Go Directly To The Source ...

"Sam, you know everybody." I hear this a lot and I get asked how I know this or that person. It's simple; I collect associations and friendships of people I want to know. If there is a specific piece of information I need to get a better understanding of, I try to contact one of the recognized authorities on the subject.

She Asked

I have always admired those who share my approach to connecting with people. During the Obama Administration, 75-year-old retired Cuban economist IIeana Yarza wrote a letter to President Obama and invited him to stop by her home in Havana during his visit to Cuba. To her surprise, the President wrote her back and said he would if time permitted. She took a chance on making a direct connection and got rewarded with a response.

Let Them Say Yes Or No ...

I learned a long time ago to allow others the opportunity to say yes or no. One of my earliest lessons was in Chicago when I was doing evenings on WJPC, owned at the time by The Johnson Publishing Company. There was a local weekend TV horror movie host named, "The Son of Svengoolie" on WFLD Channel 32. He was called the "son" because Svengoolie -- who had the gig -- moved on and I guess the station was trying to be politically correct

Why That Show?

The weekly TV horror flick show was a mixture of political satire and corny one-liner jokes highlighted by drum rimshots. The set, if you could call it that, was the best that money could buy with a limited budget; the movies ranged from the Mummy, Swamp Thing, The 50-Foot Woman, vampire movies, and every hokey cinema scary creation from the last 70 years. However, the Son of Svengoolie created a bond with his audience. I saw the show and said to myself, "This is so off the wall, I need to see if I can get on for a guest appearance" My sole purpose was ratings and exposure.

Does Anybody know ...

My on-air plan was to tell everyone I had come to Chicago to be close to my half-brother, the Son of Svengoolie. I created a storyline involving our supposed mother and how we had been separated years earlier. To tug on the heartstrings even more, I told listeners our mom always liked him best and that I was sent to live with relatives. The young end of my 12-17 audience ate this up, even the young son of my GM asked his dad if I was sad. I was getting lots of letters (snail mail) and phone calls. By the way, I did it while never breaking the on-air programming directives of the PD.

On-Air ...

Every night I would stress to listeners, "I just want to see my half-brother again, but he won't return my calls." Others around my company seemed to be enjoying the whole farce; many suggestions involved going through this or that person who was the cousin of such and such or somebody's boyfriend who was friends with, etc. None of the suggested routes amounted to anything.

Duh ...

Finally, it came to me, just call the Son of Svengoolie directly. I called the TV station and to my surprise they put me right though to Rich Koz, Svengoolie himself. I introduced myself and told him I was telling my listeners that he was my half-brother and I had moved to town to get to know him. He laughed, and I then told him. "I want to come on your show and play up the half-brother thing." He thought it would be funny and we agreed for both of us to appear on each other's shows.

My Take-Away ..

The whole thing taught me a lesson: Never be afraid to approach anyone directly. After that day I became a collector of people I wanted to know. By the way, Rich Koz is still doing his Son of Svengoolie act on the MeTV National Network.

Just Go Direct ...

Don't waste time scheming to meet someone you want to have a conversation with. There's snail mail, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Snap Chat, and other social media platforms. Also, third party e-mail introductions work if you know someone who already knows the person you wish to communicate with. From now on, if there's anybody in radio or another other business you need to connect with, don't hesitate to go directly to the source.