Terry Sullivan - Linked In Speaker

Terry Sullivan

Business Speaker Linked-In Specialist / Trainer

Training from the Heart

By: Tamara A. McCullough

A multi-hyphenate in the true sense of the word, Terry Sullivan, founder of digital media firm, BuzzPro, wears many hats – “storytelling entrepreneur, thought leader and a difference-maker” – but the title that’s his “sweet spot,” his true passion is as a trainer for people and businesses alike. Throughout his illustrious career, Terry has worked with ¬¬countless companies and thousands of employees from executives to entry-level to train them on maximizing their social media profiles and educating clients about their brand. “I work with companies and I also work with individuals on how to spruce up their brands with digital marketing.” Regardless of who he’s working with, Terry prides himself on his ability to connect with people from all walks of life to make any meeting meaningful. From the moment you speak with Terry, his natural ability to make a genuine connection with others is evident from his affable demeanor, his passion and enthusiasm for what he does.

Nuggets of Knowledge Any great trainer has to be an effective communicator and Terry knows that better than anyone, which is why he’s called on as a keynote speaker and trainer more than 100 times per year. He draws upon his more than 14 years’ worth of experience as the Director of Marketing for Verizon Communications where he regularly gave presentations. More than facts and figures, Terry presents and speaks from the heart to give everything that personal touch. “You need to present the way that you would like to be presented to,” Terry explained. Even with dense subject matter, Terry prefers a light-hearted approach and likes to “personalize it and make it fun.” Terry is also known for making his speeches and presentations as content-rich as possible.

“Some presenters start with: ‘I’m going to give you 5-10 nuggets that you should know.’ With me, it’s very content-rich and I like to give 5 nuggets every 5 to 10 minutes. It’s pretty intense.” Since Terry understands what it’s like to be on the other side of those presentations where eyes glaze over and heads sway back and forth, he’s deliberate about the content he presents, so attendees embrace it. “I like to provide those eureka moments. For example, some people don’t change their LinkedIn vanity URL, so I teach you how to do that. It might be technical, but it can also be fun.” Terry also likes to add in his own stories and fun experiences, such as when he was in Los Angeles and he and his wife were walking up and down Hollywood Blvd., got interviewed and ended up on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show.” Comfortable in front of crowds of all sizes, there’s no difference whether he presents to a small or large company. “I’ve presented to audiences of more than 1200 and some companies where there were fewer than 10 people. There’s really no difference. The speaking process is the same. The larger the audience is, however, the better since I can jump around more because I have a bigger stage.” There’s also another reason that Terry prefers a larger group. “It’s very, very rewarding to hear large audiences laugh

at your jokes,” Terry admitted.

Defining Your Brand One of the most important lessons that Terry teaches is effective branding, so his clients can better define their brand to illustrate how they can add value to their prospective clients. “You need to be able to tell others who you are, what you do and how you can help.” Whether he works with entrepreneurs or Fortune 500 companies, Terry finds they all have “nuanced differences about what they do and what they’re passionate about.” “I work very collaboratively with both individuals and company clients.” Over the years, Terry has found that what works best with training sessions is to personalize them, so attendees get a better feel for how they can personally benefit. “I create digital brands for their leadership teams. I’ll then take screenshots of various pages of their LinkedIn profiles and include these digital branding element examples in my presentations. I’ll mention this in my presentations. ‘Here’s what your CEO did, or CFO did. Here are the keywords we created… Now it’s your turn!’”

Linking with LinkedIn Terry is billed as The LinkedIn Guru, but what makes

him such an expert? He got started on the professional networking site as soon as it went online back in 2003. He admits he didn’t get on it too much at first, but once he did, he saw the true branding and marketing value that the site could provide. He realized very quickly LinkedIn was a great place to find a job; however, it had even more value to business-to-business companies wanting to expand their online reach to their key contacts and prospects. Terry points out that LinkedIn is often the first place potential customers go to discover more about you and your company. “At the beginning, people thought LinkedIn was a great place to find a job, which it certainly is, but it’s much more than that. If you’re into B2B sales and marketing, you’ve got to be on LinkedIn. If you’re not on LinkedIn in a big way, they’ll wonder why you’re not. This can cause them to go elsewhere for their business needs.” When Terry first got onto LinkedIn, he never thought he would be training individuals on how to use it, let alone companies and large organizations. With the new digital sales and marketing landscape, Terry lets everybody know that the networking site is critical to your business networking and business-building success. “With LinkedIn, you can connect with the right people

and build those relationships over time. So, when it’s time for them to buy, you’re front of mind because they’ve read your online content, and they end up reaching out to you, the subject matter expert, for help.” Terry has a very specific way to train anybody from professionals job-hunting to companies wanting to land more clients on how to successfully leverage LinkedIn to get the most out of the platform. “I tell my audiences you should never sell on LinkedIn. People will unfollow you. I train professionals on how to take your online discussion offline. Yes, you have to build your digital footprint, but nothing really happens until you have a conversation with somebody. That’s where the real sales take place!”

Terry also points out that, “Social media helps you connect, but nothing happens until you meet with them face-to-face, make a phone call. It needs to be consistent online to offline.” To Terry, “that’s where the real magic happens.”

“Social selling” is another digital networking strategy that Terry likes to drill down when he speaks, and he distinguishes it from social media.

“There’s a big difference between social media and social selling. Social media is like throwing a party. It takes a lot of work. You have to invite the right people, have the right food and maybe have a great band and music. The idea here is to create a lot of online fun, so they remember you and your company, and they keep coming back for more. Social selling, however, is more deliberate. It’s kind of like going deep-sea fishing where your ultimate goal is to land that fish. Social selling is exactly the same. You want to establish online business relationships with targeted companies and professionals that ultimately lead to new clients.”

Starting Over & Birth of BuzzPro Just like thousands of others, Terry fell victim to the Great Recession and lost his job at Verizon at the beginning of 2010. This gave Terry pause and allowed him to think about what he should do next. “Do I want to go back into the corporate world or do it on my own?” By happenstance, Terry didn’t have to decide because it all kind of came about organically. Most importantly to note, it was all through his charity work with others that led him down a new career path. “I was helping other people who were laid off for free. I

helped more than 300 people establish their very own LinkedIn brands in a single year, and many of those professionals I helped land great new jobs.” Terry saw this as his calling since he always viewed himself as a servant leader, so he got into the habit of presenting 3-5 times per week to help people find jobs. “The people I helped were landing jobs, and once they started working in their new roles, they would tell others in their companies about me and my digital branding expertise. In many cases, they would end up hiring me to train their leadership teams. I thought, ‘Let’s see where this would take me.’ I had so much fun helping people that I didn’t think twice about it. I hit the ground running with my new BuzzPro Company. Now I train and present to companies and professional organizations throughout the United States.” Ten years later, Terry is still in that same mind frame and still helps people for free to help build his network. More than half of the presentations he does yearly are to job-seeking groups and chambers. The rest of the time he devotes to working with individual and company clients. Seeing all the people that he had helped and could continue to help planted an idea in Terry’s head. “I tried to help people in my audience, and I truly didn’t

expect anything in return. It was interesting how it all unfolded. It wasn’t like I was planning to start a training company. I didn’t know what it would bring.” All of these experiences lent themselves to Terry forming BuzzPro in 2010. Terry saw that the timing was right to fully commit to branching out on his own. Along the way, he’s picked up some of the biggest company brands in the country. “I’ve recently started working with a company called High Profile Inc. that’s a very successful recruitment agency in the DFW area, and I’ve trained the entire company. Certain companies hold a special place for Terry not only for what he provides to them but what they give back to him. “My most memorable moment was working with a company where everybody was unbelievably grateful and appreciative of me and my help. I also enjoy working with companies where their employees are treated right with great company cultures. I truly care about the success of those I help.”

Standing Out Though there are countless sales and marketing training companies out there, BuzzPro stands out for not only having great training content but for having a heart. The company gets to the heart of the matter by focusing on how its clients can make the most out of their digital marketing. BuzzPro shows in the simplest form what is possible with their online and offline efforts, which is why the corporate slogan is “Your buzz is our bizz.”

quantity, how many contacts, followers and likes can you get. What differentiates me is I believe in growing your digital network honestly and organically. No gimmicks. No secret SEO tricks to help you get found on page 1 with keyword search.”

To Terry, building and maintaining relationships is what matters the most.

“It takes time to build rapport. It’s all about connecting with people, building trust, being aware and comfortable. Yes, you have to follow-up, and, yes, you have to position your brand, but your ultimate goal with LinkedIn is to take your online discussion offline.”

Terry does a lot of work from his home office, and one of Terry’s best assets is his rambunctious business partner, Freddie, his dachshund puppy. How is the working relationship between the two? “Freddie is crazy. He kind of keeps me company in my home office. He’s a really good puppy, 6 months old and we have a good working relationship. Of course, he wins all the arguments.”

What do Freddie and Terry want to leave you with? Terry spoke for the two and said, “Please don’t be intimidated by digital media; it’s not going away. It’s going to be even more a part of our lives. On LinkedIn, you can meet amazing people and accomplish your networking goals by spending just 15 to 30 minutes per day on the amazing application. So, embrace LinkedIn, jump in feet first, and watch your network and success grow!”

“A lot of companies that train on digital media focus on