to be far less important, right? Technical skills are done. Like remembering how to do things, that's done. Like we are literally like two and a half years away from you probably not having to remember how to do your job at all. However, you're going to need to know how to utilize the tools to still accomplish the tasks you're doing today, right? And so getting great right now, like anybody listening, you have to start learning how to utilize AI today. Today. It's if you wait two years, you're way behind, right? The smart people are learning how to use it today. I literally put together a program over the weekend for myself to start to utilize and learn new AI programs. Do I have a use case for them yet? No. But I know I will, Kim. I know I will. And so I have to start learning today to keep ahead of this trend, right? Because the most valuable people two years from today are the ones who not just know how to utilize AI, but can wield it like pros.

SPEAKER_00 34:55

Yes, we would call that a really a core covenantcy of being uh an ambitious coach is mastery. You have to be a constant learner because the world is changing so fast. I feel like it's just picked up. And so, in order to be good at your craft, no matter what it is, I think that applies for everyone. Yeah. But especially in the coaching, consulting, advising world, man, you have to be a master. And AI is just a, it's not a buzzword anymore. This is a reality.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

No, I think people have their head in this end, right? And I was with you. Just say that right now. I was with you. I was with you. I had my head in this hand. I was thinking we were 15 years, 20 years out. Dude, we're two and a half years out. Like it is, it we are right there. It is two minutes to midnight, and we have to start learning this shit today because it is about to get crazy. Oh, it's exciting.

SPEAKER_00 35:51

It it it's it's the gamut of emotions that you go through.

SPEAKER_01 35:55

It's it's hard, it's hard. Sorry, sorry, I apologize, it's hard to wrap your head around, right? Like we can't, it's like um the iPhone, right? Like 2008, iPhone came out, or sorry, 2007. I don't know, whatever. One of those. I was young, right? Like I was I was working in that car lot. I remember because I remember the people showed up. They had one. They'd ordered it from like, I don't know, God knows, South Korea or something before it was even out. And they're like, oh, look at this. It's got a screen on it. And it's like I want you just to think about this for a second because at the time, they were really cool, they thought it was amazing because they had an iPod on their phone. They're like, This is a phone and it's an iPod, right? They hadn't even considered the apps we were going to have, the connectivity that a phone was going to be, the fact that like we could scroll the internet just like any other computer, that we could work from it, that we would have like our banking, right? Like you can have the tool. I guess this is what I'm trying to say here. You can have the tool, you can have all the hardware and still have no idea how it works or what it's truly gonna be great for, right? I think AI is that. It's like we've been handed the tool, nobody has any clue what it actually means because we're still thinking about it as, oh, it's it can play, I can play my iPod, right? I can replace my iPod. But the reality is that it's gonna do like a thousand times more things than that that we can't see today. So the secret is just going to be to double down and realize it's the future. And every opportunity you get to learn something AI or learn something about AI, you should take it.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

Yeah, it's it's I think so many people see it as oh, well, it can write my email for me.

unknown 37:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

Yes, it can and so much more. Uh, you know, we I read uh you'll uh um you may have read it already, but uh shout out Jeff Woods. Uh, but he wrote the the AI-driven leader, and he basically challenges the premise of it is utilizing AI as a thought partner, yeah, not the thought leader. You are the thought leader. And so I've started to utilize it and have it all right, hey, assign it, you know, hey, acting as my CMO, interview me one question at a time where we can have a dialogue and you pull out what is in my brain, yeah, and and then summarize it, get it in a clean format. And that has completely transformed the way that I use AI. It's not like, hey, write me this email. Okay, great. I mean, eh.

SPEAKER_01 38:20

You want to you want a confidence boost? Ask AI to tell you about your character. Ooh, it's a fun thing. My fiance's the other day, it's like, hey, have you ever asked ChatGPT to like, because you've talked to it a lot. Like over this point, it's got two years of my information, right? Plus, it can find me on the internet. And just for fun, like we just we just asked it, like, tell me about me. Like, you know, just from stuff that you've seen or like from the conversations we've had together, what can you tell me about me? It is very, very enlightening. And if anyone wants a confidence booster for the day, do that. It's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

Man, I I went like the opposite. I said, hey, point out my blind spots, and it just ripped the band-aid off.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

So I should have done that and got a confidence boost. That's great. We all need a little more confidence boost.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

Oh, man. Well, man, Kelly, this has been awesome. Uh, thank you for diving in on all the things business development. But I always like to ask uh guests that come on to reflect a little bit back on their career. You have had a successful career um and in the way that business development found you. But let's say you have all the knowledge and experience that you have now, but you're back in the kid on the car lot trying to just figure out what's next. What advice would you give rookie Kelly just starting out?

SPEAKER_01 39:40

Yeah, yeah. I would say social media is no longer optional. And I think we have to get out of that like mindset that we don't need it. LinkedIn is 100% the future. You know, if you if you coach on Instagram too, that's equally valuable. Like you pick your lane, right? Whatever works for you. But social media is no longer optional. We have to be participating in it three to five posts a week, especially if you're trying to be a thought leader. If you can, if you have the ability to start a show, start a podcast like this, start a YouTube channel, and start to share your knowledge with the world, it's only going to be more valuable to you. The only regret I think I have, Cam, is that I didn't do this sooner. So I think for anybody listening today, if you need that kick in the butt, if I get it, man, like I'm afraid of video. This this shit still scares me. It's not about being afraid. We're all afraid. We're all afraid. It's we're all holding back, I think, because we're afraid of saying the wrong thing. We're afraid of being judged. But here's the thing: like at this point, two and a half years into the BDP, I think I've had two negative comments, Cam. Like two negative comments. And like, I don't think that's necessarily like just because of me. I genuinely think the internet is not that bad of a place. I think most people are here trying to learn things, especially on LinkedIn, especially people who listen to podcasts, they're looking for that insight, they're looking for that thing that's going to take them to the next level, their business to the next level. Most people are nothing but grateful. And if you get two comments in two years or whatever, even if you get a hundred comments, who cares? Because there's a thousand or a million silent people who value you and are grateful for you and are thankful that you're showing up. So if you're holding back today, if you're holding back on social media, if you're holding back on YouTube, on a podcast, take that leap. 2025 is your year.

SPEAKER_00 41:21

Man, what a good word. And what is, let's um maybe get on a more uh personal, however deep you want to go on this. Uh, you are more than welcome to dive deep. Um, but what is a lesson that that maybe you're in the middle of learning in this current moment?

SPEAKER_01 41:37

Oh goodness, dude. Um, I think, I think AI, like I think that's probably just in line with what we're doing today. I have to get better at utilizing AI. I've been using Chat GPT for years. As a podcaster, I've been utilizing Chat GPT, I've been utilizing, you know, tactic meeting transcriptions, I've been utilizing, you know, things to help create summaries and show pages and posts and stuff. But that's just one aspect, one small aspect of AI. And it's funny because you know, even though I know a lot of AI tools, I've been utilizing them for years, I only know like a small drop in the bucket. And I think after my, after my weekend of clarity, if you listen to this week's show, uh if you listen to this week's show, it's episode uh 229, you'll see I had like a huge awakening, honestly, that like I don't, I don't have all the answers, especially when it comes to AI. And I have to start going down a path that starts to open those doors for me, which means I'm going to start experimenting with AI tools that I'm not needing today, that I'm not utilizing today, because I think the more tools we know how to use, the more variety and and the more useful we are going to be in the future, regardless of what we choose to do.

SPEAKER_00 42:45

Man, that's that's good. I think that's a lesson that um most people are are probably need to learn. I'll just put it that way, with the AI capabilities. Man, thank you for for coming on. If someone wants to maybe get in touch with you, maybe they want to learn more about the podcast or or about some of the offerings you have, or maybe pick your brain on some business development stuff. What is the best place to get in touch with you? LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

LinkedIn 100%. Yes, Kelly Kennedy official on LinkedIn and come say hi.

SPEAKER_00 43:17

Love it. And yeah, we'll link out to the show, the mastery program, all of that. We'll we'll link out to that if people want to go in. But again, I can speak as someone who has listened faithfully. The Business Development Podcast has given me the tool set to level myself up. Um, as a professional, it has given me the confidence to go into conversations. So thank you for sharing your knowledge and having all sorts of conversations that just give lots of perspectives and meet you where you're at. Um, I just thank you for taking that leap of faith. Um, forget those two negative comments, man. Thanks, dude. Uh so it's just like you said, there's not a lot. information out there so thank you for filling that gap.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

I it's I appreciate it. You know what it's an honor and a privilege. I think everybody in this space we have to remember that we wouldn't be here without all the people who chose to tune in and listen. I wouldn't be here without you Cam. So thank you. It's an honor and a privilege and it's truly a position of service and I I I'm lucky to do it.

SPEAKER_00 44:20

Oh awesome man. Well thank you. Thank you for listening. I hope everything was helpful. I know it was beneficial for me. Lots of tangible takeaways. That was our goal with with this show. But um yeah we'll stay tuned for next time we've got plenty of more episodes coming out on all things growing your practice. So thanks for tuning in. Take care. See ya. That's it for today's episode of the Ambitious Coach Lab. My hope is that something here helps you sharpen your craft and keep building a coaching practice you're proud of. Before we wrap a quick thank you to our sponsor, 90. If you're coaching leadership teams, having your clients run their entire world in 90 truly elevates your work. Vision, rocks, scorecards, issues, it all lives in one centralized place. The clarity keeps your clients aligned between sessions and makes every conversation you have with them more focused and more impactful. I've used 90 with over 500 leadership teams and I can tell you it makes great companies better and great coaches even more effective. Feel free to use promo code AC20 for 20% off. Again that's AC20 for 20% off. Thanks for hanging out with me today. I'm Cam, cheering you on as you grow your ambitious coaching practice. We'll see you next time