Business

Leveraging Relationships To Grow Your Business, With Signature Lacrosse Founder, Dan Soviero

Published

3 years ago

February 16, 2021

Relationships are the foundation of many of the best business transactions. It goes without saying that most people prefer to do business with those that they like, know and trust. Having a great relationship with one’s partners, clients and peers are one of the best ways to get ahead in business. However, this is often easier said than done. According to Dan Soviero, founder of Signature Lacrosse, “Many entrepreneurs are so eager to land their next client that they fail to build the relationship first.” This oversight can be detrimental to the long-term relationship between a business owner and their client.

When Dan first came up with the idea for the Signature Premium Lacrosse ball, he began by leveraging his relationships. He acquired invaluable from the coaches and players in his immediate circle and began sharing his concept with local teams. He gained the trust of those around him and then scaled that upward and outward to eventually become the preferred Lacrosse ball of the NCAA, the Official Ball of Professional Lacrosse, and the Federation of International Lacrosse, and the trusted ball for more than 300 college teams around the nation. Today, Dan runs a 7 figure business and has changed the game of lacrosse forever, and it all started with building solid relationships.

Dan shares his top 3 tips for establishing trust and building great relationships with clients.

Be yourself. While it is important to be professional in your client interactions, don’t be afraid to be yourself and engage with your clients the same way you would your friends and family. If you are warm and at ease with clients, they will be more likely to reciprocate that. Dan recommends building this initial rapport by establishing shared interests or values. He speaks with prospective clients about hobbies, personal growth, and his family. “I want my clients to understand that I’m a real person,” Day explains. In doing so, Dan breaks the ice, and more often than not, the client opens up in return.

Really listen to your clients. Dan follows Dale Carnegie’s principles from his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Throughout the book, Carnegie continually returns to the importance of listening more than speaking and asking questions as a means of building trust. Approach each client interaction eager to learn, the sale will come later after the relationship is formed.

Be selective with the clients you pursue. In the same way that not every person is a good friendship or relationship match, not every client will be the right fit either. Pursuing the wrong types of clients can be a costly mistake. Before pursuing a client, make sure that their values align with your own and that you are capable of meeting their needs. This confidence will help you stand out in the industry and build the right client’s trust.

To learn more about Dan Soviero, visit www.signaturelacrosse.com.

Business

Turning Tragedy into Triumph Through Walking With Anthony

Published

1 week ago

April 18, 2024

Rosario Farell

On the morning of February 6, 2010, Anthony Purcell took a moment to admire the churning surf before plunging into the waves off Miami Beach. Though he had made the dive numerous times before, that morning was destined to be different when he crashed into a hidden sandbar, sustaining bruises to his C5 and C6 vertebrae and breaking his neck.

“I was completely submerged and unable to rise to the surface,” Purcell recalls. “Fortunately, my cousin Bernie saw what was happening and came to my rescue. He saved my life, but things would never be the same after that dive.”

Like thousands of others who are confronted with a spinal cord injury (SCI), Purcell plunged headlong into long months of hopelessness and despair. Eventually, however, he learned to turn personal tragedy into triumph as he reached out to fellow SCI victims by launching Walking With Anthony.

Living with SCI: the first dark days

Initial rehabilitation for those with SCIs takes an average of three to six months, during which time they must relearn hundreds of fundamental skills and adjust to what feels like an entirely new body. Unfortunately, after 21 days, Purcell’s insurance stopped paying for this essential treatment, even though he had made only minimal improvement in such a short time.

“Insurance companies cover rehab costs for people with back injuries, but not for people with spinal cord injuries,” explains Purcell. “We were practically thrown to the curb. At that time, I was so immobile that I couldn’t even raise my arms to feed myself.”

Instead of giving up, Purcell’s mother chose to battle his SCI with long-term rehab. She enrolled Purcell in Project Walk, a rehabilitation facility located in Carlsbad, California, but one that came with an annual cost of over $100,000.

“My parents paid for rehabilitation treatment for over three years,” says Purcell. “Throughout that time, they taught me the importance of patience, compassion, and unconditional love.”

Yet despite his family’s support, Purcell still struggled. “Those were dark days when I couldn’t bring myself to accept the bleak prognosis ahead of me,” he says. “I faced life in a wheelchair and the never-ending struggle for healthcare access, coverage, and advocacy. I hit my share of low points, and there were times when I seriously contemplated giving up on life altogether.”

Purcell finds a new purpose in helping others with SCIs

After long months of depression and self-doubt, Purcell’s mother determined it was time for her son to find purpose beyond rehabilitation.

“My mom suggested I start Walking With Anthony to show people with spinal cord injuries that they were not alone,” Purcell remarks. “When I began to focus on other people besides myself, I realized that people all around the world with spinal cord injuries were suffering because of restrictions on coverage and healthcare access. The question that plagued me most was, ‘What about the people with spinal cord injuries who cannot afford the cost of rehabilitation?’ I had no idea how they were managing.”

Purcell and his mother knew they wanted to make a difference for other people with SCIs, starting with the creation of grants to help cover essentials like assistive technology and emergency finances. To date, they have helped over 100 SCI patients get back on their feet after suffering a similar life-altering accident.

Purcell demonstrates the power and necessity of rehab for people with SCIs

After targeted rehab, Purcell’s physical and mental health improved drastically. Today, he is able to care for himself, drive his own car, and has even returned to work.

“Thanks to my family’s financial and emotional support, I am making amazing physical improvement,” Purcell comments. “I mustered the strength to rebuild my life and even found the nerve to message Karen, a high school classmate I’d always had a thing for. We reconnected, our friendship evolved into love, and we tied the knot in 2017.”

After all that, Purcell found the drive to push toward one further personal triumph. He married but did not believe a family was in his future. Regardless of his remarkable progress, physicians told him biological children were not an option.

Despite being paralyzed from the chest down, Purcell continued to look for hope. Finally, Dr. Jesse Mills of UCLA Health’s Male Reproductive Medicine department assured Purcell and his wife that the right medical care and in vitro fertilization could make their dream of becoming parents a reality.

“Payton joined our family in the spring of 2023,” Purcell reports. “For so long, I believed my spinal cord injury had taken everything I cared about, but now I am grateful every day. I work to help other people with spinal cord injuries find the same joy and hope. We provide them with access to specialists, funding to pay for innovative treatments, and the desire to move forward with a focus on the future.”