Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mike King. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Mike, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

“Legacy is not something you leave for someone but something you leave in someone.” When I’m dead and gone I hope those that stand around my casket in the back of the funeral room remember me as someone who gave more than he took. As a man of incredible faith who loved his family and friends. And as someone who lived their life to the fullest that died with nothing held back. I’ll be remembered for all the people I helped and the example I set for others to never give up. I’ll be remembered for never being afraid to have vulnerable conversations, encouraging others towards their purpose and making people comfortable enough to trust me with their deepest secrets.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got interested in marketing when I was 14. I was watching tv late one night and saw an infomercial about buying real estate with no money down. I “borrowed” my grandma’s credit card and ordered the training. That was my first introduction to the information publishing world and direct response marketing. Life quickly moved on and after 15 years in the financial world I needed a change. That’s when I decided to open up my agency 6 years ago and I’ve loved every single minute of it.

I work with clients whose businesses rely on phone calls or meetings to sell high ticket services and products. I work with them to build client acquisition systems that can bring them new clients on a predicatible, consistent basis. This includes helping them with leveraging paid media, creating new offers and improving the economics in their business.

I think what sets me apart form others in my space is that I want to be involved in the entire process from the acquisition, to the lead conversion process and the nuturing process. I want to help my clients win in a way that’s menaingful to them and their business goals. This means helping them look at their numbers and pinpoint areas for increased efficeny and margin.

I’m proud of all the work I do. I helped one of my first clients Harold who was a home inspector build his certification business from nothing into a nationwide company. It was his dream to become a sought after teacher in his industry and I was able to help him do that. I’ll never forget how happy he was to see it working. He had no marketing experience or social media presence as he was an older gentleman many would consider to old to try something like this after a successful career. It was a honorable experience helping him accomplish his vision and dream.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to help Grant Cardone, one of the worlds biggest businessmen and influencers improve the customer acquisition for his foundational business Cardone University. I was able to slash customer acquisition cost by as much as 42% and reduce C.A.C. Payback by as much as 72%.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I had been working in finance for 13 years. It had been rewarding but I was getting bored and the hours were wearing me down. I always wanted to explore my passion for marketing so I started building my LinkedIn profile and followers. Others in the office took notice and asked me if I would help them do the same and I this became a little side hustle for me. As word started to spread that I was getting people in the offce appointments through LinkedIn more and more people started asking me more general marketing questions. One day a client asked me if I knew anything about Facebook ads. I said that I didn’t but would love to learn. We quickly came to an agreement that he would buy me a course I had been considering and in exchange I would take what I learned and use it to help him. Using Facebook I was able to generate him hundreds of new leads and appointments with potential clients. This new skill allowed me to acquire new clients and I alwasy found a way to make a deal with someone I liked and wanted to work with. Sometimes, they would pay me, other times they would buy me additional training courses so I could expand my skill set. Gaining experience became my top priority and after two years I was able to turn this into a full time income that replaced the income I was making in finance. Shortly after that I was talking with my business coach and he told me that my skills were really good but if I wanted to go to the next level I needed to get an opportunity where I could see how my skills directly affected a businesses profit and loss statement. Shortly after that I was in one of my mastermind groups and someone said that Grant Cardone was looking for help with his paid client acquisition strategies. Initially, I downplayed my skill set and doubted that I could do what they were looking for. After a few days I realized I was being given a once in a lifetime opportunity so I inquired about the opportunity. To make sure that I stood out from the crowd, in my email inquiry I told a story about how I was like Tom Brady, 5 time MVP and 6 time superbowl winner. I didn’t compare myself to him now, instead I compared my self to him when he was the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL draft. He just needed someone to take a chance on him and surround him with the right team and opportunity and he would rise to the occassion. They loved my storytelling and that analogy so they gave me the opportunity. At first I was brought in just to run ads on LinkedIn but I quickly caught the eye of the President Jarrod Glandt and was put in charge of the entire marketing strategy for Grant’s flagship product Cardone University.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After college I was fortunate enough to play some semi professional basketball. When that adventure was over it was time for me to get into the workforce. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I thought about going to graduate school or even seminary but the timing wasn’t right so I needed to get a job. While I was trying to figure things out I got a job at a local factory stuffing bean bags so I could pay bills and continue to save money. I had been on the job for three months when one day after break the supervisor approached me.

To my surprise, he asked me why I was there? I wasn’t quite sure what he meant so I told him that I needed a job. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and asked me again, “What are you doing here?” I replied, “I have bills to pay and needed a job.

“Listen,” he said. “There’s only two people in this factory with a college degree. That’s me and you. So I’m gonna ask you again, what are you doing here?”

Getting a little frustrated I responded, “I’m not above this work so I took this job while I figure out what I want to do with my life.”

He just said, “Hmm,” and walked away.

I was living with my grandparents at the time.

The next morning I woke up and got ready for work. I walked up the stairs from my bedroom in the basement and turned to go into the kithen.

My grandma was sitting in a recliner in the living room.

“Where you going,” she asked me?

“I’m getting something to eat and then I’m going to work like every other day,” I replied.

“Not today,” she responded.

“Your boss just called and said you’ve been fired and not to come to work!”

I was completely shocked and at the time I couldn’t understand why.

When I got older I understood.

I believe he saw greater potential in me and knew I needed to move on and that was his way of helping me out.

It forced me to pivot fast.

I did a short stint trying to sell credit card processing machines from business to business.

Depending on how you look at it, that was a horrible or good experience in rejection.

That lead me to working in a state sponsored boys home for last chance young men.

That was a rewarding but extremely stressful job for a year and half.

Dozens of boys came through that program on their way to jail or juvie but only a handful of them succeded and were able to turn their lives around.

I had to pivot again when one of the boys had an episode and tried stabbing me with a pencil.

I was able to defend myself but I couldn’t return to a job that was consistently becoming more and more hostile as the state restricted our ability to protect ourselves.

That’s when I was able to get an interview with a mortgage company.

That was the begining of a 15 year career.

My life has been a series of pivots. From my father going to prision 3 times by the time I was 10…to my younger brother taking his life when I was a college sophmore and he was a senior in highschool…to my father dying of stage 4 liver cancer when I was 23.

Life is gift. The journey only ends when we stop moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kingfamilyconsulting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike_your_mentor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.king.3720190
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-king-marketing-expert/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeYourMentor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv_LUXQhL7jIhINFtnR8TGA