Podcasts

David Horsager: Welcome to the trusted leader show. I’m David Horsager. I’m so thrilled to have you with me.

David Horsager: Especially because of our guest today he is a sports marketing legend. He has been the agent for everybody from Yogi Berra, or

David Horsager: Mariano Rivera right Eli Manning. I mean, he’s he’s done so many things he invented the well I’m going to save that for a little bit. What he invented. But let’s go Brandon, welcome to the show.

Brandon Steiner: Well, first, nice to be with you know we go way back. And I’ve learned so much from you Dave about trust and about relationships and also your drive is

Brandon Steiner: very contagious man your interest. So I love you and it’s nice spare nice to share a few minutes with you talk. I was like, talking with you. Always gonna get some nugget out of this so I’m looking forward to it.

David Horsager: You know, I actually put a few words down when I think of Brandon Steiner, I put a few words down, you know, entrepreneurial drive. By the way, don’t do this for everybody on the show, but this thing and who is Brandon Steiner, he’s an entrepreneurial driver.

David Horsager: But he’s also a generous giver and he’s values driven. I mean, I think I’ve even seen you over your

David Horsager: Time really drive. I mean, sales and business but also be led by values, I think, you know, the first time.

David Horsager: One of the first times I met you I guess we met but you picked me up, took me up to your place outside of, you know, New York, we played basketball. I’m like, I don’t have any stuff. Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got all this stuff.

David Horsager: I was staying overnight at your house. I mean, we talked about a generous giver to someone that you didn’t even know I talked about that.

David Horsager: But let’s jump into you. What, tell us a couple things you think we should know we don’t it, you know, most people know Brandon Steiner

David Horsager: I’ve sat with you right behind home plate. The Yankees games and you’ve been so generous even to my publisher and everything, I think, of all things, but let’s just let’s start with a couple things we should know about Brandon standard maybe we don’t know.

Brandon Steiner: Well, thank you. I mean, the reason I was looking forward to this conversation and why really engaged with a lot of the material is a lot of who I am is based on trust.

Brandon Steiner: You know, I would be nowhere if people didn’t know, especially in the collectible business.

Brandon Steiner: Most people know me for collectibles, not so much on the marketing, where every marketing players for 30 years with The Snyder agency helping companies grow by getting them athlete.

Brandon Steiner: to endorse them or partner with them or a vast so that businesses rolling. But again, that’s trust because

Brandon Steiner: You know, these players have a million people coming out and they can have anybody, but when you get the biggest names in sport for mom and I’ll leave Eli Manning to Jeter to Mariano

Brandon Steiner: All being able to work within you know quick little click in a pic and a dial.

Brandon Steiner: You know, that’s what I look at and I’m really most proud of is that a lot of these players, trust me to handle their brand and licensing.

Brandon Steiner: And particularly in the collectible business but there’s been a lot of forgeries. And a lot of bad things happening.

Brandon Steiner: When you think of Steiner, you think of me as being somebody as a trusted source to get you a really cool item.

Brandon Steiner: And I’m very grateful. I can’t express the importance of trust in a relationship because especially when you get up the ladder, assuming you’re climbing the ladder against the right building

Brandon Steiner: You must not mess up the trust game because you don’t get another Muhammad Ali, you don’t get another Derek Jeter

Brandon Steiner: under your belt with nothing.

David Horsager: I mean, you started out with nothing and I want to go back to that when you know bought Yankee Stadium. But before we do that,

David Horsager: How did you build trust you had nothing. How do you build trust with, you know, Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali. I mean, how did you even get in and to even, you know, once before even becoming their agents. How’d you do it.

Brandon Steiner: I mean, you know, when you talk about trust. It’s not one thing. It’s a million little things, but the reality of it is

Brandon Steiner: Trust and relationship building kind of work side by side kind of parallel. And I think the most important thing is value.

Brandon Steiner: You know value is what you could do for someone that they can’t do for themselves. So, first thing you want to do to build trust is create value.

Brandon Steiner: In a relationship between two people and and the second most important thing I can’t stress this enough, is that you’ve got to be able to be a solution based business person, so you’re building

Brandon Steiner: You know, what can I do to help you. Regardless whether helps

Brandon Steiner: A sale. You’ve got to be a solution based business person, where you’re looking to help somebody because they’ve got a problem you’re trying to find somebody problems.

Brandon Steiner: In my case, I’ve tried to find what people are excited about and I try to help them drive it.

Brandon Steiner: To keep things when you’re playing the long game, which is a very key component to building trust and building relationships. You have to be willing to do things for people crave value, even though sometimes it doesn’t help yourself.

Brandon Steiner: And if you’re willing to do that, then you probably in good shape to be extraordinary. But also it’s a tremendous feeling. I always think like helping people.

Brandon Steiner: Helping people is not a burden. It’s actually an opportunity that will lead you to share joy. So you’ve got to take your business practices and really be

Brandon Steiner: Up for that, you know, to reach out to be a solution based business person to serve people always say, like, do you want to fill yourself forget yourself like

Brandon Steiner: Can you really want to reach out and help people I’m constantly looking for people

Brandon Steiner: That need help with something. And then if I can help them so great way of building trust and building a relationship. I dropped a few nuggets in there. But that’s kind of it in a nutshell, which is

Brandon Steiner: Create value do for something for someone that they can’t do for themselves be a solution based business person be somebody who wants to serve.

Brandon Steiner: Be somebody who wants to forget yourself and care about somebody else’s much you care about yourself, which is very difficult for young people, by the way, if you’re watching. I know it’s hard.

Brandon Steiner: But if you can go do that over the long haul, like I’ve been into the game of trying to help people and not expect anything back for years, when I had nothing

Brandon Steiner: But how do I take this. Oh, wow.

Brandon Steiner: Yeah yeah

Brandon Steiner: I don’t do the thank you letters and and the generosity that I get back for people that I hope 30 years ago 35 years ago, I didn’t even have anything

Brandon Steiner: It’s such a joy when you reach you get letters from people know you had an effect on them because at the end day really WHY YOU HERE. Dave to help people and Yelp and also to get better and Bill and become a bigger solution based person.

David Horsager: How did you do it, let’s just take someone I remember, I think there was a story I’d read about you, you know, you want to build this relationship with Michael Jordan or worth just take anybody

David Horsager: And you know you’ve got some of the best in the game and you don’t know them at all, you’re a young agent. You got nothing to give them to speak of.

David Horsager: How did you start building a relationship with these. Now it’s become you know sports Empire. In a way, but how did you

David Horsager: That building of trust, early on with people that like they can’t trust anybody. In many cases, somebody’s going to take something. How did you build trust and such a name, all the way up to, to the Yankees letting you to have that, you know,

David Horsager: Yankee Steiner brand. But, you know, how did you do that.

Brandon Steiner: Well, you know, my new company collectible exchange. What’s been the blessing is how many people have slid over now work with me on my new company.

Brandon Steiner: But I think what happens is, I mean, I asked him right that’s listening. Think about it. When you meet somebody really wealthy you meet somebody who has a big account or you meet a celebrity. The first thing you think of

Brandon Steiner: What can I get from that person is going to be unbelievable. The first thing I think of is, what can I do, what can I give. How can I help this person. I’m not thinking at all, one iota.

Brandon Steiner: Courses are multi millionaire celebrity, of course, is some big account that they wrote up. Oh, would be unbelievable.

Brandon Steiner: But there’s a million people that can offer that service, especially when you’re trying to sell somebody something that other people can provide the same service.

Brandon Steiner: How are you going to differentiate yourself is by thinking about what because everybody needs help, Dave. Everybody’s got problems.

David Horsager: So what’s a way. Give us something sticky, like, what, what did you give those early days, you want to meet

Brandon Steiner: You want to talk about humility.

Brandon Steiner: We just let’s go back to the early days when I was trying to get like Lawrence Taylor and Otis Sanderson Carl banks.

Brandon Steiner: You know, the giants and some of the Nixon Yankees, I would stand in the parking lot and I realized that they had all this fan mail back in the day when you write letters to players.

Brandon Steiner: And they feel guilty, the boxes of fan. Now, I said, No problem. I’ll go through it.

Brandon Steiner: I’ll do your fan mail organize it, the ones that are really serious letters or right back to send an autograph. I wasn’t in the autograph business. I was just trying to figure out, develop relationship Lawrence Taylor 20 boxes of fan mail deep

Brandon Steiner: He felt bad about just leaving it there. I went through it all with send stuff back to the people he signed some stuff. And all of a sudden I had reason to go contact them or by the way, is a serious letter, and I did this for probably about 10 or 15 athletes.

Brandon Steiner: Just to give you an example. I can’t tell you how many athletes that got started. I didn’t know if they’re going to be a big name or not.

Brandon Steiner: Hey, let me help you. I know the charity thing was a big deal to help them put a golf outing together. I helped them with their foundation getting some sponsors.

Brandon Steiner: And he was a grind to try to get people to buy tables even 30 years of that back in the late 90s. Nobody really knew that she was going to be what he was today.

Brandon Steiner: And it was ended up being more than that. But you if you try to get on board. What’s important to the other person more than you try to getting on board what you’re trying to do.

Brandon Steiner: That’s usually the the methodology and I know it sounds stupid. But I was opening up more fan mail my fingers bleeding.

David Horsager: Like you picked him up, you dropped him off. I mean, you just thought, what can we

David Horsager: Do it right

Brandon Steiner: Well, I was writing the checks right and the contracts, I would pick up the athletes I was relentless because back in those days even have the email. So you’d have to call these guys up

Brandon Steiner: So when I would talk to them, no it I would go pick them up. Yeah, and you know, two hours to drive there two hours back, you get to know a player.

Brandon Steiner: It was pretty good.

David Horsager: How did you grow up and what led to, you know, the multi multi million dollar deal that you did with Yankee Stadium, you grew up with nothing. Tell us the kind of that little quick

Brandon Steiner: How’d you grow when you, you probably hear of a lot of rags to riches stories. I mean, for me, I grew up, you know, really poor and Brooklyn.

Brandon Steiner: I think one of the most significant things even have to remind myself now. I think when you growing up.

Brandon Steiner: Poor or University, which I’m grateful now and I look back on it because I grew up with such diversity, no money, no food.

Brandon Steiner: Really started working when I was 10 years old, which is very rare. I was a very odd kid very entrepreneurial always figured it out right on my feet 10 years old and I have kids at 10 years old, getting them up and dressed in the morning was like a huge

Brandon Steiner: Herat so

Brandon Steiner: I think for me, you know, one of the things I have to remind myself is, I’m not playing anymore. And I think that one of the advantages, where people that do grow up with diversity.

Brandon Steiner: And do grow up somewhat poor is they do have incredibly humble and nimble approach to business, the appreciation of

Brandon Steiner: $1 so you know for me, one of my big advantages comes from that diversity of not having a lot is my appreciation for what I have

Brandon Steiner: on a continual basis because you can never have more unless you’re grateful for what you have and where you’ve been, you have to find that gratitude somewhere, somehow.

Brandon Steiner: And sometimes it’s difficult, because some of those tracks that you go down when you’re younger like me was tough, you know, when you go to bed hungry. You’re a roach infested apartment.

Brandon Steiner: But you know, I got going. And I always said to myself, I don’t want anything handed to me. I wasn’t interested in that.

Brandon Steiner: That was a huge part I didn’t feel like anybody owed me anything. I never felt that way, it was really important

Brandon Steiner: mindset that didn’t want anything, hand it and it’s like I’ve been cheated. I just felt like I had the ability at a young age to go out and go get what I needed. So I didn’t have to live like that anymore. I wasn’t sure I was going to do it, but

Brandon Steiner: You know, I followed my I found my mom.

Brandon Steiner: Which is my second book. You got to have balls. My mother’s favorite line.

Brandon Steiner: And my mother was always about you got to have balls being fearless. It’s about being relentless. It’s about. If not you, then who and I always say that to people like

Brandon Steiner: When you get into this icon. I know this person is out of my league or sometimes when you try to figure by asking a girl out she’s gorgeous like all man she’s, she’s too good for me. I’m like, if not us, then who

Brandon Steiner: And it was my mother’s, you know, big, big saying about being fearless is such an important aspect in building your career, even at a young age. And even when you get older, sometimes we talk ourselves out of our dreams all the time before they even get step onto the court.

David Horsager: What was your first sales job. What was your

Brandon Steiner: What was their job was the newspapers, you know, I

Brandon Steiner: You know, I kind of my mom might switch. I was tired of delivering fruit and vegetables. I was working the register stocking back in those days had these little vegetable stores in Brooklyn. And I wanted to work.

Brandon Steiner: Less after school because I want to play ball with my friends and I started delivering newspapers and I saw a sign in the window, Dave, that would change my life.

Brandon Steiner: It was a newspaper what route and it said whoever opens up the most accounts. We went to boxing candy bars and this was

Brandon Steiner: Going to be the beginning of my run it was like, you know, as a young kid hungry.

Brandon Steiner: When a box of candy bars. I’m knocking on doors. I’m going crazy because I want to open up the most accounts and zero, I go back to my mother. And I’m like, we got to move out of this neighborhood.

Brandon Steiner: You know, if you’re a salesperson out there. Sound familiar. Nobody wants to buy our product these leads think you know all that all that stuff. And my mother says, sit down. I’m going to tell you this one time at one time only.

Brandon Steiner: We’re not moving out of this neighborhood. You got to stop selling you got to start serving you got to start solving

Brandon Steiner: And you better to differentiate. So if you can’t expect to sell something that other people sell

Brandon Steiner: And expect people just to buy it. You got to differentiate yourself and you need to be a solution based business person.

Brandon Steiner: Find out problems that people have and try to solve them. And part of the solution will ultimately lead to selling more newspapers.

Brandon Steiner: I’m like I’m 12 years old and trying to get my arms around that and my mother was hammering me she was not giving me a shoulder to cry on

Brandon Steiner: So I go back out. I’m knocking on doors. I’m nothing

Brandon Steiner: I go to this older woman. She had to be willing or 70s I knock on doors today, but you get the paper, which is absolutely not. So why it’s the same prices me as the corner store says, Yeah, but then I got a tip. Yeah.

Brandon Steiner: I said, Man, if there’s torrential downpour snowstorm sweet a heatwave a woman’s touch yourself should not be outside if I bring your milk and bagels on Wednesday and Sunday.

Brandon Steiner: And by the way, if you need something else. I’ll bring would you get the paper to live with them so tiny so sweet. So I was concerned.

Brandon Steiner: Well, not only that when we get the newspaper and and

Brandon Steiner: She was the mayor to turn me on. Dave to the whole neighborhood I went from 29 dailies to $199 234 Sundays and once you box of candy bars.

Brandon Steiner: And I think how that story. I hope resonates anyone listening is that, first of all, are you listening to your customers. And are you a solution based salesperson or you just trying to make a sale because when you develop solutions for people that have a problem you build trust.

David Horsager: I

Brandon Steiner: It appears, you’re really putting yourself in the other person’s shoes and the other person knows

Brandon Steiner: That you see them. And once you do the hat.

Brandon Steiner: Yeah.

Brandon Steiner: And that’s we

David Horsager: Get results. Yeah.

Brandon Steiner: That’s the most valuable lesson I’ve ever learned in business because anytime. I’ve approached. When I approached the Yankees Jeter

Brandon Steiner: I was always trying to think of how can I help them. What is what style you can I provide them. What can I do that. Maybe no one else is doing for them that maybe would lean them towards wanting to work with me.

David Horsager: Well, you’re, you know, from from my friendships. I mean, you are a servant, you have been so generous and I could go on and on about stories.

David Horsager: Of generosity toward me toward others mutual friends of ours that we both know

David Horsager: But, you know, you’re also incredibly innovative and it seems to just come natural for you. It’s like, you know, from the everything bagel. What we’re going to come to in a second, but let’s first go to, how did this whole thing was selling dirt happen. I mean, really, what what happened.

Brandon Steiner: Well, first of all, you know, I don’t recommend for anybody if I’m a little bit. I got issues. So sometimes my thinking doesn’t you know necessarily

Brandon Steiner: You know, sometimes I’m not crossing it at the, you know, I’m not crossing that the light

Brandon Steiner: Times. So there’s a lot of things that are going on in his brain. And sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. But, you know, the dirt is funny because

Brandon Steiner: It really came from my back being against the wall. Always say nothing great happens. Let your backs against the wall.

Brandon Steiner: So, you know, how do you put your back against the wall. More often to create this kind of pressure.

Brandon Steiner: I always tell people, like, oh, feeling press to my good. You should feel press only time anything goods ever going to happen is when you got pressure on you.

Brandon Steiner: Mean, think about it, if you, you know, walking down Main Street walking down the beach.

Brandon Steiner: Everything’s lovey dovey nothing great happens only think great things happens when you put this immense pressure on yourself and what built for it, just like we’re built to get through this virus, to be honest with you. So

Brandon Steiner: You know the dirt thing is you know 2006 seven, you know, the economy was terrible. THE RECESSION WITH THE REAL ESTATE problems and I was trying to find an item I thought we’re going out of business.

Brandon Steiner: I was just trying to find an item that can kind of pass a climb my customers with it won’t be that expensive.

Brandon Steiner: And kind of pushed me through that time and we started coming up with all these ideas with the dirt from the fields.

Brandon Steiner: And I’m thinking, dirt, dirt pan stir key chains dirt coasters.

Brandon Steiner: Their clocks everything dirt and we started going crazy. Now remember Yankee Stadium dirt mantle DiMaggio Ruth Jeter all the greats have walked on that dirt.

Brandon Steiner: So we may try it. That was a very special product that people were getting a piece of

Brandon Steiner: But what’s crazy is and we were selling a lot of dirt. You know, a lot of pins. A lot of coaches, a lot of photos we spray adhesive on there, the dirt will be on there.

Brandon Steiner: But it always comes down to gratitude some writing a letter to Brian Cashman is the general manager. The Yankees and I’m thanking you for the help

David Horsager: And I’ve been in the office with you with him.

Brandon Steiner: Great love Brian, my favorite, favorite business people exist as a great job and

Brandon Steiner: I tell my graphic person to draw me a map of all the ballpark’s and I know we have dirt from every team in the major leagues. So I he draws a picture of all the ballpark’s of all the teams and then we put a capsule of dirt.

Brandon Steiner: Now the dirt now older is created equal and all these ballparks the viscosity, the color. Everything’s a little bit unique, believe it or not.

Brandon Steiner: So I’m sending this beautiful poster. We’re all the ballpark’s and then each capsule of third is a little different.

Brandon Steiner: I’m writing a letter to Brian. Brian, I want to thank you for coming to bat for me and helping me with all these players and situations over the last year and I designed this poster few now you have a little dirt on every team in your office.

Brandon Steiner: Now cute, but here I am so 29 to $39 gift items with dirt, which I just trying to get pacify get some action going in my company now I’m selling a $500 poster.

Brandon Steiner: And they’re going crazy people buying these dirt maps like crazy. And now I’m selling 500 our ballpark their maps and every team if Derek Jeter 3000 hits you got and how many it’s yeah nice ballpark. And then as a capsule have to match. And that’s what we got to the 50 million

David Horsager: So I always hopefully you saw

David Horsager: It failing in dirt.

Brandon Steiner: Yeah. And when I tell people what’s important is, first of all, your first idea is not your best idea.

Brandon Steiner: Here I was at a million different ideas of the tenants. The coast is the clocks, but I wasn’t my best idea. You got to keep thinking keep grinding.

Brandon Steiner: Second of all, you have to have faith that there is something bigger, even though you can’t see it, you’re not sure when it’s going to come, you have to have faith that

Brandon Steiner: This one thing you’re working on can end up being much bigger faith in your ability faith in your strategy and faith in God. And then the third most important thing is

Brandon Steiner: Gratitude.

Brandon Steiner: You don’t. I mean, you can’t ever implement more gratitude into your game. I mean, here I am just sending a thank you note, which I didn’t have to. I mean,

Brandon Steiner: But I would want to do something nice for Brian. As it turns out, one of my biggest items that we ever sold was the ballpark. Third, so

Brandon Steiner: You know, it’s amazing how things do work out. So if you if you’re out there and you’re working on something that’s worked for you in the past, maybe it’s not time to go do something else. Maybe it’s time to dig out a little deeper and figure out how you can make that item better

David Horsager: We didn’t get to cover all of it, but I gotta

David Horsager: You gotta have balls book the business playbook. We’re going to end them. And I asked you a few questions in a few minutes about living on purpose, but your books are great, but there’s a whole lot more story.

David Horsager: In the you got to have balls book of where you came from. And that journey and nuggets along the way. So we people got to think about that. But you got to tell us about the everything bagel, what, what’s the deal.

Brandon Steiner: Well, the everything bagel was funny because we talked about the delivery to the newspapers and sure enough I was delivering more bagels all of neighborhood. I mean, my shopping cart. I couldn’t even

Brandon Steiner: Deliver the papers on a route in a bike. Rather, I need a shopping cart and on Sundays, two of them.

Brandon Steiner: So every morning I would stop by this bagel factory to pick up all the bagels around the corner from my house, Father. One morning, the guy says, Brandon.

Brandon Steiner: Do you want to come and help me bake bagels. We started four in the morning work till 730 delivery or newspapers, you go to school. I said, Of course I could do that. I’m like delusional, but I did that for two months.

Brandon Steiner: That’s what these all the waking up at four in the morning going to bake bagels. I mean, I can’t believe I did this.

Brandon Steiner: So anyway, one day I was really ready to quit. Whatever. I mean, I couldn’t do it. I was falling asleep in school and he goes, my night Baker.

Brandon Steiner: Just quit. Would you like to get a raise, and work at night. So I started baking bagels at night. I quit my paper route. I’m working every night from six to nine.

Brandon Steiner: And I was in the morning baking thousands of bagels and night, who just taking a few dozen here a few dozen there.

Brandon Steiner: And I just got bored. So I started messing around with all these seasonings twist and onion flats and all kinds of different things. So just bored.

Brandon Steiner: And sure enough, I had all the seeds. One day I just threw them on top of it is by 1972 and that’s what we came up with the everything bagel, just out of pure boredom at night.

Brandon Steiner: And was was pretty cool. I mean, you know, listen, I love making all these concoctions of the bagels and the guy was very generous teach me how to make a bagel. So I kind of like have a good idea what a good bagels, like so. That’s how I came up with everything bagel.

David Horsager: You’re an idea generator. I mean, it’s unbelievable being around you and

Brandon Steiner: What’s funny is I go to my mother and I go, as a bacon. The biggest

Brandon Steiner: Idea. I’m going to get our truck of and I’m going to cut out the side and on the weekends are going to go up and down the street.

Brandon Steiner: And people come up and get bagels and I’ll have the different flavors of cream cheese locks everything my mother’s like that and I’ll put a big, big on the top of the van. I’ll be the bagel delivery guy and I was like one problem you’re 13 you can try.

Brandon Steiner: As I guess.

Brandon Steiner: I was always trying to

Brandon Steiner: Come on, Mom, you can come

David Horsager: With

Brandon Steiner: Well, next time. What else Dave is first to market. And I want to leave you on one quick note on this whole thing that what’s next. And what else times. What else is first to market.

Brandon Steiner: And the listening is nothing better. There’s no better feeling than when you go first to market on something and you beat everybody to an idea. This is just the greatest feeling. And that’s how my brain is always working is, you know, how do you slip to the white space.

David Horsager: I love it. You know, I read a quote recently actually just this week about how a lot of podcasts and I used to ask this, you know, what do you, what do you

David Horsager: What, what did you learn from that. What did you learn from that. And there’s a lot we can learn from history, but much better, what are you learning now. Right. And what do you learn, and now Brandon Steiner you built this amazing

David Horsager: Multi businesses. You’ve done some just amazing things. And, you know, what are you learning now.

Brandon Steiner: Well, first I’m learning that’s never too. You’re never too old to be up

Brandon Steiner: You know, I feel like I’m 19 again I’m reading my first book over again, which is all about rebranding and recreating. And you know what happens is you get older, you kind of get stuck.

Brandon Steiner: And you got to be careful. Don’t be SOS stuck on stupid. Don’t get stuck by to me. I feel like I’m a kid again, everything’s up for grabs. And I’m starting to dream big, trying to dream crazy again. I haven’t dropped like this a long time. And I think sometimes people

Brandon Steiner: They take themselves out of the game when they don’t have to, you know, you decide when you want to in the game. And I think a lot of it is mental. That’s one of the most important things I’ve learned

Brandon Steiner: In the last couple years is to be yourself and enjoy being yourself. And if you got himself into a little bit of a rut or some kind of route that kind of has you stuck somewhere.

Brandon Steiner: It’s only up to you to get out of that rut and route and sometimes the good Lord will give you the science take them.

David Horsager: How do you, how do you, you know, speak to this because so I remember. So here I’m a young, I’m a young guy. I had no business being part of this leadership group. This is over a decade ago.

David Horsager: You know, and, and you pick me up. And I remember you know it’s

David Horsager: I’m in New York. I meet with all these publishers ended up getting, you know, miraculously, one of the biggest deals of a non celebrity that year from the biggest publisher, my genre that years a miracle thing.

David Horsager: But you, you know, we had met at something and I said I’d be in town. You said I’ll pick you up, you’re outside you’re, you know, I

David Horsager: Right there, whatever avenue that was picked me up in front of

David Horsager: That that publisher, we go up to your house and we have something to eat. And then we put you you’ve got your own basketball gym and you got all these young guys come over and when I remember is

David Horsager: You shot the lights out of everybody there. And that was way younger than you, and secondly when I remember first

David Horsager: First, you said, all right, we got to warm up and we jumped on the bike and we warm up together and you do all this warm up first. And, you know, but I mean, look, everyone has half your size. But you said that you got to start with a warm up, and I think I was just thinking about how

David Horsager: You you keep doing the little things. Are there other little things that you feel like, whether it’s health. I mean, you’ve been married a long time to the same woman.

David Horsager: And you’ve led and you’ve got a kind of in a high stress industry. You’ve, you’ve kept family and your kids. I know are doing well. It’s been so fun to see that but

David Horsager: I think of, Wow, this guy’s into doing the little things he gets on the bike. First he does this, first he makes that call. Firstly, thanks. First, but tell us a little bit about the Live Link both, you know, whatever part of life.

Brandon Steiner: Well, I think. I mean, there’s so many little million little things. But I think first of all listen to your wife, you know, like you can’t listen to your wife and off. If you’re lucky enough to get married and have a spouse, like in my, you know,

Brandon Steiner: You know, listening, you know, may take any advice, especially in my case it’s difficult because my wife is like

Brandon Steiner: I mean 99.9% right i mean i throw a parade every like one out of 100 when I’m right. But I think that’s a really key. You know, I think that people underestimate.

Brandon Steiner: How they’re doing at home and how their home is set up how much, what effect it has, you know, outside WHEN YOU GET INSIDE.

Brandon Steiner: And I think for me, I never realized how important having a a home that set up right with a loving wife and and loving kids how important that is to your environment at work.

Brandon Steiner: And when things are not right at home, it’s tough for them to be right at work. So, you know, the to work hand in hand.

Brandon Steiner: I think for me, those are little things I have learned to eat a lot better.

Brandon Steiner: Tell you, one of the most important things I learned even in our mastermind that we’re together is how important sleep is and respecting rest.

Brandon Steiner: And respecting sleep and making sure that you know between you’re cranky. You make bad decisions.

Brandon Steiner: So that, that’s like a stupid little thing when you’re under high pressure and you’re in a job, they have to make a lot of decisions, one of these, you don’t want to do is make those decisions when you’re tired.

Brandon Steiner: And I see people do it all the time. Well, you know, always in a bad mood or. He’s like, I don’t want to be the kind of boss. Listen, if I’m cranky. It’s I may be cranky for a whole year.

Brandon Steiner: There’s a reason not because I’m a little tired or this or that I have good reason to be Frankie and I am I communicating it

Brandon Steiner: So I think overall, though with David so important. Back to trust is you got to be an over communicated with these days because no not all communication is not equal.

Brandon Steiner: So you got to be attacked. You’ve got to be able to get on social, you got to be able to put stuff on Facebook. You got to still be able to pick up the phone.

Brandon Steiner: If I took it through my office I still got to draw 250 greeting cards. You know, I’m still dropping personal greeting cards if

Brandon Steiner: Not all communication is equal and that’s what I would say to anyone listening is that turn up the volume on your communication skills. If you want to have trust.

Brandon Steiner: And you want to have more serious relationships, turn the volume up and your communication skills, whether the people work for you. You work for them. Assume nothing

David Horsager: How do you keep grounded with team like you got you got a great home team amazing wife. It’s really a partner in it, but

David Horsager: You know, outside of that. How do you stay, not just grounded but fresh and accountable. I mean, you’ve been top dog running the show leading things make decisions fast.

David Horsager: But how do you, how do you cultivate a team because you’ve you’ve built some big teams big companies with big teams, I’ve come out and spoken to your, your team. It’s some of the different ones. But how do you create the team.

Brandon Steiner: I think for me it’s you know about staying fat and fat is faithful adjustable teachable.

Brandon Steiner: And I think for me the teachable part is very important because I was thinking about it over the weekend I was a little frustrated with my team.

Brandon Steiner: There’s some things that even my new company I’m not happy with the way that going, but normally I would have said, you know, we’re doing this, we’re working in, I would have called an early meeting.

Brandon Steiner: But you know, it’s been tough, you know, the virus. And I think as a leader in this environment. You know, you first have to put empathy. First we’re normally I’d be like numbers. What are we doing what

Brandon Steiner: I put empathy first today and I didn’t really get all of my people to even though we’re lagging a little bit

Brandon Steiner: And I’ve learned to adjust. And I think, you know, the adjustable part and having faith in your people.

Brandon Steiner: You know, if you feel like you have good people, you know, think about having more faith in them as opposed to getting more fortunate on them because everything will all works out when they know you believe in that.

Brandon Steiner: And then for me it’s I’m in a completely new business. I’m just learning. I mean, my business is much more of a tech business. So what I’ve learned is, you know, to be teachable. I keep a lot of young kids around me.

Brandon Steiner: And I have a lot of young mentors and I mentor kids all the time and I try to mentor people I mentor, about five or six Division one college coaches loved it.

Brandon Steiner: But I have a bunch of kids that are 1617 mentoring me know and I’m getting further away from some of the day to day things that may bad want to know. So I think reverse mentoring is key. So again, be fat.

Brandon Steiner: You know, be faithful have more faith in people. And in the process, knowing that things going to work out. And that comes with a little bit of patience.

Brandon Steiner: Be adjustable so you did it this way for 10 years doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it.

Brandon Steiner: But just, you know, there’s different ways of managing people realize that in today’s world, you may have to manage people differently and adjust and then

Brandon Steiner: Be teachable. If you want people to be able to be to want them to learn be teachable person yourself as a boss I I listened, a lot more now than I ever have, because I know there’s a lot that I don’t know.

David Horsager: I’ve seen you even in the in our decade little over that friendship and just seeing, you know how someone can be driven, but also value center again this this last book I just I

David Horsager: The living on purpose. Three foundation foundational pillars. But you talk about faith and family and all these things. I remember you talking about this.

David Horsager: About how nowadays, you know, you’re still driven you still love building businesses, giving people jobs and and and being Solution Center, but you get up in the morning and you take a few seconds, you say, what is most important. Tell us about that.

Brandon Steiner: Well, I think, you know, and you’ve seen a lot now written and talked about you know what you do, but I do believe the first 90 seconds you day is

Brandon Steiner: The most important 90 seconds more important than the other 23 hours 58 minutes and 38 and 30 seconds. And make no mistake that when you get the first 90 seconds right

Brandon Steiner: More than likely you’re going to have a good day. And if you don’t, you’re probably going to have a mess update and and listen this morning, I’ll be honest with you, I got up.

Brandon Steiner: And I looked at my wife says what’s going on. So what’s going on so they can go back to bed. I’m not right and I went back to bed for another half an hour.

Brandon Steiner: Because I wasn’t feeling like I was going to go into my day with the right mindset. My first 90 seconds was wrong.

Brandon Steiner: So it’s okay to kind of retool yourself. But remember what happens at the beginning, usually is what’s going to happen throughout the day and I realized that I don’t want to. All of a sudden, get the four o’clock in the afternoon and realized I miss my kids test.

Brandon Steiner: I want to call my kid at 10 after two after you get home from school because they had a test. My wife had a mammogram and 11 I want to call it 1110

Brandon Steiner: And see how the mammogram. When I don’t want to. And what ends up happening is that there’s always people that can suck the life out of you.

Brandon Steiner: And I always that’s on my not to do list members get your to do list. I get to do list. And when I want to make sure that I do the most important things for the most important people.

Brandon Steiner: And I don’t want to forget that when I program, then it’s my mindset early in the morning, first thing

Brandon Steiner: More than, like, I’m not going to forget there’s an employee that’s having a problem, a family member that sick, even if it’s a quick text or a note.

Brandon Steiner: And I make sure there’s first 90 seconds I get my MVP list together days. And that’s my most valuable priorities and it’s just really, really important. It’s a simple to ask

Brandon Steiner: I think there’s a lot of people that have programming early in the morning to do different things. But what’s important is first thing in the morning. Just get those priorities straight.

David Horsager: I love it. Well, I think one way, we’re like minded is just having frameworks are things when you have a framework for decision maker framework for doing things to get the

David Horsager: The MVP that this that you know seeds. Some of these different acronyms that we have frameworks and it makes our life more consistent, we’re going to jump into a lightning round here, so be ready answer fast as we get head toward the finisher ready for Brandon

Brandon Steiner: Absolutely.

David Horsager: All right, here we go. I would love to talk to you all day. I’ve got so many questions.

David Horsager: As much as I know you. I’ve got 15 other stories will save the Mickey Mantle story for next time or something else.

Brandon Steiner: A good one to have you have your back back on, but

David Horsager: Um, what’s a book or resource that stood out to you lately.

Brandon Steiner: Oh, so many man. I mean, I love Harvey’s last book you know about you know that you know you’re not done you know there’s lat Harvey MacKay his last book.

Brandon Steiner: I’m in the middle of it now. And there’s also a Keller Williams book about the the millionaire resource that he wrote, which is

Brandon Steiner: Page by page is just gold. I mean, I like, believe it or not, I go back and still read Swimming with the sharks are Harvey MacKay too but I read Harvey’s last book I think it’s probably could be five books. That’s how much stuff is in there.

David Horsager: Yeah, full of stuff. Great stuff. Well, and we were introduced to each other because of Harvey and group that way. What’s something you can’t live without.

Brandon Steiner: Um, oh boy. Not much as I as I know that as a fact.

Brandon Steiner: Exercise.

David Horsager: What do you

David Horsager: Do for exercise.

Brandon Steiner: What do you do, I do. I do a lot of same stuff play basketball. But, you know, for me, the exercise isn’t about necessarily to lose weight or gain weight.

Brandon Steiner: But it’s to gain health and a lot of is to gain mental health. I have a lot of ADHD issues. I’m sure you could probably pick up some of that even in this conversation, but

Brandon Steiner: It’s really important that I get that workout. First thing, and most mornings I get some kind of cardio in for no other reason other than my mental health.

David Horsager: You know, usually we asked what motivates you, and you could answer that, but I’d love to hear you. And this might take a little longer. So I went to lightning, but I gotta ask

David Horsager: How do you motivate others because you’ve motivated quite the teams to so maybe how do you get, how do you motivate yourself. How do you motivate others.

Brandon Steiner: I think, I think the most important thing is you feel people’s mind with training, rather than trouble. I think you can motivate others by challenging them.

Brandon Steiner: Is very, very important. You know, keeping keeping people challenge and keeping people motivated by

Brandon Steiner: Knowing that they can advance. I think you can only motivate people with two methodologies one you sell them in and motivate them about today.

Brandon Steiner: Is what can happen. It can be great today. This week, or here’s if we kill ourselves now a year from now, this is what we’re going to have

Brandon Steiner: And I think we’re a lot of leaders get lost with trust and with that sale about how to motivate people is they start getting in the in between stuff.

Brandon Steiner: And they start getting mundane into what they’re trying to push through. If you’re not selling today, then you’ve got to sell the future, you’re not selling either one of those most like your employees aren’t buying it.

Brandon Steiner: So I try to motivate people with the truth, and the truth is either working on today or working out for the future.

Brandon Steiner: In this way they have an expectation level. And I’m always trying to find things that that I could challenge them with because when people grow, they tend to get much more motivated most people’s unhappiness coastal being stale and bored.

David Horsager: I love it. That’s great. What this is a little left fielder for you. But my favorite food is ice cream. What’s your favorite. What’s your favorite flavor.

Brandon Steiner: There’s no question. I mean, I, my favorite foods ceremony gardens LMB pizza from Brooklyn, the best pizza on the planet. And that’s one of those foods. I have our time living without

David Horsager: There you go and you have some some ammonia ice cream after it.

Brandon Steiner: We try to, but these days is a little tough to both of them. But I’m a part of you can guy but yeah that’s

David Horsager: Good. That’s good. So yet any last piece of advice before I get to get where we can connect with you. And one last question. Any last advice you’d say, hey,

David Horsager: Everybody is trying to be trusted leaders. We are trying to live out our influence in a high trust way by being trustworthy what any last advice you’d say for everybody.

Brandon Steiner: Well, I read, I reiterate that, you know, our communication is not equal and living in a time when people are probably not themselves. They’re not their best.

Brandon Steiner: They have a little more time probably to do more and doing one on one conversations as opposed to large group zoom calls

Brandon Steiner: Maybe a lot more effective and may take more of your time. But, you know, starting off with empathy and checking in with people because meant their mental health.

Brandon Steiner: Because of what they’re going through, but it could be just being more home more parenting more or just having that some of the things that used to having at their at their beck and call

Brandon Steiner: Could be very troublesome that people. People are not great. When it comes to change even know when to six months, seven months of this

Brandon Steiner: So, you know, turn up the volume on your empathy as a leader.

Brandon Steiner: And most importantly, do as many one on one meetings. You can even if they’re 10 or 15 minutes to check in and then non business related because they go a long way with people knowing that you care. And it’s not just about the business.

David Horsager: You know, I was on a walk. Early on in a pandemic with a mentor of mine. He’s in the white house every week. Not that he’s behind any either side of what’s going on there, but a

David Horsager: Guy doesn’t want any credit for anything you know 20 at least years my senior but he said is, we’re on a walk. Early on the pandemic. He said, David, I want to tell you something small is beautiful. And it’s going to be even more beautiful, he said.

David Horsager: He believes you know pro sports are going to take a decade hit, not a one or two or three year hit as an example.

David Horsager: And big, big events are going to take a big hit. HE SAID, YOU, DAVE You speak all over the world. I think you’re going to make more of an impact over the next many years maybe your lifetime.

David Horsager: Meeting with small one on one small groups of leaders small is going to be the new beautiful not big. And I think that whole thing of one on one connection. We need to get back to this. Not this

David Horsager: Light surface big but this deep small connection that can really, you know, change the world. So

Brandon Steiner: I agree.

David Horsager: Yeah. So tell us a, you know, Where can we find more about you to these days.

Brandon Steiner: Well, as many of us went home. If you’re a collector. You want to sell your stuff where collectible exchange we help you sell and buy some of the coolest collectibles and

Brandon Steiner: That site is blowing up and growing have over 50,000 items on there.

Brandon Steiner: You can go to Brandon Steiner calm or I’m a big LinkedIn guy I’m over the 30,000 you to follow me and messaged me and i i try to respond to every one of those messages is something I do to help

Brandon Steiner: If you need some help with your collectibles. You need an athlete help grow your business. I’m your guy more than happy to help you. I’m really enjoying my business these days because I can

Brandon Steiner: Even though I have much smaller staff and I’ve had in years. It’s so much more fun being more hands on and doing more

Brandon Steiner: And have more interaction with customers. I’m actually enjoying that again. So I hope to hear from some of you out there that have an issue or something I could do to help you grow your business.

David Horsager: And I’ll tell you, just from personal experience, you know, you got sports people in your life where if you just, I remember you know you inspired me and i by someone or we get signed a ball from this person Marianna or assigned

David Horsager: Who holds thing or assigned wherever just like, Hey, thanks for doing this and and they just mean so much them and it

David Horsager: It reminds them. And I think one thing that it does that people don’t realize I they get that that all the inspiration that goes with sports and competition and winning and all that. What they don’t get is it brings them back to childhood.

David Horsager: It brings some memories. Memories with their mom their dad with their uncle with their with

David Horsager: What they loved as a kid, and it brings this this back and I know if you went into our office just you know 20 yards from me here from my studio, you’ll see

David Horsager: Several things from Brandon Steiner, and from the, the, the team out there. And the other thing I would say, by the way, is Brandon is an amazing speaker so you know

David Horsager: If you’re not bringing us in bringing Brandon right he’s

Brandon Steiner: Right behind you. You know I love you as a speaker, Dave, you do a great job and talk about probably one of the most important things

Brandon Steiner: And building relationships and building trust, which a lot of people are afraid to talk about that. So yeah, so I’m right behind you. Because relationships, everything

Brandon Steiner: Is whenever I get on the stage with you, man. Anytime is always, always a blessing.

David Horsager: It is and and I just would say, no matter what I’d say that in jest because there’s places where Brandon is the

David Horsager: The clear choice and and you should just I hope more people get to hear your voice, because I think now you’ve created all these stories and you’ve come to a

David Horsager: Real time. And I know you’re always generous giver. But you’ve really come to a time where you’re giving a ton back and you’re

David Horsager: You’re helping and I know you’re giving a big foundation that you’re part of and everything else so visit, Brandon. Brandon steiner.com

David Horsager: Us, you know, learn more about him read the books, and also that method of giving first you might find something at the the site there to give that builds a connection that actually just can lead to some amazing things. So

David Horsager: So last thing you know what it is. It’s called the trusted leader show so we end with this, who is a most trusted leader to you and why

Brandon Steiner: The most trusted leader to me probably was was lousy Jackson. He was at Maker from Philadelphia, who had a kid I when I started working in his kitchen. My sharpening knives. When I was a dishwasher.

Brandon Steiner: And one of the reasons why he always told me the truth. Even when I didn’t want to hear it, even if it wasn’t popular, even if it created static between us.

Brandon Steiner: And he was always thinking forward for me also thinking about what was best for me, not only at the moment but down the road. It was always a

Brandon Steiner: You know, a high level of diligence about how he thought I can grow to go and I think that, you know, such an important aspect of leadership. When I think about this guy Ozzy Jackson.

Brandon Steiner: We would work 90 or 100 hours a week. A week and 100 plus degree kitchen and one morning we were making Chinese food and, you know,

Brandon Steiner: We picked chickens for the chicken shall mean I, my job was to make the fried rice, you know, 500 kids that’s three hours to make the fried rice. We had worked all morning hundred degrees exhausted.

Brandon Steiner: We go back to a room at 130 for a two hour break. And we realized my friend comes in my room and wakes me up. It’s already 630

Brandon Steiner: When we miss dinner we run into the kitchen. They already served dinner. Dinner was over, and we’re going crazy.

Brandon Steiner: And we go over the chef. Like, why did you wake us listen to me was already made it was easy meal serve and before we let you sleep.

Brandon Steiner: We, we had to be removed from the kitchen. We were going crazy throwing stuff yelling at the other cooks for landing asleep.

Brandon Steiner: And when I realized the motivation and trust we hadn’t applied. We saw anybody else. Okay. Give us the night off know we wanted to be in that case, we wanted to serve that meal and we took pride in that. And it was amazing. When I think back in that

Brandon Steiner: Here I am having to have to physically be removed from the kitchen because we’re yelling, screaming and and really getting face to face with everybody about not waking us up to go serve the meal.

Brandon Steiner: And I think that’s where you want your employees. You want them said, asking for more time off, you want to ask for more time on. That’s when you know you’ve been trusted leader.

David Horsager: That’s that is true. That’s a trusted leader for sure. Well, you are a leader, I trust that’s there’s no doubt about that.

David Horsager: At trusted leader.com we are going to put show notes. We’re going to put all of Brandon’s websites and LinkedIn. We’re going to put some videos so you can see him speaking, he’s amazing on stage will put links to his books and I hope you

David Horsager: Reach out and learn more from

David Horsager: This amazing guy and someone I certainly trust so

David Horsager: He’s building trust, and thank you, Brandon, and we will see you next time.