The Idea Climbing™ Podcast: Recent Episodes

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A seven-figure income doesn’t start with a business plan; it starts with a mindset. I discuss how to create a millionaire mindset in this episode with my guest, Cole Vandee.

Cole is a strategic marketing mind behind more than 300 million dollars in found revenue generated for clients ranging from celebrity coaches to DTC brands in the pet industry. With his unique perspective to bridge the gap between what’s working now and what the future marketplace will demand, Cole has catapulted several brands to 9 figures and beyond.

The Early Pathway to Cole’s Millionaire MindsetWhile Cole’s life isn’t exactly the normal rags to riches story, he grew up in the American Midwest on the border of Illinois and Iowa on the Mississippi River in a small farm town. Success in his town, or even the rest of the country for that matter, wasn’t anything like what we see on the Internet today. Success in his hometown was more along the lines of having a sixty-thousand-dollar home. You work at a factory making 18 bucks an hour. You drive a pickup truck. And that was considered wealthy for the most part where Cole grew up.

There were a few outliers that owned local businesses and were doing better than most, but nothing like we see today with YouTubers, TikTokers, and internet celebrities.

Cole had a burning desire because he believed more was available for him in this life, but he didn’t know exactly what that meant or what it felt like. He chose to go into sales because it provided a virtually unlimited paycheck because of commissions. If Cole worked really hard and got really good at what he did, he could make as much money as he wanted. That seemed to be the path to follow at the time.

You have to start somewhere, right?

The Beginning of the Path to SuccessCole took on a few random sales jobs. He sold auto parts for a while and then moved on to selling Cutco knives door-to-door. Then he got into car sales but didn’t love the industry. He knew he was there to learn how to sell cars, take care of customers, and then move on to do something better. Cole was bridging the gap between not having a resume and having a resume to be able to get a job he actually wanted.

Rather than continuing to add to his resume, Cole quickly moved on to owning his own businesses. He started many different companies. A lot of them failed. Reflecting, Cole says that most of his companies have failed at this point. He’s only had a handful of things that have actually worked; but those few made all the difference.

To date he’s been a part of many companies that scaled up from zero to millions of dollars, millions of dollars to tens of millions of dollars and tens of millions of dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars.

What Most People Don’t See or Know About When it Comes to Creating A Millionaire MindsetCole believes the most important thing is to understand that your favorite, more mature business gurus out there that are very successful today got to their first million dollars without the internet. They weren’t doing it with paid ads. They weren’t relying on funnels. They weren’t relying on marketing efforts. They weren’t relying on Instagram views or anything else like that. They were picking up the phone and talking to human beings and making money with them and then moving on to the next human beings and making money with them and so on.

The Starting Point of YOUR Millionaire MindsetWhen Cole reflects and compares himself to other people that have gone on to build multimillion dollar organizations (and some that have gone on to billions), it’s the same mindset across the board. It’s an audacious belief that you’re going to make it work.

When you look at it as an investment on paper, starting a business is the worst possible thing you could ever do. Almost every single business that starts will fail. Of the ones that do succeed, most of those will fail within the next 12 months. Of those that make it that far, most of those will fail in the following 12 months.

So, when you look at it on paper, if you were to go to the casino and you put down a thousand bucks and you had a 0.0002% chance of making that thousand dollars back, let alone a profit, would you put your money down? Most people would say, “Why would I ever do that?”

But when you run the numbers on new businesses, that’s what the odds are. On the surface it doesn’t make any sense. There must be a little bit of a delusion to believe “I’m going to make this work.” Even though you don’t know how, you don’t have experience, you don’t necessarily even have a roadmap. No one’s really encouraging you. You must have some very intense beliefs that you’re going to make it work.

You Need to Do Something You’re Passionate AboutSteve Jobs mentioned in quite a few interviews that if you’re going to go into business, you better be passionate about it. You’re going to have days where you think the entire world is against you. You’ll feel like the world wants to beat you down and make you fail. It’s those days where you must have great reasons why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Business is like war in many respects. If you don’t know why you’re in the middle of that war, you’re going to want to give up. That means leaving your business. That’s where Cole believes most businesses end up failing.

A lot of people preach about becoming passionate about something in life. Figuring out what to be passionate about can get you spinning your mental wheels. What are you passionate about? It’s about betting on yourself and being passionate about being great at something. You need to know that taking the next step means finding the gap between solving a problem helping people in some way and then finding a solution to that problem. Having some strong, undeniable, unshakable reason to do it is a huge starting point for those that end up becoming successful.

We also dive into topics including: Why your early perceptions of money are really about running away from something; not moving towards something. * How to start running towards* the life you want. * How to avoid chasing the wrong purpose. * How to get and keep traction after getting over your initial hump when you’re getting started. * The income numbers and plateaus when people stop trying and how to rise above them and keep going. * Why in order to change your money mindset you need to find something outside of personal goals and needs to get ahead; you need a clear purpose that is greater than yourself. * How to discover how much you need to make to feel fulfilled; it’s about more than the dollar amount. * How to discover and connect to your bigger purpose. * Why at the end of the day we all want to help somebody and how to find your somebody to help. * What you mentally need to do and who you need to be once you hit a seven-figure income to maintain it. * Why, once you hit a certain revenue level, you can’t afford to stop and you must keep growing. * The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to create and maintain a millionaire mindset.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About My Guestranging from celebrity coaches to DTC brands in the pet industry. With his unique perspective to bridge the gap between what’s working now and what the future marketplace will demand, Cole has catapulted several brands to 9 figures and beyond.

Click here to learn more about Cole!

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Public speaking is an excellent way to grow your business as an entrepreneur. You just need the right strategies and ways to get started. We discuss some of them in this episode with my guest Lisa Reid.

As the Founder of Get Speaking Gigs Now, Leisa trains entrepreneurs who want to use public speaking as a soul-fulfilling business growth strategy. Clients who work closely with her “Get Their Talk Ready to Rock” and build their speaking skills and confidence through the Speaker’s Training Academy.

Leisa has booked and delivered over 600 speaking engagements, and she teaches her clients all of the strategies she uses to get booked, stay booked and monetize their talks.

In this episode, she will share the #1 secret she uses to get speaking gigs along with other golden nuggets of advice!

Why and How Lisa Got Started in Public SpeakingFor Lisa, public speaking is near and dear to her heart because she has always wanted to be a teacher. Even as a kid she remembers teaching her friends gymnastics amongst other things. It wasn’t so much that she needed to be the center of attention or to have the spotlight on her. It was just that when she knew that she could help other people understand something quicker, easier, better; she had to do it. It was very fulfilling.

Now she’s basically a teacher disguised as a speaker. She knows that because she works with entrepreneurs all the time, there’s quite a few of us who have that same type of drive for teaching. When we get the opportunity to teach, we get a natural high, a shot of dopamine. Something amazing happens when you give the gift of teaching to an audience whether it’s virtual in person. You know that what you’re offering is going to help them solve problems or help make something easier for them. That’s a very fulfilling way to market your business!

Leisa believes that people don’t get into business to do the sales and marketing themselves. They are suddenly surprised how big of a part of their responsibility is sales and marketing. She loves teaching speaking because it’s one of the easiest and most fulfilling ways to do effective sales and marketing for them to market their businesses. Many entrepreneurs welcome that opportunity.

Why Speaking Should Be a Big Part of Your Sales and Marketing as an EntrepreneurPublic speaking is especially important if you have something that many people haven’t heard of; such as your own philosophy or framework about how to do something. Then there are people who have problems that you can help with, but they don’t know it yet. They may need more information than they can get by reading a synopsis of what you do on your website. Speaking always allows you to educate people and it allows you to educate more than one person at a time. With many live and virtual presentations, you can even record them and have evergreen marketing and branding content for future prospects.

That means there are a lot of ways that you can duplicate your efforts while attracting your ideal clients and potential referral partners. That’s a great reason to get speaking coach. When you find someone that you want it’s because you can relate to their story. You like their personality. You like their humor. You like how fast (or slow) they talk. They resonate with you because it seems like they’re genuine. That’s the kind of person that you should work with.

The Starting Point of Public Speaking as a Sales and Marketing Tool

In Leisa’s world the starting point of working with her is when you’re ready to get your talk “ready to rock”. That means you need to decide what your talk is going to be about, what your title is going to be, what your learning points are, your description of the talk, and what your call to action will be. That’s what she means when she says, “Get your talk ready to rock.”

When you say that you’re a speaker and update your LinkedIn profile to include “speaker” you’re claiming that title. That means when you’re at a networking event and someone asks what you do and you tell them you’re a speaker they’re immediately going to ask, “What do you speak about?” You don’t want to be hesitant or say something like, “I speak about quite a few things.” You want to be focused with a niche to explain. You need at least one talk to share.

Having that talk in your pocket will give you confidence and assuredness in the speaking world. It’s like planting a proverbial flag in the ground. If your talk is ready to rock, you’re going to be madly in love with your talk. You won’t be able to wait to share with everyone. That’s the kind of energy you want to start conversations with.

Where to Go to Practice When You’re Getting Started in Public Speaking You can find lots of different places but it’s kind of like getting exercise, you can work out at home, especially if you’re just getting started. That’s what Leisa still does when writing a new talk. It gives her fortitude to do that. She’s been practicing that way since she was in college. She had a walk-in closet that she shared with her roommate. She would go into the walk-in closet and practice her new talks.

Practicing out loud on your own is very easy. It’s very affordable. You don’t have to get in a car. You don’t have to involve anybody else. If you have a dog or a cat, they can listen.

Then doing it in public is where people get scared; maybe they do it in front of a live audience and then it doesn’t go as well as hoped. That’s where dedication to practice comes into play. There is immense value in saying the words out loud, like dress rehearsal, to nobody. Three times at least. Then, with time, maybe after the third time, it’ll start to get smoother. You’ll start to transition easier. You’ll add things. You’ll change some things around. That dedication to practice ultimately makes all the difference for your public speaking success.

We also dive into topics such as: The qualities of a “talk that is ready to rock”. * The dichotomy and power of planning your talks in reverse, with the title coming last. * The case for not using AI to write your speech but writing about what is unique about yourself instead. * The good news is that when you’re getting started it’s possible to market your talk without cold calling and what you can do instead. * The concept and three steps of Leisa’s “Speaker Soul Mate System” and how to find your “Speaker Soul Mate” to support and refer you speaking gigs and vice versa. * Why as a novice you need to start with one speech and then create two* more as you grow and how to do that. * Rules of etiquette and strategies for working with meeting planners to get booked more. * What meeting planners really want as well as what they avoid and why. * How to stay consistent with getting speaking gigs after you’re established as a speaker. * How and when to ask for referrals for speaking gigs without being pushy. * The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to build your business through public speaking.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About My GuestAs the Founder of Get Speaking Gigs Now and the CEO of the International Speaker Network, Leisa Reid trains entrepreneurs how to use public speaking as a soul-fulfilling business growth strategy and facilitates the birth of new talks all around the world in her “Get Your Talk Ready to Rock” sessions.

Throughout her years of working with speakers, the most frequent confessions she hears are: “I’ve always wanted to be a speaker,” but “I’m still working on my talk,” and “I’m not sure where to get booked.” It is her mission to collaborate with her clients so they can quickly and easily create their talks and deliver them to audiences that are a right fit.

Leisa has booked and delivered over 600 speaking engagements, is a 7-time author, podcast host and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate. Although she has both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Speech Communication, she assures her clients those degrees are NOT required in order to be a speaker. She is a mom, a wife, a dog-lover and loves live rock concerts.

Want speaking gigs? Get Immediate FREE Access to the “5 Top Tips to Get More Speaking Gigs NOW”

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The epitome of leadership is the ability to share your leadership story and leave a legacy. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Shelley Goldstein.

Shelley Goldstein is a leadership development coach specializing in communications affectionately known by clients as “The Coach Whisperer”. The moniker stems from her intuitive ability to pinpoint untapped potential in leaders and cultivate it into speaking mastery with remarkable ease and speed.

As the architect of Remarkable Speaking, Shelley has created a proprietary framework that has evolved into a global leadership development platform. Rooted in 30-plus years of experience in leadership, entrepreneurship, marketing, and design, her expertise allows her to creatively integrate time-saving drills, persuasive storytelling, and behavioral psychology, driving significant real-world impact.

Your Leadership StoryYour leadership story begins with the origins of why and how we do things. It can go back to your youth when you’re joining a music program or getting involved in sports. It’s a study of behaviors involved with those activities. It’s those stories that build one on top of the other that become your legacy, who you are today, and why you lead the way you do when situations call or leadership.

Shelley’s Leadership Story: Back to the BeginningShelley says her story goes back to when she was eight or nine years old and her and a group her friends put together a neighborhood newspaper. The three of them were about the same age. They included hosted a beauty pageant and had articles and recipes that they got from their neighbors. Being able to organize that at such a young age and publish it month after month had a profound impact on leadership in Shelley’s adult life.

Looking back, she learned a lot about leadership skills and taking the initiative at a very young age. Some of the things she carries forward with her today is the idea of sharing that responsibility and delegating to other people. Whether she was aware of it or not, it just naturally happened. And Shelley believes that’s what helps her be a better leader today; that sharing of ideas and giving people autonomy to create some of the most innovative, creative ideas of their childhoods.

Leadership Showing UpShelley remembers her earlier career as a costume designer. She had the responsibility of creating a look, making sure the costumes could be perceived from the audience. That meant meaning when that curtain goes up, she can’t be up there with the assistants hemming and sewing. It was showtime. Shelley believes that whole idea of “it’s showtime” was an early leadership development experience in her adult life. She realized that she can’t do everything.

She had to prioritize and realized you can’t sweat the small stuff. To lead through that and make sure her team understood that the work that they were doing as individuals contributed to their combined success; and that bigger vision of what things need to happen.

The Beginning of Leadership in Your Adult LifeIt’s so hard to say where it actually begins.

If you have an idea, let’s start with the incubating. You have a great idea. How you strategize that, how you move forward with that, that’s an innate leadership skill. I’m going to have a marketing strategy. I’m going to have a sales strategy. I’m going to develop my brand this way. Those are all leadership skills because you’re making important decisions. Those stories of how you eventually do that, that becomes the legacy. That becomes your competitive advantage and unique story to only you.

The stories are so important because that’s where the money flows. Money is how people respond to the stories. That’s what people buy into. That’s the journey.

The Structure of a Great Leadership StoryA great leadership story is the journey, the mistakes, the decisions you made when you were building your business. You know what? I’m going to go with my marketing strategy and hire this team and go forward with them. And let’s say it’s a bomb. Nothing happened. Six months, you spent thousands of dollars. That’s a learning moment. So, what did you do to compensate for that, to switch gears and become the success you are today?

It’s the little things that we think are so unimportant. For example, Shelley coached a young guy who was a very successful entrepreneur. He made well over a hundred million dollars in his twenties. He was a college dropout, and he created a watch company.

He built his company and sold the organization for hundreds of millions of dollars. After the company’s sale, he came to Shelley and said, “I have nothing to talk about. The company sold and that was my identity. I don’t know what to talk about and how to show up now. Who am I? I’m nothing without that organization.”

What they unpacked together was the fact that that journey, whether it’s in the past or it’s current, is part of that story, is part of that legacy. Identifying with that as an entrepreneur and focusing in on the little moments, the pivotal moments, the early days where you had no followers, let’s say, to the time where you had millions of followers, to the time where you couldn’t fulfill your first order for your product, to the time where you sold hundreds of millions of units. All those details are every bit of who you are today and where you’re going tomorrow.

And changing that story and being able to express that story changed everything for this young entrepreneur. He’s now running a lot of other businesses based on that experience because that’s what people want to know and that’s what they’re buying into.

We also dive into topics including:* Why it’s important to create and share your genesis, or origin story with the world. * The failures as well as the successes, the nuanced moments when you felt that it was over; that’s what inspires people. * Why superheroes are great examples of origin stories; they share their weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and failures with the comic world. You should in your world too. * How to keep on keepin’ on during the dark times in your life. * The importance of creating and following a vision for your business and how to do it. * When to hold the course and when to change directions in life. * Where the growth and change happen along your journey and how to embrace them. * The definition of “legacy” and how and when to create yours. * How to move your audience forward by sharing your legacy. * Why and how “the money flows as an extension of your story”. * How to get people to buy into your legacy. * The importance of vulnerability and humbleness in leadership. * Why you need to have an open-door policy with your team for sharing ideas and feedback. * How to create a safe environment for tough conversations. * How to get the people around you to embrace and share their legacy. * The one thing, above all else, you need to do to share your leadership story and leave a legacy.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About My GuestShelley Goldstein is a leadership development coach specializing in communications affectionately known by clients as “The Coach Whisperer”. The moniker stems from her intuitive ability to pinpoint untapped potential in leaders and cultivate it into speaking mastery with remarkable ease and speed.

As the architect of Remarkable Speaking, Shelley has created a proprietary framework that has evolved into a global leadership development platform. Rooted in 30-plus years of experience in leadership, entrepreneurship, marketing, and design, her expertise allows her to creatively integrate time-saving drills, persuasive storytelling, and behavioral psychology, driving significant real-world impact.

Through a fusion of her multicultural experience and multidisciplinary approach, Shelley has personally coached over 1,000 C- and V-suite executives, senior officers and managers, and has led more than 150 cohorts worldwide. Her extensive work spans a diverse array of industries, with a particular focus on the technology, financial, legal, and manufacturing sectors.

The Remarkable Speaking brand speaks for itself; empowering high-achieving leaders and visionaries with the directness, clarity, and composure essential to command authority and truly influence individuals and industries.

Connect with Shelley on LinkedIn!

Check out Shelley’s Book!

Click here for all things Shelley!

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Creating and embracing your leadership promise can change your life and your business as an entrepreneur. You just need a strategy for creating it and then maintaining it over time. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Jason Hewlett.

Jason has delivered thousands of presentations around the world; performed in every major casino in Las Vegas; inspired the Troops in wartime Afghanistan; and authored “The Promise to The One”. He utilizes entertainment, musical impressions and comedy to teach leaders how to capture their unique Leadership Promise and Signature Moves.

In the Beginning There was LeadershipTeaching about creating and embracing your leadership promise has taken Jason years to create the language around what your leadership promise is. He’s been teaching it subliminally, he believes, for decades. He now believes your leadership promise is to identify, clarify, and magnify the signature moves of the people you lead. Jason wrote a book called “Signature Moves” years ago. He’s also written a book called “The Promise to the One”, which is a promise to yourself.

That all comes together with that language to help people say, “Can I help identify the talents and the gifts of the people I lead? Can I help them clarify that that’s something they need to do every day in their work? And can I help them magnify it and all that we do together?” As entrepreneurs, especially for solo entrepreneurs like Jason for the past 25 years, hiring independent contractors, bringing people in and getting rid of them as people come and go brings with it a lot of responsibility.

It’s interesting to see how often entrepreneurs get stuck in the minutia of doing their everyday work. You could probably spend 12 hours working on a broken printer, and not doing your signature moves, your greatness. That’s not time well spent. Instead, you could just hire somebody who could do it in about 10 minutes and fix it for you. Yes, you spend a little extra money, but you get into the things that you do best that way.

Jason truly believes your leadership promise is not only for yourself to identify, clarify, magnify your signature moves, but also to help others to identify and clarify and magnify theirs. He calls that the ICM process (Identify, Clarify, Magnify).

The Leadership Promise Showing Up in Jason’s LifeJason recalls it probably appeared back in high school; he was the student body President of his high school. He says perhaps it came from seeing people on their student body council that didn’t follow through with the things they promised they would do. And then it all fell on him as the President.

Jason realized he was the last one in line because leaders eat last, as Simon Sinek says. He remembers that he would always have to be the one that picked up the slack. And so, the leadership promise came down to that. It came from examining: Who is keeping their commitments and who’s not? He told me “What’s fun to think about is that it goes all the way back to the school days all the way into adulthood and now into the leadership of not only leading my own company, but I lead several organizations and yeah, when it comes down to that it’s about who makes a promise and keeps it.”

The Start of the Leadership Promise Journey for EntrepreneursJason believes it comes down to your own personal accountability for the things you’ll do for yourself. That’s why he wrote the book, “The Promise to the One”, which is a promise to yourself. You could keep a promise to your audience, to your customers, to your employees, to the independent contractors. But if you are waking up and not keeping those promises that you made to yourself, then it’s going to trickle down eventually, and you’re going to drop the ball.

Whether it’s creating a morning routine, the Hal Elrod “Morning Miracle” stuff, or if we’re talking about even the Gay Hendricks and “The Big Leap”, how do we get to that place of doing our greatness in our zone of genius? Jason says a majority of humanity at this point is living in a certain zone, especially if they’re listening to or watching this podcast but, if they think about it, they could get to that zone of genius.

That comes down to keeping promises and involves setting a goal that you can make a promise for. It’s not to say goals aren’t important because, of course, they are. If you’re an entrepreneur, you know that you must have goals as your metrics.

But if you’ve ever set a goal and you missed it, you just set another one. Whereas if you make a promise and break it, that’s a one and done. So, what are the goals that are your particulars and your promises that are proclamations? The particulars lead to the proclamation.

Jason’s saying that a goal is a sacred promise, something that you’re going to do no matter what. And then you’re also going to say that if you set a goal and I miss it, you need to make sure that you set the right goals in the future.

But what are the promises that you keep no matter what? Jason would say that that’s where the leadership promise comes into play.

We also dive into topics including:* The definition of a “promise proclamation” and how to design yours in different areas of your life. * Examples of personal and business promise proclamations. * The importance of journaling every day. * How to maintain your promise proclamations over time and not have them just be a blip on your radar. * The power of gratitude and appreciation and how to practice them regularly. * How to instill the practice of promise proclamations in the people that work with and for you. * The importance of praise and when and how to give it to the people around you. * How often to check in an reevaluate your promise proclamations and when to update them. * An introduction to your “signature moves” and how to create and embrace them. * The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to create and embrace your leadership promise.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About My GuestHaving delivered thousands of presentations over 2 decades, Jason Hewlett utilizes entertainment, musical impressions and comedy to teach leaders how to capture their unique Leadership Promise and Signature Moves.

He has performed in Las Vegas, is one of the youngest inductees in the Speaker Hall of Fame, and is the author of the “The Promise to the One”.

Husband, Father, Writer, Mentor, and Coach, Jason’s blog “The Promise” is enjoyed weekly by people worldwide, his online videos and courses inspire learning and entertainment, while educating and uplifting corporate executives, artists, leaders and families.

Jason’s hobbies include hiking in the mountains, writing music, playing with his kids, and staring at his wife. His greatest accomplishments all live within the walls of his home.

He is a husband to the most beautiful woman in the world and Dad to four incredible young children who serve as his inspiration.

Jason Hewlett Social Media Linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhewlett/ LINKEDIN

https://twitter.com/jasonhewlett TWITTER/X

https://www.facebook.com/jasonhewlettentertainer/ FACEBOOK

https://www.youtube.com/user/jasonrhewlett YOUTUBE

https://www.instagram.com/jasonhewlett/ INSTAGRAM

https://jasonhewlett.com/ WEBSITE

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We all have an “Emotional Source Code” that is set when we were children. It’s what drives us and is why we do everything we do.

What if that code isn’t working to your advantage? You can change it! In this episode I discuss how to do that with my guest, Dov Baron.

For over 30 years, Dov Baron has been empowering inquisitive leaders and influential figures worldwide to explore their own “Emotional Source Code” and their organizations “Emotional Source Code” to discover how to generate Fierce Loyalty.

He is the creator and host of The Dov Baron Show podcasts (previously known as Leadership and Loyalty), named the #1 podcast for Fortune 500 Executives by Apple podcasts. The Dov Baron Show has featured hundreds of hours of interviews with top leaders, entrepreneurs, theologians, military intelligence officers, and artists.

What is Your “Emotional Source Code”?Your Emotional Source Code is a thesis that has come out of a blend of quantum physics, neuroscience and psychology, organizational psychology and subjective personal psychology. It’s profoundly insightful into what it is that drives us. Very often you’ll meet somebody, and they’ll say, “I really have this bad behavior, and I want to change it.” You might say, “I can help you with that.” Great. And then you help them, they change their behavior, and it doesn’t stick.

They wonder “Why didn’t it stick?” Maybe the problem is that they have a belief system or a value system that’s holding that behavior in place. That’s when they realize they have to do some real work on their behaviors and to my beliefs.

Then they do some belief restructuring. They get happy because the belief’s better now, and as a result, the behavior’s gone away. And then a year later, they’re back in the same boat. Why? Why does it not change? Because you have an emotional source code. That’s what Dov calls your Emotional DNA.

Your DNA is not dominant. It’s just the most… obvious place to start. What Dov means by that is you may have a predetermination for certain situations from something in your DNA. It doesn’t mean they’re going to happen. It just means it’s there in your Emotional DNA. It’s waiting to kick in. That’s the same with your emotional DNA being in your Emotional Source Code.

Going Back to the BeginningYour Emotional Source Code starts at the base level at the foundation of it, which is the origin of your Emotional Source Code itself. That’s the environment and the circumstance you grew up in. Now, you might be thinking “Oh, my God, we’re going to spend 20 years on a couch talking to a therapist.” No, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Consider your parents, especially if you have siblings. Not only have your parents changed and matured over the years, but as parents, they as parents respond differently to their firstborn than they do to their thirdborn. On top of that, there’s also an economic situation. There’s a pretty good chance your parents were in better financial shape by the time they had their third kid than they were when they had their first child. They’d matured in age, hopefully emotionally. Their relationship had also matured, again, hopefully to make it better. And there was an economic change also.

That means you and your siblings didn’t have the same parents. In fact, none of you did. You all had different parents. And so, as a result, you built your Emotional Source Code based on the environment you were in at a moment in time.

Dov was born into abject poverty with violence, crime, abuse, addiction all around him. That told him how to survive. He remembers thinking, “If I’m going to make it through this, I’ve got to work out certain things about how to be.” He would look at the world and think that’s dangerous, that’s safe. We all do it. It’s not because of his background. You did it even if you had a wonderful childhood. You still did it because your primary objective is to survive.

Finding Meaning in Your LifeThat early Emotional Source Code determined the next level of your Emotional Source Code, which is your meaning. You determined the meaning of everything. So, for instance, you’re standing in the edge of the crib and you’re watching your mom and dad have a fight about paying bills. There’s not enough money. You don’t stand there and go at two years old, “You know, I think my mom and dad need some therapy. They’ve got some serious issues around money.” You don’t do that.

You look at this scene and your programming becomes money equals stress. So, as an adult you believe if you have money, you’re going to have a lot of stress. If you don’t have money, you’re going to have a lot of stress. It becomes a catch 22. What you’ll find is somebody in that situation will either collect a ton of money, really gather in, and be fixated on making more and more money, or they never break through. They never financially break through because the mind operates in polarity.

That’s how it operates. We assign meaning to circumstances and situations. Now money was just one example, but it could be a million different ones. And you have assigned them in your childhood.

Then from that base foundational emotional DNA to your meaning, then you go, well, “Who can I be in this environment?” That determines a lot of things you can’t be. For instance, in the environment Dov was growing up in, there was no room for me to be highly intelligent. There was no room for Dov to be more spiritual. There was no room for Dov to be highly creative or intuitive.

All those things had to get pushed into the shadows. They became quote-unquote disenfranchised. They become part of who Dov is. He didn’t have access to those things because he built his identity to survive based on the meaning he assigned to certain situations in his life.

We continue to dive into topics such as:* How childhood beliefs and identities are formed and what that means to you as an adult. * The five foundations of your emotional source code. * How to start to change your emotional source code as an adult. * The importance of looking for the meaning that you assign to situations in your life. * Examples of how you can incorrectly assign meanings to everyday situations that has a profound affect on your life. * How your emotional source code is playing out in how you are doing business and how you are building friendships and associations. * How to recognize character traits of people in your life as opposed to simple, situational bumps in the road. * Why you’re building your entire business on your emotional source code. * Why you’re not selling a product or service, you’re selling what you emotionally need most in your life. * Why you don’t need more “a-HA!” moments in your life; you need “F&#@ it” moments.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About My Guest

Dov Baron is a Speaker, Facilitator, Podcast Host, and Bestselling Author. Dov is the preeminent expert on Creating Cultures of Belonging because “Fitting in is not the same as belonging.” For over 30 years, Dov Baron has been empowering inquisitive leaders and influential figures worldwide to explore their own Emotional Source Code™ and their organizations to discover how to generate Fierce Loyalty.

The Emotional Source Code process drives deep loyalty and purpose through the power of emotions. Dov assists leaders in creating life-and-work meaning. His models and strategies of the Emotional Source Code and the Anatomy of Meaning are used by leaders in business and government worldwide. He is the founder and CEO of Dov Baron International.

Dov has been named a Top 30 Global Leadership Guru five times and an Inc. Magazine Top Leadership Speaker twice.

He is the creator and host of The Dov Baron Show podcasts (previously known as Leadership and Loyalty), named the #1 podcast for Fortune 500 Executives by Apple podcasts. The Dov Baron Show has featured hundreds of hours of interviews with top leaders, entrepreneurs, theologians, military intelligence officers, and artists.

He has written for or been interviewed by many media outlets, including CEO World, CNN, Elle Italia, Entrepreneur, and FOX.

He is the author of several books, including “One Red Thread: How to Find the Purpose Already Woven Into Your Life,” and “Fiercely Loyal: How High-Performing Companies Develop and Retain Top Talent.” Both were bestsellers on Amazon.

As a speaker, Dov has presented to the United Nations, the Department of State, the World Management Forum, the Servant Leadership Institute, The World Management Forum in Iran, and the United States Air Force. Dov is also the co-founder of The Authentic Speaker Academy for Leadership — where he teaches leaders how to use ethical persuasion skills to impact and influence change-makers.

Click here to learn more about Dov!

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Many self-help books and programs are overly complicated with dozens of steps or components. My guest, “Doc” Thom Mayer believes we can (and should) do simple things savagely well. We discuss how to do that in this episode.

Doc is the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association, as well as a prominent figure in the fields of emergency medicine, sports medicine and leading in times of crisis.

He has built a distinguished career focused on athlete and patient health, safety, emergency response, as well as the skills required to lead from the front lines, making significant contributions to clinical practice, medical education, and thought leadership.

Doc has always thought that we’ve made life more complicated than it really needs to be. It shouldn’t be as complicated as we’ve made it. And he believes all of us who are in the business of trying to help others, that’s his business, that’s your business, should simplify, simplify. Einstein said, “Simplify, simplify, but not too much.”

Doc’s great friend, Mark Verstegen is the founder of Team Exos. Team Exos is the best athletes’ performance company in the world. Had they been a country in the Paris Olympics, they would have finished sixth in the medal count. That’s how elite the athletes are and how diverse the sports world is that he’s involved with. And Mark is the one who said, “Do simple things done savagely well.” So, combining Einstein and Mark Verstegen, Doc has tried to do simple things done savagely well.

What Does “Too Simple” Mean?An simple example of “too simple” is looking at the equation E equals MC squared. Energy equals mass times the square of the speed of light. When Doc learned that he thought, well, that’s awfully simple. I Why didn’t somebody come up with that before? The reason is that wasn’t the equation. It turns out the real equation is not that simple. The real equation is E equals MC squared divided by one, divided by the square root of one minus V (velocity) divided by C squared. Well, that’s a little more complicated.

So, some genius in marketing somewhere decided let’s just do E equals MC squared. So yes, simplify, but not too much. To simplify too much is when people fail to make the connections that are simple but have failed to be made because there’s all kinds of corollaries of logical consequences that come out of that.

How Do You Start to Simplify Something That’s Complex?Doc says to start by taking something that is considered to be the status quo, thinking about it, reflecting on it, and starting to think, well, how do I put it to work? For example, Doc’s most recent book is titled “Leadership is Worthless, but Leading is Priceless, what I learned from 9-11, the NFL, and Ukraine”. Doc was in all those places. So, the simple idea is, leadership is worthless. How can that be? There’s 50,000 books on Amazon alone that have leadership in the title. The problem is that most leadership titles and advice include the 25 this, the 7 of this, the 14 things, and people can’t remember them. So, it’s not simplified enough.

So, to Doc, that contrarian idea is very simple. Leadership is worthless because it’s what you say. And anybody can say anything. They often do say a lot, tediously and at length, and usually about themselves. So leading is priceless because it’s what we do all day, every day. So, the simple thought is that leadership is worthless because it’s a noun, leading is priceless because it’s a verb, what we do. So Doc always tells his audiences, or anybody who will sit and listen, you must change the noun to a verb. Once you change the noun to the verb, life becomes so much more simple.

And therefore, new ideas are born, including the answers that are not above us in life, in an organization, in our family. They’re within and among us. The question that we should be asking ourselves is not am I, will I become a leader? You already are. You’ve got to say “Today I’m a leader.” Doc suggests abandoning the wistful, worthless word someday and embrace the word today, because that’s actionable. So, all simple, but contrarian.

Breaking Things Down into Lists vs. a Singular IdeaDoc says he’s OK with lists, but only if they’re lists of three. Any more than three, and most people aren’t going to be able to remember them.

No offense to everybody who’s got lists. He always says he doesn’t have a to do list. He has a to don’t list.

The reason is he can take care of it immediately so he doesn’t have to worry about it or think about it or put it on a list and come back to it at some point. There are things he simply doesn’t focus on or do.

We also dive into topics including:* Why you need to figure out where your deep joy intersects with the world’s deep needs. * Where burnout comes from and how simplifying your life can help you avoid burnout. * How to combine your daily actions with longer term plans and goals. * The definition and meaning of the phrase “savagely well”. * How to execute your goals increasingly well. * How to see and discover meaning and then pull the components of your life together. * How to turn failure into fuel. * A deeper dive into the root causes of burnout and how to address them in your personal and professional lives. * How to pull out of downward cycles when you’re having a bad day. * The importance of creating a cycle in your life of performance, rest, and then recovery. * The definition of being “adaptile” and how to embrace it and practice it in your life. * The importance of gratitude and ways to practice it every day. * The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to do simple things savagely well.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding* interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest*“Doc” Thom Mayer, MD is the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association and Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University and a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University., as well as Executive Vice President for Leading for LogixHealth, which “Makes Intelligence Matter.”

He is one of the most widely-sought speakers on healthcare customer service, trauma and emergency care, pediatric emergency care, medical leadership, and sports medicine. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, 100 book chapters, and has edited or written 25 textbooks on emergency medicine, including Leadership for Great Customer Service: Satisfied Patients, Satisfied Employees, Leadership for Smooth Patient Flow, Hardwiring Flow, and Strauss and Mayer’s Emergency Department Leadership: Principles and Applications.

Tom Peters, the internationally acclaimed leadership guru, has referred to his work as “gaspworthy.” Dr. Mayer was named the ACEP Outstanding Speaker of the Year in the second year the award was given and has twice been named ACEP’s “Over-the-Top” award winner.

Click here to learn more about Doc!

Click here to connect with Doc on LinkedIn!

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If you want more quality sales conversations, you must ask more meaningful questions. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Leslie Venetz.

Leslie is a top 1% B2B sales expert, sought-after speaker, and founder of The Sales-Led GTM Agency. Leslie has been recognized as a global sales thought leader and her insights have been viewed over 100 million times.

Awarded LinkedIn Editorial Top Voice, 5x top 50 Sales Thought Leader, and 2024 Sales Innovator of the Year, Leslie’s also been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Success Magazine. Leslie is the co-author of Heels to Deals and author of the upcoming Profit-Generating Pipeline: A Proven Formula to Earn Trust & Drive Revenue.

A Story and a Roadmap for a Successful Sales Journey

Leslie didn’t realize that her ability to ask questions was so central to her sales success because it wasn’t the thing she was told is most essential to success in the sales world. The things that you’re told are essential to sales success are things like “never take no for an answer” and to “grind and crush objections” and other cliche sales advice. A couple of years into her sales career Leslie reflected on why she was having so much success, examining things like her sales style and overall sales philosophy. She realized that her approach to selling was drastically different than most of her peers.

The types of questions Leslie was asking weren’t just traditional qualifying questions or the superficial “What’s keeping you up at night?” style questions. She was going much deeper. She realized those deeper, more meaningful questions are her sales superpower. It’s something she’s embraced as a skill and has gotten even better at creating meaningful conversations with her prospects as a result.

How to Go Deeper with QuestionsIn middle school, high school, and college Leslie was a bit of a self-proclaimed nerd, a geek, and she means that in the most positive light ever. She was a varsity policy debater. Her weekends were spent on stage winning awards for policy debate. Later, she participated in her school’s Model UN (MUN). She was even the president of her college MUN group for a handful of years. So, Leslie spent a tremendous amount of time practicing rhetoric. She didn’t know at the time that she was developing a sales skill, but she was, in fact, accidentally practicing the exact foundation that eventually made her wildly successful in sales.

That means when she was participating in a policy debate or a model United Nations round of debate, she couldn’t just ask “What’s keeping you up at night?” and then move on to something else. That would never work if she wanted to have a focused conversation and effective debate. In that context, she had to pull the evidence together or create the reports to support her arguments.

When it comes to sales conversations, it’s nice to know that somebody, for instance, is worried about budgets. If you can create the dynamic where you have the privilege of asking, say, two or three more questions, what you might uncover is that it’s not that they’re just worried about budgets. They’re worried that if they don’t hit their budget numbers, that might require them to lay off some of their staff.

And so, what’s really causing the pain and what they really want to solve for isn’t a little bit of ROI (which is what most salespeople commonly pitch). It is to avoid laying off one of their staff members, all of whom they worked with for years and have strong relationships with. Laying them off could damage those relationships.

Leslie found that the ability to ask meaningful follow-up questions that allow you to go deep and uncover not just a superficial sort of pain that they’re giving you gets to the real issue. Fast. You get to that thing that is going to cause them to want to put the time and effort and budget into solving their problem now instead of later. Those deeper questions make all the difference.

Sales Conversation Strategies to Get to the Real IssueLeslie told me three things that immediately come to mind:

1. Focusing on Cost Of Inaction (COI) over ROI language.
2. Indexing on open-ended questions instead of closed-ended questions.
3. Practicing active listening as a skill.

When we think about COI (Cost Of Inaction) language, what we need to keep in mind is that we as humans, have an extremely difficult time picturing future gains. We get stuck in today’s problems. Unfortunately, salespeople and entrepreneurs alike tend to default to ROI language. They promise things like “We are going to 2X your revenue.” They ask questions like “What would it mean to you if I could get you 30 more meetings a month?”

Both sales people and entrepreneurs tend to focus on more, more, more. More is a much more difficult way to sell people on taking action than COI language. COI language is going to help them avoid pain. So, it’s a balancing act. You also don’t want to come at people too hard and only use COI language.

The way Leslie coaches her clients when they’re working on sales messaging is having a blend of “pain and gain” messaging. For example, thinking about how she can help them avoid the pain and clearly illustrate that. She tells them what her proposed outcome looks like and what the resulting gain is. She has found that to be extremely valuable to move past the superficial part of the conversation. They save time, they save money, and they reduce risk to get to what really matters.

We also dive into topics including:* Why big numbers are not believable; why promising less is more when it comes to selling. * How to avoid setting off red flags in your prospect’s brain during sales conversations. * The power of open-ended questions and how to leverage them. * How to “retrain your brain” from old school sales tactics to strategies that actually work in today’s world. * Why soft skills mean more than technical skills. * How to successfully practice the four pillars of active listening. * Why you need to resist the temptation to overtake the conversation by sharing your own experiences. * How and when to share relevant stories in sales conversations. * How to hone your questioning skills over time to stay sharp. * How to balance planning the next question in your head with active listening. * The one thing, above all else, that you need to do when it comes to asking meaningful questions.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding* interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest*Leslie Venetz is a globally recognized B2B sales expert, corporate trainer, and founder of The Sales-Led GTM Agency. With nearly two decades of experience, she specializes in modern outbound sales strategies that drive revenue, build trust, and empower sales teams to excel. As a LinkedIn Editorial Top Voice and top 1% sales thought leader, Leslie’s insights have reached over 100 million views worldwide, transforming the performance of sales leaders and their teams.

Having personally made more than 250,000 cold calls and influenced over ten million through her training programs, Leslie has helped thousands refine their prospecting skills, overcome objections, and lead sales conversations that convert. She has delivered hundreds of keynotes and workshops for top-tier B2B brands and consulting firms across four continents and has been featured in prestigious publications like The Wall Street Journal and Success Magazine.

A recipient of 20+ industry honors, including 2024 Sales Innovator of the Year, Leslie is redefining what it means to be an ethical, effective, and high-performing sales professional.

Click here to connect with Leslie on LinkedIn!

Click here for Leslie’s YouTube station!

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The digital networking scene is booming. So is a growing lack of respect for common people skills and decency. I discuss the case for bringing them back through face-to-face networking with my guest, Brian Wallace.

Brian is Founder of NowSourcing, an industry leading content marketing agency that makes the world’s ideas simple, visual, and influential. Brian has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-present, joined the SXSW Advisory Board in 2019-present and became an SMB Advisor for Lexmark in 2023. He is the Co-Founder for The Innovate Summit which launched in May 2024.

We’ve gotten used to interacting in a digital landscape, including video conferencing most of the time. As we get further towards the edge of a proverbial cliff, assuming AI is going to make everything better and we have the totality of everything on the phones in our pockets, what do we do to avoid falling? We can perfect our sales pitches on LinkedIn and elevator pitches on Zoom, and it’s still not nearly as impactful as face-to-face networking.

Getting Back to Being Human in Business Networking SituationsWhat people need to understand is, we need to stop running away from humanity and trying to do everything at scale in a virtual world. We need to get more personal again instead of just building new connections on LinkedIn like a video game. Think about it… when is the last time you checked in on somebody you’ve known for a couple of years but haven’t spoken to recently and set up an in-person meeting? Brian says he can guarantee that everybody right now has a ton of missed messages they’re sifting through because they were focused on playing the LinkedIn game for so long.

In person interactions have taken a big hit. We’ve forgotten how to make eye contact, we’ve forgotten how to shake hands, we’ve forgotten how to be human. The world needs to get better at being human again. When it comes to networking in general, more so for in person networking, we need to stop selling everybody, stop coming up with canned sales pitches, and start connecting meaningfully again. At the end of the day meaningful relationships are paramount to your success (or failure) in the business world.

Brian believes the main thing to remember about face-to-face networking is to figure out how to be the most interesting person in the room or at least the most interesting version of yourself. That doesn’t mean you have to brag, grandstand, or be over-the-top energetically if you’re normally introverted. It just means that instead of asking meaningless questions about the weather, come up with better stuff and ask more meaningful questions that yield more meaningful answers and interactions.

We don’t need dumb party tricks instead of connecting as humans, and that is what is wrong with the networking world.

What NOT to do in Face-to-Face Networking SituationsLet’s start by unpacking the word “networking”. Brian believes there’s a lot of misuse of the word, and that means developing the understanding of and behind that word. Because a lot of people depending on your personality type, how you show up in business, if you’re introverted or extroverted, in sales or a different career, “networking” means different things to different people.

So, let’s just examine the networking event game. When you’re at any kind of conference, meetup, or event where part of the agenda is networking there are many misconceptions. So, what do we automatically think? We better come armed to the teeth with a fancy suit and a bunch of business cards. We’re just doing the business version of speed dating.

We run around in this horrible, cutthroat way, and we’re just focused on sales and transactions instead of trying to make a good impression. But the truth is that people buy, people interact, people engage with the people that they know, like, and trust. It’s not rocket science. But it can seem that way if you have the wrong approach.

You have endless choices of who you want to do business with. Why would you work with somebody that you don’t know? Why would you work with somebody that you don’t like? Why would you work with somebody that you don’t trust? If your toilet is overflowing and its midnight maybe you’re not so picky about your plumber. That’s not how it is in the business world.

Aside from plumber scenarios, in a normal business situation, we actually have choices. So, instead of these dumb networking games where you try to meet people as fast as possible with terrible messages, there is a way to evolve that conversation. Many people think networking is bad because they think that it’s just salesy and superficial, but I think if they understood the true art and science of networking, they wouldn’t hate it so much.

Yes, sometimes you have the Type A personalities that just want to talk about themselves. That’s not networking. You don’t have to be like that. Networking is a skill that can be finely honed. It’s something in your brain that you can flex as a muscle when you choose to.

How to Successfully Move Along the Spectrum of Know, Like, and TrustBrian loves the philosophy of Bob Burg and the “Go-Giver” movement. A go-getter is that annoying guy at networking events who’s being so over the top, so salesly, that no trust can be built. You run away from him. Those people think that business is just a numbers game and if they talk to enough people maybe somebody will buy from them. Brian believes there’s a better use of your time that can be more reflective and thoughtful for everybody around you. That way you don’t come off as a jerk by showing up and acting too aggressively.

A Go-Giver, instead of taking first, is giving.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

~Zig Ziglar

People are interested in you when you care about them. When you’re a nice-natured human being you genuinely care about people and are genuinely interested in them. If you want somebody to do business with you should have at least a cordial, reciprocal personality.

You should be useful to them, and you should be resourceful when it comes to helping them. Brian gives talks all over the world where he talks about being the most interesting person in the room. He doesn’t mean be that egomaniac. He just means that when you’re really interesting you’re going to leave this indelible mark in somebody’s mind. They leave the interaction with you thinking “That guy was kind of cool. I want to learn more about him.” Then they’re selling themselves on you instead of you trying to sell them.

That way you start the proverbial dance to set the stage for something better for the both of you.

We also dive into topics such as: How to introduce yourself in a different way than the traditional elevator pitch. * Why being on stage or running an event builds your brand faster than the usual networking techniques. * Ways to use LinkedIn during conversations at live events. * Things you can do after meeting somebody (they now know you) to become likeable. * How to move into the trust* phase of a professional relationship faster. * The power of reaching out to people that you know but haven’t spoken with in a while instead of always chasing new connections down. * Why people get “shiny object syndrome” and how to avoid it. * How to balance making new connections with fostering existing relationships. * How to effectively ask your network for introductions and referrals. * The networking problem with most “super connectors”. * The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to be successful at face-to-face networking.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding* interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest*Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry leading infographic design agency, based in Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH which works with companies that range from startups to Fortune 500s.

In 2014, Brian started #thinkbig, a grassroots movement to make the Louisville / Cincinnati corridor a more competitive player in the global marketplace.

Brian also runs #LinkedInLocal events nationwide, hosts the Next Action Podcast, and has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-present and started serving on the #SXSW advisory board in 2019.

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Embracing Servant Leadership can bolster your business and change your personal life. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Andrew Kolikoff.

Andrew helps leaders create better journeys and greater profitability through the elevation of their people, teams, culture and customer experiences. He is considered to be one of the leading thought leaders in the world on the topic of Servant Leadership.

Andrew grew up in a remarkable home where his parents were madly in love and openly affectionate and his grandparents were the same way. His parents lived their lives completely in service; it was just who they were at heart. His home was like Grand Central Station every day, it was the place of joy, love, laughter and safety for the world. That dramatically affected Andrew’s early outlook on life.

As a child and teenager, Andrew thought all of that was normal. It wasn’t until he was ejected from the bubble and went to college that he learned two things very quickly. One, the world was not what he thought it was. And two, his parents were heroes, he just didn’t know it at the time. So, this got him very early on in his life to really think about who he wanted to be in this world, both daily and for the remainder of this life.

The Importance of Your “One Thing”Andrew believes the hardest thing to do in life is to know what your “One Thing” is. Andrew decided that his “One Thing” is that he had to pay it forward, he wanted to live his life in service too. But he was single, young, and he didn’t have a house or have a way to replicate what his parents and grandparents did. He had to come up with a way that he was going to keep himself accountable to that way of living his life.

So, Andrew developed this metric that he was going to live by every day. He decided he was going to do two things every single day of his life, which he’s done now for over thirty years. One, to have a coffee, breakfast, lunch, or now Zoom with somebody that he has not met. And two, he would find out what their personal and professional challenges were and help them. He changed the traditional radio station of WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) to WIFFT (What’s In It For Them). Andrew would show up to serve, not to get anything. He still averages making five introductions a day to help people with their challenges.

It All Comes Back to YouWhat Andrew has experienced is so much has come back to him as a result of giving without expectations. He becamse a 40 under 40 of the top 40 business leaders in New York City amongst other accolades. It wasn’t because of his status as the Chief Science Officer of an international company and a University Adjunct Professor. It was not because of what he did, it was a result of who he was. That laid the groundwork for the reinvention of himself post-corporate-career. So far in the second act of his life he has spent his time building great cultures inside of organizations and his own organization, “The Secret Sauce Society”.

Not only are those organizations more profitable and their people more productive; Andrew always facilitates more purpose and meaning for everyone involved.

If anyone wants to strive for alignment with their “One Thing” in life, it may not be easy at first, but it’s worth it in the long run. Andrew told me it’s always provided him with more joy and purpose in his life.

Bridging the Gap Between Giving and GettingWhen it comes to Andrew’s giving without expectations advice people often tell him “I did what you say to do and it just doesn’t work.” He responds with this very simple question: “Do you do it every day and are you committed to it every day?” The answer is almost always “No.” Everybody wants breakthroughs in their life. Andrew reminds them how breakthroughs happen. Andrew uses the example of learning how to ride a bicycle. At first you had training wheels, you kept falling off and getting on, and then somebody helped you.

Eventually, there was that moment when you successfully balanced yourself. You were off and running, or in this case riding.

Remember: You got on that bike every day. If you had got on it once every other week or once every other month breakthrough would never have happened. Breakthrough happens from commitment. One thing, every day. Andrew was and is committed to his “One Thing” every single day and that’s how it comes back. Because consistency matters.

The same can be said about becoming a Servant Leader.

We also dive into topics including: How you find your “One Thing”. * How to get out of your own way. * Why you must have a happy place or happy places that you can visit every day or almost every day. * The importance of finding someone you admire to emulate. * Examples of your responsibilities to those around you once you become a servant leader. * What servant leadership is in its essence. * What’s lacking in most organizations in the world and what makes a culture truly great. * How to develop other servant leaders once you become one. * Why leadership isn’t the exercise of authority; it’s the exercise of influence*. * The one thing, above all else, that you must do to successfully embrace a life of servant leadership.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding* interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest*Andrew Kolikoff is a multiple time C-Level executive/company founder, one time landing him on the Cover Page of USA today for a product he invented and received licensing from the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL in 2003.

After selling his company in 2006, Andrew has dedicated his life to giving leaders their lives and freedom back while simultaneously scaling sales, cultures, customer experiences and other supportive business-related operations via his authentic alignment method.

Andrew is an dynamic executive leadership coach, business consultant, and a top 1% keynote speaker that will change the way everyone in the room thinks about their careers, businesses and themselves.

Servant Leadership is at the heart of Andrew’s business transformation philosophy.

Click here to connect with Andrew on LinkedIn!

Click here to learn more about Andrew’s Business!

Click here to learn about Andrew’s Secret Sauce Society!

Want to learn more about leadership and peak performance? Click here to check out “How to Achieve Peak Performance by Creating a “Performance Bubble” with Craig Domann“

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Marketing is much more powerful when it’s driven by a purpose and a mission. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Ryan Chute.

Ryan leads an award-winning creative agency within the legendary Wizard of Ads® group. As an Emmy-award winning Producer and an Executive Producer, Ryan has a deep-rooted passion for powerful storytelling and pivotal moments in entertainment. He builds creative, data-driven strategies that tap into the psychology of persuasion and the science of decision-making.

What Does “Mission” Mean to You?What is a “mission”? Mission starts as something internal to the company, and then becomes external to the public. When we think about that in the military sense, where “mission” derives from, that means the “commander’s intent”. Commander’s intent got popularized in the Napoleonic era where the Germans were fighting the Napoleon armies and they were losing miserably. The Germans realized one profoundly important thing: That they were going to have to sacrifice their autocratic way and come up with new flexibility of the army to take the hill however they might. Not every decision would come straight from the leader.

When they did that the tides of the campaign changed.

Ryan believes that everyone is a leader. They just need help bringing out the leader inside of them regardless of rank, authority or title. That ideology was the beginning of mission-based marketing and mission-based businesses. The idea here is that you, as the commander, you have this notion of how you want to start and run a business. Ways that you feel are righting rights that are wrong and fixing things in the way that they were injust in the past. You need something bigger than you and that is greater than the sum of just you.

The Three Buckets of Your MissionSo you come up with the commander’s intent. The commander’s intent lives in three buckets:

1. Helping people win.
2. Being grateful.
3. Being trustworthy.

Helping people win comes from being grateful and being trustworthy.

This notion of gratitude is a definition of terms; what does gratitude mean to you? Is it through the way that you pay your employees, is it the way that you present policy and return policies for your clients? How do you deliver your deliverables? All of this lives in the humility and abundance of gratitude.

Then there’s trustworthiness. What does being trustworthy mean? What does the action of trust and being a trustworthy person actually mean to you? That’s going to show up in what you decide to do when it’s convenient for you and when it’s inconvenient for you. This is the foundation of values and beliefs. Beliefs are like the constellations in the sky, they move around, they’re pretty, and they’re informative. But they’re convenient and they move. In any situation where it’s inconvenient for you, you’re willing to change, to take action for the greater good, and follow your mission.

How to Connect to Your MissionWhen we all agree that the mission is to help people win in a trustworthy and grateful manner, the next step from that mission is to decide the rules of engagement. What is the objective that trying to achieve, what hill are you trying to conquer? In the HR department you’re trying to get the right employees, in sales you’re trying to close every sale that you ethically can, and so on. Ultimately all of those things are missions within your business, within your campaigns.

Why does this all matter to the mission driven business? Until you understand what mission is, you can’t have a mission driven business. If we can all agree for a moment that helping people win in a trustworthy and grateful manner is the mission, what does that mean to you in your business? What does helping people win mean?

In trustworthiness it’s the beliefs and values, the values are the things that you take consequence for. You accept the consequence, you suffer, you struggle and that’s when your true value shows up. People only value the things that they receive from you means you had to concede on something; both tangible and intangible in nature. Helping people win start with your employees. How can you help your employees become more successful and setting it up to make things easier for them to sell then they’ll be helped in being able to close more sales. Buyers will be able to buy more stuff. Then your company will win.

Ultimately, This is Your MissionYour mission ends up being the thing that stands out that your competition is unwilling to do. It’s the consequence you are willing to receive that your competition is not willing to receive. All of these places where you can create less challenge for your clients to work with you makes it easier for the people to buy from you. So the mission becomes making it easy to do business with you.

Last but not least is doing it in a grateful way by throwing in extra rewards for doing business with you and making it an environment where you receive as part of the package.

We also dive into topics including:* How to build the bridge between having a mission and having a marketing strategy that includes that mission. * How to create situations where people are self-subscribing to your business and your mission. * How to make it easy for people to say “Yes!” to doing business with you. * How to create an enduring, successful marketing strategy and not just be a blip on your market’s radar. * Why you need and how to include emotion in your touchpoints with clients and potential clients. * The three kinds of emotions you want people to feel as a result of your marketing campaigns. * When you need to and how to update or change your mission in the public’s eye over time. * Why your mission is a key internal driver for your company. * The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to create a successful mission based marketing strategy.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding* interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest*Ryan Chute is an award-winning creative strategist and the Wizard of Ads® who helps small businesses transform into BIG brands. With a passion for removing friction, Ryan specializes in crafting innovative sales and marketing strategies that drive profitable growth. Drawing from his extensive experience in retail and automotive, Ryan’s insights empower entrepreneurs to dominate their markets with bold, frictionless solutions.

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Becoming a great podcast host is a blend of art and science. I discuss how to become a great one with my guest, Mark Iorio.Mark is the host of Language of Leadership, a seasoned business culture expert, and a passionate advocate for helping organizations align purpose, people, and performance to build thriving, values-driven cultures.  Eight years ago Mark was in the studio shooting an episode of his TV show, “CEO Chat”, and his business partner was one of the co-hosts. As Mark was walking off the set a woman asked him to guest on her podcast and Mark agreed. When Mark arrived to record the show, the CEO of the studio, Keith, came into the lobby asked him who he was there to see. When Mark mentioned the woman that invited him Keith told him she was gone but he would interview Mark.As the interview progressed, they were discussing marketing. Keith told Mark that he believed Mark would make a good podcast host. Mark blew it off as just another compliment to be nice, but Keith persisted. Mark agreed to be a host and decided to brainstorm topics and names for the potential show. He eventually came up with “Rainmakers’ Roundup” and ran the show for seven and a half years.What it Takes to Get Started in PodcastingJust do it, just step into it.First, you must be genuinely curious. You must focus on the person that you’re interviewing. Mark had 75 episodes of Rainmakers’ Roundup in the studio and he noticed there were dozens of hosts from other podcasts that read from a script. There was no flow to it, there was no real cadence. Just a list of questions. Mark was more improvised. He told me that if you can be curious about your guests’ lives, and be curious about the subject matter, your show will flow very nicely like a conversation over a cup of coffee.Creating a Successful Structure for a Podcast ConversationIn your head, create and go through a process. Maybe its discussing how your guest got started in their business or career. Maybe it’s learning about why they love what they do. Have a specific cadence and let them answer the question. Make the show about them. If you go in thinking your show is about you because you’re this great podcaster, then you probably shouldn’t do it.If you’re there to shine a light on them and their career path, their service, what they’ve done for society and so on, then you’re taking the right approach. You’re in the right ballpark.How  to Find Your First GuestsYou must have a mission for your podcast. When you understand that mission, look for people that match that mission. As an example, Mark is starting over with his new podcast “The Language of Leadership”. Language of Leadership is all about people in leadership positions that not only use meaningful language, but their behavior is such that people want to follow them. They want to follow their behavioral patterns. Because of his purpose Mark knows he needs to find branding people, HR people that care about their staff, heart-centered leaders and so on.What does this mean for you? Don’t try to squeeze someone into your podcast just because they’re a warm body. Know your mission and then figure out the types of people that fit your mission. That helps the conversation flow effortlessly and that makes it easier for you to ask the right questions because you know your mission so well.We also dive into topics including: More ways to find and connect to the mission for your podcast. How to develop your marketing message once you decide on the mission for your podcast. How to create the right mindset to “keep on keepin’ on” in the early stages of your podcast. Why keeping a cadence is important for your marketing. The pros and cons of live podcasting vs. prerecorded episodes. Advice for keeping on track with your podcast once you’re established. The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to be a great podcast host.…and more golden nuggets of advice!

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Creativity and strategy can seem like two sides of the same coin when it comes to business scaling, but they run well together when combined. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Lysle Wickersham.Lysle’s unique crossover skill set and insights not only transform startups and SMEs into scalable, successful ventures but also redefine the very essence of creative capitalism, masterfully blending positioning strategy with storytelling and building intangible equity to drive growth and build enterprise value.  Lysle is an combination of two career paths that led him to his current business. He grew up as a creative director in integrated communications and brand development and advertising and eventually built a large agency that he ended up selling. After that Lysle ran a couple of tech companies connected to venture capital groups. He founded an investment bank and did a strange crossover for a creative person into mergers and acquisitions working with private equity and venture, a more strategic endeavor.What felt natural to him was the integration between the pragmatic side developing sound business strategies and the creative side of expressing the attributes of a company that builds the emotional connections. The truth is if you do both of those things well, that’s where the money is.Where to Start When it Comes to Blending Creativity and StrategyCreativity and strategy don’t run at the same time; it’s a linear process. To be creative you first need to be strategic. Every business must start with core positioning. Who is the target market that you’re trying to reach? All of this at first is connected to the founder by the company’s goals and visions and what they want to be and build.You take that and decide who would buy that and who’s going to scale with you so you can grow. You need to ask: What is the context that you are in the market in other words what space are you playing in, what’s your primary point of differentiation and what’s the proof that you can deliver on that point of differentiation? You must be able to deliver on that brand promise.If you do that stuff well and you have that core foundation that naturally leads to the attributes of your brand that align with your positioning and audience. That means answering questions such as: What do you look like? What do you sound like? What are the brand values from that you can discern your primary messaging?All of that then moves into things such as brand identity and communication strategies. The marriage between the two comes when you know who you are as a business and how you tell your story in a way that emotionally resonates with your potential clients.That’s the natural connection between the strategic foundation and the creative expression of that foundation.How to Know When You’re Ready to ScaleIt’s kind of an abstract way to look at the word, everybody wants to scale or grow. Every business’ goal is to get bigger and make more revenue. That’s a natural progression. There is no specific trigger for that. When you’re figuring out positioning for your business you want to make sure that the audience you want to build has room to grow. Then there’s market potential. That’s where there’s white space competitively where you can be different and be desired.All those things must go into consideration when you’re figuring out how to position a business to raise capital. You’re looking at the size of those marketplaces, how big they are, and what your potential to attract a piece of that market is. All those things must be calculated, especially if you’re talking to investors and you want to present a financial story to them about how your company can grow.How to Differentiate Yourself in the MarketplaceThat is the connection between strategy and creativity. When you create your positioning one of the core functions of that positioning is to articulate your core point of differentiation.

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If you want to build a meaningful personal brand online you need authenticity, gratitude, and a few other strategies. I discuss them in this episode with my guest, Vladimer Botsvadze.  Vladimer came to the United States on a work visa in 2006. He eventually moved to New York City, the best melting pot in the world. In NYC Vladimir realized how important it is to build a personal brand. He started rubbing shoulders with successful people and left no stone unturned. Vladimer became a lifelong learner, reading 400+ pages a day and working 16 hours a day. He built Twitter/X followers from zero to 57,000 in a year because he’s an authentic storyteller that loves to provide value.The Starting Point of Creating a Meaningful Online BrandStart small, build gradually for the long term, and give more than you take. You have an iPhone at your fingertips; you can easily record videos and upload them to YouTube to share your knowledge and your journey with your audience. Steve Jobs said the most powerful person in the world is a storyteller. He also said people that know what they are talking about don’t need PowerPoint. Be on different social media channels, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Remember, great oaks grow from small acorns. Long term thinkers give more than they take by sharing content that is in their followers’ best interests.Many people that connect with you on LinkedIn send sales pitches. People don’t pay attention to those pitches. They pay attention to value.How to Provide More Value to Your Social Media AudienceGive away your best advice for free. Vladimir has never charged his followers for “picking his brain”. He leads by example, not by titles. That is one of the things that sets him apart from the rest of the herd. A majority of executives lead by their titles. Gary V. leads by example, Tim Ferris leads by example because they are self-made success stories. Both are examples of why you should never give up. There is always light at the end of the tunnel if you are positive and see the glass half full.Inspiration Along the WayIt doesn’t matter where you were born, your background or your education. If you take massive, strategic action you will succeed. Vladimer was born in Georgia and dreaming about experiencing the Western world. In the nineties he was burning the midnight oil and pursuing his dream. Now he’s a global citizen. He loves instilling confidence in other people. If he can do it, anybody can do it.Establishing and Building Your ReputationYou start to build a robust personal brand by showing gratitude. When people leave you comments or like your social media posts you should respond to them and thank them. Vladimir did and still does consistently express gratitude to his followers. He brought and brings his followers together which built and further builds his personal brand which translates to his personal success including hundreds of endorsements on LinkedIn. He treats his followers as his friends.You need to consistently create great content. That means creating content with authenticity, compassion, and devotion. Vladimir shares his authentic story with the world. That helps him build emotional connections with his followers.A Cohesive Strategy for Building Your Personal Brand You need to have a presence across a variety of social media channels. You need to create content consistently. You need to interact with your audience because a majority of people don’t consistently interact with their audiences and hence, they don’t grow their audiences. Then they complain that they have never built their personal brands because they almost never interacted. They get on their high horse while Vladimir does the opposite; he shows up and is down to earth.You need to be curious on a daily basis. You need to collaborate with influencers. When he began his social media journey in 2014 he had the foresight to interact with big brands.

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When you create a Market Dominating Position (MDP) you’re on track to successfully scale your business. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Ed Middlebrooks.Ed is not your typical business coach—he’s a strategic weapon for entrepreneurs who are done playing small. Ed Middlebrooks is the founder of Elite Profit Coach, where he works with driven business owners to uncover hidden profit, outmaneuver competitors, and install dominance into their markets.  Ed was the kid in the server closet for 25 years working a job in IT services. That job got him involved with business planning. He realized that technology affects the growth of a business. He found himself interfacing with high-level executives about more than just small technology issues. Ed began asking “How does the infrastructure of the business really allow us to foster growth and increase communications which ultimately increases sales and marketing results? “Entering the Entrepreneurship WorldAfter 25 Ed left the corporate IT world because he learned about real estate investing and how to automate a business using what he calls “The Five Steps of Every Business”; which is: To get customers, you must first generate leads. Prescreen those leads. Construct and present offers. Close quickly. Follow up with everybody.Those five steps exist in so many places within a business. In his real estate investing career, his firm bought 24 houses with none of their own money, no banks and no credit. He had 17 Air BnBs. He built a multimillion-dollar business providing rentals. He took the strategies that he learned from working with C-Suite executives, negotiating and networking. Ed discovered that the secrets of growing and scaling a business appear to be fairly unique to each business, but they all come down to a singular strategy or pattern. When you put the building blocks in the right order, things happen, your strategies work, and your business grows.The Starting Point of Marketing Strategy and Business GrowthFirst, you must take an analysis of your business. When it comes to growing and scaling a business, most entrepreneurs look at how to generate more revenue. They’re always thinking about the income. They want to foster more business. Whereas that’s true to a point, what Ed finds is that a lot of businesses are just chasing good money after bad. For example, they spend money on ads without really understanding the fundamentals of their business and how the ads boost (or don’t boost) the bottom line.Ed has a mantra that he’s learned along the way. That is “Revenue feeds the ego, but profit feeds your family.” When he talks about growing and scaling a business, he’ll show a business how to become more profitable without spending any extra money on marketing. This is assuming that there’s already a steady flow of business coming into that company. What they can do is make some changes. They can reduce the cost of goods sold, they can look at making more compelling offers, and so on.Creating Your Market Dominating Position (MDP)One thing stands out above everything else. That is understanding your company’s Market Dominating Position (MDP); sometimes referred to as the Unique Selling Position. What is the MDP of your company? If you don’t have that all you’re doing is throwing money into marketing, hoping that people connect with your messaging. You’re doing what everyone else does. When you do that, you can end up stuck in a red ocean (filled with “sharks”) and you’re not in a blue ocean. Ed’s not talking about creating a product that nobody else has. He’s talking about what the capacity of your business is to provide and deliver unique and superior value amongst your competition.Here’s another question that you must ask regardless of what your industry is. The question comes down to “What are the benefits you offer to your target market that set you apart from all of your competitors?” Once you figure that out,

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In our more and more AI driven world meaningful relationships are harder to come by and maintain over time. We’re getting more and more disconnected from our social and professional circles. We’re using AI tools because we think they will make everything better. We think they will make doing business easier, which is true in some cases. They look fancy, they have cool reporting, so we think we’ll get more leads and then maybe we’ll get more clients.Unfortunately, often they’re putting layers of separation between us and our prospects and clients. When that happens, we don’t really understand what’s going on with our business outreach. We start to make up scenarios because we don’t have all the personal information to go alongside the data. We can end up not knowing much personal information about many of our prospects, instead we could primarily know what AI tells us about them.  I discuss how to create meaningful relationships in this AI driven world with my guest, Casey Cheshire. Casey is a seasoned marketer with over two decades of experience and the author of “Marketing Automation Unleashed,” a guide to leveraging marketing technology for business growth. As the founder and CEO of Ringmaster Conversational Marketing, a B2B podcasting agency, he helps businesses build authentic connections with their audiences.The Unfortunate Trend of Weakening TiesProspect and client relationships are weakening. We no longer remember many of their names off the top of our heads, we certainly don’t know what’s keeping them up at night, so we just make up what we think is keeping them up at night. Then our products and our services start to morph in that direction. No wonder that email campaign you just sent out only got crickets back. Or maybe you had a webinar, and nobody showed up or just a few people did. AI is one of the big reasons.You wanted an in-person or virtual room full of people; why were those marketing messages falling flat? Because you’re disconnected, you didn’t know what your prospects wanted because you put apps in the way. The crazy thing is that AI isn’t making those scenarios easier.AI isn’t getting us more connected; it’s adding more noise to our world. Let me get this straight, it’s always been noisy but now it’s getting noisier. AI is behind tons of content, tons of marketing strategies, and at times it’s having fake conversations with people. Overall, it’s just going to be a noisier world for everyone.We’re not going to be able to do more of the same or do better than the status quo unless something changes. The old ways of doing business just aren’t working anymore. We must pivot hard to avoid getting wrapped up in all that disconnected noise.Getting Started on the Journey of Cutting Through the NoiseHow can you reconnect with your existing network or connect with new prospects or potential referral sources? It’s a revolutionary thought: By making calls. Having one-on-one calls whether you’re the founder or the marketer and so on. In the case of sales roles, they’ll reach out, but that’s a different kind of outreach.We need to be reaching out to learn, to ask personal questions, not just to make a sale. It means you’re asking things like what are your goals this year? What are you trying to achieve? What are your responsibilities? What are the things that are really bothering you?Get to know their real wants and needs.We’re not really inquiring. Sometimes if we do get on the phone with people, we’re just pitching them. We’re soft pitching and we’re not really listening to them. We’re just looking for an opportunity to talk about our product or service. We’ve got to take a step back and have a conversation where we’re trying to learn about the other person.Things change all the time. It makes it harder for you because you think you know everything. For example, when you think you understand the customer because you are marketers selling to marketers or manufactu...

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Everyone faces emotional downturns, especially entrepreneurs. We can get caught up in a negative story. We can get caught up in an emotion that keeps us from achieving our goals. It is possible to get to that healthy place where you can feel happiness, joy, and the full spectrum of positive emotions.  Sometimes you’re going to feel anger, sometimes you’re going to feel sadness or defeat. You can come back to the joy of living and take your personal and business lives to the next level with the right strategies. I discuss some of those strategies in this episode with my guest, Dr. Dorothy A. Martin-Neville.Dorothy A. Martin-Neville, PhD, is a speaker, author, consultant and master coach. She has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network as well as the New York Times, the Huffington Post, NBC, and ABC.As a psychotherapist, Dr. Dorothy (or “Dr. D”) was in practice for 25+ years. As the founder of four companies, Dr. Dorothy has knowledge of the challenges facing leaders in business and in life. As a Business & Life Coach, her focus is on Mindfulness, Emotional Intelligence, and NLP.The Stories We Tell OurselvesWhen Dr. D works with folks, she asks questions such as what’s that bad place about? How did you get there? What’s the story you’re telling yourself in that moment? When you’re in a bad place you’re always telling yourself a story. You need to get to the root cause of that story.The story could be you’re focusing on one incident in your life and that’s the filter through which you see everything. So, if you were abused as a child you’re going to see abuse everywhere in your life. If somebody doesn’t return a phone call, they’re abusive. If somebody doesn’t recognize you at a networking event, they’re being abusive and so on.We create filters through which we see the world. If you’re in a funk Dr. D’s first thought is to examine what’s going on in your life, what is it you’re caught up in? If you can look at what you’re caught up in and begin to put that in the big picture you can get context for the situation. You’ll see there’s some legitimacy to what you’re saying but there’s a whole other big picture around it. You can choose to focus on that problem piece or see it in the perspective of the bigger picture. That will help you begin to shift your focus.Shifting Your Focus to Shift Your StoryDr. D trains folks to do a reality check. Let’s say you’re going through a divorce. All the sudden you’re caught up in betrayal, abandonment and other similar feelings. Ok, that’s what you’re experiencing, and legitimately so. How can you get beyond that? You have the option of spending the rest of your life in that space. Or you can recognize that’s a horrible thing that’s happening, it’s not what you’ve planned for your life but it’s there. How can you get through it and come out on the other side? Where do you want to land when you reach the other side?It’s not denial of what’s real for you in that moment. But that’s the situation that you’re in; that’s the period of life you’re going through. The funk happens when you’re caught up in a period of life and you see that as your whole life. How can you go through that and learn from it? What do you need to learn about yourself and life in general?Answering those questions will, again, shift your focus to the bigger, more positive picture.Challenges in Your Personal and Business LivesWhen you’re an entrepreneur it’s impossible not to have problems affect both your personal and business lives. Your personal life affects your business life, and your business life affects your personal life. You need to separate the life you’re living from the reality of who you are. If you’re consumed emotionally with what’s going on in your personal life that’s time you’re taking away from your business life. Emotionally it has you in a bad head space personally instead of focusing on your business. At that point your business is paying the price.

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If you can align yourself with a speakers bureau your public speaking business can grow exponentially. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Brian Palmer.  Brian is the Senior Vice President of Premiere Speakers Bureau and a respected leader in the speaking industry. With decades of experience, Brian has built a reputation for helping business professionals select the perfect speakers for their events. He does this by delivering engaging, relevant, and high-impact presentations that align with organizational objectives.Brian’s Journey into The Professional Speaking WorldIn 1972 when Brian was a freshman in high school his dad started National Speakers Bureau. His dad was a band leader who got tired of traveling all over the country. He decided to do something on the fringes of the entertainment business. The speaking industry seemed like a fit. Brian started with envelope licking and note card sorting. During college Brian worked there during the summers. In 1980 he finished college, and he started working at National Speakers Bureau full time and he’s been around ever since.For reference for the rest of this post: National Speakers Bureau was eventually purchased by Premiere Speakers Bureau (PSB) and Brian stayed on board as a Vice President.The Process of Booking Professional SpeakersThere’s a variety of ways to book great speakers. PSB has established themselves as a great place to turn to when you need a good speaker. People reach out to them, describe a situation where they need a speaker, give them their criteria and their budget parameters. They make recommendations and provide potential clients with the means with which to plan for an outstanding event. That includes biography, presentation descriptions, video samples and more.Proposals started out long ago with audio cassette tapes. Now it’s obviously video and it’s a lot easier now through online video. Many buyers are also very interested in testimonials from past speaking engagements. Sometimes people have other questions and PSB tries move the process along and help people make a decision that they’re happy about. Then, once it’s booked, PSB handles all the arrangements in a way that builds the buyer’s confidence. The speaker shows up prepared, ready to go, ready to make a contribution to that organization’s objectives. They speak, they get a lot of applause, the client’s really happy because their boss says “That was a great choice”.The Process of Vetting and then Working with Professional SpeakersTo a certain degree, Brian knows an outstanding speaker when he sees one. He studied speech in college and some of what he learned makes a good speech back then still applies today. Sometimes he prefers to watch full speeches. He watches a speech, watches the stories they tell, how relevant they are to the audience, how personalized the presentation is, and so on. One thing Brian does is study how much time elapses between a laugh or some kind of emotive response. All those things factor together to delineate a good speaker from an excellent speaker.There are so many people that want to speak, and Brian chooses to recommend people who are excellent.PSB books over 2,000 engagements a year and their clients rate the speaker, and they rate the speaker as well. They consider things such as how cooperative the speaker is, how good they are at personalizing the presentation, how they work with PSB overall.All those things combine to drive the recommendations that they make.Speakers Bureaus: Do They Approach You or do You Approach Them?When PSB learns about a speaker that they’re not involved with, and they hear the speaker does a great job or PSB loses business to somebody repeatedly that gets their attention. Speakers often refer other speakers that they’ve seen or that they’re friends with. On average PSB hears from 30 people a day interested in PSB booking speeches for them.

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Community engagement and content marketing go hand in hand if you have the right strategies. I discuss how to combine the two in this episode with my guest, Behdad Jamshidi.In the past 6 years, Behdad (or Bee) has met with and assessed 992+ marketing agencies and vetted them down to a lean 100+ preferred partners across all marketing niches. After pairing hundreds of businesses with the right partners, he’s found his skillset lies in the matchmaking process.  Getting Started with Community Engagement and Content MarketingBee specializes in connecting businesses with the right marketing partners. He got into that space by engaging with a variety of communities. During COVID everything hit a wall, and everyone rushed into online communities for engagement. In one of the communities that he was in he built up his brand and landed a lot of customers by sharing knowledge and sharing information. In those communities people got to know him over the course of three years. That’s how he got into the community engagement and content marketing space.Bee’s purpose was to always share value first; he loves learning about new ideas and sharing content. Bee wasn’t trying to sell, and he was adding value and as a result potential clients reached out to him.Sharing the Right Kind of Content for MarketingBee shared his experiences growing as an entrepreneur, including trials and tribulations. He was always learning more and more from mentors and other business owners. Bee realized that not everyone gets access to those people at the level that he did. He learned about new concepts and ideas through those conversations he would then take it in and journal about it. From there Bee would create content around his journal entries in various communities.Bee learned about some common mistakes that businesses make when they’re trying to pick the right marketing partner and then shared how to avoid them. Some questions included, “I’m about to hire a business coach, what should I think about?” Then afterwards he would share “I hired this business coach, here’s what I learned.”  You create a continuity of business advice within those communities.Making Deeper Community Engagement ConnectionsBee spent a lot of time learning on calls. He’s a super connector in the marketing world, so he was always on calls. The byproduct of those calls turned into meaningful content. He also went to a lot of in-person networking events. At those networking events he would create deeper connections with the people that he interacted with online.That’s where a lot of the content would come from. Bee used to be an engineer. He would do sales engineering for businesses that were in the 50 to 1,000 employee range. So, he got a lot of content and a lot of knowledge from his past work experience that he could share. Bee was unique because most entrepreneurs that are running purely entrepreneurial businesses haven’t worked in or with large organizations.When you come in with insights that others don’t have you have unique content to share.How to Stand Out and be Remembered Through Content MarketingYou must discover what your core theme is. What do you like to talk about? You can even start out easily, with “This is who I am, this is a little bit of my background, here’s what I love talking about, here’s how I can support you”. Just be an open book.The next piece after that is to continue sharing what you know that most people don’t know. For Bee it was seeing businesses constantly failing with marketing partners. He provided feedback in his communities about how to avoid those mistakes. That’s where a lot of his content started out, it was just what he was naturally doing.That content helped Bee focus on the topic that would become the core of his business.We also dive into topics such as: How to keep the attention of the people in the community after you get it so you’re more than just a blip on their radar.

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“All the world is a stage” is very true, especially in the business world. By becoming an engaging presenter you can succeed from sales meetings to training presentations to speeches. I discuss how to do that in this episode.  Today, we have a game-changer in the world of communication—David D. Doerrier. With a background spanning radio broadcasting, stage acting, corporate training, and even playing Santa Claus, David specializes in helping subject matter experts, business leaders, and sales professionals transform their technical expertise into engaging, high-impact presentations.He had to learn how to get his information to stick with his audiences, which he has done successfully.David also comes from being very shy and introverted to becoming comfortable and gregarious on stage. He discovered that one way to do that is by making it more about the audience and less about him. That’s a perspective shift from many speakers’ viewpoints.It’s Not About You; It IS All About Your AudienceThe first thing you have to do is start with your objectives in mind. Let’s use a training session as an example. Ask yourself, “At the end of this training session what are the things that my audience needs to walk away with and understand better?” Not only understanding it better but at what level do they need to understand it? Do they need to be an expert when they leave the training? Do they just need to have some knowledge when they leave the training?So first it’s understanding what the objectives are that you need to achieve. So, now again, that’s all about them. It has nothing to do with you or your background or what you think you need to teach. It’s first understanding what it is that they need and what it is that they want to get out of your training.Your “Stage” Could be AnywhereMany people think they don’t “do” any public speaking because they don’t get up in front of a room on a stage. When David says “engage from any stage” what he means by “any stage” is it could be anywhere. It could be on a Zoom call, on a podcast, it could be a sales call, it could be a workshop, a physical stage in front of a room full of people and more.What platform or what process are you using to communicate with your audience? Are you mentoring someone? Are you training someone? Are you selling to people? The techniques that David talks about can be used in any of those situations, when you’re talking to one person or hundreds of people.Sales Blends with TrainingA caveat here is that David is not a sales coach. However, what he does applies to sales people to connect better with their audiences. The processes that he has come from his background as an instructional designer. How can you create material that is going to stick in the mind of your audience?The more he worked with it, the more he saw that anybody (including salespeople) could benefit from those types of principles. In some ways there is an overlap with training and sales. Because as a salesperson you must educate your audience enough for them to say “Yes!” to purchasing your offering. Whereas if you’re training a group of people you’ve got to educate them enough, so they say “Okay, I see how I can use these new strategies”.The sales process is first understanding your audience, the same thing as with training. You first must understand who your audience is. What is their learning style? What is their buying style? And then adjusting to that scenario.Preparing for Your PresentationsIt’s a mix of interviews before you give the presentation and figuring it out on the fly during your presentation. There are questionnaires that can go out beforehand to help you evaluate your audience. Let’s use a training example, certainly in that situation. You can reach out to the organizer and get an idea of the make-up of the group and try to get as much information about them as possible beforehand. In a sales situation,

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Creating and scaling your own networking group is an excellent investment of your time. The rewards can be great and far reaching. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Clay Hicks. Clay is a serial entrepreneur with a portfolio of 5 different companies, an author, a speaker, and trainer on professional relationships. Clay Hicks founded his first company, H7 Network in 2008, in the hopes of positively impacting the many under-served entrepreneurs and all sales professionals.Many years ago, Clay was searching for and trying out a variety of networking groups. More often than not he left each one more disappointed than anything else. Most of them judged people by how many referrals they were giving and how much money they made without much thought for meaningful relationships. They were very transactional and that didn’t sit well with Clay.He decided to start H7 Network to do things the way he believed was right.Build Your Leadership Team Early OnFirst, he surrounded himself with five leaders that helped him start the group. That support system was crucial to their early success. It wasn’t just one person trying to figure everything out alone. The team framed out their first style of networking group which was 60 second commercials and a speaker. He began to build more meaningful relationships and that changed everything. There was no pressure to give referrals, Clay and his team let that happen organically.Clay has always looked for potential in other people. He doesn’t see them just for who they are, he also sees them for who they could be and how valuable having a relationship with them could be for both people. So, when he went to make those choices early on, he picked people he had or could have a good relationship with. Those were the early days of his “Connect, Serve, and Ask” methodology. He knew back then he couldn’t do it without them and knows today that he still couldn’t do it without his team.He and the original board went their separate ways and Clay turned to his existing network from his real estate industry days. He invited the people to join H7 leadership that he already at least had a connection with, and explained what he was creating. Clay’s a natural promoter. The people he invited to join him also had relationships to share. Everyone was involved with invited people to the meetings.Getting Traction for Attendance in Your Early DaysThey started free so the traction gained was around getting people into the room. The attendees in turn brought more people from their networks to the meetings. Clay had to make the structure of the meetings interesting and valuable. The meetings started with attendees sharing celebrations of the good things that were going on in their lives. That immediately created positive energy in the room.Then there was the value-add component. He shared strategies to network effectively with his “Connect, Serve, and Ask” methodology. They would do 60 second commercials with a unique, non-traditional format. He then encouraged the attendees to continue their conversations and set up 1-to-1 meetings after the event. The push for 1:1 meetings created value between the meetings because people were having more meaningful conversations than they had time for at the events.Soon they began to charge and people began to see it as more valuable. They grew by 60 members in their first six months. Once they hit 60 members some of his support system left so Clay had to update his support system with new people. The big lesson here for you is to get some support from strong relationships, even if its an informal board of advisors, as soon as possible when starting your group. Lone wolf to pack. You can go fast by yourself, or you can further by surrounding yourself with good people.Your relationships are the key to your success!In this episode we dive into topics such as: How to know if you have strong relationships.

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Today we’re discussing how to develop yourself personally and professionally to become a great podcaster. My guest is Junaid Ahmed. Junaid is the Founder of Humblezone and Creator of Home Studio Mastery, designed to teach you how to build your home studio.  He has two decades of video production experience, as well as designing websites & apps focused on a systematic process and seamless user experience.  He provides podcasters, speakers, and content creators with a comprehensive plan for their studio equipment, lighting, and layout.  Junaid started his creative career creating fliers for his uncle’s business over 30 years ago. He then grew into graphic design, mobile app design, he just found himself creating, creating, creating. It wasn’t until 2005 that he discovered podcasting, but he didn’t really get into it until 2012 when a friend of his wanted to start a podcast.Junaid ended up starting a podcast with two of his friends that lasted for four episodes. While that run ended abruptly, Junaid was bitten by the podcasting bug. He wanted to get back into podcasting, but he just didn’t have the drive until he read the book “Crushing It” by Gary Vaynerchuck. Gary wrote “Just go and document your journey…” Junaid started a podcast documenting his journey into becoming a podcaster, a beekeeper, and other hobbies he’s had.Junaid says podcasting is elevating because when you empty your mind, when you put stuff down in Audio Note you’re releasing space in your brain to do other things and that’s how you start developing your personality.What does using podcasting as a self-improvement tool mean to you?When Junaid went to college for English Composition his teacher said, “Just free write, write whatever comes into your mind”. She was trying to get him to empty his mind because over time, your writing becomes more refined.Junaid views podcast through the same lens because the more you record, the clearer your messaging becomes over time. As you’re recording the episodes you get to go back and listen to and critique yourself. You’ll get better as you do more of it. From that perspective it helped him develop his speaking voice, from his ability to talk about a topic or to teach him how to overcome something that he once struggled with.What advice do you have for new podcasters about interviewing?To become a good interviewer, you’ve got to be able to articulate the point of the interview. To get moving you can start out as a solo podcaster. When Junaid started his podcast, it was just him talking about what he was going through with his hobbies. The more he did that the more he understood how to tell a story.It still wasn’t as refined as what he wanted it to be, so he started inviting his friends to be interviewed. The more he did that, especially with people he already knew, the better he got. It’s easier to talk to somebody you already know. It’s hard to talk to somebody brand new unless you have topics that you share a passion with.Another way to be a good interviewer is to research who you’re going to be interviewing. We’ve seen some great examples of that, particularly people like Simon Sinek and Jimmy Fallon. They research the people they’re going to be interviewing. You can do the same thing. When possible, watch previous interviews of your future guests to know what other people are asking them and then ask different questions.Suggestions for Finding Good GuestsA good guest is only as good as the topic that you’re going to come and talk about. It all comes down to the purpose of the podcast episode that you’re going to record. It all comes down to the focus of your podcast and what you are going to be talking about. This is decided by knowing who your target audience is. This will help the guest who’s taking time out to record the episode get a ton of value as well.We also dive into topics such as: How large or small of a niche should you pick as the topic of your podcast.

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There are almost too many ways to go about creating social media strategies. I discuss some strategies that actually work with my guest, Sophie Zollmann. Sophie is the Founder of FMD Strategic Partners. They take the guess work out of marketing to get real results for 7 and 8 figure service providers.  Sophie was a stay-at-home mom and got into online businesses instead of paying daycare all her money. Customer service, business management, clerical work, etc. Then in 2009, after a short break, she came back to the work world and launched herself as a virtual assistant. One of the first things she did to get in front of people was to get on social media. She got on Twitter and Facebook, and six months later after meeting other virtual assistants and business owners who needed social media help, she had a business model, and she formed an LLC.She used digital marketing, especially social media, to grow her business. In the process, she fell in love with social media. It’s become the bread and butter of her business. Sophie built a team and leverages their skills to help her clients grow their businesses like she has hers.Where People Go Wrong with Social Media MarketingThe biggest thing is that they don’t have a strategy. People are throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks, they’re trying the latest trends that may or may not work for them, and they may be on platforms that they don’t need to be on because they think they have to be everywhere. They’re also doing it themselves, even though oftentimes they dislike doing it.That dislike is reflected in what’s produced and only ends up hurting them in the long run. If you don’t love it, you really shouldn’t do it because your distaste come through in your copy. Last but not least is people don’t have a strategy and a clear plan. They aren’t creating initiatives and campaigns that have measurable components such as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), goals and objectives.Success comes from knowing what works. You’ve got to be able to measure what you’re doing. Once you know what works, then you can maximize that. But you can’t figure that out without strategy, hiring people to do it for you, and having measurable campaigns and initiatives that you can know if it’s working or not.How to Get Started with Creating a Social Media StrategyIt involves a lot of research. You’ve got to know who your ideal client avatar is. In most cases there’s multiple client avatars. Even in one industry you will have different demographics, psychographics, income levels, all the things that make them human beings. We are marketing to human beings. You must speak to them in a way that they can hear you. Knowing them deeply is a key component of your strategy, that’s your first step.That research dictates what platforms you’re on, what you offer, how you speak about it and what you do to get them in the door. Your strategy must also have your competitive analysis. You must know who your competitors are, how you stand up against them, and how you can beat them. Because if you’re just doing the same thing that they’re doing you’re going to be lost in the sea of all the other people doing those things.You Have to be UniqueAnd then of course once you’ve done that, there is making sure you have a very solid and unique value proposition, that’s a part of your research. You’re going to be looking at branding, do you really look good? Is it consistent and does it appeal to your ideal client? Branding is very important.It all works together. When you have a completely defined strategy that takes in all the aspects of online marketing and what it takes to succeed then you have the monthly marketing plan. That’s where you get your measurable initiatives, you get your content strategy, you figure out where you need to be and where you don’t need to be, then you rearrange everything to make it fit together so that it all feeds each other.

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Mentoring programs can skyrocket your organization’s success if you have the right strategies. I discuss those strategies in this episode with my guest, Ken Rusk.Ken is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and blue-collar advocate that proves there is no degree needed to achieve comfort, peace, and freedom. Ken spent his younger years digging ditches and working in construction.  He is passionate about helping people achieve their dreams regardless of their educational background or past. In Ken's book, Blue-Collar Cash, he shares his insights from over 30 years of working in blue collar trades as an entrepreneur, mentor, and life coach.Why is Mentoring Important?Ken believes it should be incumbent to anyone who is successful to give back to the people that are following in their footsteps. He believes that it’s a good idea to shorten the learning curve of those who follow us because you can prevent them from making a lot of expensive mistakes. That’s just part of being successful to share that kind of advice; especially if those people work for you. To grow your company there’s a lot that you can do to help people within your company that are intrapreneurial at heart to be successful. They win, you win, everyone wins at that point.The Case for Mentoring Intrapreneurial PeopleAs the owner of a business, your goal should be a couple of things. Number one, it should be to become as irrelevant to the business as possible from a mechanical daily standpoint. If you’re going to be a visionary you can’t be involved in doing the day-to-day stuff. You need to hand it off to people and make them feel they have some ownership of the results. He’s said in front of his staff of over 200 that he can’t get what he wants, his company can’t get what it needs until all of his employees get what they want first. The more they win the more you’re going to win in the end.Advice for LeadersYou must be planning what you want to do with your business, meaning drawing it out to the most minute detail. It’s like creating a brochure that is about yourself. You must have a clear idea of the goals your company is moving towards and why. Once that reason is clear then passing that goal along to the people in your company that you’re mentoring is paramount. You want to get your team to feel like they’re in it for themselves and they relish the fact that they’re allowed to swim in that intrapreneurial pool. When they create results and share ownership of those results your business is poised for explosive growth.We also dive into topics such as: Characteristics of good mentees. How to create successful mentorship experiences for intrapreneurs. How to create a platform for mentorship within your organization. How to approach potential mentors. Why you want to hire people that are self-managing. Advice for bosses about how to be good mentors. Examples of what Ken’s mentoring programs look like. The importance of recognition and bonus plans. Why dropping the ego as a boss/owner will make your business more successful. How to successfully co-create and achieve goals with your employees. The criteria of good goals. The one thing, above all else, that you need to do as an owner/boss to create a mentoring program within your organization.…and other golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”    Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest      Ken Rusk is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and blue-collar advocate showing that there’s no degree required for comfort, peace, and freedom.Ken spent his younger years digging ditches and working in construction. He never went to college. Instead, he made goals, planned, and worked hard for thirty years. Now, Ken is a very successful entrepreneur with mult...

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Self-sabotage runs rampant in many professions, especially entrepreneurship. We discuss how to overcome and eventually eliminate self-sabotage in this episode with my guest, Shiraz Baboo.Shiraz is a multi-award-winning author, international speaker, and Reality Interventionist. He is known for helping people to rewrite their reality to overcome challenges in their lives. Shiraz has helped thousands of people to overcome illness, poverty and unconsciously addicted struggles.  Shiraz was stagnant for decades as an entrepreneur. He made about $100,000 a year; but when you’re at that level year after year and it never increases it becomes very, very frustrating. He knew he knew how to make money because he got from nothing to $100,000 but he didn’t know what was going on that had him stuck. Then he had an idea to earn $1 million in one year when he met the people from “The Secret”, including Bob Proctor, John Assaraf and more.Shiraz got their contact information and was going to create an app that involved all of them and their mailing lists. While anticipating success Shiraz’s income went from $100,000 to $0 in two years. He left his business because he was so sure his plan was going to work and started working on the app full time.So Close and Yet So FarShiraz experienced the effects of self-sabotage. It’s not that his potential business partners didn’t like him, the relationships just started to fizzle out and Shiraz and his app fell off their radar. Shiraz kept trying to develop the app and he kept getting delays. He’d have to go back to them and tell them it’s still not ready. Eventually they gave up and Shiraz gave up. He went back to his old business, and he went right back to earning $100,000 a year.How to Prevent Self SabotageMany years later Shiraz was presented with another opportunity to start making more money. Shiraz was more self-aware and learned techniques to prevent self-sabotage. He realized the last time he took certain actions his income went down. He didn’t want his income to go down so he searched out and found the reasons his income declined.Shiraz believes that most people don’t realize that you don’t self-sabotage because of circumstance and you oftentimes don’t do it because you’re afraid. You self-sabotage because you’re so comfortable and you’re addicted to that state of status quo.  So, when you leave that state your body goes through withdrawal and your body makes you do things to go back to that space where it’s addicted to, the status quo.The exception is if what you’re trying to do scares you so much it pushes you in the opposite direction. That’s what happened with Shiraz. There was a big fear of earning a million dollars a year. Shiraz worked with a coach and found out when he was a teenager his family and friends told him they had zero doubt that he would be making millions of dollars. His brain went oh my god they’re going to leach off me. If I have a million dollars everyone will want my money. So, his brain decided that at $100,000 a year he would be safe from leaches so that’s where he stayed.Once they got that belief cleared by the next year Shiraz had made over $200,000 and he was on his way!In this episode we also dive into: How to discover and clear your negative beliefs. Why 95% of what’s keeping you from success in your business has nothing to do with your business. How Shiraz got to $1,000,000 in sales. How to match your conscious beliefs with your unconscious beliefs. How to recognize emotional triggers that tell you something inside needs to shift. How to start stopping self-sabotage. Why the biggest things your mind tries to avoid are guilt and shame. How to train your brain to think the thoughts you want and feel the feelings you want. Ways to avoid the withdrawal from your self-sabotage addiction. Once you “get out of the self-sabotage hole” how to maintain your success in just 10-15 minutes a day.

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You need to stand out in the sales world to be successful and video is an excellent tool to leverage if you have the right strategies. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Jason Zygadlo.Jason, a seasoned expert with nearly 20 years in medical device sales, now channels his unique skills into Build.Your.Own.Brand., where he helps individuals and organizations stand out creatively and memorably.  Jason has always tried to do things differently to be memorable. He spent his earlier career in medical device sales. Fast forward to 2024, in his business practice, he was still looking for ways to be different and be more efficient.The video world was introduced to him by a friend who also sold medical devices. Jason was very quick to adopt the technology himself because he realized he could be more efficient by sending videos instead of regular emails. He particularly liked the analytical part of video technology. You could know if and when the video was watched and for how long. That allowed him to fine tune his messaging to get longer video views.Getting to Know HimIt’s getting harder and harder to see potential clients. So how can you engage with them? If you’re not delivering your message effectively, then what good are you doing? If the information you’re trying to deliver to the potential client isn’t currently getting through, what other ways are out there? Email is the starting point. Almost everyone shares their email address now. You can also send the videos through LinkedIn.Jason realized he could be very efficient and send a lot of videos in a personalized and tailored way and then know when they were opened. When he did end up getting in front of the potential client in person he would often be greeted with “It seems like we’ve already met”. They would know him from the value that he had sent. It was usually a video introduction followed up by some kind of white paper or other material.Getting Your Message Past the GatekeeperThe beauty of videos is how versatile they can be. Jason would stop by an office and leave some information with the gatekeeper. He would then follow up with his potential client by sending a video saying he had left the information with the gatekeeper. Then (in the video) Jason would introduce himself and let the potential client “get to know him”. The next video would be a demo of the product Jason was selling. Once the potential client met with him Jason would send a thank you video.How Many Videos to SendYou can’t just knock on the door once or twice, it’s a persistence game. Jason talks about being “pleasantly aggressive”. The videos don’t replace the stop-byes, the drop-offs and the traditional ways of doing things. Videos are a supplemental tool to tack onto the other things that you’re doing to close the sale. There’s no magic number of videos you should send. It takes as long as it takes to get what you’re trying to get and what you’re trying to accomplish.We also dive into topics such as: What the first meeting looks like after you get past the gatekeeper. Why you should create personalized videos and how to do that. The power of curiosity in the world of video and sales. How to be different and memorable. Why different is better for breaking through the noise. Examples of video platforms you can use to stand out. Why you should send thank you videos after the sale is closed. The importance of practicing being on video. The one thing, above all else, that you should do to stand out in the sales world with video.…and other golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”    Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest      Jason, a seasoned expert with nearly 20 years in medical device sales,

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Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to break the bank to get great PR. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Jill Lublin.Jill is a 25+ year Media Magnet.  She is a world-renowned publicity expert, international speaker and 4x Best Selling author. Jill has made thousands of stage appearances alongside celebrities such as Tony Robbins, Barbara Corcoran and Jack Canfield, to name a few.  Jill got into the media like many people find their careers; in a circular and roundabout way. She originally thought the legal field was going to be her career. In college, she started working in the music business in promotion and publicity and fell in love with that. She turned her career around to be the director of promotion and publicity at four independent record labels.She eventually opened her own business in publicity, wrote the book “Guerilla Publicity” and now she speaks all over the world. She also runs media master intensive workshops and helps entrepreneurs get their name out there without having to spend a fortune.Why Entrepreneurs Need PublicityPublicity is happening whether you want it to or not. It starts at the minute you walk out your door, enter a Zoom room or go out for coffee. Your publicity is happening so you should embrace it and make it authentic for yourself. Jill believes that’s really important. One thing she waves her flag about is having a great, focused message.That means being resonant to who you are. Your reputation comes down to publicity so make it count. The message that you have should be attracting clients, referrals, trust in your industry, credibility, visibility, all the other things that publicity does for you. The results lie within being powerful with your own publicity and consistently being in the practice of sharing your message.Why You Must Make Publicity a Conscious EffortThis means being conscious about your message. In other words, be clear about who you are. If you’re outgoing and extroverted, embrace it. If you’re shy and introverted, embrace it. Here’s what Jill knows from working with over 100,000 entrepreneurs: When you’re clear about your message, it gives you confidence to share it at networking events and in the media.The confidence that it gives you helps you speak more concisely and precisely. People will be attracted to that because when you’re confident about what you do people will want to work with you.Getting Over the Fear of Elevator PitchesSometimes it’s fear because you don’t know what to say, sometimes people think their elevator pitch sounds like everybody else’s. When yours is authentic to you and you push the right buttons with your message that is who you are. What’s wonderful about that is that it gives you the ability to say it anywhere, anytime no matter what you’re feeling, and it helps you successfully run your business.We also dive into: Why publicity isn’t a “one and done” situation, it’s an evolutionary process. What you need to do once you have your messaging down. The power of local publicity and how to get it. What “earned media” is and what it gives you. How to approach media outlets to get publicity. The power of “Seven Follow Ups”. Two ways to publicize your publicity. Why you don’t have to spend a fortune to get publicity. How to do Guerilla Publicity. When to think about hiring a publicist. The one thing you need to do above all else to get publicity.…and other golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”    Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!About My Guest      Jill Lublin is a 25+ year Media Magnet.  She is a world-renowned publicity expert, international speaker and 4x Best Selling author. Jill has made thousands of stage appearances alongside celebrities such as Ton...

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If you want to achieve peak performance, you can probably benefit from creating a Performance Bubble. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Craig Domann.

Craig is a veteran NFL agent who has negotiated more than half a billion dollars’ worth of contracts for more than 300 NFL athletes, coaches and now high school and college athletes for their NIL. His journey as a sports attorney has shown him that having a Pro Mindset is key to a successful pro-athlete career. Craig released a book, Pro Mindset: Be Your Best In Your Biggest Moments, and he has a podcast Pro Mindset Podcast where he discusses with guests on his show, the mental ingredients that are common for elite performers and then he transfers that knowledge in insightful stories and daily applications.

Your Performance Bubble Explained

The Performance Bubble is like a secret weapon that the best of the best utilize to create a mental space so that they can be “in the zone”. The Performance Bubble is applicable to all areas of life, whether you’re in business and you have a big-time sales call or if you’re an athlete and you have a big game. What it does is creates this safe zone where you block out all the things that work against you; fear, doubt, what happened the last time, what somebody told you, etc. When you’re in your Performance Bubble those types of things don’t throw you off your game.

Everyone has been in those situations where they had their act together, they had their game plan, they show up for whatever they need to show up for and their bubble got burst by some curveball, some unexpected comment, objection, whatever it may have been. The Performance Bubble creates a safe zone, a safe mental space where you can be your best in your biggest moments.

What Does a Performance Bubble Do for You?

Number one is the awareness that you have one. If you don’t have one you might be awesome for a short time because you’ve prepared for it, you strategized, you might have visualized it, you think you’re all set. Until they throw you that curve ball and then it blows up in your face. Or you have that pocket voice which is talking to you at the same time you’re doing the presentation that says “Hey man, remember the last time that you were in this situation? It didn’t work out so well.” And that negative thought comes in and now you’re operating on that negative thought.

The Performance Bubble is boundaries and anchors. The boundaries block out the noise, past failures, and so on. In business, if you’re counting your commission check before the sales meeting is over, most of the time you don’t get the check because you’re so attached to the results and the outcome. When you can embody why you’re there and what you’re doing and let the results take care of themselves, the scoreboard usually tilts in the right direction. Your bank account looks pretty good. And so, the bubble is going back to the boundaries and anchors, it’s blocking out the things that don’t serve you and everything that does serve you gets to come in.

Craig always talks about how you step into that bubble on game day, you step into that bubble when you walk into the board room and the only things that come with you are belief in who you are, confidence in what you’re going to do, all the preparation you did, gets to come in. All the practice you did gets to come in. You visualized yourself on the drive to the meeting or the bus ride to the stadium. You visualized it maybe for the whole week. That gets to manifest itself in the Performance Bubble.

In this episode we also dive into topics such as:

• Two ways to lower the volume of the negative voices in your head.
• How to create a regulator for your mental state.
• How to turn up the volume for the positive voices in your head.
• The three parts of the pro mindset.
• How an entrepreneur can find good council to shorten their learning curve.
• What to do create a Performance Bubble for success before a networking event.
• Four ways to maintain the Performance Bubble once you’re in it.
• The one thing, above all else, that you need to do to create your Performance Bubble.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About My Guest

“Over my 30+ years representing elite NFL athletes and football coaches, I’ve dissected what sets the most successful professionals apart. I’ve developed a mental framework with actionable strategies that transcend sports, applying equally to business, entrepreneurship, and personal development.”

Craig’s journey as a sports attorney has shown him that having a Pro Mindset® is key to a successful pro-athlete career. Craig released a book, Pro Mindset: Be Your Best In Your Biggest Moments, and he has a podcast Pro Mindset Podcast where he discusses with guests on his show, the mental ingredients that are common for elite performers and then he transfers that knowledge in insightful stories and daily applications.

Craig’s passion lies in sharing Pro Mindset® principles through both group and individual coaching, as well as keynote speaking. “This isn’t just another mindset book or program—it’s a comprehensive system designed to unleash your inner pro! With Pro Mindset, you’ll cultivate the optimal mental environment for excelling in your most critical moments. Pro Mindset guides you to:

(a) craft a new narrative that empowers you to perform at your best when it matters most,

(b) elevate your standards, devise innovative strategies, and implement new systems to reach your full potential, and

(c) create and thrive in your own invincible Performance Bubble™ to unleash the champion within you!”

At his core, Craig wants to see people shatter barriers, overcome limitations, and transform their future through developing a Pro Mindset. Craig’s passion is to share how to unlock your Pro Mindset** through his private and group coaching, keynote speaking and Pro Mindset Podcast.

For more information, visit www.CraigDomann.com. You can also follow him @ProMindset on LinkedIn, IG, FB, X, YouTube, Pinterest, TruthSocial, and TikTok. Or listen weekly to Pro Mindset Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts and SoundCloud.

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People love to hear and listen intently to great stories. If you can craft them for your marketing initiatives, you’ll build your business faster. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Thom Van Dycke.

Thom is a business advisor for solopreneurs and small agencies and a certified StoryBrand Guide. He works to help his clients develop strategic offers that deliver huge value to their customers.

Thom was a pastor for 19 years. When you’re in that kind of role there’s a lot of storytelling already involved. In 2020 he left the ministry and started his own business after reading the book “Building a Storybrand” by Donald Miller. In the back of the book the author described how to get certified as a “Storybrand Guide”. Thom realized that the Storybrand framework is very powerful for organizing your thoughts around storytelling.

That sparked the idea: “I wonder if it’s time for a switch”. After getting certified Thom launched his business and started out as a copywriter. He fell in love with taking the genre of communication, marketing, and figuring out ways to interweave it with storytelling. Thom has been copywriting for four years and now and is starting to do more storytelling consulting work.

When it comes to storytelling and marketing, where do you begin?

Many people think storytelling is about telling their story and being autobiographical. While there is a place for that in marketing, that’s not necessarily what it means to tell your story in marketing. Storytelling in marketing really looks at what other parts of a story are and how do we can use them in our marketing strategy.

Storytelling begins with a hero who wants something and can’t get it, they have an external problem. Then frustration about that leads to internal problems for them. Then the hero meets a guide. The guide gives them a plan, paints a picture of success and failure, and calls the hero to action. The whole arc of the story is one of transformation. So, the idea is the framework for a story. The reason that is so powerful is that our brains are wired to recognize the patterns of stories. From the beginning of written communication humankind has used stories to make sense of their world. The more ancient you go, the more the stories are more supernatural in nature.

The Need for Storytelling

In modern times we’re still creating stories to explain the world around us. We are still using stories to make sense of the universe, often in scientific and naturalistic ways. It’s part of our DNA to make sense of the world that way. When Thom starts working with a client, he first makes sure they understand that concept. Then he helps them understand that when it comes to marketing, in order to be effective, you need to be extremely clear. The brain wants to find the shortest path to an understanding or meaning as possible.

When we put our marketing and messaging into a story format, we’re helping people’s brains get to the point we’re trying to make faster. It helps us land more deals and close more sales because it cuts out some of the brain’s confusion of trying to get to the point.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How to get to the point quicker in your marketing strategy.
• The case for making your clients to heroes of your stories instead of yourself.
• The pitfalls of the least effective marketing campaigns and how to avoid them.
• How to articulate your hero’s (customer’s) problems effectively and show them how you solve them.
• The role of and need for compassion in marketing.
• How to position yourself as the hero’s guide in your customer’s journey.
• How to arrange the content on your website to create a hero’s journey.
• The need for a call to action and how to create one.
• How to balance explaining problems with explaining solutions in your marketing.
• Two common storytelling mistakes most people make and how to avoid them.
• The one thing that, when it comes to storytelling and marketing, that you need to do above all else.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About My Guest

Thom Van Dycke is a business advisor for solo and micro-preneurs. After 19 years as a pastor, he launched his business at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and grew it to six figures in the first year. Already a certified StoryBrand Guide, Thom expanded his services to include business development consulting in the summer of 2023. He helps his clients to scale to $50,000/month of recurring revenue.

Thom is married to Tara and they have 7 children. They are both advocates for foster and adoption and have welcomed 30 foster children into their home since 2011.

Connect with Thom!

Email: thom@thomvandycke.com
Website: thomvandycke.com
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thom-van-dycke/
Book a call: https://tidycal.com/thom/introductions
Monthly Strategy Design Workshops: https://link.thomvandycke.com/Strategy-Design

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Everyone can be and probably should be a lifelong learner; that practice can change the course of your life. I discuss how and why to do that in this episode with my guest, Eric Pfeiffer.

Eric is the founder and CEO of MPWR Coaching. Eric has been in the leadership development space for over 15 years, having helped build a multi-million-dollar coaching business and trained over 150 coaches worldwide.

Eric says becoming a lifelong learner didn’t start early enough in his career. In his twenties and even into his early thirties he felt pressure to know everything, to have arrived, to have achieved, and to have whatever knowledge base he needed to be successful. He constantly ran into roadblocks and to different challenges that kept reflecting to him “You don’t know everything.” There was a long season when every time some inadequacy was exposed in him through some deficiency, usually by other people, he would take that as an insult as somehow diminishing his value, disqualifying him from something better.

This eventually changed with help from mentors. One day a mentor said to Eric “You need to get over yourself! You’re going to spend the rest of your life becoming a better version of you. If you see every exposure of something you don’t know or don’t know how to do as some kind of diminishing of your value, you’re going to stay plateaued and stuck. Then what you’ll do is create a world around you where what you know and know how to do currently is the only thing that’s required. That means your success level and trajectory are diminished as well.”

Something Changed

He says he “flipped that script” and recognized that every time some deficiency in him was exposed he decided to celebrate it. He realized that he could be grateful and appreciative because it’s exposing a potential new growth opportunity. If he can embrace the positive perspective, he sees it as an opportunity instead of being an obstacle. Then what happens is every time something’s exposed as a deficiency he gets to experience another area to grow in. He could go on another journey of personal transformation and development.

As that became more and more the norm for his life Eric realized that his trajectory radically changed, and he found himself on this continual growth path.

How Does Becoming a Lifelong Learner Begin?

At first, it’s a choice, it’s a mindset shift to “flip the script” by realizing we can always choose how we interpret an experience. When we experience an area of life that we’ve fallen short in we’re either going to self-protect and project responsibility on everybody else or decide in that moment to choose to see those circumstances as opportunities for our own personal growth and development.

That is the starting point because until we have that mindset, until we can control our mindset about our failures and shortcomings then we will always see those as roadblocks rather than the opportunities that they really are. From there Eric believes that we have to learn some basic mechanisms to squeeze the learning out of our life experiences, whether they be positive or negative.

It’s all up to you!

We also dive into topics such as:

• How to flip the script on internal dialogue/shift your mindset.
• The importance of and how to practice self-awareness.
• How to shift your mindset from my failure is an obstacle to it’s an opportunity.
• How developing and adopting small habits leads to big success.
• How to know what to take in and what to leave out.
• Words for time: Chronos (sequential/stopwatch/calendar time) and Kairos.
• How to recognize moments that are most relevant to you and embrace them.
• What are brains are hardwired to do in our best moments.
• How to maintain a life of lifelong learning and not just have it be a blip on your radar.
• The ROI of being a lifelong learner versus just being a momentary learner.
• How to create a paradigm shift from obstacle to opportunity.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About My Guest

Eric Pfeiffer is the founder and CEO of MPWR Coaching. Eric has been in the leadership development space for over 15 years, having helped build a multi-million dollar coaching business and trained over 150 coaches worldwide. He founded MPWR Coaching in 2019 to expand his efforts to unlock leaders’ potential so they can grow their organizations and teams in new, never-imagined ways.

He is known for creating one of the only Leadership Operating Systems available today, which empowers the true engine of any business – its people. He has published two life-transforming books: Leadership Gravitas and Transform Your Trajectory, each introducing simple tools that give leaders a competitive advantage in any context. Eric speaks and leads out of the overflow of his own journey.

He is a fierce practitioner of what he teaches and is committed to becoming a better version of himself daily.

Click here to learn more about MPWR Coaching!

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If you’re going to build a business, you should love what you do. Once you build a foundation it’s time to scale the business. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Mary Kelly.

Mary started working for her dad’s business at trade shows when she was just seven years old. Her parents would leave her at their tradeshow booth to write orders while they worked the room to get more business. Mary took a hiatus from the business world for 25 years when she joined the navy and spent 17 of those years in Asia. During that time, she got experience leading teams that were both multi-cultural and multi-lingual. She learned how to manage people, assets, and supply chains.

Transitioning into the Private Sector

During her last tour in the Navy, Mary taught at the naval academy. The admiral was always being called to give talks about the status of the Navy, leadership, and other topics to government institutions and private sector businesses. One day the admiral was busy, and Mary’s friend called her and asked her to give a talk. That led to more talks. At one of those talks the organizer asked her to come back and train their people.

Mary was ready for the opportunity because the premises of what you’re managing doesn’t really change. It doesn’t matter if it’s Navy people or businesspeople. Managing and leading people is still managing and leading people. This is where people get hung up on “How do we lead Gen Z, or millennials, or boomers if they’re older or younger than us?” Mary believes that regardless of the demographic, people need great leadership. You don’t lead demographics, you lead individuals. Lead your people well and the rest will follow suit.

This belief has led to a very successful private sector speaking career for Mary.

The Biggest Lessons Learned

Number one, you must pay attention to your numbers, always pay attention to your numbers. Number two, realize and embrace that your people are your most important assets. You must make sure that people show up every day to serve you, the mission and the vision you’ve got in mind. The third thing is when you see a disruption there’s almost always more to it than what you think. Dig a little bit deeper than you initially want to, look at the surface problem and go “Ok, we’ve solved that, put a band-aid on it, everything is fine, NO. What Mary found is there’s almost always a deeper-rooted problem that needs a solution.

Many leaders are worried about making a mistake or going in the wrong direction, so they do nothing. Sometimes they stagnate or believe a decision they made a year ago is still a good decision today. In that case they’re not taking the current market conditions into consideration. You need to ask yourself what is the situation today and how has it changed since yesterday and how might it change tomorrow.

How to Start Building a Business and Do It Effectively

First you must figure out your vision and your mission. The next question to answer is why are you better at those than somebody else? You can be competitively better (you’re just better) or you can be comparatively better (and have a lower price point, or you’re more convenient, and so on). This means answering: Competitively and comparatively where are you better? Build your value proposition around that.

Then you build out your mission and figure out where you want to go. From there you create the action steps to get you there. When you cross the action steps, this is where Mary believes a lot of people get stuck, you must first say, “What’s going to be the biggest obstacle?” Sometimes, it’s your own friends and family. They’re going to say things like “You can’t start that business.” Those are not the people you don’t want to listen to.

Once you see those obstacles then you brainstorm on the solutions. If you don’t give your brain a place to go with the solutions, it’s going to focus on the obstacles. And you’re going to stop and make excuses like “I don’t have time” and your brain doesn’t come up with solutions.

Instead, ask productive questions such as “Where am I going to find the time?” and “How am I going to find the time?”, “What other resources am I going to need in order to do this?” Then your brain focuses on the solutions and that is a very different place to be.

At that point you’re on your way.

We also dive into topics such as:

• The four components of a great value proposition and how to create one.
• How to be a great communicator.
• How to effectively manage clients and customers.
• How to deal with uncertainty as a leader.
• How to scale a business once you’ve built the foundation.
• When, why, and how you should delegate certain tasks.
• The difference between building a business and building a life.
• How to not just maintain, but scale success once you’re reached it.
• The characteristics of monthly goals you should be setting and achieving.
• The benefits of asking for advice and how to go about it the right way.
• The case for handwriting notes instead of typing them.
• The one thing, above all else, you need to do to build your dream business.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About My Guest

Commander Mary Kelly, US Navy (ret), PhD, CSP, CPAE

Mary focuses on economic and leadership development. Mary helps leaders attract, recruit, retain, mentor, and develop the right people at the right time to get the right results. As a corporate strategist, Mary develops plans for personal and organizational growth.

Mary is a Naval Academy graduate who served 21 years on active duty in intelligence and logistics, mostly in Asia. With a PhD in economics, Mary taught at the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, SMU, and in the graduate school for CSU.

Best-selling author of 20 business and leadership books including “The Five-Minute Leadership Guide”, “Who Comes Next? “”Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy”, and “Why Leaders Fail” and “The 7 Prescriptions for Success”.

Mary loves travel, coffee, and dogs.

Connect with Mary!

www.ProductiveLeaders.com

mary@productiveleaders.com

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Building a strong brand and powerful online presence are necessities for entrepreneurs. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Shon Christy.

Shon brings over 20 years of marketing expertise as the founder of Shon Christy Social Media, Fractional Social Pro, and NeuroSocial Labs. He’s worked with over 800 companies internationally, pioneering innovative social media marketing and engagement approaches.

When Shon got discovered social media he was just a basic user. When social media got to college campuses, he was getting his master’s degree at the University of Akron. He was in the right place at the right time. Shon launched his first social media company. They were the first niche social media marketing agency in the state of Ohio. Talk about a great start!

Shon had to build the business “brick by brick” by practicing what he was preaching and trying new things online. In addition to his company he built his own personal brand, establishing himself as the local leader in social media through public speaking and his online activity. Shon was building his online presence and promoting himself. When he looked back after a couple years of doing that, he examined why some things worked and why some things didn’t work. He realized that attention was becoming the new currency.

We’re getting bombarded with marketing messages more and more every day. Our minds are filtering and rejecting information all the time. For this reason, it’s even more important for you to stand out. So that’s what Shon started to do. He focused on some principles that he successfully used to grab people’s attention. You don’t automatically have somebody’s attention during your first interaction with them. Shon realized that saying the same things on social media over and over gets boring to your audiences. He shifted his messaging from time to time to stay fresh in his marketing efforts.

How to Start Building Your Online Brand

Shon started by asking “Who am I?” The answer guided his online branding messages. Social media is the great digital amplifier, and he was amplifying the right messages. Marketing begins with taking an authentic look at yourself. Shon likens your personal brand to a recipe. It’s the concept of a “secret sauce”. Understanding what that taste palette is for you and understanding the ingredients of your personal brand is where it starts.

Shon recommends broadcasting multiple things to attract like-minded people. You might try five or six things, and the sixth thing creates a way to connect with somebody on a human level, that will grab attention. That’s part of his alignment concept. If you’re aligned with other people they’re going to like you a little bit more. Getting somebody to like you because of that branding is a key to long term success.

We also delve into things such as:

• How to get people’s attention.
• How to eliminate roadblocks for people to communicate with you.
• How to keep people’s attention after you get it.
• Two ways to know that you have someone’s attention.
• The importance of amplifying other people’s stories while amplifying your own and how to do that.
• How to build a reputation and not just have a bunch of people’s attention.
• How to move along the know, like, and trust continuum faster.
• How to build and balance your personal reputation with your professional reputation.
• How to build a reputation and a business without being “salesy”.
• The importance of practicing the Golden Rule in your professional life.
• How to maintain your reputation over time after you build it.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About the Guest

Shon Christy brings over 20 years of marketing expertise as the founder of Shon Christy Social Media, Fractional Social Pro, and NeuroSocial Labs. He’s worked with over 800 companies internationally, pioneering innovative social media marketing and engagement approaches.

Shon’s entrepreneurial spirit extends beyond business, having launched Beckett’s Buddies, a fundraising group that has raised over $100,000 for local causes in honor of his son. With numerous accolades for his business acumen and philanthropic efforts, Shon Christy is a true leader in both the marketing and nonprofit sectors.

Shon’s work has been featured in publications like Inside Business and the Akron Beacon Journal, highlighting his influence in the field. He is also a dedicated philanthropist, regularly contributing to organizations supporting individuals with Down syndrome and children with special needs.

Website: https://www.shonchristy.com/

Social links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shonchristy/

https://www.facebook.com/shonchristy

https://www.instagram.com/shonchristy/

https://x.com/shonchristy

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Do you ever run into your Brain Bully? What does that feel like? With the right strategies you can build your self esteem and achieve success in all areas of your life. In this episode I discuss how to do that with my guest, Lynn Smith.

Lynn is a national media expert, consultant, keynote speaker, and host of “StrollerCoaster” a parenting podcast brought to you by Munchkin the world most loved baby brand in the world. Previously, she spent 15 years as an anchor on the TODAY Show, NBC News, MSNBC, and CNN Headline News. In 2021, Smith left TV News to launch her company Rylan Media which takes her media insight and expertise to tackle corporate and individuals greatest branding and communications challenges.

Meet Your Brain Bully

The brain bully is that voice we all have in our mind that’s saying, “What if I screw this up?” or “Does Mark like what I’m saying?” or “What if the audience thinks I’m a total idiot?” Lynn realized after coaching hundreds of executives, after being a news anchor for 15 years, and having her own Brain Bully incidents many times, that almost 100% of us have a Brain Bully. If you don’t, you’re likely a sociopath or a narcissist. Just saying.

Her brain bully creeping in was so common that Lynn decided “I have to create something in order to help myself and other people overcome this situation…”, and through self-examination she did just that. As a news anchor she was told many times (to her face) “You’re not good enough, you’ll never make it in TV”. Then she had her own internal audio loop; “Maybe they’re right, maybe I’m not good at this…” She had to create techniques to overcome her Brain Bully to sustain a long term career in television.

Now, when she shares her methodology with executives it’s this lightbulb moment for them. “Oh, I shouldn’t ignore this voice, this voice is actually not real, or right, I just have to tame it, I need to know how to manage my Brain Bully”.

How do you overcome your Brain Bully?

Initially, early on, when Lynn was in her early twenties and started in television, beating her Brain Bully was the result of pure grit and tenacity. It was a case of “just keep going”. Sometimes she didn’t have any reason or logic to believe in her eventual success, she just had to push through it. There was no other option. From seeing what good came from pushing through her Brain Bully dialogues she realized “Now I can have fun with this, and I can talk to my Brain Bully. I can say, ‘Brain Bully’, listen here, you’re through right now”. She parented her Brain Bully out of the situation. If you have kids, what would you say to them if they had a bully? What advice would you have to get rid of that bully? That’s what she did.

You must literally name it and then tame it. You tame it by having those conversations with it.

The next step? Reframe it. That Brain Bully could be an asset to you by keeping you on your toes. We don’t want to get complacent. It’s when we lose control of the dialogue that we have problems.

So, you must name it, tame it and reframe it.

We do a deeper dive into that methodology and discuss topics such as:

• What’s really holding you back in life, and it’s not your professional skillset or lack of one.
• How to find ways to do whatever it is you were meant to do with your life.
• Why just pushing your Brain Bully away won’t work.
• How to control your fight, flight, or freeze responses in your primitive brain. It doesn’t know the difference between you giving a presentation and you being attacked by a tiger. It’s protecting you from what you perceive as a threat.
• How to create a Brain Buddy and use it to your advantage.
• How and why you have complete control over which thoughts you focus on.
• How to show up as your authentic self.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About the Guest

Lynn Smith is a National Media Expert, Consultant, Keynote Speaker, and host of “StrollerCoaster” a parenting podcast brought to you by Munchkin the world most loved baby brand in the world.

Previously, she spent 15 years as an anchor at TODAY Show, NBC News, MSNBC, and CNN Headline News.

In 2021, Smith left TV News to launch her company Rylan Media which takes her media insight and expertise to tackle corporate and individuals greatest branding and communications challenges. She advises leaders on how to develop, craft and communicate a compelling message as well as how to take that message to powerful platforms in the media and any video platform.

Smith is also the founder of Crush it on TV and Crush it on Video, an immersive on-demand program to help experts craft, pitch, and book media appearances. It doesn’t matter if you are booked, it matters if you are GOOD on TV and that’s what she helps her clients do.

In 2022, she released her e-book “Confidence Quotient: Proven techniques to increase your self-confidence and decrease the self-doubt holding you back”.

Prior to HLN, she served as the anchor of Early Today on NBC and First Look on MSNBC since 2010. During her time at NBC, she was a fill-in newsreader on Weekend TODAY and covered overnight breaking news for MSNBC. She came to MSNBC from WNBC-News 4 New York where she had been a General Assignment Reporter and fill-in anchor for since January 2009.

Smith joined WNBC from NBC-owned station WCAU in Philadelphia, where she was a general assignment reporter since June 2007. In January 2008, her role was expanded, and she was promoted to co-anchor of “NBC 10 Weekend Today” on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Prior to WCAU, she spent two years working at the TODAY Show on NBC as an Associate Producer before being promoted to a Producer. In 2007, her role expanded to the other side of the camera when she became an Online Correspondent for todayshow.com, and several of her pieces were featured on TODAY. She also freelanced as a General Assignment Reporter for NBC-owned station WVIT in Hartford, Connecticut.

Smith graduated magna cum laude from Miami University in Ohio, where she was a mass communications major, wrote for the university newspaper, and served as an anchor/reporter for the university television station. Following graduation, she was awarded a prestigious internship with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. In 2001, she joined NBC’s Page Program in Los Angeles before moving East to pursue her passion for news.

Click here to learn more about Lynn!

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LinkedIn is only a powerful tool if you know how to use it. My guest Donna Serdula and I discuss LinkedIn branding strategies in this episode.

Donna has almost 20 years of experience on LinkedIn. She is the founder and president of Vision Board Media, a professional branding company that helps individuals and companies tell their unique stories on LinkedIn and beyond.

Getting Started

Donna’s relationship with LinkedIn started in 2005. A colleague of Donna’s asked if she had heard of LinkedIn and said “You should join, you will get a lot of opportunities. Things just drop in your lap; you’ve got to sign up for it!” When she signed up, she saw that her profile looked like a resume. So, she copied and pasted her very dry, dull, out of date resume. She thought “Ok, opportunity, hit me! I can’t wait to see what happens here!”. Then nothing happened. It seemed like a huge waste of time.

She continued with her professional life and didn’t think much more of that LinkedIn profile for quite some time. She accepted another job, no thanks to LinkedIn. She found herself in a much more cutthroat sales type of environment. She was dialing for dollars; she was cold calling. Suddenly LinkedIn started to cross her path again. She was using it to enhance her cold calling, she wanted to learn about the people were that she was calling before she spoke with them.

One day she had an epiphany; she thought about all these people and every time she looked at their profiles, she was disappointed. She wanted to learn more about their story. Then it hit her, how was she showing up? She Googled herself and her LinkedIn profile was the first thing to pop up. She realized by lack of caring and lack of activity she was doing the same thing all the other people were doing – nothing.

That’s when she realized that your LinkedIn profile isn’t your resume. It’s much bigger than that, it’s your online presence, often your first impression, and your brand.

A BIG Shift in Thinking and Results…

Donna contemplated how she wanted to be perceived and what goals she was striving to achieve. She looked at LinkedIn strategically. She created a new profile that was much more aligned with her desired personal brand. As soon as she did that amazing results started to happen. She became a magnet for opportunities. People were searching for someone like her, and she was popping up in the search results. People were seeing her as someone in their industry that is a thought leader and cares about other people in her industry.

That’s when she realized she wanted to help other people do the same thing and get the same branding results. They need help with their resumes, help with their bios, help with strategically using LinkedIn as a networking tool, help with thought leadership assistance and so on.

How to Build Your Brand to Get Opportunities to Come to You

When it comes to LinkedIn certain things have changed, and certain things haven’t changed. When you think of the LinkedIn feed, that has changed massively. The LinkedIn profile hasn’t really changed, it’s still this huge area to really tell your story, to showcase your career trajectory, and it’s a place to get found. Most people forget that LinkedIn is a search engine. A lot of people think LinkedIn is just a professional social network.

Many people on LinkedIn are there looking for someone like you. That’s one place where successful branding strategies begin. What terms do you want to be found for? You need to be peppering those terms throughout your profile, that way you can collide with opportunity.

Many times, Donna finds big mistakes that people make are doing what she had been doing. For example, she was looking for opportunities in sales, but she was aligning herself as a job seeker. Her target audience wasn’t recruiters, it was sales managers and other people in her industry. She overhauled her profile, and the right people started to find her because she was aligning herself with the terms that those people were searching for.

She was on her way!

We also dive into issues such as:

• How to tell the right story on your profile.
• How frequently you should update your profile and why that’s important.
• More ways to build your brand on LinkedIn.
• The foundation of a successful LinkedIn branding strategy.
• How to build and leverage your network on LinkedIn.
• The importance of consistently showing up in the LinkedIn feed and how you should be doing it.
• Tips and tricks to work on your profile in terms of today’s environment.
• The impact of AI and storytelling on the platform.
• Elements involved with telling the right stories to make an impact.
• How to find the balance between sharing personal and professional stories.
• How to build effective and meaningful relationships on LinkedIn instead of just making transactions.
• Recommendations for topics and frequency for effective posting.
• How and when to take relationships off LinkedIn and into “the real world”.
• How to bridge the gap between having conversations and building a business.
• When to start giving and getting referrals for and from the people you connect with.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About the Guest

Donna Serdula is the founder and president of Vision Board Media, a professional branding company that helps individuals and companies tell their unique stories on LinkedIn and beyond. Bringing dynamic brand storytelling to the masses and empowering people to dream big – that’s the ink in her pen. It’s her Website, LinkedIn-Makeover.com, where she and her team of over 20 writers and coaches help people collide with opportunity and transform their lives via future-forward career branding.

She has authored two editions of LinkedIn Profile Optimization FOR DUMMIES.

Donna hosts the podcast Dream Big with Big Dreamers.

She’s shared her LinkedIn expertise at global conferences, presented keynotes and workshops, and has been featured in several high-profile news outlets.

Donna’s social links and website:

Website: http://www.linkedin-makeover.com/

Podcast: https://www.dreambigconversations.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todonna

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinkedInMakeover/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnaserdula/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/donnaserdula

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/donnaserdula

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Networking needs to begin with the development of a successful mindset long before you get into tactics and strategies. I discuss how to develop that mindset in this episode with my guest, Dr. Ivan Misner.

Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI (Business Network International), the world’s largest business networking organization. Founded in 1985, the organization now has over 11,100 chapters in 76 countries throughout every populated continent of the world. Last year alone, BNI generated 15.2 million referrals resulting in more than $23.4 billion dollars’ worth of business for its members.

When I asked how he learned the mindset for networking, Ivan replied “I have a lot of grey hair, I learned the hard way.” Fortunately, you don’t have to do that with a little guidance!

One of the big problems with networking (the right way) is that we don’t teach that in colleges and universities. It’s not taught in schools anywhere in the world. So, what happens from lack of education? People go out and they have the wrong mindset; they use networking as a face-to-face cold calling opportunity. Some people teach to end every networking conversation with: “Here are three copies of my card, maybe you’ll pass them along to your friends”. If you don’t know, like and trust someone why would you do that?

Ivan was recently the keynote speaker for an event in London with some 900 people in attendance. He asked the audience, “How many of you are here today to hopefully sell something?” 900 people raised their hands. “How many of you are here today hoping to buy something?” Nobody raised their hand. That’s a problem.

V-C-P in Action

That’s what Ivan calls the “networking disconnect”. People show up to networking events hoping to sell, but nobody’s there to buy. So why go? You go to work your way through the V-C-P Process. This is the beginning of the mindset. V-C-P stands for visibility, credibility, and profitability.

First, you must have visibility. Of course, you want to let people know who you are and what you do. Then you must establish credibility, that’s the one that takes a long time. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s more of a marathon than it is a sprint. You must go into networking situations understanding that. Then the third is profitability. Once people know who you are, what you do, and they know you’re credible, they’re willing to pass you referrals because then you have this relationship with them. What tends to happen is we try to jump over visibility, jump over credibility, and get right to profitability. That’s not how it works. Ivan refers to that as “premature solicitation”.

That’s the foundation of the mindset. It’s all about relationships, it’s not about transactions. We discuss how to develop those all-important relationships in this episode.

We dive into topics such as:

• How to bridge the gap faster between visibility, credibility, and profitability without being “salesy”.
• Why givers gain, it pays to be a giver in the long run.
• How to make quality, meaningful introductions for your network.
• How to build credibility.
• Networking is a contact sport, we discuss how to win at that sport.
• What to say and do in your 1:1 networking meetings to move along the visibility-credibility-profitability (V-C-P) continuum faster.
• The best way to get more ongoing, qualified referrals with the GAINS methodology.
• What “profitability” looks like when it’s done the right way.
• Why the V-C-P continuum is a referral process, not a sales
• The (big) difference between a lead and a referral.
• The case for looking for referral partners at events instead of clients.
• Why the closing rate from referrals is significantly higher than from advertisements.
• More reasons why if you build a relationship with someone then you’re more likely to get referrals.
• Why the chances of a referral leading to closed business is much higher than hunting for your next sale.
• What NOT to do in networking situations.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About the Guest

Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 29 books including his newest – The 3rd Paradigm, A Radical Shift to Greater Success. He is also a columnist for Entrepreneur.com and has been a university professor at several universities as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne.

Called the “Father of Modern Networking” by both Forbes and CNN, Dr. Misner is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, the BBC, and The Today Show on NBC.

He has traveled to all seven continents of the world, including Antarctica. Among his many awards, he has been named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Red Cross and has been the recipient of the John C. Maxwell Leadership Award. He is the Co-Founder of the BNI Charitable Foundation and is married to Jody Misner.

Oh, and in his spare time!!! he is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Ivan Misner!

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Entrepreneurs have unique challenges to address. They need peer groups more than most people. We discuss how to create successful peer group experiences for entrepreneurs in this episode with my guest, Craig James.

Craig has been running entrepreneurial peer groups for Vistage for many years (Vistage has over 45,000 members in 35 different countries.). He views it as a calling to help fellow entrepreneurs. When you think about the typical entrepreneur, oftentimes they’re operating in isolation and they’re wearing many different hats. When it comes to making big decisions, they oftentimes don’t have many people to tap into to get purely objective advice.

Craig addresses those challenges and more!

The Entrepreneurial Support Challenge

When it comes to searching for support they might talk to a friend, they might talk to their attorney or maybe their accountant and so on. The problem with that is those people are being paid a fee and the entrepreneur isn’t necessarily going to get straight answers and certainly won’t be challenged in terms of their thinking. You get a lot of “yes men”, and that doesn’t do anybody any good.

The benefit of a peer group as Craig has experienced is you can bring any issue you have, challenge, decision, an idea you want to run by people. You can run those things through a group of unbiased peers from noncompeting businesses in complete confidence and they have no skin in the game. They will tell you your baby is ugly (if that’s the case) but also how to make that baby pretty.

In this episode we also cover topics such as:

• The importance of objective advice and the difference between objective and subjective advice.
• Two ways to start your own peer group.
• Characteristics of successful peer groups and their membership.
• How to create a “safe space” to share personal and professional issues.
• How to develop a growth-oriented mindset as an entrepreneur.
• The creation of a successful culture for entrepreneur peer groups.
• How to grow your peer group faster and get on the fast track to getting your first new members.
• How to maintain a successful peer group culture over time.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

About the Guest

I’ve been a Chair with Vistage Worldwide, the world’s foremost CEO development organization, since 2016. My passion is leading high-performing peer groups whose members outperform their competition, and who develop themselves as better leaders. I’m grateful to be in a field which affords me the opportunity to continually improve my life and the lives of those I am fortunate enough to be working with.

Prior to Vistage, I spent a decade in what is today known as the Fintech industry with organizations such as Thomson Financial, Wolters Kluwer, and Zacks Investment Research. I’ve held senior positions in both established enterprises and entrepreneurial ventures, and founded a sales performance improvement business. I was a Contributing Editor to

The New York Enterprise Report, which was the leading publication for small business owners in the New York City metropolitan area until its acquisition by SmartCEO in 2014, and subsequent dissolution.

From 2003 – 2005, I was an Adjunct Instructor at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and for several years was part of the organizing committee for the annual NYU Conference for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, as well as a breakout session presenter in each of those years. I was also a 5-year member and President of a local Toastmasters club.

Connect with me on LinkedIn! https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigrjames/

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Have you ever had someone at “Hello”? Someone that understood your branding and service offering and wanted to work with you? I discuss how to do that with my guest, Kevin Perlmutter.

Kevin is the Chief Strategist and Founder of Limbic Brand Evolution – a brand strategy and neuromarketing consultancy, and creator of Limbic Sparks Brand Strategy, which taps into emotional insight to strengthen connections between brands and people.

Kevin has been working in brand strategy for many years. When he started his career, he was in advertising but quickly realized that he wanted to be in the customer experience part of the business. He learned different ways to bring brand strategy together.

The Gap with Traditional Brand Strategy

It wasn’t until he was at his next job working in a studio that creates sound and music for brands and entertainment companies that he got introduced to emotional insight and neuroscience-based thinking. Kevin created a research capability rooted in neuroscience where he learned about the limbic part of our brain and how people make instinctive emotional decisions that guide how they act, feel, and consume products and services as they relate to brands.

He was on his way.

Traditional brand strategy doesn’t address how to put emotional insight at the center of branding endeavors. Emotional insight is what guides us; it guides what we think and how we behave. Yet it’s often overlooked with most brand strategy campaigns. Kevin decided to create an approach to brand strategy that puts emotional insight at the center of campaigns.

How and Why People Make Decisions Based on Emotion

There’s a behavioral science truism which is “We buy on emotion and justify with logic”. Our brains are operating all the time at the subconscious level. We are deciding what we choose to think about and what we choose let go, moving on to the next thing that grabs our attention.

We are emotional beings at heart and our brains are trained to guide us based on emotional instincts. If you’re interacting with a brand and it has a negative impact on you, that experience is going to be encoded in your memory longer than another generic, unemotional experience. We’re highly attuned to something positive, highly attuned to something negative, or we’re indifferent to the situation.

You want your brand to create positive experiences and emotions with your target audience.

We discuss how to do that.

In this episode we also dive into:

• How to create instinctive positive responses that Kevin calls “Limbic Sparks” to have your customers at hello and keep them coming back for more.
• How to tap into peoples’ positive emotions instead of turning them off.
• The problems and pitfalls with traditional brand strategy and how to avoid them.
• How to have conversations that allow your brand to be relevant to your target audience.
• How to create shared emotional motivation.
• How to create a brand benefit and invitation rooted in what your potential clients are looking for.
• How to create “Limbic Sparks” and emotional attachment with a new service.
• How to create a meaningful benefit for potential clients and then a well-crafted invitation to bring them into your world.
• What type of people to reach out to and what research questions to ask them when you’re launching a new service offering.
• The fastest way for a brand to fail.
• How to build and maintain a successful reputation.
• How to keep people’s attention when you get it and how to stay top of mind.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Kevin Perlmutter, Chief Strategist and Founder of Limbic Brand Evolution – a brand strategy and neuromarketing consultancy, and creator of Limbic Sparks® Brand Strategy, which taps into emotional insight to strengthen connections between brands and people.

He loves working with CMO’s, Brand and Business Leaders who have set out to make people’s lives better, and are eager for more people to understand, appreciate, and desire their brand. His work is designed to create Limbic Spark – when a brand has you at hello and you want to keep coming back for more.

Click here to connect with Kevin on LinkedIn

Click here to learn more about Kevin’s business

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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Starting a podcast is no simple task. If you have the right strategies, it can be a fun, fruitful endeavor. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, John Golden.

John is a globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Notes.

Around 2020 John and his team were migrating their blog. The question “Does the world need more product blogs?” popped into their heads. They decided to do something different. John suggested they start an online magazine. They wanted to create meaningful and valuable content to educate people about niche business topics. They reached out to people to get them to contribute, but with a twist. John started interviewing them. He thought “Why would we create content from only our point of view when there’s global experts out there with genius to share. So, they started doing that.

Their podcast was born. They wanted to bring experts’ expertise to the world and give those people a platform to share their genius with John’s audience.

What’s the starting point?

The place you need to start is with your “Why?”. Think about things like why are you starting the podcast? If you’re starting a business podcast and you think “I’m going to start this business podcast to generate leads for my business” That’s one way you can go about it. If that’s what you’re going to do, then you need to be very specific about who your target audience is and what will be of value to them. That decides what your interview topics will be.

You must do your research and get intelligently targeted with your efforts. Otherwise, you’re going to start your podcast and you’re going to be frustrated because you’re never going to build an audience if your podcast topics aren’t focused on your audience’s needs.

One key point? It’s better to have a small audience of the right people than a large audience of the wrong people. That’s when you must sit down at the beginning and answer “Why am I starting this podcast and what is the purpose of it?” Will you be happy with your podcast being very targeted and very niche or do you want to go broader? If you’re going to go broader why and how are you going to get there?

Unfortunately, a lot of people just jump in before they’ve answered their “Why?”. That’s the first problem to avoid. We get into more things to avoid and strategies for business podcasting success during our conversation.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How to discover and decide on a target audience.
• Great advice for new hosts.
• The importance of getting honest feedback and constructive criticism when you get started.
• The case for not using “canned questions” that you send to your guests ahead of time.
• How to embrace and be your authentic self as a host.
• When a new podcaster can expect to get traction with listeners and viewers.
• The qualities of successful podcasts needed for faster growth.
• Guerrilla marketing techniques and strategies to grow your audience base.
• The power of guesting on other peoples’ podcasts.
• How to approach podcasters to be a guest on their shows.
• How to sell yourself as a host.
• Once you get traction, how to maintain it and grow it for the long haul.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

John Golden, a globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Notes.

Formerly CEO of Huthwaite, a global sales consulting organization, and Omega Performance, John is currently the Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer (CMSO) at Pipeliner CRM. John is an avid martial artist and seeker of wisdom in his spare time.

He is also the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling.

Website:

https://www.pipelinersales.com/

Social links:

https://www.youtube.com/c/SalesPOP

https://twitter.com/RealSalesPOP

X: @JohnGoldenFRR

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johngolden/

John hosts the Sales POP! Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sales-pop-podcasts/id1455305326

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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Traditional networking doesn’t work anymore. These days it’s all about meaningful relationships. I discuss how to build them in this episode with my guest, Daniel Andrews.

Daniel is a native of Columbia, South Carolina where he currently resides after an absence of 13 years. He owns a business that shows businesspeople how to identify, find, meet, and nurture professional relationships with Key Referral Partners. Fundamentally, he shows businesspeople how to STOP “networking,” and START building true networks. This is his fourth career; he’s been successfully self-employed for 36 years (50 if you start with the lemonade stand in first grade).

Networking Origins

Originally, Daniel wasn’t good at networking. He decided to work at being good. Some painful lessons, mentoring, reading, doing things right and taking notes and doing things wrong and taking notes eventually led to networking success. He believes that the way we set expectations for other people and confirm our expectations of them is very important.

Initially Daniel believed that sales were referral based, but in a very casual way. He thought that getting referrals was networking, and later he discovered that that isn’t the case. The moment that it became clear to him he was in the insurance business doing employee benefit work and got a “referral” that was much more. It was an endorsement.

His experience up until then was an introduction was just a hand-off to hopefully get a sale. In direct sales that was enough because he could demonstrate the product that he was selling. Then someone personally vouched for Daniel’s integrity. In that moment he realized that an introduction is not a high-quality referral; an endorsement is a high-quality referral.

We build networks because people have credibility with people that we have credibility with. Daniel didn’t need to get introduced to his next client, he had to borrow the credibility he had with a friend. The credibility that his friend had with another person got him where Daniel needed to go. That was the big light bulb moment. His wingman wasn’t there to introduce Daniel, he was there to endorse Daniel.

How to Start a Relationship the Right Way

Your attitude must be one of mutuality; you need to see who you can serve and who you can be served by. Daniel says this isn’t reciprocity, he doesn’t like that word at all. Reciprocity usually means that people are keeping score. When he meets somebody in a networking situation, Daniel will give what he can to the other person during their interaction, regardless of the time frame. At the same time, he’s evaluating if there’s a reason to have another, longer meeting. As far as what it looks like stylistically and what the actual actions are, Daniel’s always probing for higher value between the two of them.

Traditional networking is “speed prospecting”; people take a one-dimensional model: They meet someone, try to figure out if the other person is a prospect, yes/no/maybe, get a business card and move on. Nobody likes being treated like a prospect until they’ve identified themselves as a prospect and want to buy.

There’s a better way to build business relationships and we’ll look at that.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How to get out of “speed prospecting” mode.
• The best thing you can talk about when you’re meeting someone for the first time.
• How to gain trust with potential prospects.
• How to know which relationships to build and maintain, and which ones to let go.
• How to bridge that gap between serving and traditional selling.
• How to foster a referral relationship when there’s not an immediate referral to be given.
• Why not keeping score in business relationships is a good thing.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Daniel Andrews is a native of Columbia, South Carolina where he currently resides after an absence of 13 years. He owns a business that shows businesspeople how to identify, find, meet, and nurture professional relationships with Key Referral Partners. Fundamentally, he shows businesspeople how to STOP “networking,” and START building true networks. This is his fourth career; he’s been successfully self-employed for 36 years (50 if you start with the lemonade stand in first grade).

He can easily be found at www.DanielPatrickAndrews.com

Daniel Andrews LinkedIn URL:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/niasoutheast/

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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Becoming a great podcast guest is a blend of art and science that you can master with the right strategies. My guest Noémi Beres and I discuss some of those strategies.

Noémi is the Co-Owner of the Podcast Connections podcast booking agency. She helps entrepreneurs and business owners enrich their lives through connections, sharing their knowledge, and connecting them to quality podcast shows.

Getting into podcasting was a happy accident for Noémi. She became an entrepreneur in 2007 in the social media marketing and online business travel spaces with her husband. Then the pandemic abruptly halted all travel plans in 2020. Fortunately, they had a mentor that advised them to start a business in the podcasting world because it was booming back in 2020. Noémi hadn’t even listened to podcasts before then. That advice provided them with the pivot that would change the course of their business lives.

Preparing to be a Great Podcast Guest

First, you must do some self-reflection and figure out what your niche for guesting is. That’s the most important step. Ask yourself “What is my business is about and what stories do I want to share?” You also ask, “Who’s attention am I trying to get, who is my ideal listener?” Then, explore different podcasting platforms and find podcasts that align with your message and your target markets. Once you find a few podcasts, create a document with all their contact information. That gives you a “hit list” of industry specific podcasts which means you have the beginning of a marketing plan to kickstart your podcast guesting journey.

Outreach Strategies for Potential Podcast Guests

After you define your podcast target markets it’s time to start your outreach. Each podcaster has their preferred method of reaching them. Some podcasts have a submission form, which is the easiest option. The other way is to find their email address and craft a pitch. Your pitch must stand out because podcasts hosts get a ton of emails. Noémi suggests you listen to a couple of your target’s podcast episodes and tell the host, specifically, what you liked most about the episodes. This lets them know you took the time to “get to know their show”. You could also leave a five-star review for them on a podcast platform and let them know that you did.

Once you get a podcaster’s attention the fun begins!

In this episode we discuss:

• What great guests do differently than average or bad guests.
• How to prepare for your interviews beforehand.
• The best way to answer questions during your interviews.
• Common mistakes that many podcast guests make and how to avoid them.
• What to do immediately before your interviews.
• What podcast hosts can do to help their guests be great guests.
• The case for not sending “canned questions” to the podcast hosts.
• How long you can expect it to take to become a great podcast guest.
• What great podcast guests do after the interview.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Noémi Beres helps entrepreneurs and business owners enrich their lives through connections, sharing their knowledge, and connecting them to quality podcast shows. In addition, Noemi is dedicated to helping experts grow their businesses with interviews.

Noémi started working in online marketing in 2007. She has a Master’s Degree in Danish Literature and Language; she is a linguist, content creator, and “master organizer.” She loves making hand-sewn collages on canvas in her free time and playing on her hang and frame drum. She is also a walker.

Connect with Noémi!

Website:

https://www.podcastconnections.co/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/noemiberes/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/noemi_beres_/

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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Before you can lead others, you must learn how to lead yourself. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Kathy Motlagh.

Kathy is the CEO and Founder of ThinkVirtues, is a visionary in a true sense. With a profound commitment to harnessing human potential, Kathy delves deep into the complexities of human behavior, unlocking the latent power within everyone she guides.

It was Kathy’s own journey to her own authentic power that really led her to learn the importance of self-leadership. Along the way she’s been fortunate enough to be coached by some of the world’s best coaches and now is a successful coach. Kathy noticed with all the people she’s served, helped and worked with is that the common ingredient with entrepreneurs that grow phenomenal businesses is they have a beautiful leadership quality not only for their teams but for themselves. When it comes to entrepreneurship self-leadership is extremely important. The reason that a lot of businesses fail is not because it’s a bad idea or it’s a bad business model, it’s the entrepreneur’s lack of self-leadership.

That’s why it’s important for all entrepreneurs to understand that leadership is one of the most important components of running a successful business whether you’re leading a team or just yourself.

What drives us, what gives us that incentive to get out of bed and execute?

That’s an important topic to understand. We need to understand who we are authentically, what’s deep within us. It’s not dictated by exterior forces or how we grew up. Those have influence over us in who we think we are. When we tap into our authentic self, which is really taking the time to understand our past and what impact our past still has on us today. Many people never take the time to understand their past to release and let go of the negative aspects of their past.

We delve into that and more.

In this episode we discuss topics such as:

• How to work through your past after you discover the negative aspects of it.
• What you need to do once you let go of the past.
• The four-pillar approach to creating successful self-leadership.
• The importance of emotional management in leadership.
• The other things that hold you back from your true authentic self.
• The definition of self-leadership.
• How to connect to your authentic self.
• How to raise your level of consciousness.
• How to maintain a higher level of consciousness once you achieve it.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Kathy Motlagh is an esteemed transformational coach and strategic advisor, renowned for her deep impact on top CEOs and leaders worldwide. As the visionary creator of the “Power of Authenticity” workshop, Kathy has pioneered a proprietary framework that revolutionizes personal and professional development.

This transformative approach has proven life-changing for many, enhancing leadership and fostering profound growth. Under Kathy’s leadership, ThinkVirtues has evolved beyond a mere platform; it has become a crucible for profound transformation. Her training under the legendary John Maxwell has not only shaped her into a paragon of leadership excellence but has also empowered her to craft initiatives that penetrate the core of our being.

The “Power of Authenticity” program, Kathy’s brainchild, represents a paradigm shift, unlocking dormant powers within each individual and promoting a culture of authenticity and effective leadership.

Click here to connect with Kathy on LinkedIn

Click here to learn more about ThinkVirtues

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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Entrepreneurs can be their own media company if they have the right strategies. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Gresham “Gresh” W. Harkless Jr.

Gresh is the founder of Blue16 Media and CBNation. Blue16 Media uses media & technology to change lives. These media properties include Blue16 Marketing-a digital marketing agency providing digital marketing services including web design, website support & SEO services.

When Gresh was younger we didn’t have the tools that we have today that can connect us to the rest of the world instantaneously. As a child he would write a newsletter about things that were going on in his family and they would send care packages to his dad (who was in the military) every month. In those care packages were Gresh’s newsletters. He also sold subscriptions to people close to the family.

Fast forward to adulthood; Gresh founded a digital marketing company. A lot of their philosophy is around building things to help solve problems just like he was when he was his 10-year-old self.

Discovering Who You Are

Gresh believes that a lot of time there’s a lot of noise in our lives, and that happens at different times and different stages. Usually, when you’re a kid, you have a little more leeway to do whatever you’re interested in. Many people don’t have expectations that they have to be a doctor or lawyer, or you should be doing this, or you should be doing that. If you look back at seeds that were planted when you were a kid, you will discover what really lights you up and what you really want to be in the world. That’s what happened with Gresh.

Media Strategy Questions

There are three questions you need to ask and answer to start a successful media strategy.

1. Who are the people that you’re trying to target? You need to paint a picture from an avatar perspective. You want to understand their problems so you can provide solutions to their problems.
2. What resources will you need? These are most often money and time; you need to know where to get them.
3. What does success look like for you? A clear definition of success will help you get there quicker.

In this episode we also discuss:

• Gresh’s definition of media.
• Why it’s important to have a clear target market and how to define one.
• The correlation between target markets and the resources you’ll need to reach them.
• How to compile the right ingredients for a successful media strategy.
• How to create and execute your next media strategy.
• How to start a podcast that best suits your “zone of genius”.
• Why your definition of success will change over time and how to keep up with the changes.
• Why answering “Why” should connect you to a greater purpose.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Gresham “Gresh” W. Harkless Jr. is the founder of Blue16 Media and CBNation. Blue16 Media uses media & technology to change lives. These media properties include Blue16 Marketing-a digital marketing agency providing digital marketing services including web design, website support & SEO services. CBNation consists of media properties (blogs, podcasts and videos) helping the business community succeed. Central to Blue16’s marketing philosophy is that You Are a Media Company and that every organization is in the media business and can strategically leverage marketing tools, platforms, and “ingredients” to reach their goals.

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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I’m excited to have the King of Sales, Jeffrey Gitomer, as my guest again for part two of this interview. We’re discussing some of his golden nuggets of sales advice from 20+ years of experience. Jeffrey’s books have appeared on major bestseller lists more than 500 times and have sold millions of copies Worldwide.

Jeffrey has also delivered over 2,500 speeches worldwide. He was awarded the designation of Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) by the National Speakers Association. The CSP award has been given fewer than 500 times in the past 25 years and is the association’s highest earned designation.

Successful Sales Presentations

When it comes to sales presentations you need to approach them the right way. Jeffrey makes the clear distinction that you need to come in with an idea, not a pitch, especially if you’re selling a service. When it comes time to have the sales conversation, he shares how to eliminate your competition.

You need to say something like: “Mr. Jones, the last time you hired a consultant, tell me about the ideas they brought in. Tell me about the things that sparked you to hire them” and listen closely to the response. Continue with: “I have a couple of ideas today that I’ve brought with me. All I’m asking is if you like them, you run with them, fair enough?” That could be enough to close the sale.

Let’s use training for another example. Usually, it’s a guy in a classroom setting, pontificating about a few ideas that he thinks you need to be aware of. But Jeffrey’s approach and conversation is entirely different. He tells his prospect “If you want your people trained, we’re going to call your top ten customers and set something up. We’re going to hire three new people and have them work one day at each of the top ten customers for free. At the end of two weeks, you’re going to know why the customer bought, how they use what you sell, and some ideas about what you can take to another customer because you’re going to know why the previous customers bought from you.”

He then continues with: “Your salespeople are going to walk into the next prospects’ offices and say, ‘Would you like to know why the last ten people bought from us?’ and they’re going to make the sale because of their unique approach.”

That’s sales strategy gold right there!

In this episode we continue our discussion about topics such as:

• What’s wrong with most marketing campaigns and how to fix those problems.
• The difference between outcomes and results and why outcomes are better to present.
• Some critical questions you need to ask decision makers to get them to buy your services.
• The two things that make a “good idea” to present to potential clients.
• What are you doing together with people that you can relate to so that you can have experiences to share?
• How to eliminate your sales slide deck and replace it with shared experiences and shared values.
• Why traditional “discovery calls” are a waste of your time and your prospect’s time.
• What first time calls should look like and who they should be with.
• Why picking up the phone and calling a prospect for the first-time trumps email and social media.
• How to understand why people buy instead of trying traditional sales tactics.
• Why finding shared values is better than getting “rapport”.
• How to be perceived as a person of value, not just another salesperson.
• The line you should open with during first time meetings.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Black Book of connections, and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude.

Jeffrey’s books have appeared on major bestseller lists more than 500 times and have sold millions of copies Worldwide.

Jeffrey gives public and customized corporate seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts live and virtual training programs on selling, YES! Attitude, trust, customer service and customer loyalty, and personal development. Jeffrey has delivered over 2,500 personalized and customized speeches worldwide.

His “Insiders Club” and “Sales Mastery Program” have become the go-to place for sales content, coaching and community. They contain Jeffrey’s practical sales information, strategies, and ideas that start with a skills-based assessment and real-world lessons. Ongoing sales motivation and reinforcement to help salespeople learn more to earn more.

I n August 2008, Jeffrey was inducted into the National Speakers Association’s Speaker Hall of Fame. The designation CPAE (Counsel of Peers Award for Excellence) honors professional speakers who have reached the top echelon of performance excellence. Each candidate must demonstrate mastery in seven categories: originality of material, uniqueness of style, experience, delivery, image, professionalism, and communication.

To date, 191 of the world’s greatest speakers have been inducted including Ronald Reagan, Art Linkletter, Colin Powell, Norman Vincent Peale, Harvey Mackay, Jim Rohn, Earl Nightingale, and Zig Ziglar.

Click here to learn more about Jeffrey!

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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I’m excited to have the King of Sales, Jeffrey Gitomer, as my guest for my 100th episode. We’re discussing some of his golden nuggets of sales advice from 19 years of experience. Jeffrey’s books have appeared on major bestseller lists more than 500 times and have sold millions of copies Worldwide.

Jeffrey has also delivered over 2,500 speeches worldwide. He was awarded the designation of Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) by the National Speakers Association. The CSP award has been given fewer than 500 times in the past 25 years and is the association’s highest earned designation.

It’s Not about “Pain Points”

First, we dive into a common fallacy: Sales is about finding your potential clients’ pain points. When it comes to finding pain points, Jeffrey says his response is “It’s none of your business.” His pain is none of your business. If your prospect tells you their pain, it’s because they’re volunteering it. If you ask them for their pain, it’s none of your business.

In sales, people say, “It’s all about the pain points” and Jeffrey says they’re all wrong. Jeffrey does just the opposite, he’s going to start with the pleasure. He’d rather find out where they went to college, where they went on their last vacation and so on. Jeffrey wants to discover things that he may have in common with them because he doesn’t have their pain in common. He’s going to go beyond pain and then he’s going to go beyond pleasure and find shared values.

It’s all about Shared Values

If you can find those shared values, you can create a deeper, more meaningful relationship with your prospect. It’s about finding a shared value, not starting with a shared value. You don’t know what the shared value is until you start to talk about it; but you’re not going to discover it if you’re trying to find out what’s wrong with the person you’re talking to.

You need to ask better questions.

In this episode Jeffrey shares how to do that and we also discuss:

• Why salespeople need to understand where they get their opinions from.
• What makes a good (and bad) sales manager.
• Why you need to understand that sales isn’t about selling and what it’s really
• Why “normal conversation” wins over “sales conversation” every time.
• How to start a sales conversation with humor to drive the conversation forward.
• How to present yourself as a relatable person to close the deal.
• How to know when to stop selling and start closing.
• The best question to ask a decision maker as soon as you walk in the door.
• More questions to ask to close the deal faster.
• Nuggets of wisdom such as “sales are not made by telling, they’re made by asking”

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Black Book of connections, and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude.

Jeffrey’s books have appeared on major bestseller lists more than 500 times and have sold millions of copies Worldwide.

Jeffrey gives public and customized corporate seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts live and virtual training programs on selling, YES! Attitude, trust, customer service and customer loyalty, and personal development. Jeffrey has delivered over 2,500 personalized and customized speeches worldwide.

His “Insiders Club” and “Sales Mastery Program” have become the go-to place for sales content, coaching and community. They contain Jeffrey’s practical sales information, strategies, and ideas that start with a skills-based assessment and real-world lessons. Ongoing sales motivation and reinforcement to help salespeople learn more to earn more.

I n August 2008, Jeffrey was inducted into the National Speakers Association’s Speaker Hall of Fame. The designation CPAE (Counsel of Peers Award for Excellence) honors professional speakers who have reached the top echelon of performance excellence. Each candidate must demonstrate mastery in seven categories: originality of material, uniqueness of style, experience, delivery, image, professionalism, and communication. To date, 191 of the world’s greatest speakers have been inducted including Ronald Reagan, Art Linkletter, Colin Powell, Norman Vincent Peale, Harvey Mackay, Jim Rohn, Earl Nightingale, and Zig Ziglar.

Click here to learn more about Jeffrey!

Click here for more outstanding interviews with entrepreneurs and thought leaders!

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If you want to accelerate the growth of your business, storytelling is one of the best ways to do it. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, John Hetherington. John is an entrepreneur and international speaker teaching entrepreneurs how to leverage storytelling to grow their business.

After John graduated with a degree in electrical engineering his career started in financial services. He believed that you get further by working harder. Work long hours, be first at the desk and last to leave. That’s what he did and he watched people getting promoted over him time and time again. What he realized is that you share your value through stories. That realization lead him to start his own business. It became teaching people that success is all about how you convey your story, share your message and put your value across.

John studied a lot of movies that demonstrated the classic “hero’s journey”. What he found is that doesn’t always translate into the business world. John created frameworks which break down how to tell stories and get your message across.

It Starts with You

Before you share stories with other people it starts with the story that you tell yourself. If the story in your head is I can only achieve this, I can only achieve a certain level of revenue, ultimately you’re limiting your behaviors and your potential. The technology sector was all about finding problems and fixing them. When John started his business, he realized that to succeed you also have to focus on opportunities and share your grander vision. The story really starts with what you tell yourself every day, every morning.

The Four “P’s” to Create a Powerful Start to Your Day

It starts with a daily productivity plan by setting yourself up for success. Before you start with email, before you start with meetings, sit down and write out what you want to achieve for the day. If you’re starting your day off the right way the rest of your day tends to flow better. When you immediately dive into emails and receive a bad email, that sets the tone for the day. You need to prevent that from happening. You start by connecting with your purpose, then the project(s) you’re going to focus on, then the people who do you need to reach out to, and finally your priorities, or your to-do list. From there you set aside time on your calendar for those four “P’s” and you’re off to a great start.

We also discuss:

• How to create an “insight sandwich” to get your message across in presentations.
• How to create successful growth projects.
• How to craft your story to appeal to different types of people.
• The importance of having and sharing a clear vision.
• Why you need to tell stories instead of just sharing data.
• What makes a good “hook” to get your audiences’ attention.
• The first thing you need to do after you get your audiences’ attention.
• The components of a great story.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

John Hetherington is a Technology Strategist, International Speaker and founder of We Deliver Your Vision.

He is an expert in using to Technology to scale business and grow revenue and he helps Entrepreneurs use Storytelling to accelerate business growth.

John has 10 years strategic consulting experience with Deloitte and Ernst & Young and 25 years delivering technology projects in UK and Canada. He lives in Calgary but travels around the world for his clients and speaking.

Connect with John on LinkedIn

Learn more about John’s company, “We Deliver Your Business”

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If you want to create a online marketing strategy, you need to successfully combine strategies with tactics. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Erin Marcus. Erin is the founder and CEO of Conquer Your Business, an international company helping driven entrepreneurs and small business owners get the financial and emotional freedom they need to build a business and a life they’re proud of.

First Things First

One of the important things to understand as an entrepreneur is your business will never outgrow you. The idea of the inner work never being done is just important to accept. Erin works at the intersection of where what you need to do meets who you need to be to do it. When working on your marketing plans and business plans you need to rearrange what you’re doing to uncover new opportunities. The truth of the matter is that the plan doesn’t matter if you can’t take action based on the plan.

If you can’t do the things that it would take to get things done, then those are the wrong things, and they need to change. As Erin works with her clients who are experiencing amazing growth in their business, and what she sees happen time and time again is instead of looking for what you need to do, and we’re talking about marketing tactics here, you really need to ask yourself “Why that particular tactic?”. Tactics are almost the last things you figure out. It’s strategy first, tactics later every time.

Success Lies with Your Strategies

Many entrepreneurs try to solve business issues with marketing tactics and every business issue needs marketing tactics as part of their strategy. You need to know what you want first. For example, “I want to grow my business” means getting more clients. Then the question becomes “How do I get those clients?” I’ll try XYZ marketing tactic. She calls them one-size-fits-all-soon-to-be-obsolete-insta-tactics. If you ask yourself “Why this tactic?” None of those tactics are wrong or bad, they’re all fantastic; as long as they’re the right ones for you. By answering “Why this tactic?” and aligning them with a strategy, you can decide which ones to engage and which ones to leave behind. That’s where you start.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How your “inner work” helps you decide which strategies and tactics to adopt.
• Why the “inner work” is making your decisions from a place of abundance, expansion, and growth.
• The structure of making good marketing decisions.
• How not to become susceptible to every “guru’s” marketing advice.
• How to come from a place of inspiration instead of desperation.
• How to find and ask the “right why”.
• How to learn about and notice your own “buzzy roller coaster” feelings.
• How to pick the right marketing strategies and tactics and say no to the rest.
• Why your business must have a strong online presence and how to create one.
• How to choose which online platforms to build your business on.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Erin Marcus is the founder and CEO of Conquer Your Business, an international company helping driven entrepreneurs and small business owners get the financial and emotional freedom they need to build a business and a life they’re proud of.

Having made the successful leap from corporate executive to entrepreneur, Erin uses that experience, along with her MBA education and street smart upbringing, to help her clients reach heights they never dreamed possible. And have fun doing it!

Get to know Erin!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLFD-aM6LmA10FQrFC_QchQ

https://conqueryourbusiness.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinmarcusconqueryourbusiness/

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To be successful online you need to have the right strategies in place to grow your profitability. How to do that is what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Michael Buzinski.

Michael is a decorated US Air Force veteran, he has built several small businesses (two multi-million dollar ventures) and marketed for over 1200 companies, best-selling author, and host of the top 1% podcast “the Buzzworthy Marketing Show”.

Reluctance to be in the food industry as a teenager pushed Michael into sales and, eventually, marketing. Many people start in sales to get into marketing because that’s where you can start without any experience. If you have the gift of gab, you can pretty much sell anything, especially if you have empathy and you can be taught. Michael was a very teachable person at a young age. As he got higher into the sales world, he ended up moving into marketing. Michael loves marketing because it is a continual learning adventure.

After his tour in the Air Force Michael became a small business owner. Because of this, he has a huge respect for small business owners and entrepreneurs because he knows how hard it is to get started and there’s nothing out there helping us. Small business owners are on their own. They never say no, they never give up, they fight for what they believe in and those are the people that he likes to be around.

The Biggest Marketing Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make Online

The biggest thing, especially now with AI, is that people overcomplicate things. Everybody is looking for the next big thing in marketing, so they end up with a lot of random tactics. Michael believes that “Sound strategy aways beats blind tactics”. When Michael started his marketing firm back in 2005, what we have today with social media tools for marketing was nonexistent. Now we have all these shiny things. Unfortunately, people don’t have a good strategy and so marketers and agencies for years have overcomplicated the process. It comes from the enterprise level of looking at marketing where there’s so many moving parts. At that level there are too many complexities in tracking Key performance Indicators (KPIs) for marketing initiatives.

Small business owners don’t need all those KPIs. They can get more traffic and even double their traffic and profits with the right strategies. All the traffic in the world means nothing if it doesn’t convert. We discuss how to do that.

We cover topics such as:

• Where a sound marketing strategy begins and how to get started.
• How to define a clear target market.
• What you should be tracking online to learn what’s working and what’s not working.
• What vanity metrics are and why they’re misleading.
• The three KPIs that have the most impact on your business and marketing initiatives.
• How to double your revenue using three key strategies.
• How to know what marketing tactics to stop
• How to recognize your target market’s buying cycle and map out your clients’ value journey.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Michael Buzinski is a decorated US Air Force veteran, serial entrepreneur, digital marketing thought leader, international speaker, best-selling author, and host of the top 1% podcast the Buzzworthy Marketing Show. He has built several small businesses (two multi-million dollar ventures), and marketed for over 1200 companies.

Dubbed a “marketing visionary” by the American Marketing Association, Michael is on a mission to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty by simplifying the digital marketing strategy process with the Rule of 26. His revolutionary approach helps business owners avoid the time drain and frustration of managing profitable digital marketing campaigns.

Connect with Michael!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbuzinski/

Rule of 26 (book): https://www.rulof26.com

Website: www.BuzzWorthy.Biz

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There’s a LOT more to improv than entertaining shows. It has many implications to create networking and communication experiences in the business world. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Mike Weaver.

Mike’s been an actor in improv theater since 2003 and a member of the Applied Improvisation Network since 2007. He leverages his coaching certifications, membership in the Applied Improvisation Network, and over 20 years of pastoral leadership to powerfully serve his clients.

A couple decades ago Mike out getting ice cream with his son and saw a flier on the wall for an improv workshop for professionals. It promised to improve your public speaking skills, enhance communication skills, make you a better leader, and so on. Mike thought “That all applies to me, I don’t know about improv, I think I’ll take a class.” It was in a studio below some theaters in Columbus, Ohio, taught by an actress from New York City. After that first improv class Mike was hooked. He realized at that moment he had been “doing improv” all his life, but he didn’t have a name for it until then.

Improv gave Mike permission now to be himself, co-create experiences, have fun, and make something meaningful in a creative way with other people that are all in the process together. Immediately after his first class he signed up for the second level class and from there kept taking classes. To this day he still takes classes because there’s always something to learn.

What You Might Not Know about Improv

A lot of times people immediately associate comedy with improv. While improv can be funny, it doesn’t have to be. Mike’s seen comedy improv, dramatic improv, and everything in between. It’s all about having an honest conversation in the moment and that honesty is what got him. The biggest misconception is that improv is just about being funny, or its about standup comedy and being clever on stage and that’s not it at all.

Another misconception is people thinking “I can’t take improv because I’m not in theater, or I haven’t taken acting classes, etc.” That’s not it. It’s about showing up and being present. That’s a human skill, it’s not necessarily a skill that professionals have. What happens is you start sharpening that skill as you learn. Everyone can have those skills to listen, be present, to focus, and more.

We also discuss:

• Everyday human skills you can learn through improv.
• How improv teaches you to be present and live in the moment.
• How improv can teach entrepreneurs listening skills for client meetings.
• The difference between traditional improv and applied improv for business.
• What improv can teach you about creating successful collaborative experiences.
• How to use improv in everyday conversations.
• How improv applies to networking in the business world.
• The power of responding to people instead of reacting to them.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Mike Weaver is the author of “Unstuck: Amazing Momentum for Christian Leaders through Improv” and has been a certified coach since 2015, specializing in empowering leaders to maximize their potential, amplify their influence, and leave a lasting legacy.

He’s been an actor in improv theater since 2003 and a member of the Applied Improvisation Network since 2007. He leverages his coaching certifications, membership in the Applied Improvisation Network, and over 20 years of pastoral leadership to powerfully serve his clients.

Learn more about Mike! www.unstuckcoaching.co

Want to learn more about improv in the business world? Check out “How to Use Improv to Improve Business Communications with Bill Prinzivalli“

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Overcoming adversity and creating peak performance states often go hand in hand. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Jennifer Watson.

Jennifer, founder of Watson Worldwide, overcame years of debilitating depression to become an integrative physical therapist, entrepreneur of 6+ figure businesses, a TEDx speaker and now an international speaker & coach.

Jennifer has been a high performer for most of her life. She went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison on a full ride scholarship for track and field and became a two-time All American in middle distance. That became the beginning of her journey in being a high performer as an adult. She had achieved the traditional form of high performance. Unfortunately, what this often looked like was burn yourself to the ground, push through the emotions, push through the pain physically, mentally, and emotionally. Rinse and repeat.

That worked for a while and what happened when she went into other areas of her life as a high performer, she started breaking down mentally, emotionally, and physically in the personal and business world.

She stepped back and asked, “Is there a way to sustainably high perform during growth and adversity and get more acceleration in her performance by doing it a different way?” The answer was absolutely “Yes!”. That led to her career as a successful entrepreneur and coach to other high performers.

Climbing Out of the Hole and Repairing the Breakdown

At first, the more Jennifer pushed the more she felt anxiety and depression. She often felt alone, mental health was more taboo then than it is now. Now there are more resources available to you. She picked herself up by the bootstraps, did her research and stepped out and spoke with people about it. She found modalities to help people accelerate getting out of the proverbial hole and, before she started to sink again, she remedied the problem, so it didn’t become a big problem. That lead her to new strategies that she now teaches to other high performers.

In this episode we discuss:

• How to first pick yourself up by the mental health bootstraps.
• How to combine traditional and wholistic approaches to mental and physical health.
• The art and science of “neuro-rewiring” and how to apply it in your life.
• How to grow during times of adversity.
• How to shift from just “feeling good” to a mental and physical state of peak performance.
• How to change your relationship with yourself by changing how you talk about yourself.
• How to stay higher and longer in a peak performance state.
• Why doing less on stressful days can lead to a healthier environment.
• How to create a calm state of mind that leads to higher productivity.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Jennifer Watson, MPT, I.M.T.,C., speaker, healer, and visionary on a mission to help leaders heal and accelerate their deeper purpose of impact through shifting their mental-emotional state and optimizing healthy high-performance leadership.

As a former D1 athlete and 2x All-American, Jennifer, founder of Watson Worldwide, overcame years of debilitating depression to become an integrative physical therapist, entrepreneur of 6+ figure businesses, a TEDx speaker and now an international speaker & coach. Jennifer’s ultimate goal in life is to be known for the healing she gave, the love she showed and the hope she gave to all that they can truly live their highest potential life.

In her spare time, she loves to dance, run, play tennis, read and hang-out with her amazing friends and beautiful nieces and nephews.

Jennifer’s Social Media Links:

https://www.instagram.com/thejenniferwatson

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-watson-6b08b9121

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmyNWqvZHr0B1Gxe8t5PW0g

https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.watson.75491

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Even small businesses can become trusted brands with the right strategies. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Bryan Kramer.

Called the “Zen Master to Digital Marketers” by Forbes, Bryan is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author including a TOP 150 USA best-selling book, and Forbes contributor.

Bryan came up with the topic of the brand connection to business owners because every level of branding (including the US government, go figure) is at the lowest level it’s ever been. Bryan saw an opportunity to reshape what trust means to us.

Why Trust is at an All Time Low and What Can Be Done About it

The idea around Bryan’s research about why trust is really low stems from the fact that, today, we have so many options. We’re the “fickle customer era”. We don’t have to go to the product anymore, the product comes to us. If you’re a service provider that makes a mistake or takes trust for granted, it’s easy for us to highlight that so much more with social media. When someone has a bad experience and they go to social media, it makes us as viewers to think “I had a similar experience. Maybe I should think about switching services.”

The brand loyalty that we once knew has dissipated. Social media is a magnifying glass on the fickle customer. Brand relationships now go beyond the traditional “raving fan” because of accessibility. We want deeper relationships with brands these days, almost like a best friend. When we have that best friend relationship that’s when we’re going to be brand loyal.

In this episode we also discuss:

• The starting point for even smaller entrepreneurs to become trusted brands.
• The three pillars that all trusted brands share.
• Why simplicity rules when building your brand.
• How to bake the “best friend effect” into your brand experience.
• Mistakes entrepreneurs make while building their brands and how to avoid them.
• Strategies entrepreneurs can leverage to pass the “Trust Barometer Test”.
• Why there is no way to fake trust into your marketing.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Called the “Zen Master to Digital Marketers” by Forbes, Bryan Kramer is a renowned business strategist, global keynote speaker, executive trainer and coach, investor, two-time bestselling author including a TOP 150 USA best-selling book, and Forbes contributor.

Bryan also created a global movement and is known for his keynotes, book, and talks on “There Is No BtoB or B2C: It’s Human-to-Human, H2H. He is the CEO of H2H Companies, an executive coaching company, and co-owner of PureMatter, a Silicon Valley marketing agency founded in 2001, which earned a spot as one of the “Fastest Growing Companies” three years in a row by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Learn more about Bryan here

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Public speaking is a great way to grow your business if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Mike Domitrz.

Mike is a Hall of Fame Speaker, author and Founder of the Center for Respect and conducts keynotes and workshops for tens of thousands of people each year. Now through his unique weekend retreats for leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, Mike is helping passionate trailblazers become more impactful speakers.

Mike believes that what you were taught in public schools about speaking is the worst advice to follow. You learn things like, “Tell them what you want them to do, then tell them which way to do it”. It’s so robotic, audiences do not connect to that. Mike believes you must authentically connect with your audiences.

How to Engage with Your Audience the Right Way

Start with a question. Most speakers start with a story. By asking a question and letting the audience answer it, you can set the stage for your whole speech. You’ll know what they want to talk about. The people in your audience have a struggle. They’ve been using a belief system that has led them continually back to the same struggle and they have falsely believed their old system will get them past that struggle. You must break them from those beliefs and help them realize those are false myths.

When you have a conversation that starts with a question your audience is making a discovery instead of you proving something to them. When you’re a speaker trying to be the smartest person in the room, nobody likes that. When you are simply helping them realize something themselves, and they’re the brilliant ones, your message hits home with them and they remember it.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How to align your mission with your speech before getting in front of an audience.
• How to share your mission without coming across as “salesy”.
• How to craft a mission that is worthy of being shared.
• How to define and find your target audience(s).
• The components of a successful speech.
• Ways to get speaking engagements as an unknown speaker.
• As an entrepreneur, how to build a speaking career that builds your business.
• Common mistakes that speakers make and how to avoid them.

…and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Decades before mainstream America was discussing “Asking First” or sexual harassment cases were on the cover of every major media publication, Domitrz was being brought in by leading educational institutions and the U.S. military to help them pursue a new standard of consent and respect. With Mike being the author of 3 books and an award-winning DVD, he is considered one of the leading influencers and thought-leaders on the topic of Respect.

You may have seen Mike on NBC Dateline as a featured subject matter expert or being quoted in international news publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. He is continuously being sought out for his proven track record of helping shift the paradigm for people.

In 2003, Mike founded what is now The Center for Respect which conducts keynotes and workshops for tens of thousands each year. Mike’s extensive experience enables him to connect with audiences of all ages in honest, unique conversations that are always built on creating positive behavioral change for each individual and the organization as a whole. Imagine teaching 15-year-olds about “Asking First” and then later that same day talking with CEOs about creating mutually amazing relationships in the workplace.

And now in his unique weekend retreats for leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, Mike is helping passionate trailblazers to be more impactful speakers.

Link to Website:

www.CenterForRespect.com

Links to Social Media:

www.Instagram.com/MikeRespects

www.TikTok.com/@MikeRespects

www.Facebook.com/MikeRespects

www.Twitter.com/MikeRespects

www.YouTube.com/CenterForRespect

www.linkedin.com/in/mikedomitrz

www.linkedin.com/company/centerforrespect

https://www.clubhouse.com/@mikerespects

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It takes a lot more than a traditional business plan to design a business. It involves surrounding yourself with the right people, community building, marketing outreach and more. It’s possible to do it with the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Colleen Biggs.

Colleen is a 22-year Business Strategist who empowers Business Leaders to expand their influence through Peak Performance Habits to attract the right clients and drive more profits. She has launched over 340 businesses, is a Keynote Speaker, Author to 7 #1 International Best-Sellers.

Colleen grew up in a very chaotic, unstable household. She believes that when you feel like that as a child you take control of the things you can control. From the time she was a child she felt that she really needed to create that stability for herself because she craved it. Her mom said you grow up, you get a job, you have babies and you’re a homemaker like her mom was. Colleen decided she needed to design a life that looks different than that. She’s been designing her life from that point forward and become a victor instead of a victim.In this episode we discuss:

• How colleen built multiple companies and balanced her personal and professional lives.
• Why entrepreneurs can’t be “lone wolves” and how to create your support system.
• What it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.
• What you need to decide before starting a business.
• The one ingredient that all successful businesses have in common.
• Examples of how to create your ideal client profile and then find them.
• How to build your own community of influencers, clients, and referral sources.
• What opportunities to say “no” to as you grow.
• How to choose what professional organizations to become a part of.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Colleen Biggs is a 22-year Business Strategist who empowers Business Leaders to expand their influence through Peak Performance Habits to attract the right clients and drive more profits.

She has launched over 340 businesses, is a Keynote Speaker, Author to 7 #1 International Best-Sellers with the latest being Step Into the Spotlight to Expand Your Influence, the CEO and founder of the Leap Community, and was awarded the Most Inspirational Leaders in Business and Entrepreneur of the year in 2023.

Colleen serves as the CEO of three businesses including Lead Up for Women, a community that boasts tens of thousands of female entrepreneurs that are driven by their passions, support and promote others with purpose to fuel female voices with power that are leading the way for all women world-wide to dominate the entrepreneurial market.

Colleen provides women with a community of entrepreneurs who take the leap daily and realize that their network is their Net Worth.

A special download for those solopreneurs to get started with a 30-day business plan on me for free!

https://qj979.infusionsoft.app/app/form/business-action-plan

https://colleenbiggs.net/

https://linktr.ee/ColleenJaneBiggs

Checkout the Leap Community:
https://colleenbiggs.net/Community

Connect with Colleen here:

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/colleen.s.biggs

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-biggs/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/colleenbiggs/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LeapwithColleen

TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@colleenjanebiggs

Connect with the Leap Community on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/310881170189409

Subscribe to our Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/ColleenBiggs

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Happiness is something most people yearn for, and gratitude helps you create it. How to find and create happiness is important. But most people don’t think about the effect their happiness has on the people around them. You can create a “happiness and gratitude ripple effect” if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Phil Gerbyshak.

Phil is the Chief Happiness Officer of Happy AF Now, dedicated to helping organizations and their people work and live a more engaged, more productive and more happy life. His upcoming book 7 Habits of Happy AF People will be out in Q2 of 2024.

When deciding on the next phase of his journey Phil considered a lot of topics that he could share with the world. He chose happiness in part because he believes that happiness is an inside job that you control your happiness or lack of happiness. It’s your choice. Over the years he encountered a lot of people that were really unhappy. Maybe unhappy with the right now, unhappy with tomorrow, unhappy with the future and more similar situations. About two years ago Phil decided that, personally, he was going to do something different. It’s not enough to just be positive, he realized that he had to choose happiness. Which he did and now he’s sharing his journey.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why the starting point of happiness is gratitude.
• The ripple effect of happiness and gratitude to those around you.
• How to practice gratitude every day.
• How to move through and beyond tough times in your life.
• How to recharge your gratitude and happiness batteries.
• Why cheering other people on helps you have a better day.
• Ways to charge other people up intentionally.
• More of the story behind Phil’s gratitude and happiness journey.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

After studying sales for the past 20 years, Phil Gerbyshak realized the reason people aren’t as engaged and productive as they could be is simple: it’s because they don’t know how to be Happy AF. So Phil saw a need and dove headfirst into studying happiness experts like Dr. Martin Seligman, Mister Rogers and Ted Lasso. Now Phil speaks about how organizations and their people can be Happy AF to be more resilient, more productive and more engaged.

Sign up for the Happy AF Blog at https://HappyAFnow.com and listen to the Happy AF Show podcast at https://HappyAFShow.com

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There’s an artform to marketing yourself at virtual events. They should be treated with the same professionalism as live events if you want to market yourself successfully. That’s what I discuss in this episode with serial entrepreneur Daniel Ruke, better known as Ruke.

Ruke has been doing 100% virtual networking for six years now. He believes that it’s the quickest and easiest way to build your brand. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand the power of virtual networking and how to successfully engage with people at virtual events.

Consider advertising; brands need repetition to get in front of their audiences. Statistics say you need to see a brand eight times before you buy whatever they’re selling. TV commercials, radio commercials and print ads are all doing the same thing. Eventually you investigate the product or service that you’ve seen eight or more times. When you’re networking virtually you get to show up to the same groups multiple times. When you do show up multiple times, you’re getting that repetition that leads to branding and marketing results.

Here’s another thing that most people don’t understand: At virtual events people are watching you like a television show. The power of that is you get to control what you people are seeing. That means you have control over your brand image at events.

It’s important to understand that because people get curious. What books is he reading? What’s that in his background? You can show off your brand every time. That’s the greatest branding opportunity that you can do for your business at virtual events. Most people don’t take advantage of that. Personally, I’ve realized that having my book (Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea) behind me is product placement while I’m networking. Yet many people don’t think about creating opportunities like that.

In this episode we also discuss:

• The most common (and damaging) mistakes people make at virtual networking events and how to avoid them.
• Why you have to value yourself before anyone else will value you or your services.
• How to create a professional online environment.
• How to present yourself and create marketing conversations in breakout rooms.
• What a successful “30-second commercial” looks like and how to create yours.
• The balance between marketing and sales.
• How to create Superfans that will refer you business again and again.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

RUKE is the founder of multiple companies that brings your intellectual property to life.

They take Brands through the flow of create, monetize, and scale… handling their branding, marketing, and sales.

🎉 PROUD MOMENTS

• RUKE’s companies have worked with Intellectual Properties of: Disney, Marvel, Lionsgate Entertainment, Epic Games, and Chico’s
• He and his team have Successfully Launched: 200+ Products, Services, and Brands Over the Last 24+ Years
• Has 10 Inventions and Received a Patent for: “A System and Method for Providing a Multi-Players game Experience” in a physical space, bringing video games to life.

……………

🤘FUN FACTS

• Has Every Star Wars Toy Since Childhood
• Privately Trained as an Artist Since the Third Grade
• Married my Wife 3 Months After 1st Date…It’s been 27+ Years with 4 Daughters – One being Gender-Fluid 🙂

Learn more about Ruke!

www.GameChangersAssemble.comwww.RUKE.com

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Writing great marketing copy is an art form. Many copywriters struggle with brevity; short form copy that packs a marketing punch isn’t the easiest thing in the world to create. If you have the right copywriting and marketing strategies you will get the attention of potential clients, keep it, and convert them into clients. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Joe Martin.

Joe is a Chicago-based business growth consultant who helps companies align their messaging. He has built and exited two companies, while his innovative ideas around work-life balance have been featured on WGN, FOX, and the TEDx stage.

Brevity is Your Best Friend in MarketingJoe went to school for design. Part of his responsibility in his professional life after college was marrying the design part of website and marketing material projects with the copywriting part of those projects. He noticed that raising the bar with the copywriting piece often created a bottleneck. Joe would design a beautiful site and then take it to copywriters and ask them to put two sentences on the first page. They would come back with two paragraphs. Ouch.

Joe’s goal with the websites he designed was to make them profitable, not just pretty. But how? You need to start by answering these questions: Who is the person you want to get the attention of and what action do you want them to take? Then it comes down to: What do you need to say to get them to take that action?

How can you get that point across in one sentence? By focusing on one person. One person? Yes, one person and Joe believes one properly crafted sentence, speaking to your ideal target client, can accomplish that.

A question that he gets asked more than anything else is: “How do you decide on who the person you want to talk to is?”

Yes, ultimately, you’re going to have more than one client profile. It’s important to pick just one to get started and craft that sentence for them. The one you want to pick is the one you can get to. It’s the one with the best referral network, the one that is going to spend the most money with you, the one that is going to tell all their friends about you. Most importantly, it’s the one that you actually want to work with! Ask and answer: Who do you best help? Design your messaging for them, start there with one person first.

Speak to Your Idea Client’s Avatar

How do you focus on that one person? By developing your one marketing sentence.

You need to start a conversation with that one person. Figure out what you need to say to them.

This is important: When you want to create a conversation with one person, you’re listening more than you’re talking. You start by discovering the big problem they have which is why they need your help. That’s the way a great sales conversation goes: “This is the problem you have; we solve that problem, and this is how we do it.”

Let’s look at that again:

Number one: “If I understand correctly, this is the problem you have.”

Number two: “Hey! We solve that specific problem!”

Number three: “This is how we do it…”

You Have Their Attention. Now What?

The purpose of websites has changed in recent years. Websites were originally digital storefronts. The change is now that the highest converting websites act more like a digital salesperson than they do a digital storefront. Now it’s figuring out what we need to say to that person to get them to take the next action. Often the action is they need to get on the phone and talk to somebody. In that case you need to make that first call to action to get them to make that call.

If that’s the case the first button shouldn’t say, “our services” and lead to a page of long copy most people won’t read. Let’s not have that first button say, “learn more”. Tell them exactly what you want them to do, which is schedule a call. This is why you should work with us, and this is the action I want you to take. Get them on the phone with a link to schedule a call right on the homepage of your website.

Your Sentence

Your potential clients want to feel confident that you have the skills to do exactly what they need done to solve a problem. To reiterate, you’re saying “I can solve this problem for you”. Talk about that thorn in their side that you can remove. Get more targeted and really speak to that person. Adele didn’t write a love song for a million people; she wrote it for one person! Ironically, a million people related to the song.

That’s what one sentence can do for you!

In this episode we also discuss:

• How to accelerate the know, like and trust cycle to get to “trust” faster.
• How to create a common goal that potential clients can relate to.
• How to create relationship-based conversations that will lead to referrals.
• Ways that you can nurture business relationships that will get you marketing results.
• …and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Joe Martin is a Chicago-based business growth consultant who helps companies align their messaging. He has built and exited two companies, while his innovative ideas around work-life balance been featured on WGN, FOX, and the TEDx stage.

His portfolio includes creative work for McDonald’s, Anheuser-Busch, and Microsoft. He has served as a judge for Google Startup Weekend events and mentored students through DePaul and Columbia Universities.

In his spare time he stays fit playing ice hockey, performs music around Chicago, and helps to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Learn more about Joe!

www.LinksMartinChicago.com

www.6WeekCycles.com

www.UpLevelTourism.com

TEDx Talk https://youtu.be/zRtFOwofqsw

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The wrong name for your product or service can be the difference between success and failure. So, how do you choose the right name? That’s what I discuss in this episode with Alexandra Watkins.

Alexandra is a leading and outspoken authority on brand names with buzz. If you have ever eaten a Wendy’s Baconator, you have literally eaten the words. For nearly 20 years, she and her naming firm, Eat My Words, have created love-at-first sight brand names for countless companies including Amazon, Coca-Cola, Disney, Twitter, and Google.

Alexandra has always been good with words. When she was younger, she had a role as an advertising copywriter and loved her job. Occasionally, her boss would throw her a bone and she would get to name a product or service. While she enjoyed the work Alexandra had no idea that “naming” was a profession that paid well. When she discovered that it is a lucrative profession around 20 years ago, she decided to take a leap of faith and go all in to the profession.Alexandra has a few acronyms in the book, my favorite two are the SMILE test and the SCRATCH test. Her philosophy is that a name should make you smile instead of scratch your head. People like to “get it” and feel clued in, not clueless.

SMILE outlines the qualities of a super sticky name. It’s the five qualities that make a name great.

The SMILE Test

Suggestive: If it’s suggestive you want your name to suggest a positive brand experience and clue people into what you do.

Memorable: Meaning that it’s based on something familiar that people already know as opposed to something unfamiliar and foreign.

Imagery: This aids in memory, just like something based on the familiar.

Legs: Meaning it lends itself to a theme, it has legs to walk on and carry itself throughout your branding and marketing messaging.

Emotional: It’s important that your name makes an emotional connection with your target audience or else it will just go right over their head.

What is imagery?

Alexandra uses the example of a bike lock company named “Kryptonite”. When you hear the name Kryptonite you can picture something in your head because you’re familiar with kryptonite from Superman. Compare that to a similar U-shaped bike lock named “ABUS”. Your brain has no imagery when it hears that name, so there’s nothing to latch onto.

Think about it, you hear that name and then you’re in the bike shop a month later and you’re trying to remember the name, maybe by picturing it. You’re going through your brain’s dusty filing cabinet to retrieve that piece of information. If it’s based on something that’s already in your knowledge base, like Kryptonite, it will be easier to remember if there’s a picture associated with it.

Here are two more examples of imagery:

The Church of Cupcakes. There are all kinds of things you can imagine for the Church of Cupcakes. It creates a picture in your head.

A frozen yogurt franchise that she named “Spoon Me”. It’s funny and memorable and hints at the spoon you get with frozen yogurt.

If the name of your product or service fails the SCRATCH test it’s time to scratch it off your list because it makes people scratch their head with confusion. Here’s what the acronym means:

The SCRATCH Test

Spelling Challenged: If your name looks like a typo scratch it off the list, it will forever frustrate people.

Copycat: You don’t want to copy somebody else. Nobody likes copycats; we learned that early on in school. Why be somebody else when you can be yourself? In the bigger picture of things, you don’t want to open yourself up to trademark infringement.

Restrictive: This is where you have a name that limits your future growth. You don’t want to get trapped with a name that pigeonholes you into one business if you’re eventually going to be doing something else. Examples include 24-hour fitness. What if eventually they don’t want to be open 24 hours? Another example is 1-800-FLOWERS which sells more than flowers, but you wouldn’t know that from the name. Diapers.com sells more than diapers and, again, you wouldn’t know that from the name.

Annoying: This means that your name frustrates people. You want your name to be friction-free. An example of a source of frustration could be if you spell your name with a number in it, people won’t always be able to spell it correctly.

Totally Ambiguous: This means that nobody knows what you do. You want your name to be welcoming, the opposite of annoying.

Curse of Knowledge: This means that you know what it means but nobody else does.

Hard to Pronounce: Your name should be intuitive to pronounce and only pronounced one way. An example of what not to do is the company “Cricut”. They meant it to be pronounced “cricket” but people could see it as “cry-cut”.

In this episode we also discuss:

• Why naming your company primarily based on available domain names is the wrong way to go.
• What to do if your existing company’s domain name is taken.
• More branding tips to make your marketing messages memorable.
• …and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”

About the Guest

Alexandra Watkins is a leading and outspoken authority on brand names with buzz. If you have ever eaten a Wendy’s Baconator, you have literally eaten the words.

For nearly 20 years, she and her naming firm, Eat My Words, have created love-at-first sight brand names for countless companies including Amazon, Coca-Cola, Disney, Twitter, and Google.

Her own “Name Hall of Fame” includes frozen yogurt franchise Spoon Me, the robotic vacuum Neato, Burger King’s Mac n’ Cheetos, and Spanish language school Gringo Lingo. The vertical farming company she named Plenty was recently named one of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Companies.

Alexandra is a former Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Author in Residence. Her breakthrough creativity book, Hello, My Name is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick, was named a Top 10 Marketing Book by Inc. Magazine and Branding Journal. She lives by the beach in her Barbie Dream House.

Connect with Alexandra!

Eat My Words: www.eatmywords.com

Hello, My Name Is Awesome Book: eatmywords.com/brand-names-book

Free SMILE & SCRATCH Name Evaluation Test: eatmywords.com/free-name-evaluation-test

Free Brand Names Mini Masterclass: eatmywords.com/learn-about-brand-names-class

Professional Name Review with Alexandra: www.pronamereview.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrawatkins

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EatMyWordsNames

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Podcasting is about more than just download numbers, which is what most people focus on. Podcasting can be a powerful tool to grow your business if you have the right strategies. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Steve Ramona.Steve discovered his calling at a young age and is now on a mission to share his secret sauce for success. He thrives on forging meaningful connections, sharing referrals, and watching people flourish.His contagious passion for the “Law of Increase” makes his podcast "Doing Business with a Servant's Heart" so successful. This show is chock-full of inspiring stories about overcoming challenges and serving others.Getting Started in PodcastingA few years Steve got involved with a company named Pantheon in a podcasting capacity. Steve asked for advice about how to get started. The owner told Steve “Just start recording, I don’t care how you get started, what you look like or what happens on each episode. Just hit record and have fun with it.”Steve found his first guests through his network. He went to his them and simply said, “I’m launching a podcast, who wants to be a guest?” Steve had 5-10 quick email responses from people, and he was off and running.Steve believes you can use podcasting as a networking tool, even though a lot of people don’t look at it like that. They look at it as getting the guests, getting the downloads, plays, partial plays and other metrics. Networking is a much more powerful reason to have a podcast.Podcasting as a Networking ToolRegarding podcasting as a networking tool Steve pointed out a few things. When you’re on a podcast you laugh, joke, and get to know your guests. You’re also adding value to their lives because you’re promoting them. They’re excited when you get done recording. Then you both start promoting the episode to share both of your messages. It’s a win-win situation.That’s where the “Law of Increase” comes into play. This happens because of the value you’re offering them from being a guest on your podcast. As a guest, you’ve got their attention.  You’ve got them excited about the show that you’re going to be promoting so their energy level is up. Leverage that in a good way by giving them even more value by helping with their business endeavors and their energy goes up even more. That’s networking at its finest.Steve says that giving them business referrals is the gold trophy, but it doesn't have to be referrals. If they have a podcast, you can offer them resources, guests, or marketing ideas. Don’t immediately try to sell them something. Offer free resources, don’t say “Come to my coaching program, it’s only $199 a month.” People are going to want you, love you and need you down the road one way or the other when you provide value to them first.What’s going to happen at the end of the recording and marketing? Most of the time they’re going to ask you “How can I help you?” They might be able to help you find more guests, support your events if you’re in the event space, support a professional community that you’re involved with or any myriad of other things. Let’s look at that in more detail.Have an “Ask” ReadyEarly on Steve realized that if he wanted to build his business through his podcast, he had to have an “ask” ready when he and his guests were having discussions about helping each other. In the early days of his podcasting career, he felt he was “selling” them if he brought anything up. He soon realized that you’re never selling if you bring value to the relationship. Bringing value is a natural human interaction in successful relationships. Sometimes that value will be your product or service if it can help them solve a problem or advance their business initiatives. It could be asking them with help growing a professional community that you’re involved with, and so on.In another example, your ask could be for help with an event you’re having by asking them to invite their friends.

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There’s more to success than “hard work”. If you have the right strategies and mindset, you can manifest amazing things in your personal and professional lives. That’s what I discuss with Melinda Van Fleet in this episode of the Idea Climbing podcast.Melinda is a Intuitive Energetic Business and Leadership Mentor that helps busy leaders and businesspeople achieve next level results (i.e. make more money, feel good) faster while spending less time, frustration, and money on other services/courses/programs that don’t produce the results you desire. Hard Times Can Turn into Great TimesWhen she was single Melinda listed all the qualities she wanted in a husband, with the important criteria of someone with a hobby. When she met her soon to be husband, he told her he loved fishing more than anything else. That checked a big box. They were soon married and, unfortunately, they were both laid off from their jobs at the same time. They sold off the stuff they didn’t need, packed up and moved to the Florida Keys. They started over completely from scratch with no money, no jobs and no family or friends in the area.Fast forward a couple years, they built a very successful sports fishing business called “Good Karma Sports Fishing”. Melinda built a very successful coaching company and her husband soon followed with his own successful coaching company. It was a journey that started with having a vision. Melinda says that everything wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, there were definitely hard times along the way.How to Start ManifestingMelinda believes that, when done the right way, everything is connected to manifesting. Unfortunately, that’s where the internet can be very misleading. There are a lot of programs out there that make manifesting sound easy. One example is the “just think positive thoughts and you can be rich overnight” effect. Manifestation done the right way starts with having a vision and putting it out there. Then comes clearing through any of the emotional health in terms of overcoming limiting beliefs, clearing blocks and recognizing triggers. Then you focus on what you want to manifest and follow the breadcrumbs that appear for you, which is your intuition.When all those things come together with divine timing that’s when everything manifests.Limiting beliefs are something that will always pop up for people, especially entrepreneurs at different stages of life. They can be dealt with by building extreme awareness where you can look in the mirror and say, “This is a limiting belief” and then work on it. That comes with practice over time. The more you can present and stay away from distractions and noise the better off you will be. You need to stay focused and be aware of your thoughts. It takes a lot of personal drive.Personal drive needs to be developed. Nowadays that is an even bigger challenge because people are getting very comfortable, especially after COVID. People realized they can live within their means and don’t want to face their fears. People don’t want to do the hard work and the hard work is the mental work.How to Ask Yourself the Right QuestionsYou need to ask the hard questions such as “What’s my life going to look like in 10 years if I don’t step up my game?” Having some type of vision and really seeing the future helps. You need to realize that time goes by really fast. Think about the future. Ask questions about the future such as: “Do I want my life to look like this? Do I want to be in debt? Do I not want to be known as a thought leader in my field?” and so on.You need to be aware of your goals and stay grounded in them. That’s the work.In this episode we also discuss: How to know when to run away from something and when to run towards something. Your life is all about the choices you make. We discuss how to make better choices. How to tap into your intuition and develop it. How to eliminate distractions in your life.

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If you want to share and clearly communicate your big idea you need to do it in small chunks of information, not a long presentation. Your big idea has to be shared in a small package. You can’t dump a ton of information on people all at once, they’re not ready to process all of that information.You understand your big idea because it sprang to life in your mind. You’ve probably researched it, mulled it over and worked on it for a while. The temptation is to try to share everything you know at once. When people listen to you, they’re tuning in to find out whether your big idea is valuable to them. Because of that you need to compress your big idea into short sound bites that are very relevant and very compelling because the attention span you get from other people is limited. If you try to say too much, you lose the opportunity to fully share your big idea.You start to compress your big idea by asking yourself “Why does this matter to the audience I’m talking to?” You must frame it in a “What’s in it for them?” package, why should THEY care? Strip out 95% of the things you’d like to say and only share the things that are relevant to them, so they’ll do what you want them to do, become a client, support your big idea, etc. It still needs to be a small message even if the solution you’re offering is a complex solution.How to Know What to Cut Out and What to Leave inConsider writing and marketing a book. The title and the subtitle are the hook. The table of contents is the next level of detail; it’s the scannable outline. The rest of the book is the details. The three strata are the main point, overview then the rest of it. This is true for your service offerings, pitches to investors or any other big idea that you’re trying to get across. Consultants are trained to do this all the time, clinical papers are written this way, and so on. This is what Steve calls a “brain friendly approach”. Your listener wants to know what matters right away then, if you’re successful with your communication, they’re prepared to listen to a little bit more. If that works, they’re ready to listen to the details. Most of the time they don’t want a lot of detail, especially right up front.Start With the Bottom LineWhen people get a chance to present to their target audience, often they try to say too much. What their audience wants often is the “BLUF”, or Bottom-Line Up Front. They don’t have time to wait 30 minutes for you to get to the conclusion. Give them the conclusion immediately and if they’re interested you can dig deeper if you have time. This is why you need a “brain friendly format” so that you get an opportunity to talk about the details when your target audience is receptive to listening to more.“Begin with the end in mind”~Steven CoveyIn this episode we also discuss: The four rules of successful communication. The definition of a “Memory Dart” and how to create one. How to create communication agreements. The components of a “Lead Point” and how to create one. …and other golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”    About the Guest      Steve Woodruff is known as the King of Clarity. Thirty-seven years in the front lines of sales, marketing, consulting, and entrepreneurship has uniquely equipped Steve to guide others in the principles and practices of clear and effective communication.He has deep experience in corporate training and workshop facilitation for a wide variety of companies, from startups to Top Five pharma.Steve is the author of the business book Clarity Wins (2018), and the ground-breaking new book The Point (October 2023). He is the father of 5 grown men and lives in Franklin TN with his wife of 42 years.Connecting with SteveEmail: steve@stevewoodruff.comWebsite: https://www.stevewoodruff.com

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When you enter the mentoring space, you begin an amazing, life changing journey. How to navigate that journey is what I discuss with Machen MacDonald in this episode.On your journey you’ll be de-storying who you’ve been while storying who you really are. We show up differently in different situations. When you’re trying to change you have a mindset, or a story, of something like “my services aren’t valuable” or “I’m not worthy”. That’s not necessarily true, it’s just a story that you tell yourself. You need to realize that things aren’t happening to you from external sources to your detriment rather than happening for your betterment. That’s the starting point to rewrite your story and change your mindset.“Nothing is good or bad except what we make of it”When events happen, you need to be mindful of the meaning that you associate with those events, good or bad. You can do this by practicing “ADLIB” or “Advance Devine Love In Business”. Love can be found in any situation if you keep an open mind and look for it.Navigating Your Mentoring Journey for Yourself and OthersWhen you begin to work on yourself it’s often because circumstances in your life become so frustrating that you decide to change. That is when mentors will show up if you look for them and welcome them into your life. You can find them by asking for help from people who have already faced your situation and come out on the other side. Approach each person with a compliment that shows you’ve done your research about them; “I read about how you built your business” “I heard you say _______ on a podcast and found it insightful”, etc.They help you go through your trials and tribulations. You eventually achieve the success you were looking for.After you work on yourself and get into a better place it’s time to help others along their journeys.It’s time to share the story of your journey and your new insights and awareness with those in your community that need help. Imagine that you’re a lighthouse. You come back and try to shine your light as bright as you can. That light is going to catch people’s attention that need your specific kind of help.When you are approached by potential mentees the first thing you need to do is set clear expectations. This includes things such as expected time frames to meet, what specific topics you will discuss and why you’ll be discussing them and so on.We also discuss: How to make it easy for potential mentors to say yes to creating mentoring experiences with you. How to guide your mind and create a powerful, positive mindset. How to break out of depressing and downward spiraling situations. …and other golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”    About the Guest       For over 20 years, small business owners and leaders seeking heightened clarity, confidence, and certainty have turned to Machen as their trusted guide.With a remarkable track record, Machen has empowered countless elite individuals to optimize their potential and that of their teams, enabling them to accomplish more and reach unprecedented levels of success.Machen's extensive experience as a serial entrepreneur, having successfully launched and sold five businesses, coupled with his 15-year tenure as a highly accomplished financial advisor, forms the foundation of his expertise. In 2004, he founded The ProBrilliance Leadership Institute, where he continues to make a significant impact.Learn more about Machen and get some free resources!https://probrilliance.com/goodness

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Everybody faces fear at one time or another, it’s how you deal with it that makes the difference. That’s what Kyle Dean Houston and I discuss in this episode.Fear Happens to all of UsMost people that have ever achieved anything realized that they have to move outside of comfort in order to have a transformation. To achieve something, you’re going to have to give something else up. If you want to become exponentially successful, whatever that means to you, you’re going to have to face extreme discomfort. Kyle believes that success is complete transformation, understanding what you’re made of, understanding what life’s all about, and the only way to get there is to face fear.The primary competitive advantage he’s seen in the business world is risk because risk is the one thing that people try to mitigate. As human beings we’re programmed to run away from fear. We need to face fear and move towards success.Why People Stay in Their Comfort ZonePrimarily because it feels good. As humans we have internal systems that let us know when something feels good or bad. We get rewarded with bursts of serotonin from some things and because that feels good that’s what we want to run towards. Unfortunately, all of those are short term rewards. When we become conscious of this process, we realize that there are also long-term rewards that intuitively we don’t go towards until we start to see success on the horizon. We need to discover that there is pleasure on the other side of fear. The hardest way Kyle realized this is while serving what should have been a 30-year prison sentence; he shares his story in this episode along with how he reintegrated into society without ever doing email before he got out to becoming a Vice President in a two billion dollar publicly traded company.How to Get Through FearKyle says that he knew to become successful he had to be willing to do what everyone around him wasn’t willing to do. He realized that there was no shortage of excuses for him to quit. He decided he was going to continue to face fear and he was not going to do well for a guy who faced a long prison sentence. He decided that he was going to live up to the standards that he set to himself as a kid, to be happy and successful. Fear became the breadcrumbs leading him to discover what it was that he really wanted.In this episode we also discuss: What fears Kyle is currently facing and how he’s overcoming them. How to build your risk muscle, or risk tolerance. The one thing to do to get started facing your fears. …and other golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”    About the Guest       Kyle Dean Houston, author of Patchwork Junkie, is a speaker, author, and coach who is committed to bringing hope into the world. After walking out of prison at thirty-five with no college degree, no network, and having never sent an email, he built a highly successful career as a sales executive in San Francisco.In less than a decade, he went from earning $10 an hour to Vice President in a $2B publicly traded company. He also put multiple companies onto the list of Inc. Magazine’s fastest 500 list. Kyle’s life story is shocking, riveting, and inspiring.He currently lives in Tampa, FL with his wife and two daughters.Learn more about Kyle!www.kyledeanhouston.com  FaceBook - @kyledeanhouston, Instagram - @kyledeanhouston

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When it comes to networking, the line between general networking meetings and prospecting meetings can be vague. You shouldn’t pitch someone the first time you meet them (that’s called pitch slapping); yet you need to grow your business. How to do that is what I discuss with serial entrepreneur Clay Hicks in this episode.If you focus on earning trust with the person across from you then the like and know will follow. Mutually beneficial relationships, clients and referrals can follow.You Need to Earn TrustHow do you earn trust when you’re getting to know someone? The keyway to focus on earning trust is to be of service to the person across from you. Once you connect with them try to help that person in any way possible. Ask exploratory questions such as “How can I help you?” and “Who would you like to meet?”. That second question is particularly important if you have a big network of people that could help the other person. Questions for people that don’t have that big of a network include “How’s business?” “How can I be helpful with your business?"Asking questions like that is how you start to earn trust.A Unique Way to Set Up a Second MeetingTry not to have “one and done” meetings. Many networkers brag about the number of meetings they have each week. Numbers mean nothing if you’re not building your business and advancing your career. YOU need to ask for help and connections. By asking how you can help the other person first it means they are much more likely to reciprocate and help you.When you both can help each other that’s a signal that you should meet with that person again. If there’s no help either way there’s no reason for a second meeting. The litmus test is whether they tried to help you back after you helped them. Sometimes people don’t know what they’re doing so you have to help them. They might just be having an “off day”. If their target market is like yours and you believe that, with time, they might be able to help you and vice-versa then that’s another reason to have a second meeting.You can tee up the follow up meeting by asking to meet again so you can deepen your relationship. Tell them you want to know what it’s like to be their prospect. Tell them you want to know what it would be like for someone you refer to them to discuss their business. Most referrals come from past clients and deeper relationships, not first-time conversations. That’s because past clients know what it’s like to work with you. By asking them to learn about their prospecting techniques you can better refer them and vice versa. This strategy sets you both up to know what it’s like to work with the other person.We also discuss: How to ask prospecting questions without being overbearing. Guidelines for successful prospecting How to sell yourself and not just your product or service. The crossover between general networking meetings and prospecting meetings. …and other golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book here: “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea”    About the Guest       Clay Hicks is an entrepreneur with a portfolio of 5 different companies, an author, a speaker, and trainer on professional relationships. Clay Hicks founded his first company, H7 Network (in 2008), in the hopes of positively impacting the many under-served entrepreneurs and all sales professionals.His vision is to globally revolutionize the way business professionals “Connect” first, “Serve” with purpose, and “Ask” of their peers. H7 Network, a Franchisor, is a national B2B networking platform, In person and Virtual, for professionals to create their own network and develop champions for their business.His responsibility as the CEO is to innovate new programs, develop new markets internationally, training and development, implementing new processes for retention,

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Mentoring relationships without structure can fail fast. With the right structure they can thrive. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Lisa Fain.What do you think most mentoring programs do wrong? Most mentoring programs have a “pair and pray” structure. They pair people and pray that the program succeeds. People think because they’re in an “official” mentoring program and are having mentoring conversations that they don’t need guidance on how to do it. Unfortunately for them the structure is critical to success. It’s not about prescribing structure, it’s about co-creating structure. Mentors and mentees need to discuss the terms of their mentoring relationships so they can create structure and hold themselves accountable.Terms of the mentoring relationship can be a bunch of things. It can be as simple as deciding when and where they’re going to meet, what they’re going to talk about and who is going to schedule it. It could be boundaries on what they will discuss. It could be checking in and how they’re going to provide feedback. There just needs to be structure.How to Create Trust and Give Effective FeedbackTrust is a precondition for getting effective feedback. Where a lot of people go wrong is that they assume because they’re in a mentoring relationship they can freely give feedback that will be warmly received. First you need to take the time to build trust and a meaningful relationship. That means connecting; that means getting to know one another. This means that the mentors are sharing their own challenges and vulnerabilities. Lisa has received a lot of feedback about her programs that the mentees were more involved in mentoring relationships because they found out that their mentors aren’t perfect and have had challenges along the way.Mentees are sharing what their own fears and doubts are. It means connecting on a human level and knowing what’s going on in one another’s’ lives. All of those build a foundation of trust so that when you get to giving and receiving feedback you will have an ongoing conversation instead of just one session of feedback. The conversation needs to be a balance of positive and critical feedback.Feedback in a mentoring relationship is a two-way street. When you have healthy mentoring relationships, mentees can give feedback to the mentors about what’s working and what’s not working; what they want to see more of and what they want to see less of in the mentoring relationship.How to Co-Own Your Mentoring RelationshipsMentoring has three primary components: A learning component A reciprocity component A co-creation componentWithout those three things you can’t have an effective mentoring relationship. We’ll look at co-creation first. Lisa says that there is “funny math” in successful mentoring relationships, one+one=three. There’s the mentor, the mentee and then the relationship that they co-create together and co-own. This is where trust and reciprocal feedback come into play.Reciprocity. We know intuitively that mentees gain a lot from mentoring relationships. The data also shows that because of mentoring relationships mentors become better leaders and they feel more invested in their careers. The more mentoring experiences that mentors have makes them more competent leaders. This means that mentees also give and mentors also get. Many mentees don’t initially see that. Some even think that asking for time to have conversations is a burden to their mentors. That’s not the case, that time spent is a gift to both people.Learning. Just having random conversations isn’t enough. Mentoring doesn’t happen unless there’s learning. Learning is the purpose, it’s the product and it’s the process of mentoring. Learning needs to happen to both the mentee and mentor based on the goals that they set together. Examples of learning include many things. An entrepreneurial example of a goal and learning experience is learning how to grow and scale t...

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Mentoring can be a crucially important part of your personal and professional lives. The challenge is finding the right people and creating successful mentoring relationships. That’s what I discussed with Gary Anzalone in this episode.When you have a mentor, you can have a very fulfilled life because you have someone to talk to about your hopes and dreams. You have someone in your corner to give you objective feedback that you won’t get from a close friend or family member. You need someone that’s not attached to a specific outcome for you. That’s a mentor.In successful mentoring relationships you should feel challenged and supported. You don’t grow as an individual by staying in your comfort zone. While compliments are nice to hear, they don’t help you grow. Real growth happens when you’re challenged. When a mentor challenges you and you respond, you’re going to make yourself better at whatever it is they’re challenging you to do differently. When you make yourself better at something you’re growing.How do you create a safe zone to be uncomfortable?By asking the right questions, which could include the direct question “What about that makes you uncomfortable?”Early on in mentoring relationships both people realize that the purpose of the relationship is to get help and give help. It’s built on the presumption of trust. That doesn’t happen instantly, you must let it grow organically. With any relationship, time is a big factor, you must build history into it. The sharing of problems and solutions happens over time, and it just builds. It depends on the personalities, and it depends on the people.How much time does it take to formulate a good mentoring relationship beyond just a one-time call? It depends on the people. Many younger people don’t know what to expect from a mentoring relationship. In some relationships the success of the mentoring relationship depends on the mentor asking the right questions and drawing solutions out of the mentee. In more advanced relationships the mentee has an agenda.Approaching Potential MentorsHow to ask someone to be your mentor. Gary believes that one of the best compliments you can give someone is to ask them to be your mentor. That means that they think enough of you and view you in a favorable light. I want to understand your way of doing things because you carry yourself professionally and you’re happy.You can’t be truly happy unless you practice gratitude. If you don’t practice gratitude you will probably be negative frequently. You must take ownership of your life and realize the decisions you make are something you must live with. You can make a decision to change the course of your life at any age. You can decide to change your life in many ways.If you want to make a change it’s time to find a mentor or multiple mentors. You are the sum of the five people that you spend the most time with, if a mentor is one of them that’s a positive.If you don’t ask you will not get. People are not going to knock on your door. Even if they don’t have the time, they will be flattered that you asked.Creating an Agenda for Mentoring MeetingsAfter you ask, what should that first meeting look like? From a mentee point of view it should be “these are the things that I really would like to understand; these are the things that I struggle with” it could be “I need more work/life balance” or “I need more time with my family” A self-assessment is in order so you can start communicating and opening up to that mentor. The mentee needs to act and can’t sit back and wait for the mentor to tell them what to do.That’s why it’s important for the mentors to ask the right questions to bring out the answers that the mentee needs to hear.Your best self can be realized by having a mentor, now it’s time to go find one!You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

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Episode 79! Everybody faces fear, it’s a matter of how you deal with it and move past it that matters. That’s what I discuss with Jacqueline Wales in this episode.What is Fear?Jacqueline believes that fear is imagination based. There are a lot of reasons why we can feel threatened in life, but fears are often just a story we tell ourselves to deal with discomfort. Fear is just an emotion, it’s not real. Unless you have tangible evidence, fear is just a story that you’re applying to a feeling that may or may not be true for you.What is the fear of failure and how does it come up? The fear of failure is really tied into reputation status. It’s how other people will perceive you if you fail at something. Failure is a choice, decision or expectation that did not go the way you had planned. People who are perfectionists do not want to fail; they do not want to make mistakes. The fear of failure is so profound for some people because it says something about me, I’m not good enough. That fundamentally is where fear shows up, that insecurity of self.Moving Past FearHow can you get over the fear of failure? What can you do to solve that big problem? First, take a hard look at “what’s the worst thing that could happen if this doesn’t go the way that I had planned?” “Will we recover?” is the biggest question on failure. Can you recover from it? Often the answer is a resounding yes. You make a mistake, you fix it, you move on. Failure is simply the acceptance of things that will go wrong. It’s all about what you do with it when it goes wrong, that’s the gift that you give yourself.People want to talk about something called imposter syndrome. Jacqueline believes that term is misused most of the time because fundamentally it’s about self-doubt. That can become the story that becomes the major driver of their life – “I’m not capable, I’m not good enough, I’m not deserving” and so on. Those stories are not true. If we care to analyze them and reflect on “Why am I carrying this story?” Nine times out of ten it’s a negative voice from a previous experience; someone somewhere told you that you weren’t good enough, i.e., you will fail.How can you fix that? Set a future ambition that says “I KNOW that I can reach my goals. I don’t know how I’m going to reach them, but I will reach them” Then tell yourself a new story and move past fear.We also discuss: How to get rid of the negative voices in your head. How to build confidence that will take you forward in a positive way. What the fear of success really is and how to overcome it. The brain chemistry that creates fear and how to deal with it. …and more golden nuggets of advice!You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!    About The Guest       At only sixteen years old, Jacqueline Wales fled from her childhood home in a desperate search for happiness. Looking in all the wrong places, she left a trail of abandoned children and a pattern of self abuse that threatened her life.But that’s just the beginning of her story. From Leith, Scotland, to London, England; from the California coast to Paris, Amsterdam, New York, and Bali, Jacqueline’s life has been a journey of self-discovery, awakening, and joy in the face of fear.Jacqueline believes that being fearless is not the absence of fear, but the courage to take the next step. Today, Jacqueline is an author, keynote speaker, and trusted advisor to successful, high-achieving women.And she is an unwavering champion for being fearless.Connect with Jacqueline on LinkedIn here!Learn more about Jacqueline here!

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Episode 78! Know, like and trust is great. Taking it one step further is respect. It’s all about the connections that you make with people and the relationships you build after you connect.  That’s what I discuss with Michael Goldberg in this episode.Gaining RespectThere are phases to building relationships the right way. When you’re getting to know each other, you’re asking a lot of questions, figuring out if your personalities match and so on. At this phase oftentimes you’re not going to open your rolodex or database and make introductions. When you find a common ground, you’ve hit the “like” phase. When you enter the trust phase you believe that the other person is credible and great at what they do. Respect is the phase when you believe they are going to take care of anybody that you introduce them to. In that case it’s going to be a win-win-win scenario. It needs to be collaborative.We need to be resources for one another, we must be helpful. That will help you establish a higher-level connection with the people that you want to develop relationships with. It’s about asking the right questions and being of service. This doesn’t mean that it will happen all the time. Michael believes that if he’s at an in-person networking event and he meets 10 people, he’ll hit it off with three or four of them. His suggestion is to focus on the “one-thirders”. To do this you need to create or become part of the right environments.Connecting to Shared PassionWhen you can find a common ground of shared passion you move along the know-like-trust-respect cycle faster. You both are interacting in similar environments or have an affinity towards similar marketplaces. If you can’t find an environment, you can create your own environment and bring people into it rather than going to them. You need to have criteria for the audiences you want to reach and stick to those criteria which means that you will end up turning some people away.At the end of the day, it must be valuable for the people involved.You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!    About The Guest       Michael Goldberg has helped thousands of financial advisors, brokers, and agents generate hundreds of thousands of dollars to their bottom line. His firm Knock Out Networking has been a speaking and training resource in the financial services industry for over 20 years. Michael is also the founder of THE Networking Group, a national networking organization focused on helping a “vetted” community of business owners and sales leaders grow their business through networking and referrals. Michael is a two-time TEDx speaker, an award-winning adjunct professor at Rutgers University, and frequently volunteers as a speaker at organizations focused on career search. His book Knockout Networking for Financial Advisors is available NOW!Connect with Michaelwww.KnockOutNetworking.comwww.TheNetworkingGroup.org

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Episode 77! If you want to get ahead in business, you must give before you get. That’s what I discussed with Dan Horwich. Dan is an active networker focused on making a difference in the professional lives of IT practitioners.

Dan believes that money isn’t the key to happiness; relationships are the key to happiness. Here’s why.

When you get out of school, if you want to be an entrepreneur, what guides most people is the desire for money. The shiny objects aren’t what you thought they would be, your imagination can play tricks on you. Achievement is great, it’s one of those things that we all set out to do. But along the way you discover that the things that provide the most joy are connecting with others and having compassion for others. Those are how you build meaningful bonds. The more conversations you have and the more impactful you make those relationships you will find that the joy is in giving rather than taking.

When you take a heart centered approach you will attract people into your life that have that same approach.

Dan believes that he has to help other people any way he can and that he has to have a pay it forward mentality. Having that approach brings Dan a lot of joy. The more you help other people authentically with zero expectation of something in return the more you will get. The compounding of happiness is like the compounding of happiness in a financial institution. It builds year after year. It builds in those around you also. As you help more people those people feel the need to help more people and it has a cyclical effect.

The Four Types of People That You’re Going to Run Into

Bucket one is the narcissist. You’re only going to be of use to them if they can use you to get what they want. While it’s a bad experience it makes your antennae a little more acute and aware of the next narcissist that you run into.

Bucket two are the people who simply don’t connect the dots in relationships or enable others. That’s just who they are and you’re never going to have an impact on them and vice versa.

Bucket three are the folks that are kind and decent, but they don’t know how to pay it forward. The good news is they’re coachable. They’re capable of paying it forward, they just need a nudge.

Bucket four are the folks that pay it forward.

You want to surround yourself with folks that are in buckets three and four. The folks in buckets one and two will leave you emotionally drained. They’re not going to change their ways. They’re not capable of change because they don’t have empathy for other people.

The Difference Between Being Nice and Being Kind

Being nice can be faked. Being kind comes from your soul and your heart. Kindness has more depth in terms of the effort. Nice means you’ll help someone else if it meets one of your goals. Kindness goes a step further where it helps other people when it has nothing to do with your own needs or goals. It happens because you enjoy seeing others grow personally and professionally and it warms your heart. Kindness can be contagious.

How do you balance achieving your goals with paying it forward? Connect with other people who have a similar mindset. When you pay it forward you develop a reputation for paying it forward and the right people will be attracted to you. This includes your customers who will then introduce you to more people with a similar mindset and that’s the magic. People generally want to help those that help them, they want to stay in their good graces. Whatever the reason is it comes back around. If a person stays consistent with that mindset it makes the sales process all that much easier because you’re already developed trust. You have to focus on the relationship perspective.

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

In 2001, Dan Horwich took over as President and Executive Di...

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Episode 76! Today’s big idea is that neuroscience can dramatically increase your marketing efforts’ ROI. My guest is Mike Mausteller. Mike is known for his brand building in the Fortune 500 Space.  Today he committed to supporting small and medium Private businesses, creating strategies that result in healthy businesses, enable the owner to scale or maximize their value in a sale.

First, we discuss…

Why You Should Mix Marketing and Neuroscience

We all think that we make logical decisions but that’s infrequent, maybe 1% to 5% of the time we are making logical decisions. The part of our brains that makes decisions is the amygdala and it doesn’t know logic and it doesn’t know or understand any language. With the amygdala you are seeing images and having feelings about a product, person or service. This can drive you to want to be closer to that product, person or service.

You can achieve that result by positioning yourself as helpful and a source of answers and NOT someone who is just looking to make their next dollar. They’ll associate your behavior with other pictures in their mind and memories and associate you as being good or bad.

The saying “a picture is worth 1,000 words” is very true. With the right image I can get you to feel 1,000 words all at once. This means you have to paint the proverbial picture for the people you want to be attracted to you.

The Power of “Because” in Marketing Conversations

When we say “because” we’re leading people towards a positive answer rather than giving them room to find something wrong with your conversation. When you say “because” you get people to accept your claims, whatever they may be. Think about it. It’s the difference between “I can help you grow your business” and “I can help you grow your business because I’ve helped over 30 entrepreneurs double their revenue”. The second is much more powerful because you stop their rejections before they have them.

We also discuss:

How Mike uses a picture on LinkedIn to get more clients in less time. One of the most powerful words to use in your conversations and marketing copy that will attract people to you and your product or service. How to accelerate the know, like, and trust cycle. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

Mike Mausteller is the President of Buckeye Business Performance, a business value acceleration firm located in Columbus, Ohio.  He also serves as a Board Member for a national group of volunteers who support start up business owners gain their initial traction and experienced business owners create organizations that manage themselves.

Mike works with Founders and Owners who want to grow their business ‘with the end in mind’, resulting in sustainable growth strategies and maximize their Exit.

Starting out as a Department Store Buyer and later Director, Mike was hired by Victoria’s Secret and assigned to the successful growth of a test concept named PINK.  Three years later the team was fully developed, and the concept realized $1B in annual sales.

After working on several other successful concepts with Victoria’s Secret he went on to work for other companies:  launching new products, brands, markets and categories of business.  Along the way, he has developed a dozen businesses from early stage, into the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

Connect with Mike here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mausteller/

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Leadership and mentorship go hand in hand; it’s just a matter of sharpening your mentorship skills. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Oak McCulloch.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Oak McCulloch is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and the author of “Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be.” Both his leadership presentation and his book are based on his 40+ years of leadership experience.

Are You a Leader or a Boss?

It’s important for leaders to be great mentors also. It’s their responsibility to produce the next generation of leaders. If you’re a leader and you’re not mentoring anybody then you’re not a leader, you’re a boss.

Mentoring someone to be a leader is different than general mentoring. If you’re mentoring someone to become a leader then you have to walk the walk of leadership, which includes making good decisions.

For Oak leadership is about servant leadership. He says, “When it comes to good leadership it isn’t about you and it’s all about you.” This means that if leadership is about the money, it’s not the right path to choose. If leadership is about helping other people, then it’s the path to take. It’s all about you in the sense of how you treat the people that work for you and how you empower them to become better and more productive leaders.

Mentoring Tips for Developing Better Leaders

There’s a difference between mentoring someone in your organization as opposed to someone outside of your organization. If you’re mentoring someone within your organization then you must include them in the decision-making process and show them what that looks like. For either scenario you must build trust with your mentee. The first way to do this is to get to know that person as a person, not just a position or title.

In this episode we also discuss:

How long mentoring sessions should be and why. How to approach someone to become your mentor. What your first mentoring meeting should look like. What components are involved to make a great mentoring relationship. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

LTC McCulloch retired from the Army in September 2009 with over 23 years of active service and joined the staff at the Bay Area Food Bank as the Associate Director.  He was also the Vice Chair for Military Affairs on the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Mobile Rotary International Club.  LTC McCulloch left the food bank in December 2010 to become the Senior Military Science Instructor and recruiter for the Army ROTC program at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. In his 9 years at Stetson, the program grew from 15 Cadets to over 100 Cadets.

In October 2013, he became the Recruiting Operations Officer for the Eagle Battalion Army ROTC program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he has more than doubled the size of the program in 6 years.  Cadet Command selected LTC McCulloch as the top recruiting officer, out of 274 recruiters, for 2019.  LTC Oak McCulloch published his first book in February 2021 – “Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be”.

Connect with Oak!

www.ltcoakmcculloch.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oakland-mcculloch-34293256/

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/ltcoakmcculloch/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LtcOakland

Facebook Business:  https://www.facebook.com/LTCOakMcCulloch

Service Professionals Network (SPN):

https://serviceprofessionalsnetwork.com/members/oakland-mcculloch/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Ep1eqF3o0X5CBamtVgClQ

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Episode 74!

In the world of sales and marketing there are many viewpoints about how to do both successfully. My guest, Mike Savage, believes that there are only three ways to grow your business and have marketing and sales play well together.

Mike works with 6-figure entrepreneurs who are hell-bent on getting to 7-figures without sacrificing their health, their relationships, or their happiness. One of Mike’s companies amassed more than $250 Million in global sales to the world’s leading companies including Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Costco, Dick’s Sporting Goods, TJ Maxx, QVC & Amazon.

Sales and Marketing

There’s sales and then there’s marketing. People often get them confused and disagree about how to align them. Mike explains this with a unique analogy. Sales and marketing are different. Dating is marketing. The guy is the product. He’s marketing himself to the man or woman that he wants to be with during the dating phase of the relationship. When he proposes he’s making the sale.

Your product or service needs to be unique in the marketplace and you have to create ways to introduce your product or service to your ideal client. That’s marketing in the business world. The more you’ve nurtured that client with great strategic marketing, the easier the sale is.

Mike goes on to say that…

There are Three Ways to Grow Your Business

Most people think that if they want to grow their business, they have to get new clients. You shouldn’t start there, especially if you’re an established business.

The first way is to increase the average order. Go to the people that are already buying from you. They are more likely to buy more from you because they know, like and trust you.

In this episode we also discuss:

• Ways to successfully nurture relationships with your ideal clients.
• The number one goal of strategic marketing.
• The other two ways to grow your business.
• Examples of how each of the three ways have been used in business and how you can use them in your business.
• …and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

Mike Savage is a serial entrepreneur, inspirational keynote speaker, entrepreneur coach, angel investor, and CEO of The Savage Secrets, a rapidly growing high-performance organization obsessed with helping entrepreneurs & CEOs build inspiring companies and, simultaneously, live their dream life. Having built several multi-million-dollar companies, from scratch, over the past 30 years, Mike is battle tested from the school of hard knocks and fully understands the emotional & financial roller coaster of building companies.

One of Mike’s companies amassed more than $250 Million in global sales to the world’s leading companies including Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Costco, Dick’s Sporting Goods, TJ Maxx, QVC & Amazon. The company started with one product, one idea, A BIG ASS DREAM and ultimately grew into a 50-employee business with $25M in annual sales. Over the years, Mike has traveled the world speaking on mindset and entrepreneur- ship at industry events, annual meetings, and nationally renowned Colleges & Universities. Mike’s trademarked philosophy, The Entrepreneur’s Trilogy™, is based on the belief that building a company should be a passionate, philosophical journey comprised of equal parts HEARTset, MINDset, and SKILLset, and not a life filled with frustration, overwhelm, and isolation.

When Mike is not busy helping CEO’s and entrepreneurs achieve their highest levels of personal and professional performance, he enjoys spending time with his wife Donna working out, mountain biking, kayaking, traveling, or walking around Buffumville Lake in Charlton, MA with their 2 dogs Duncan & Bella. He and Donna also love watching their daughter Bailey & son Brant participate in their college sports. Mike is also a rabid Boston sports fan! Go Celtics, Bruins, Patriots and Red Sox!

Learn more about Mike and connect with him!

https://thesavagesecrets.com/

https://www.thesavagesecrets.com/triple-threat-replay

Upcoming Masterclass: https://thesavagesecrets.com/scoreboard

Follow Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-savage-secrets/

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Episode 73!

Most people think of improv as “being funny”. It’s much more than that. There are many ways that improv can be woven into the business world, especially when it comes to communications. That’s what I discuss with Bill Prinzivalli in this episode.

Bill is an organizational consultant and a transformational coach who incorporates mindfulness practices and improvisational techniques to help leaders move beyond traditional success.

No matter how much a business leader knows their craft, they’re improvising every day. There’s always new situations, new twists and turns and unseen problems that pop up. When that happens, the leader has to come up with new solutions. Bill believes leaders should approach this situation from a perspective of mindfullness.

“Mindfulness” means they approach the situation considering what’s going on with them, and what’s going on in the environment around them. They need to be aware of their internal feelings, such as gut feelings, as opposed to external sources, such as their boss, are telling them to do. They then combine that with awareness of what’s going on with their teams and how their decisions will affect their teams before taking action.

Improv For the Business World

In the improvisational format several principles are required. While the “Yes, and…” rule is the most often spoken about, Bill believes in “deep listening”. On the improv stage the first person that comes out has an idea to share. When you join them on stage, you need to listen to them very carefully. You first need to listen to the words and then listen to the sentiment under the words. This includes tone of voice. A happy statement and a somber statement need to be responded to differently. The same is true for conversations in the business world. You need to listen before you speak.

This is the conscious communication cycle: You listen deeply to the other person, assess your feelings about what they just said, and then respond accordingly.

We also discuss:

• Examples of what happens in the business world when deep listening isn’t embraced and what to do instead.
• How to change bad ideas into teachable moments.
• Examples of how entrepreneurs can use improv principles.
• …and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

Bill Prinzivalli is an entrepreneur, executive coach, organizational consultant, author, speaker, and improv workshop facilitator.

He uniquely integrates mindfulness practices and improvisational techniques to help business leaders achieve extraordinary performances by discovering their Inner Olympian – their zone or flow state – as they access their innate intuitive skills and integrate them with traditional business strategies.

Learn more about Bill:

Website www.BillPrinzivalli.com.

Book website www.ImprovisationalLeaders.com

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Episode 72!

Sales can be a complicated process and tiring if you go about it the wrong way. There’s the stigma of salespeople being annoying. For solopreneurs, consultants, fractional C-Suites, and entrepreneurs – how do you get your message across without being salesy? Through relationships with trusted advisors.

That’s what I discuss with Raffi Yardemian in this episode. Raffi is an executive-level sales leader and a serial entrepreneur. He has over 25 years of experience in sales leadership across Fortune 500 companies, growth phase organizations, private equity and venture capital backed firms as well as public and private companies.

To begin you don’t start with the end client in mind. Start by building relationships with people that know your end clients. Educate them about what you do so they can share your message with your network. If they understand your value proposition well enough to share with others, when their contacts come to you, they are already 60%-70% educated about your offering. That’s a much shorter sales cycle and you’re further along the know, like and trust spectrum.

This is a two-way street. You should be an evangelist and trusted advisor for the other person also. You do that by understanding their value proposition and what pain points they solve for their clients. It’s a value-based discussion and “serve first” is an important element. Learn about how they drive their business and the types of connections they’re looking for and help them before asking them to help you.

Three Tiers of Business Networking Relationships

Raffi explains his views on the three tiers.

The first one is networking partners. These are general relationships that you meet at conferences and networking events. You know them but you don’t know them intimately enough to help them grow their business.

Then you have referral partners. These are Centers of Influence that you know well and they know you well, but you haven’t had the opportunity to share a lot of clients.

Then you have the top tier, trusted advisors. At this stage you know each other extremely well and have shared clients. You also know them on a personal level as well, which helps create a bond of trust.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How to create sales and marketing strategies through collaboration with your trusted advisors.
• How to craft a powerful marketing message and collateral that can easily be shared by your trusted advisors.
• Why focusing on how you solve pain points is more important than sharing why you’re great.
• More ways to have conversations that will accelerate the process to increase the number of trusted advisors in your network.
• …and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

Raffi Yardemian is an executive-level sales leader and a serial entrepreneur. He has over 25 years of experience in sales leadership across Fortune 500 companies, growth phase organizations, PE/VC-backed firms as well as public and private companies. He currently serves as President of Boston Sales Solutions, a sales consulting firm that works with Small and medium-sized companies in creating their sales infrastructure and servings as an outsourced head of sales.

Connect with Raffi on LinkedIn

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Episode 71!

If you’re entrepreneurial there’s a good chance that you attend networking events and join networking groups for business development. But what happens when you’re not getting enough business from your efforts? Have you ever thought about starting your own networking group? That’s what I discuss with my guest, Michael Gordon.

Michael is the CEO of Elavaire, an exclusive networking group that focuses on the creation of value for its members. According to Michael, Elavaire is the only networking group in the world that offers a money back guarantee.

Your Options for Networking Organizations

According to Michael there are four options for networking organizations:

• Traditional networking groups such as your Chamber of Commerce and Business Networking International (BNI).
• Peer groups such as Vistage and The Alternative Board.
• Social, charitable, philanthropic organizations where you would sit on a Board of Directors.
• Trade associations.

What is the problem with groups like those? Traditional networking groups are often filled with the wrong people. They might be good people, but wrong for your business growth. Often, they’re not the decision maker. With peer groups they often focus on a topic that isn’t directly relevant to you. In the social, charitable, philanthropic world it’s the wrong mission. Trade associations are often filled you competitors. You have people in the same industry trying to sell to each other.

A Big Difference

What is the difference between a peer group and a networking group? A peer group is what it sounds like, a group of your peers such as entrepreneur, CEO, CFO, etc. You come together to discuss what is on your mind about challenges, problems, opportunities, ideas and more through the lens of shared experiences on those topics. These groups can provide you with a trusted board of advisors. They are not focused on business development.

Networking groups, on the other hand, are usually for the development of new business and referrals. Sometimes the focus is getting new clients while other times the focus can be meeting people who have access to your potential clients.

How to Start Your Own Networking Group

Those problems lead people to start their own networking groups. You’ll need to be aware of a few things if you’re thinking about starting your own. First, it’s time consuming. Secondly, you should invite new people in addition to people currently in your business circles. You’ll also need to create relevant topics to discuss at your events.

We also discuss….

• How to pick the right structure and discussion topics for your networking events.
• How to make successful referral introductions.
• The four characteristics that your potential members need to have.
• The difference between a giver and a connector.
• How to price membership for your group.

…and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

A Philadelphia native, Michael spent nearly 10 years in the commercial real estate business before moving to the suburbs of Washington DC as the first employee of a new concept in the world of Networking. Fast forward almost 17 years and Michael has set his sights on disrupting the networking industry. Quality over quantity is what Michael believes is the best approach when it comes to networking for new business.

Having been in sales for much of his professional life and working with salespeople for almost two decades, Michael is convinced of two things. One, the biggest challenge salespeople face in the pursuit of new business is access to the decision maker and two, the best new business comes from warm, credible referrals. As a result, Michael has spent the last 5 years developing a networking group concept unlike any other and is in the process of rolling out his model across the country.

Michael lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Jennifer and has three daughters, Alexa, Alexandra and Isabelle. In his spare time, Michael enjoys traveling with his family, playing multiple sports and when he really needs to relax, you can find him in his garage, detailing cars.

Connect with Michael here: www.elavaire.com

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Episode 70!

Altruism can be a powerful force in your life if you understand how to practice it. That’s what I discuss with my guest, Sandy Gennaro. Sandy Gennaro is a world-class speaker/drummer/author/coach who has recorded and toured with several globally known artists.

First, you need to think outside of yourself and always be willing to help other people. When you help somebody in a positive way it comes back to you. Having a positive mindset is how you can beat the odds in business and in life. Always be on the outlook for ways to service other people, even if it’s a simple act like putting a smile on someone’s face in the line at the supermarket. Here’s an example of what a small act of kindness can do for your life.

The Ripple Effect and “Dave in the Doorway”

One small action today can create a ripple effect that changes your life down the road. Such is the story of “Dave in the Doorway”. Sandy was playing a gig in 1981 when he noticed someone standing outside his dressing room with a camera and a pen. On that particular night Sandy was in a rush to get on the tour bus because the band had a long overnight drive ahead of them. Sandy could have, with good reason, blown Dave off and rushed out to the bus. Instead, Sandy acknowledged Dave, let him know he was in a hurry, and asked “What can I do for you?”. Dave asked for an autograph and a picture with Sandy. Then Dave asked Sandy to help him get a gig in New York. Sandy kindly said he would need to hear an example of Dave playing first. He gave Dave his card with his phone number and home address and headed out to the bus.

Two years later Dave reached out again. He was working with an up-and-coming singer and wanted Sandy to join the band. The singer was Cindy Lauper, who’s first album sold over six million copies. Sandy ended up touring with her and that tour also led to more opportunities, including meeting his future wife. The details and more great stories are in the podcast.

In this episode we also discuss:

• Why altruism is more than random acts of kindness, it’s a way of life.
• How to jumpstart altruism in your life.
• How to maintain your enthusiasm and giving nature in the face of adversity.
• Why who you surround yourself with determines where you go in life.
• …and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About The Guest

Sandy Gennaro is a world-class speaker/drummer who has recorded/toured with several globally known artists including three members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a career that spans 56 years and continues today.

Sandy now uses the lessons he’s learned surviving the murky, shark-infested waters of the Music Business to help organizations large and small identify and offer solutions to issues regarding leadership, change management, employee retention, longevity, motivated engagement, customer service, brand loyalty, team building, and sales. He has helped businesses and student bodies create a thriving culture as a launching pad for heightened success in business, relationships, and life. He incorporates his unforgettable behind-the-scenes stories to drive home his proven concepts to create Rockstar Performance in every arena.

Sandy has been recognized by Vistage International as one of the Top New Speakers of 2021 and is proud to announce the release of his book entitled “BEAT THE ODDS in Business and Life”.

He enjoys Family Time, SCUBA diving, The Yankees, photography and raising money for the Scott Hamilton CARES Cancer Foundation.

You can connect with Sandy here: www.SandyGennaro.com and on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandygennaro/

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Episode 69!

Many people associate improv with being funny. It’s so much more than that, it can be an important part of effective communication for everyday work and life in general. That’s what I discuss in this episode with my guest, Meridith Grundei. Meridith is a public speaking and presentation skills coach who works with individuals and organizations in healthcare and tech so they can be more confident and credible speakers who will educate and inspire any room.

The funny does come out during improvised conversations, but it comes from a place of truth. When you try too hard to be funny you probably will fail. It’s about being in the moment, being present and aware of what’s going on around you and responding honestly to carry your conversation forward. This includes noticing tone of voice, body language and other nonverbal cues.

Improv in Your Daily Life

One place to start using improv is by listening more and talking less. Create a reminder by writing “Today I’m going to listen more than I speak” on a post it note where you will see it throughout the day as a reminder. Another great way to embrace improv is by developing a “Yes… and” mindset. It’s important to note that it’s not necessarily saying “Yes… and” to everything that you hear. It’s about reflecting back what you heard the other person say. When you do that you’re acknowledging them and validating them as a person. They feel heard. You might not have the exact same point of view; but by acknowledging the other person you might find a common ground to discuss instead of creating a debate.

In this episode we also discuss:

• How improv can help reduce negative self-talk
• How to use improv to bounce back from failure
• Why supporting other people and making them look good is an important improv philosophy
• How improv can improve your presentation skills
• …and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About the Guest

Meridith Grundei is an award-winning theatre director, producer, and former Second City improv teacher, who recognized the similarities between performing for audiences on stage every night and presenting to clients/colleagues every day, but the latter didn’t have the right tools to bring their stories to life.

So she decided to do something about it.

11 Years and some change later, Grundei Coaching has helped thousands of individuals and corporations craft engaging presentations and authentic stories to achieve career growth and success.

Connect with Meridith on LinkedIn here.

Learn more about Meridith’s coaching practice here.

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Episode 68!

Today we’re taking a look at how to build valuable relationships with people who will help promote your business. My guest is serial entrepreneur Gregory Klein-Hertzel with ConnectivTech. ConnectivTech is a Fractional CTO organization specializing in I.T. procurement & vendor selection.

The Networking Journey

Networking is a journey. If you’re doing it right you’ll find that after some time you don’t need to go to multiple events every week. You should be graduating from networking groups because you’ve met so many people and you’re spending your time fostering relationships and guiding people through the know, like and trust spectrum. Greg classifies himself as a serial networker. That’s how he started his first two businesses and how he’s currently starting his third business. Networking is not only important for your business but for personal reasons too. Why?

Because a person can be defined by the people that they’re surrounded by. Many people start their journey by attending events at their local chamber of commerce or leads groups. Those events are usually decided upon based on which ones will feed you referrals. Then the question becomes HOW is the best way to get referrals? It’s by building relationships but many people want quick results, and they initially think that they’ll quickly get referrals by attending those events. Unfortunately, that’s not the best way to approach business development.

Making the Most of 1-on-1 Meetings

The right way to network is to set up one on one meetings to learn about the other person, tell them about your business, and then ask them who they need introductions to that would help their business. Make the conversation about them because it is VERY rare that you will get a referral for yourself during the first meeting with someone. Add value to the other person’s life through introductions and they will usually do the same for you because you took the time to help them first.

In the long-term making introductions for people is a better way to stay top of mind than a newsletter or an email drip campaign. Think about it: Which would you rather have in your inbox – newsletters or quality introductions?

In this episode we also discuss:

• Why Greg believes that your 1 on 1 meetings should be 45 minutes.
• How to get so busy with quality 1 on 1 meetings that you graduate from most networking events.
• How to build an army of advocates that want to share your products or services with their networks.
• …and other golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book “Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea” here!

About the Guest

ConnectivTech is a Fractional CTO organization specializing in I.T. procurement & vendor selection.

In other words, ConnectivTech is comprised of high-end business technology advisors that specialize in vetting companies and matching them with the businesses we help.

At ConnectivTech, we believe that a business and an individual can be defined by the people they are surrounded by.

With over 100 vetted and approved technology experts/companies, ConnectivTech takes pride in vetting their vendors. We look for good technology, good prices but most importantly, good people behind the technology

Every business requires a unique solution. ConnectivTech carefully matches the best fit, approved vendor/s to the companies we help.
Whether your organization wants one or multiple matches, you will only get technology experts that will fit your organization and it’s needs.

ConnectivTech offers a complementary service to vet technology companies and match them with your organization. Every Technology company does things uniquely and every business requires a unique solution. Let ConnectivTech take your company into the 21st Century.

ConnectivTech will leave your organization with more money than we ask you to spend. ConnectivTech can find the money within your organization by reducing costs and optimizing value OR match your organization with the right loan

Connect with Greg on Linkedin!

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Episode 67!

Mentorship is one of my favorite topics for this show. My guest Hassan Akmal and I recently discussed how to create successful mentoring relationships. Hassan is an American career and life mastery consultant, author, professor, thought leader, philanthropist, and former professional tennis player and athlete ambassador to the United States.

The purpose of mentoring is to change your life. This means that mentoring is a holistic transformation over time. Mentors help create that transformation – some in small ways, some in significant ways.

The Need for Clarity

Hassan believes that everyone has a career and life vision whether they realize it or not. There needs to be clarity, not just for yourself but for the mentors also. Mentoring experiences start with an intention to grow and the foresight about what you want and why. When you go into a mentorship session you need to be clear about what you want to get out of it and the mentor should have an idea of what wisdom they want to impart and why. When you sharpen your focus, it helps you to achieve meaningful mentoring experiences.

Successful Mentoring Relationships

One mentoring misconception that people often have is that because they’re learning from someone more experienced than them, they can’t help them. A great way to help your mentors is to make networking introductions for them. You can connect your mentors to each other.

For an ongoing experience you have to focus on building a relationship. That requires a commitment on the part of both people to create successful mentoring experiences. This is where clarity comes in again. When you know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it you have a structure to work within.  With regards to length of your mentoring relationships someone once said, “A great mentoring relationship is as long as it should be and no longer.”

In this episode we also discuss:

The concept of a personal advisory board and how to build one. How to pick the right mentors for the stage of life that you’re currently in. How to leave a mentoring relationship gracefully. The different types of mentoring experiences and how to create them. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

You can get my book "Idea Climbing: How to Create a Support System for Your Next Big Idea" here!

About the Guest

Hassan Akmal is an American career and life mastery consultant, author, professor, thought leader, philanthropist, and former professional tennis player and athlete ambassador to the United States. He is best known for his Amazon best-selling book—How to be a Career Mastermind™: Discover 7 “YOU Matter” Lenses for a Life of Purpose, Impact, and Meaningful Work and humanitarian work dedicated to Forced Migration and Health.

After over a decade as a senior leader in career services, he became the inaugural executive director of industry relations and career strategies at Columbia University in 2017 and founded the Career Design Lab. In 2018, he served on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) “Future of We” — Advisory Think Tank Committee and served as a senior advisor to Graduway, a prominent and top 10 global EdTech startup. In April 2019, he delivered the keynote address on the “Future of Career Services” at the Global Leaders Summit hosted by Graduway at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He also serves on several other prominent boards internationally.

In December of 2019, he was selected as a speaker for Columbia University’s TEDx RE-VISION, RE-FOCUS-themed event that took place on March 27, 2021. His TEDx Talk was released in May 2021 and has already received over a million views.

Prior to his current role, Akmal served as the executive director of the UCLA Career Center. There he led an ambitious re-imagination of career services. In September 2021, he became the Executive Director of Career and Professional Development at UC S...

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Today we’re discussing Tik Tok for business and my guest is Alex Hitt. How did Alex get involved with Tik Tok and get to where he is today? He embraced the latest trend. Most businesses don’t know what to do with Tik Tok. Alex moved to Hawaii in 2021 with no real estate experience and sold $3 million worth of real estate through social media with people he had never met before, much of that as a result of Tik Tok. He now coaches over 100 businesses about how to build your business on Tik Tok.

Why Should Businesses Be on Tik Tok?

One myth is that it’s only for teenagers and people looking for attention. While it may have started that way Tik Tok is much more than that now. Over 70% of people currently on Tik Tok are over the age of 20.

Tik Tok is the most downloaded app in the last three years, and definitely the most downloaded app of 2022. People use it on an average of 60 minutes per day, which is higher than any other social media platform. Yet 99% of businesses are not advertising on Tik Tok.

One barrier is that many businesses are used to advertising with images and text, which they can outsource at a reasonable rate. Tik Tok is short form video. Video can be expensive to outsource, which means companies should learn how to do it for themselves. The good news is that successful Tik Tok videos can, and probably should, be made on your phone.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to get started with posting on Tik Tok. How to find and target your ideal audience on Tik Tok. The ideal length of your videos for the platform. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

About The Guest

Alex brings more attention and care to coaching businesses on online marketing. Alex is an international award-winning hotel manager, turned social media influencer, and coach. Alex brings hospitality to marketing giving clients unparalleled access to the top creators online. He demystifies social media growth and shows clients step-by-step, click-by-click, exactly what to do online.

https://www.tiktok.com/@creator_networking

https://www.alexhitt.com/

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Episode 65!

It seems that every entrepreneur is told to write a book at some point in their career. A book is a key that opens up doors for you that you wouldn’t have been able to open without one. My guest, Justin Breen has written two books and he shares his insights and journey to becoming a bestselling author. His newest book, Epic Life has sold more than 10,000 copies in its first 10 days since launch. It has been the No. 1 overall book for sales on Amazon Kindle and is on the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best sellers lists.

He contributes much of his success to the people that he surrounds himself with. Justin shares a four-step process for building relationships.

Get to get. There’s an end game of getting something from all of your actions. Get to give. You’re getting results and starting to give back to those around you. Give to get. You’ve giving first and foremost and expecting something in return. Give to give but only to the people who “get it”. This means that you’re constantly giving and not expecting anything in return. When you create value for the top people in your industry, they’ll create value for you if you “get it”.

Justin built relationships that were key to his latest book launch long before he needed help with a book launch. That is a key point – build your relationships before you need them and add value to other peoples’ lives. Then when you ask for help, they’re willing to help you. “If you have the right mindset, it creates the right network and that creates the right opportunities” ~Justin Breen Listen in! Justin shares more advice and stories from his authorship journey including a deeper dive into business relationships, how to bring gratitude into your life on a daily basis and more golden nuggets of advice.

BrEpic Communications LLC is guided by Justin Breen, who has 20+ years in the media business, has won dozens of editing and writing awards, and is an author of countless viral stories. Justin is the Founder/CEO of the global PR firm BrEpic and exclusive connectivity platform BrEpic Network. His newest book, Epic Life, features a foreword from Dr. Peter Diamandis and has sold more than 10,000 copies in its first 10 days since launch. It has been the No. 1 overall book for sales on Amazon Kindle.

BrEpic will write clicky stories that highlight you or your business, and find the right pitch for multiple media outlets. Let BrEpic build your brand with creative content and successful pitches to mainstream media today.

Learn more about Justin:

https://linktr.ee/justinbreen

Connect with him on LinkedIn

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Episode 64!

The big idea in this episode is the power of gratitude. That’s what I discuss with my guest, David George Brooke. David AKA That Gratitude Guy, has been a speaker, coach, and best-selling author for over 25 years.  He is a former Nordstrom store manager and has managed in the corporate world for over 30 years.

After going through losses of loved ones and chasing the dream of becoming a motivational speaker, David struck out on his own at 62 years of age. He started writing in a gratitude journal every day.  Gratitude helped him so much that he decided that would be the niche he would speak about.

In 10 years of being a motivational speaker David has done around 800 talks about gratitude. His story exemplifies that it’s never too late to do what you love.

How can people bring gratitude into their lives on a consistent basis? The overarching theme is what David refers to as a gratitude practice. It starts with believing that you’re going to see the glass half full instead of half empty. This includes thinking positively, the gratitude mindset, meditation and more. Each morning David makes time for what he calls the “power hour”. He gets up, gets ready for the day, and then heads to his office. He first writes in his gratitude journal, then he heads into the living room for meditation and stretching.

The happy parts of the brain light up when you’re writing about things that you’re grateful for. It helps to focus on what you have instead of what you don’t have.

For a bigger picture of gratitude in your life you need to be aware of who you’re hanging out with. To do this David keeps track of what he calls the association evaluator. About once a year you should stop and consider the relationships you have in your life. Then you write down zero, one or two people that you should disassociate with. The same for people that you should limit your association with, people that you should enhance your association with and people that you could mentor or that could mentor you.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to end toxic relationships. More benefits of writing in a gratitude journal and how to get started. How to increase your gratitude every day. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

About The Guest

David George Brooke - That Gratitude Guy, has been a speaker, coach, and best-selling author for over 25 years.  He is a former Nordstrom store manager and has managed in the corporate world for over 30 years.

His published works include “That Gratitude Guy’s Daily Gratitude Journal”, “Monday Morning Minutes: 100 Messages of Gratitude”, “Six-Word Lessons to Embrace Gratitude” and a number of other books on gratitude.

As a result of his passion for gratitude he has presented over 850 speeches & workshops in the past 9 years, including over 100 Zoom presentations in the last 18 months during the pandemic. He travels nationally and internationally to deliver this important message.

He has over 1700 gratitude videos on YouTube, and over 1500 subscribers. Thousands have seen his message, and he is now considered a leading authority on how living a life of gratitude can enhance and improve your life both personally and professionally.

He resides in Seattle, Washington.

"Gratitude Turns What You Have Into Enough"

Website:  www.thatgratitudeguy.com

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-george-brooke-9311138/

"A gratitude practice can help you to navigate the sometimes choppy-waters of life by focusing on all of your blessings and abundance"

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Episode 63!

Finding or starting your own professional group of advisors can be a daunting task, but a great investment of your time if you know how to go about it. That’s what I discuss with Electra Govonni in this episode. Electra is a business coach who helps owners of small and medium sized companies go from barely surviving to thriving in their businesses.   In addition, she facilitates bringing business owners together in peer advisory groups to leverage real world advice from people who know exactly what it means to run a business.

Get Involved with Professional Organizations

If you need help growing your business the good news is there are more people out there that can help you than you may even realize. When you get involved with professional groups and get out of your same industry, talk to people you don’t normally talk to and then talk about your business you might encounter some personal skepticism. That means that you’re thinking “How can someone that doesn’t deeply understand my business help me?” That’s where the group dynamic is important. You overcome that skepticism when the group gives you feedback that resonates with you. You need to go into those situations with an open mind.

How to Create a Circle of Trusted Advisors

One of the first places to look for advisors is in the segments of business that you’re not strong in. Find the people that love to do what you hate to do and bring them on board. The second dynamic to look at is finding people go approach problem solving in different ways than you do. That type of person can help you mitigate risk and move in directions that you haven’t even thought of.

When you engage with those people plan of choosing at the most 10 that will meet monthly. From there you create a safe space, where nothing leaves the room, and you share your plans with the group.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to embrace vulnerability to move your business forward. How to get out of your own way with the support of your group. Why people want to be included in your circle of trusted advisors. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice

About the Guest

Electra is the CEO of Finding Parity, Inc. and owner of TAB Boston NW.  With over 30+ years’ experience in the FinTech industry, she is a skilled executive and coach who specializes in leading transformative changes in companies and empowering a diverse and engaged workforce to achieve their personal and professional vision.

Electra holds a BS in Computer Science from Merrimack College and a Masters Certificate from Boston College’s Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics – Leadership for Change.  She is also a certified partner of Predictive Index working with companies to develop talent strategies that align with their business strategies.

Email:  Electra@tabbostonnw.com

Phone: 781-365-9778

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/electra-govoni/

Website:  Electra Govoni Top Business Coach | TAB Boston Northwest (thealternativeboard.com)

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Episode 62!

When it comes to building relationships in the business world there is a relational model and a transactional model, I discuss which one is better with my guest Jonathan Rosen. Jonathan founded Collaberex 6 years ago with the sole mission of helping executives, small business owners and professional service providers build meaningful, impactful, purposeful, relationships with others who will help you achieve your goals.

Jonathan believes that there aren’t professional relationships and personal relationships, there are just relationships. For instance, if you ask business owners “Can you describe your relationships with your best customers?”, they probably won’t respond with the ones that buy the most. They’ll describe the ones that have been with them the longest, the relationships that have the most trust, the ones that invite them to family and social events and so on. It becomes a competitive advantage to build meaningful relationships.

When it comes to “there’s just relationships” how do you know when it’s mostly personal or mostly professional? Jonathan explains that if you meet someone at a professional networking event, you both know that the primary driver of the relationship is business even if you become friends afterwards. The caveat is that you should take time to get to know someone and develop a relationship (relational model) and not discard people that don’t express an interest to buy during your first conversation (transactional model). During those initial conversations start by discovering what you have in common, personally and professionally, and let the conversation grow from there.

Jonathan believes that the point of a meeting is to have another meeting which can lead to a meaningful relationship.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to build trusted relationships that result in both people wanting to help each other. How to start your own peer group that will help you grow your business. Why accountability will help you achieve goals faster. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice

About the Guest

Jonathan Rosen founded Collaberex 6 years ago with the sole mission of helping executives, small business owners and professional service providers build meaningful, impactful, purposeful, relationships with others who will help you achieve your goals. With a dozen virtual groups in New York, Philadelphia & Boston (and growing) we are on our way to making an impact on more people's lives through our 100% relationship focused, peer advisory / professional development model.

Jonathan brings more than 30 years’ experience in strategic planning, operations management, organizational restructuring and start-up formation.  Having held positions as CEO, COO and Founder of several small to mid-market businesses in the NY Metro area over the past 35 years, he has a detailed knowledge of many business sectors including, manufacturing, distribution, importing, retail and e-commerce. Additionally, his law degree and BBA and Masters in Finance, all from The George Washington University, provide his clients with an advisor with the expertise and experience who can professionally guide them step by step through whatever challenges they face.

When he’s not helping others build relationships you can find him spending time with his wife, kids and grandkids, playing tennis and holding his breath hoping the Mets will keep winning.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancollaberex/

https://collaberex.com/beliefs/

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Episode 61!

More referrals are the holy grail for entrepreneurs and sales professionals. But how do you get more? That’s what I discuss with Matt Ward in this episode. Matt is an author, speaker and referral coach that teaches service-based small business owners by showing them how easy getting more word-of-mouth referrals can be if you just have the right mindset.

The first thing Matt shared is the more we care, the more referrals we get. Check in with your network frequently, care about their success and what they’re doing. When you do that, you’ll build mutually beneficial and valuable relationships that will result in referrals. If you’re not getting referrals, it’s because you don’t have close relationships with the right people in your network.

How do you build those relationships without being “salesy”? One way is to check in with them regularly just to see how they’re doing. This is something as simple as and email simply saying “Hello! How are you? I just want to check in.” You can also send the same message in a handwritten card. Not many people do that these days and you’ll stay top of mind with whomever you send the card to.

Why don’t people do that? They’re often too busy chasing the next sales instead of investing time to build relationships. A common quote is “People do business with people they know, like and trust.” Matt believes that people do business with people they know, like, trust, and care about. That only happens when you develop deep relationships with people and forget about the transactional mindset.

Taking it a step further, Matt believes that people should give without the expectation of getting anything in return. That can be a tough habit to create. When you give like that people are going to want to be around you. They’re going to care about you because you’re brightening up their lives. With time, they will be happy to send referrals to you.

In this episode we also discuss:

More ways to develop meaningful relationships. What NOT to do while networking and developing relationships. Why it’s better to ask for introductions to referral sources than potential clients. How to stand out from your competitors …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice

About the Guest

In 2002 Matt began working with business owners through his digital marketing agency, inConcert Web Solutions, to improve their bottom line, gain more clients, and grow their respective businesses. He then sold his agency in 2018 so that he could focus on helping businesses get more word of mouth referrals! He's the author of "MORE...Word of Mouth Referrals, Lifelong Customers & Raving Fans and, “The High-Five Effect: How To Do Business With People Who Bring You Joy”.

Matt believes that creating deeper and more meaningful connections will result in more word of mouth referrals. He personally uses this philosophy in his own business. Matt is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and he and his companies have received numerous awards, including:

40 Under 40 Chamber Small Business Owner of the Year Top Web Firm 7 Years in a Row Better Business Bureau Torch Award Finalist

Connect with Matt!

Website - Professional Speaker - Matt Ward - Get More Word Of Mouth Referrals

Free Download - Fire Up Referrals Engine Kit - Breakthrough Champion

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwardspeaks/

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This episode’s big idea is business planning for a recession: Four critical steps for CEOs. My guest, Glenn Gow believes that any company can find a pathway to success regardless of what’s happening in their economic environment. Glenn was a CEO for 25 years. Now, he's a CEO Coach. He's going to make you more successful. But it's not only about being successful, it's about being happy while achieving success. If you want both, listen to this episode!

When a problem like a recession hits you need to step back, take a breath, and then take action.

When you take a step back you need to acknowledge that there are things in this world that you can control, and those things are what you should focus on. Accepting that there are things that you cannot control is key here; sometimes the situation at hand simply is what it is. The stock market is what it is. The buying behavior of our prospects and customers is what it is, and so on. Those are the things that you have to accept and face reality. Once you accept that you choose the places that you want to focus on where you can make change happen. After you step back and take a deep breath it’s time to get focused.

After you’re focused on the right things you need to create a new action plan for your new situation. One of the first things to do within your plan is reduce your burn, what you’re spending money on. Unfortunately, this might mean you have to lay people off. When that happens, you need to be in the mindset that good people will get hired by somebody else.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to find new ways to cut expenses. How to become a great communicator with the people that you work with. How to execute your new plan. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice

About the Guest

After graduating from Harvard Business School, Glenn came to Silicon Valley and worked for a start-up that failed. Then he worked in sales and marketing at Oracle. He then founded Crimson Consulting Group — a highly successful strategy consulting firm, while serving as CEO for 25 years. Crimson helped Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, and many start-ups become even more successful through strategic consultation.

After his stint as a CEO, he worked in venture capital for five years. During that time, he coached the CEOs of his portfolio companies. Now, Glenn coaches CEOs to success and happiness. He can be found at glenngow.com.

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Today’s big idea is the subject of beating yourself up and how to stop it. That’s what I discuss with Brian Reinbold, who is The Voice of BraveHearts Radio and The Host of BraveHearts Adventures. Brian is a Master Storyteller and loves to do Voice Work and EmCee Events.

Many people do this about the things that they set out to do but didn’t accomplish on time. Brian found himself in a bad place thinking about that and came up with an idea. He took out a sheet of paper and wrote down what he did accomplish. Brian gave himself the grace to get a “B” for the day instead of a failing grade. The next step was to figure out what he needed to do for an “A” or even an “A+”. It’s a simple system that you might find valuable the next time you find yourself in a bad space mentally.

How do you differentiate a good idea that you might want to bring to life and a great idea that you should definitely focus on? A good idea is any idea that is well intentioned. That being said there are a limited number of things that you can successfully put your time, talent, energy and love into. Trying to do too many things with those limited resources is one road to beating yourself up because you can’t do everything. When you want to bring an idea to life leveraging those four things you know that you have a great idea. Only put great ideas on your to-do list and you’ll experience much less frustration because you’re being much more strategic.

In this episode we also discuss:

The concepts of love and appreciation in the business world. Why gratitude is the beginning of all good things and how to practice it. How to combine purpose and passion to lead a happier life. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice

About the Guest

BRIAN REINBOLD is at his best when he is helping others to become their best. He is the eternal optimist, an enlightening and uplifting speaker, and a community builder who inspires people in all walks of life to rise and meet their challenges through the service of others. With his innovative approach to leadership development, soothing voice, engaging sense of humor, passion for mentoring, and ability to harness the power of analogy to create the aha moment, Brian invites you to dream bigger, accomplish more, and have more fun than you ever thought possible.

Brian is the architect of a successful career that spans business ownership, consulting, coaching, sales management, sales training, philanthropy, professional speaking, and broadcasting, As the host of the BraveHearts Radio Show he is taking the thought leadership conversation to the next level, providing an outlet for experts to broaden their reach and find a target audience. Promoting not just his own coaching and content, but that of other Speakers Authors and Coaches as well. As the Mission Specialist, he is elevating the profile of BraveHearts for Kids, a charity organization that supports the needs of pediatric cancer patients and their families.

Through his corporate board experience, broadcasting platform, writings, and instructional methods, Brian is crystallizing the concept of mission-building behavior and helping mission-driven organizations connect with their employees and/or constituents. He is known as a design thinker and a dot connector who can align people with ideas, course a path, and generate a best-fit solution. His vision is to create an environment that supports open communication, increases employee and customer retention, and drives profitability.

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn here!

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If you want to bring a big idea to life in the entrepreneurship world there are two things that you need to focus on and take action on: The concept of service vs pleasing and creating value. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Business Development Coach Steve Lover.

Let’s start with service vs. pleasing and why it’s so important.

When we’re younger we’re taught to please everyone. “If you’re good at the store you get a treat when we get home.” If you’re good in school the teacher won’t pick on you as much and so on and then we reach the business world. Pleasing is all about making people love you, so you keep doing things so people will like you, love you, care about you.

Service is another story. It’s completely focused on the person you’re dealing with; it’s not focused on you. You’re taking the focus off of you and feeling good about yourself and instead asking “How can I help and serve this person?” When you have that focus the entire way that you show up is different.

One example of serving instead of pleasing happens when your product or service isn’t a fit for the other person. Instead of making the sale anyways you refer them to someone that can better serve them. Another example is giving away a lot of solid advice during your first meeting. You realize that’s all they needed so you don’t pursue them as a client. It’s about what does that person need and want and how you can increase the quality of their life.

We also discuss:

More ways to be of service to the people around you. How to make what you do so valuable that people will want to work with you and refer you. How to decide what you’re worth and how much to charge for your services. Why you should embrace your uniqueness. …and other golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Steve Lover is a high impact business development specialist. He helps small business owners and CEOs increase both profitability and productivity. With his direction, business owners have revamped their sales and marketing departments making them more effective, increased employee engagement through better accountability and designed smoother running businesses through higher quality leadership.

He has been speaking to audiences, getting rave reviews and has been invited to speak for Chase Bank, Century 21 and Jackson National to name a few. Before starting his coaching practice in 2005, Steve was a corporate trainer for a Fortune 100 Financial Services company, a sales representative and a Rabbi.

He is a member of the board of directors of the local Rabbinical School and is involved with helping kids at risk. He speaks three different languages fluently and has lived on three different countries. He is Married for 39 years and loves spending time with his 6 children and a slew of grandchildren.

Visit Steve online:

www.BlueMountainCoaching.com

www.BlueMountainAcademy.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/your-business-coach/

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Many entrepreneurs feel alone in their endeavors. It helps to create a support system. That’s what I discuss with Marcy Fortnow, founder of Engaging Play and Diana Patel, an executive coach.  We started the discussion by examining stump speeches and sprout speeches.

Stump speech is where you establish yourself as an expert while giving a sprout speech means you’re willing to grow with the help of others. Diana and Marcy loved the concept and decided to create a virtual event, or space, for entrepreneurs to come together and explore what’s possible. They shared some advice for you if you’re interested in creating your own sprout event. The first suggestion is that you collaborate with people that you admire. This usually means they’re further along on the know, like and trust path of your relationship. This helps you collaborate quicker and with more success at the event.

For an activity at your event Marcy suggests the “rose, bud, thorn” activity. A rose is something that is going great in your life. A bud is something that is going to happen in your life soon. A thorn is something that’s not going great for you. Each person journals about those three areas of their life. Then everyone shares their bud, something they want to grow a little big more. Then the audience shares their thorn. Those last two shares are essentially asking their peers for help.

We also discuss:

How to speak your goals and share them with people that can help you. A deeper dive into how to create a safe space to share with your peers. How to invite people to your sprout event. What to do after your event to create lasting results. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guests

Marcy Fortnow

Marcy Fortnow is the owner of Engaging Play (engagingplay.com), a team building and training company that delivers workshops and programs through traditional training, active facilitation, and engaging play. She develops and delivers experiential learning programs for corporate groups, organizations, and boards, to raise their leadership level, improve teamwork, enable better communication and problem solving, and increase productivity.

Prior to beginning her entrepreneurial ventures, Marcy accumulated more than twelve years in the business software world, in training and development, change management, and implementation and consulting, for both domestic and European clients. She has a BS in Psychology, and an MBA from Boston University. Marcy is a certified John Maxwell Leadership Trainer and is a certified Disc consultant in Advanced Behavioral Analysis. Marcy is also certified as a LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator, working with clients around alignment, innovation and problem solving. She is an extremely involved community member, volunteers and serves in leadership on several boards, and was the Atlanta President of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) from 2017 to 2019.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcyfortnow/

https://engagingplay.com/

Diana Patel 

Diana is founder and owner of Resonant LLC. Her multidisciplinary approach combined with her drive to make a difference in others’ lives makes her a highly impactful executive coach. She’s also a strategic development partner at Continuing Education Productions where she helps sustain cohesive, high-performance organizations through employee training.

With over a decade of experience in consulting and leadership development, Diana helps business leaders discover, develop, and share best practices. Early on in her career, she co-founded a biotech company and had the unique opportunity to cross-collaborate with physicians, engineers, lawyers, biologists, and business leaders.

Diana double majored in Psychology and Speech Communication at Univers...

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Episode 56!

The topic of “manifesting success” came up recently during a conversation with Colin Sprake. Since 2004, Colin has helped hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and their families make lasting changes in their personal and professional lives.

Colin believes that we are manifesting all the time. Sometimes we’re manifesting what we do want sometimes we’re manifesting we don’t want. This happens because what focus on is what we vibrate internally which determines what we receive externally in the world around us. It’s important to realize that you need to focus on manifesting what you really want in your life and not spend time thinking about what you’re worried about. You can do this by practicing changing your vibration.

You can get started with studying and leveraging this formula: Your thoughts lead to feelings that lead to actions that lead to results. People often try to improve their lives by positive affirmations. The trouble is that positive affirmations don’t work if they’re coming from your head and not your heart. You need to be emotionally attached to them and believe what you’re asking for will happen. It’s about the words that you’re using and the things that you’re thinking that impact your vibration internally. Two ways to shift your inner vibration are through meditation and visualization. That will change your frequency, which is like using a radio – a small shift in frequency changes from one station to another. You can shift to a productive and happy frequency. You need to pay attention to every thought that you’re thinking and every word that you say because everything has a frequency.

One roadblock people often put up for themselves is always wanting more. The feelings associated with want are actually feelings of lack. When you’re vibrating lack all you will get is “less of” in your life. How can you change this? With gratitude. For example, if you have a book launch coming up don’t focus only on what you want, focus much more on how grateful you are for every step of the launch process and your launch will go even better.

We also discuss:

More about the power of gratitude and how to practice it. How to “feel it to reveal it”. Why it’s not about what you know, it’s about who you are. How to stop self-sabotage. How to meet the right people at the right time to change the arc of your business. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Since 2004, Colin Sprake has helped hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and their families make lasting changes in their personal and professional lives. He’s been privileged enough to speak on Tony Robbins’ stage, and present with ack Canfield, John Assaraf, Joe Dispenza, JJ Virgin, Les Brown, Marcia Weider, and countless other global thought leaders.

He is a 4 times best-selling author and business mentor with a proven track record of personally building profitable companies from the ground up. He’s an extremely passionate and engaging presenter that specializes in mindset, realizing personal potential, and is an absolute genius at business strategy and scaling.

Connect with Colin on LinkedIn here

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Today the subject of “Flow” is the focus of our conversation. My guest is Chris M. King, executive performance coach, author, speaker, and founder of Status Flow.

What is flow? Athletes refer to it as being in the zone, its runner’s high, basketball players call it going unconscious and other people have other names. Flow is the optimal state of consciousness where you feel your best, perform your best, you’re not stressed out and you’re using fewer resources to achieve bigger goals.

What roles can flow play in bringing a big idea to life? Before looking at that Chris agreed that if you spend too much time in flow you can overload your brain. We discuss the balance between being in flow and taking time off from flow. If you want to get creative with bringing your big idea to life flow can play a big role, but it’s almost counter-intuitive. The primary areas of the brain that we’re used to working with don’t play a role in flow. You need to set the unique conditions for flow and behave in a certain way that will create the flow state that you’re looking for. To do this you can train into flow and train out of flow to prevent overload.

“Flow triggers” are the conditions that need to be present to create the neurochemical cocktail that flow is the result of. One of them is complete concentration. You need to create an environment where you are only focused on the project you’re working on and not be distracted by cell phones and other things. Risk is another one that is tied to concentration. When you take a risk, you get very focused on what you’re doing to avoid problems. This helps with flow.

In this episode we also discuss:

The flow paradox: By trying too hard to get into flow you can keep yourself out of it. We discuss what you can do to avoid this problem. How to leverage other flow triggers. How to recognize when you’re in flow if you haven’t consciously been aware of it before. …and other golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

You’ve renegotiated deals, jobs, and even relationships. What if you could renegotiate your existence?  You can! And you can make the impossible, or even the unimaginable, a reality quicker than you thought!

“Pique-performance” (spelling is intentional) executive coach, author, and speaker Chris M. King sets the conditions for “flow,” a.k.a. “the zone.” He facilitates the journeys that lead to the discoveries that create sustainable advancements for organizations and individuals to quickly achieve the impossible. Chris has particular expertise with professional women and women-led/focused teams, ensuring they are running their businesses and lives instead of their businesses and lives running them.

Chris’s background is working in technology, broadcasting, and healthcare. He has trained with the very best in flow research including the Flow Research Collective, the Flow Genome Project, David Bayer, Brendon Burchard, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Unbeatable Mind, and regularly trains in mental and physical endurance with retired US Navy SEALs.

Chris’s book, Renegotiate Your Existence: Unlock Your Impossible Life is now available on Amazon.

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Episode 54!

In this episode my guest, Robbie Samuels, and I discuss big idea of bringing a new service offering to life while marketing it. Robbie is an author, speaker, and business growth strategy coach recognized as a networking expert by Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Lifehacker, and Inc.

When it comes to creating service offerings don’t just assume that you know what your audience wants. Many people dream up a big solution to solve a big problem; but the people they’re reaching out to don’t have the same understanding of what the big problem is. They often think they have a small problem that needs a small solution. Robbie says it’s like they think they need a band aid and we’re trying to sell them surgery – it’s a huge disconnect.

How can you avoid this problem? By creating an offering with the people you plan on serving. Identify prospects within your existing network who already know, like and trust you. Have around 30 conversations with those people over a six-to-twelve-week time frame. If the response is positive from those conversations determine exactly what you want to create and then do a pilot test of it. Invite some of those people that you spoke with to be in the pilot. If the response is negative move on to your next big idea and repeat the process.

In this episode we also discuss:

What NOT to do when you’re building a list. How to write great marketing copy. More ways to bring your big idea to life. What to do after you run a successful pilot. How to price each iteration of your big idea for a service offering. …and more golden nuggets of advice.

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Robbie Samuels is an author, speaker, and business growth strategy coach recognized as a networking expert by Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Lifehacker, and Inc. He is also a virtual event design consultant and executive Zoom producer recognized as an industry expert in the field of digital event design by JDC Events.

Robbie is the author of "Croissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferences" and "Small List, Big Results: Launch a Successful Offer No Matter the Size of Your Email List." He is a Harvard Business Review contributor.

His clients include thought leaders, entrepreneurial women, associations, national, and statewide advocacy organizations, women’s leadership summits, including Feeding America, California WIC Association, and AmeriCorps.

Robbie is the host of the On the Schmooze podcast and #NoMoreBadZoom Virtual Happy Hours.

Want a LOT of free, helpful content? Visit https://robbiesamuels.com/mark

Download bonus content at www.SmallListBigResults.com and www.CroissantsvsBagels.com.

Robbie's journey as an entrepreneur is shared at www.robbiesamuels.com/about.

Robbie's podcast is On the Schmooze (please note spelling).

Connect with Robbie! www.linkedin.com/in/robbiesamuels

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Episode 53!

In this episode my guest, Jonathan Sparks, and I discuss how mentors can help get you unstuck. Jonathan the Founder of Sparks Law that handles business and transactional matters for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Additionally, Jonathan has a weekly podcast and as a musician has released a new single monthly in 2022.

Jonathan believes that all entrepreneurs need mentors. In order to find them you need to be humble. There are people out there that have grown a lot more than you have and you should learn from their mistakes and successes. Your growth is only limited by how much feedback you can take in without freaking out. You could grow and have all the success that you’ve dreamed about if you would listen to people that know better than you that have been down the path that you’re trying to travel down. They know where the speedbumps and potholes are and can save you time and energy by avoiding them.

Unfortunately, many people set up roadblocks to mentorship and don’t reach out for help because they’re afraid of their own success. For example, some people will say, “I want a million dollars” but they don’t want it or else they would find a way to get it. To them success is scary. Part of them knows that if they were highly successful, they would lose a lot of their friends due to jealousy.

When you really want to improve yourself, you need to seek out mentors that are on a higher level than you. If you only interact with people that are on the same level as you, they will inadvertently pull you down when you try to grow. The only way to level up is to leave your community and find a new community. Mentors can show you how to do that.

In this episode we also discuss:

How entrepreneurs can create mentoring experiences. How mentors can help you rewire your brain and let go of limiting beliefs and negative thoughts. Why many people on levels higher than you appreciate and welcome the opportunity to be a mentor. One great question that every mentee should ask their mentors. …and other golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Jonathan Sparks is the Founder of Sparks Law. He works as an in-house counsel for small to medium sized businesses. His motivational, self-help weekly podcast deals specifically with improving your life and becoming the best version of yourself. Before forming Sparks Law, Jonathan worked at the United States Department of Justice, the United States Senate Office, the Attorney General’s office for the District of Columbia, and as an attorney at King & Spalding here in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School, where he excelled at Corporate and Business law, Torts, Litigation, and Securities law.

Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn here.

Visit Sparks Law Practice Here

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Episode 52! The foundation of great mentoring experiences is knowing how to ask great questions. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Kevin Bruner, a Fractional VP of Sales and the President of Mash Bill Consulting.

Mentoring is about giving you, the mentee, the empowerment to make good decisions based on your experience and knowledge. Mentors help you get out of your own head and out of your own way. Good mentors don’t make decisions for you or tell you what to do. They guide you in the right direction and let you decide what to do and what not to do.

Through Kevin’s experience as a mentor his goal has been to teach a person to fish. He wants the mentees to grow and not come to him with a problem without having thought it through and bringing at least one suggestion for a solution to the problem to the conversation. This helps the mentees think for themselves and helps draw solutions out of their mentees. A great question for a mentor to ask in this situation is “What do you think you should do?”

Mentees also need to have “a seat at the table”. They’re responsible for asking great questions that, when answered, will help them solve problems and create opportunities. Asking questions lets the mentor know that you’re engaged in the conversation and are grateful for their help.

In this episode we also discuss:

Examples of questions that you should be asking your mentors. What NOT to do during mentoring conversations. Examples of questions that mentors should be asking their mentees. How to turn mentoring experiences into mentoring relationships. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Kevin Bruner, a forward-thinking Seasoned Entrepreneur with a solid background in business management, operational planning and revenue generation. An accomplished CEO well-versed in assessing risk, developing solutions, and implementing positive changes to achieve sustainability and growth in challenging market conditions. Adept at building and strengthening business and customer relationships. History of streamlining operations, increasing revenue, and reducing costs to maximize business profits. Decisive and strategic leader with demonstrated track record of success.

You can connect with Kevin on LinkedIn here.

“A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” — Bob Proctor.

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Relationship marketing is often overlooked. When it’s embraced it can change the trajectory of your business if you know how to harness the power of it. That’s what I discuss with Jason Abrahams, a fractional CMO, growth strategist, and founder of Next Play Marketing.

Is it business development or is it relationship marketing? Jason believes they’re one in the same. It’s all part of one growth strategy. It’s about nurturing relationships with those people that know you and eventually with new people that don’t know you yet. If you’re not nurturing them and staying top of mind with them, the reputation you’ve built will be forgotten.

A one-time meeting probably isn’t going to lead to a referral or business development. People need to know, like and trust you before they’ll do business with you. That’s where relationships come in.  Relationships are ongoing interactions and that includes how you stay top of mind with the other person in between one-on-one meetings. That can be done in a variety of ways online. That can be an email sharing a book or blog recommendation. Building solid relationships can lead to business development opportunities because when people feel like they know you, they believe that you will follow through with a referral and provide quality service.

In this episode we also discuss:

Why your next client or referral is already in your database. More ways to foster professional relationships. How to balance nurturing existing relationships with creating new ones. How and when to ask for referrals to potential clients. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Jason Abrahams is a veteran marketing communications executive, growth strategist, and founder of Next Play Marketing. Utilizing his rich, market-tested playbook and the “next play” philosophy, Jason provides fractional marketing leadership to growth-focused small and mid-market businesses. Acting as an outsourced Chief Marketing Officer, Jason has a proven record of building stronger brands, driving client engagement, and attracting more leads while maximizing return on marketing spend.

Before founding Next Play Marketing, Jason led research and strategy and oversaw marketing execution at a Chicago-based full-service marketing agency. He has also held various client-side marketing leadership positions, was an instructor at the Digital Professional Institute at Tribeca Flashpoint, and frequently speaks on marketing trends and best practices. Learn more at https://nextplaymarketing.com or connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

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Episode 50!

Mentoring doesn’t have to be a formal program or system; it can be natural and organic. This doesn’t mean that you sit back and wait for it to happen, there are things you can do to create successful mentoring experiences. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Shelby Scarbrough, a serial entrepreneur, author, and mentor.

Sometimes mentoring happens accidentally. How do you know when someone is mentoring you? When they show an interest in your career, professional development and they want to help you succeed. It’s not a transaction, it’s a relationship. When you realize the opportunity it’s your role to nurture the relationship in a positive way. One of the best ways to do that is by expressing gratitude for their mentorship. You can also send thank you notes and share your successes with your mentor. Let them know that in some way they were part of your successes.

While it sounds counter-intuitive, Shelby believes that mentoring isn’t about giving and getting advice. She learned this through the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) which has forums of peers that meet regularly. They don’t give advice, they share experiences. One example of having a mentoring conversation is to not say “You should…”. That means you’re telling the other person what to do. By sharing experiences, the mentee can draw their own conclusions and decide what actions to take.

In this episode we also discuss:

How failures can contribute to your success in a mentoring relationship. Why teaching the “Why?” of an action is an essential element of somebody learning something. The importance of setting expectations for mentoring experiences and relationships. The components of successful mentoring experiences. How to approach potential mentors. …and other golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Shelby speaks on topics of leadership and entrepreneurship spreading a message of personal responsibility, civility, and joy to audiences around the world. She was a TEDx Napa Valley speaker on Civility and has addressed a conference on entrepreneurship at the United Nations.

What unites all Shelby Scarbrough’s endeavors is a dedication to civility that she refined while working in the White House, the U.S. Department of State, and in her own business, Practical Protocol.

A renowned speaker on entrepreneurship and civility, Scarbrough was a graduation speaker for her Harvard Business School graduation class of the Owner/President Management program. She has inspired audiences as a TEDx speaker and spent three years addressing entrepreneurs around the world while serving on the global board of Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

In 2021 she co-founded the Global School of Entrepreneurship creating a new way of MBA for entrepreneurs.

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Episode 49!

It’s rare that a single person can bring a big idea to life by themselves. You’ll need a team and how to build that team is what I discussed with Bill Haase, entrepreneur, and financial advisor.

How to many big ideas come to life? It happens when you take one small idea and ask yourself “How big can this go, where’s the market?” Here’s a great example: Bill was a mentor in a local high school mentorship program, and they asked him to build a financial literacy program for the school. Bill thought to himself “If I’m going to build a financial literacy program for one, why not build it for all the high schools in the country?” You have to start somewhere, and you may as well dream big! Bill shares more about his story in this episode.

How do you pick the right idea to bring to life for yourself or become part of someone else’s big idea? It comes down to what kind of person you are and what’s important to you. Then it becomes time to build a foundation for your big idea because you can’t build anything else until you have a good foundation. One of the first things you need is to have the right people in the right places, you have to have your product or service ready for public consumption, you need to know who you’re going to market to, where to find those people and more. As Bill shares you have to have all of those things in place before going into the real world because the real world will slap you hard if you aren’t ready.

Once people know that you’re building something, if they believe in it then they want to become a part of it. Some people will come out of the woodwork and tell you how you should be doing what you’re doing, others will be supportive. When people start approaching you as the “big idea creator” you need to hold true to your vision and only enroll other people that share your vision.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to find the right people to join your team. Why micromanaging people will create problems and how to avoid them. How to align everyone’s vision so nobody gets “steamrolled” in the process. Why you need to find people that are great at what you are weak at. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

I have 37 years background in the financial world with 20 being in the trading pits of Chicago. I’ve worked in Stocks, Stock Options, Bonds, Currencies, S&P futures, and Eurodollars (Interest Rate Futures), helping international traders and banks navigate the financial markets that affect their world.

The last 8 years have been primarily helping individuals, families, and business owners plan their future. I also have a radio show/podcast that helps small to medium size businesses grow from conception to hiring their 500th employee and have started a new business where we will provide a national financial literacy program starting with high school students and beyond. Programs will also include skills like organizational, negotiating, decision making, leadership, and communication in the business arena.

Link to my show:

Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am CST: www.216thenet.com, https://youtube.com/c/216thenet, or https://www.facebook.com/haase.bill

Moving soon to Podcasting and Roku TV

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“You’re not selling a service; you’re selling an experience.” That’s what I discussed with Andrew Hays, an entrepreneur and attorney.

What sticks with people is the experience that they have with you. All of your clients should have a similar experience, from beginning to end, which means you’re engaging them with a similar process. A process is a list of things that have to happen in a certain order. A successful process will create successful experiences.

The relationship and the memory of the relationship is what lasts in your clients’ mind. Ten years from now your clients probably won’t remember the terms of your contract, but they will remember how you treated them. That’s what they’ll share with their friends.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to avoid the pitfalls of bad customer experiences. Why communication is crucial to building client relationships. The importance of interviewing your clients. How to choose the right networking groups to join. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Andrew is the managing partner of a boutique Chicago law firm specializing in estate and trust administration and litigation. Andrew founded Hays Firm LLC in 2008 when he was two years out of law school. The firm has grown from a one-man operation to one of the most respected estate and trust litigation firms in Chicago. Hays Firm LLC is currently in a growth stage with the goal of providing the best client experience possible. Learn more about Hays Firm LLC:

www.haysfirm.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhaysfirmllc/ Or feel free to connect directly with Andy at: ahays@hayfirm.com

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Dave Young and I discussed the visionary’s curse, especially with entrepreneurs. Dave is the co-host of the Builder Nuggets podcast, a business coach and entrepreneur. He realized that he was experiencing the curse when he was developing an imposter syndrome.

Dave was really good at developing ideas and coming up with strategies, but really struggled when it came to taking action and following through with the strategies. He had lots of good ideas, lots to share with people but he would get frustrated because he didn’t know how to make the ideas come to life. This problem hit home for him while sharing a new idea with a close friend. Instead of supporting Dave’s idea his friend said, “Don’t even tell me about this, I’m sick of hearing about stuff that you’re not going to do.” Dave told me that in one way it was a punch in the gut, while at the same time it was the gift of a wake-up call.

Dave started to wonder if he was delusional. When you have great ideas, sharing them kicks off a chemical stimulus in your brain. You’re feeling something and you’re excited about sharing a big idea. The downside is that you’re so focused on sharing the idea that you’re less compelled to make it happen because that’s when the real work begins.

How can you solve this problem? By partnering with integrators – people that love to get stuff done. They’re going to want exciting projects to work on and meaningful work in general. This doesn’t have to be a paid position, at first it might be a mastermind group that you can confide in or friends to help you in their spare time.

One thing will hold true with solving that problem: You have to be vulnerable. You have to ask for help. You can’t just “fake it until you make it” because if you project everything as “all is well” then nobody will offer to help you.

We also discuss:

Why you should work on your strengths and not your weaknesses. The implementor’s curse and how to overcome it when you’re the visionary. How to “elevate and delegate” instead of just assigning tasks to your team. How to include vulnerability in your presentations to get more support for your ideas. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

Dave grew up in a small town on Georgian Bay, Ontario Canada but always had big ideas and dreams. As a teenager he became fascinated with Real Estate and bought his first apartment building at age 25. While developing a real estate portfolio Dave launched a real estate technology company to help shift the organized real estate community.

A chance phone call in 2013 led to Dave becoming a Regional Partner with upstart custom home building network, Alair Homes. Today he's the regional partner and business coach in 5 different Alair Homes regions covering North Carolina, South Carolina, Manitoba, and Eastern Ontario. In 2021, Dave and co-host Duane Johns, launched The Builder Nuggets Podcast. Each week they bring together thought leaders to help contractors everywhere build more rewarding businesses.

Dave has been married to Terrilynne for 17 years. They have three teenage daughters and live in Newmarket, ON, Canada. The family enjoys spending summers in Muskoka and escaping to the Exumas, Bahamas in the winter. Dave loves playing hockey, skiing, boating, going on spontaneous adventures, and 'thinking about thinking'.

Connect with David:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveyoung13/

www.buildernuggets.com

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 46 Many companies don’t have a sales plan or a strategy to accelerate business growth according to my guest Scott Rosenzweig. Scott is a Sales & Marketing Accelerator dedicated to the growth of small & midsized (SMB) businesses.

Unfortunately, lack of performance from a business is usually related to the fact that they don’t have a plan. The sales playbook is a companion to the sales plan. The sales plan is all about the numbers. The sales playbook is an actionable tool that contains all of the best practices that a company is already doing or best practices that their successful competitors are doing that they want to emulate within their own company.

Scott estimates that only 40% of companies, probably less, have a sales playbook. Why? Because they don’t know how to create one and they don’t make the time to create one.

If you want to create one you need to start by examining and defining your best sales practices. The first element that needs to be in your sales playbook is the Business Model Canvas. In short that is one page that outlines everything about the business that you need to know. Another important element is an analysis of your competitors. What are they doing? What do their processes look like? Then you need to have a follow up process that helps you gain new clients and grow your business.

Once you have your sales playbook outlined you can combine it with your marketing campaigns to create a sales and marketing playbook.

In this episode we also discuss:

What a defined sales process is and how to create yours. The similarities and differences between your sales and marketing efforts. The importance of an assessment of your sales and marketing efforts at least once a year. How to perform your own sales and marketing assessment. …and other golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About the Guest

Scott Rosenzweig is a seasoned commercial executive sales/marketing leader & sustainability strategist known as being personable, versatile, and collaborative. Scott spent the first 15 years of his career in publicly traded companies developing strategies to drive global expansion and profitable growth, then joined private equity throughout his next 15 years to lead several companies and teams towards increasing levels of success - both organic and acquisitive.

Having held titles of President, Chief Commercial Officer, SVP Sales & Marketing and more, Scott is now leveraging his experience and network as a trusted B2B Partner for small & mid-sized businesses driving exponential sales growth, profitability, developing winning cultures, and introducing buyers with sellers through his two consulting businesses: Sales Growth Advisors and ESG Core Advisors

Learn More:

) https://salesgrowthadvisors.com/ ) scott@salesgrowthadvisors ) 303-225-9303

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 45 If you’re an entrepreneur you’re constantly presenting to people. But are you doing it effectively? I recently discussed a component of successful presentations with Joel Weldon, a Hall of Fame professional speaker with over 3,000 paid talks and who has personally coached over 10,000 speakers. Yes, he knows a thing or two about presentations.

A presentation is anything that you’re communicating ideas to someone else. This could be an email, a phone call, a video call, an interview and, of course, live and virtual business presentations and many other formats. All of those are the same in the sense that they need to start some place and end some place. According to Joel, to successfully open and close a presentation you need to have a S.Y.S.T.E.M.

What is that?

“Saves You Stress, Time, Energy, Money”.

Think about the last presentation you made. How did it open and close? Were you strategic? The key tip for opening your next presentation is to always make it about your audience. You know it’s about them if you use one three-letter word and get rid of one one-letter word. Those words are “you” and “I”. When you’re presenting it’s not about you its about them. Consider something as simple as an email. Open your email by writing about the other person. Instead of “Hello Chris, I’m writing you because…” consider “Hello Chris, I hope you’ve had a great week so far and all is well with you.” That’s a simple twist and now you have them engaged in the email.

In this episode you’ll also learn about:

More tips for successfully opening your written presentations. How to open business video presentations. A deeper dive into the S.Y.S.T.E.M approach and an invitation from Joel to set up a 30-minute call to discuss your situation and goals. Why Joel believes that a call to action should never be the closing of your presentations, and what to do instead. The three types of calls to action to include in your presentations, just not at the end. 22 words of advice for successfully presenting your ideas to your audiences. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Joel Weldon:

At age 18--- Joel never stood up in four years of high school and gave an oral report or spoke in front of his class, he was so shy and had no confidence.

At age 28--- he spoke in front of an audience for the first time. It was part of his job. Afterwards, he was told he was the worst speaker the audience had ever heard. If that happened to you, what would you have done?

At age 36--- Joel was inducted into the professional speakers Hall of Fame, standing alongside the world famous speaker Zig Ziglar.

How is that possible?

As of today, Joel has been paid to speak at over 3,000 events and has personally coached well over 10,000 speakers and created an Ultimate Speaking System that works. Plus, he coaches 1 on 1 successful entrepreneurs who are committed to being amazing in their audience's eyes.

You can learn more about Joel here:

http://www.UltimateSpeaker.net

http://www.SuccessComesInCans.com

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 44 While many people and publications will tell you mentoring is important, not many clearly define it or tell you how to get started. That’s what I discuss with my guest, Steve Ferman.

When I mentioned mentoring the first thing Steve brought up is that, as a mentee, you need to be prepared for brutally honest and transparent conversations with mentors. Sugar coating the realities of life won’t benefit anyone. That approach might hurt the mentee’s feelings at the time. But when a self-aware person looks back at the blunt advice, they appreciate the honesty.

What do you need to do before reaching out to potential mentors? First, think about what your end goal is. Start there and break it down into smaller bites. Work your way backwards until you’re asking yourself “What can I start doing today?” which leads to “What do I need to know that a mentor might be able to help with?”

Many people have shared with me that they are afraid to ask for help. Often, they don’t think that they have anything to offer potential mentors in exchange for their advice. Steve says the good news is that there are giving people out there. They enjoy the fulfillment of helping people because someone helped them at one point in their life. You need to take the initiative and ask for help.

Steve told me that after his 40 years of being a business owner - starting, running and selling six companies - if he can help somebody else not suffer through some of the things that he’s suffered through he will. What good would it do him to just hold it in? It’s better off to share it and pay it forward.

In this episode we also discuss:

Answering the question: “Do you ask someone to be your mentor right away or let mentoring relationships happen organically?” Where to go, online and offline, to find mentors. The top reasons that you should become a mentor when the opportunity presents itself. How to keep mentoring relationships going after the first conversation. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Steve Ferman is the Founder of 4 Pillar Coach and is a Scaling Up Coach as well as a graduate of the Master’s Program for Entrepreneurs - The Strategic Coach.

A serial entrepreneur, Steve started, ran, and sold 6 different technology companies over 40 years. He has a deep understanding of every stage and how technology has evolved. This experience and knowledge led Steve to become a business coach. He currently serves as a Board Member of Entrepreneur Organization EO, New Jersey legal industry providers.

Steve is a Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, BlockChain Certified, HIPAA Security and Awareness trained. Steve spent 5 years in the United States Marine Corps., and remains active in the USMC Slattery Detachment.

Steve sings with various bands, enjoys snowboarding, and is an avid golfer for fun. He wakes up every day hoping to be able to help at least 1 person.

Connect with Steve!

http://www.4pillarcoach.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveferman/

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 43 If you’re not careful negative people can rain on your parade and hold you back. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid those things. That’s what I discuss during this episode with my guest, Brittany Anderson.

Brittany’s current big idea is the creation of the “Dream Architect Movement”. Her primary role is helping people manage their money. She is driven to do more than just that; she is also helping people decide what they want to do with their lives. She helps them answer tough questions such as “What do you want to accomplish?” and “What are your aspirations in spite of what other people have told you?” When people share a big idea, they’re often met with resistance and even criticism. The other person might say “That’s too big of an idea” or “That’s not possible”. That’s where the Dream Architect Movement comes in. The process supports people that want to embrace possibility.

Why is this movement so important to her? Both Brittany and the founder of their company, Bryan, grew up with single mothers in tight financial situations. Instead of succumbing to their life circumstances they both decided to go in a different direction by choosing success over failure. While it wasn’t easy, they made it happen. Brittany said “It doesn’t matter what happens to you in life, what matters is that you set your eyes on the future. What matters is the pursuit of all that’s possible”.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to stop negative self-talk dead in its tracks by focusing on the three components self-awareness. Why acting as if you’ve already achieved your goals will help you achieve them faster. Why surrounding yourself with the wrong people will hold you back in life and what to do about it. How to create “stories about moments of impact”. How to balance your personal and professional lives while chasing your dreams. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Brittany Anderson is the President and Shareholder of a top-ranked financial services firm, Sweet Financial Partners. Having more than a decade’s worth of experience in her field, she has taken her business building and team engaging insights, and has worked with CEO’s, Entrepreneurs, Business Owners, and Authors. Brittany is also the co-creator of the Ultimate Advisor Coaching and Ultimate Advisor Mastermind Platforms. Her insights have been featured in national media outlets such as the Huffington Post, Women, Inc & Forbes magazine.

She has shared her expertise through her contribution to three published books and will continue on with her love for writing as she is set to publish two additional books in 2022. As an influential speaker and author, Brittany Anderson has spoken at Million Dollar Round Table, Raymond James National Conference, EWAS and others on showing up each day to be more than a title, more than a label, and pursuing a life that fulfills their purpose.

Here are the ways that you can connect with Brittany:

www.MySweetFinancial.com – Resources

www.SweetFinancial.com – Company Website

brittany@SweetFinancial.com

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 42 If you want to bring a big idea to life a support system will take you there faster than you could alone. That’s what Steve Hunt and I recently discussed. After twenty years as a corporate executive turned entrepreneur, Steve has learned the keys to selling big ideas. One way to create that is through a process called enrollment.

What is enrollment? It’s getting people excited about your big idea and convincing them to join you on your journey. Enrollment is about opening doors, not closing sales. It’s about sharing passion and purpose about a project.

What’s the starting point of enrollment? It’s understanding that because you are excited about your big idea doesn’t mean other people are going to be as excited as you the first time you share it. Sometimes they will get excited quickly and sometimes they won’t. Another important point is remembering that you’re selling an idea, not a product or service. Your big idea might lead to sales of a product or service, but they have to buy into your idea first.

Enrollment is the process of not always being closing but always being opening. What does this look like? Imagine that you’re selling a big idea. The other person in behind a closed door and they’re looking at you through the peep hole. Through conversation you need to create enough connection and rapport to get them to open the door. How do you accomplish that? Get them to feel like you understand them and where they’re coming from. You want them to become part of something bigger than yourself.  When you achieve that you can begin a real conversation.

During this episode we also discuss:

How to build rapport and get the other person to open the proverbial door without steamrolling them. How to communicate in a way that the other person understands you and wants to learn more about your big idea. Why inviting people to join the mission of your big idea to fulfill a vision is better than trying to sell a product or service to everybody that you meet. Why listening skills are more important than presentation skills. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About the guest

A speaker, advisor, and most of all a teacher, Steve has been entrenched in the world of the highest achievers in business for over three decades. He has coached executives at British Petroleum, Lockheed Martin, the White House, Cisco, Microsoft, and IBM and has assisted more than 400 global organizations in optimizing success in operations and leadership.

Steve has appeared as an analyst on CNBC, Fox News, CNN, and other news programs. His commentary has appeared in The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Businessweek, and other global publications. He attended Elizabethtown College and was a graduate fellow at the University of Chicago.

Steve's diverse background lends a fresh perspective on business and society.

Steve’s website:www.Ravestrategystudio.com

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 41 In this episode Megan Robinson and I discuss the skills needed to bring your big idea to life. Megan is the principal at E Leader Experience and works with individuals and teams to develop self-leadership skills that grow companies.

When it comes to creating an action plan there’s the tactical side of the equation and the strategic side of the equation. It’s one thing to have a big idea, it’s another thing to be able to execute and breathe life into it. That’s where tactics are needed as much as bigger picture strategies. The skill needed to combine the two is project management. A person skilled at project management can balance those tactical elements with staying true to the bigger picture.

Another way to look at both sides of the coin is to examine management versus leadership. Leadership is being able to craft the big vision. Management is being able to guarantee that all of the “nitty gritty” aspects of the project get done. Project management is most successful when both sides of the leadership/management coin are aligned.

How do you get people to buy into your vision? It’s an 80/20 principal. It is 80% the leader’s responsibility to craft and build that vision. The other 20% has to come from the team, that’s where you get the buy-in and alignment. Without some kind of team ownership of that vision it will never be truly aligned and actualized. When it comes to execution you need 80% to come from the team to get stuff done and make things happen.

In this episode we also discuss:

How to be tactical and productive instead of just “busy”. When it’s most important for a leader to be strategic. How to use the “stop, start, keep” philosophy to being a better leader. How to give your team the ability to take ownership of your big idea. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

Megan Robinson is the principal at E Leader Experience and works with individuals and teams to develop self-leadership skills that grow companies. She started her career in marketing climbing her way through the corporate ladder at advertising agencies and fortune 500 companies.

Like many of us, she caught the entrepreneur bug and started her own marketing company. After yet another “Business Therapy” session, Megan discovered her true passion was in coaching and is a John Maxwell certified coach and DiSC Trainer. In addition, she is the Past President of ATDChi the leading learning and development organization in Chicagoland.

Inspired by her own successful career in corporate and entrepreneurial environments, Megan makes leadership approachable for everyone, regardless of title, position, or experience.

You can connect with Megan on LinkedIn here

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 40 Storytelling is a popular subject.  While many people will tell you how important it is, few will tell you HOW to craft compelling stories. Recently I spoke with Michael Davis, a speech and storytelling coach, about how to create compelling stories even if you're a novice at doing so.

Back in 2002 Michael met Darin, the World Champion of Public Speaking at Toastmasters. Michael wanted his speeches and stories to be perfect. Darin told him “Done is more profitable than perfect”.  This means that you have to get your product or service out there, and not wait until you think it's perfect because it never will be. This helped Michael eliminate some of the stress with bringing his speeches into the market.

What does this mean to a B2B services company? We discussed leveraging networking events to hone your pitch, or better yet tell your story. After a brief conversation, if the other person doesn’t ask you to share more or ask for your business card – that’s feedback. That means your message isn’t landing with them. At that point you should try something else with the next person that you speak with. If you don’t get a great response from your latest marketing efforts, try something else. Don’t dig your heels in with a message that doesn’t resonate with your audiences. Keep honing your explanation until people lean in and ask you for more information.

As a storytelling coach Michael believes that stories are the #1 tool we have in our marketing tool bag. Your story is the only asset that you have that nobody else can duplicate. Your life and business experiences are your own and yours only to share if you want to connect with people in a meaningful way.

In this episode we also discuss:

Why people don’t care about your offering unless you can solve a problem that they have. Michael shares how you can craft a story to describe the solution that you can offer them. How to have your clients to give you the marketing message you that you need to grow your business. Why listening more than you speak will build more business relationships. What NOT to do when approaching a potential client. Two questions to ask yourself after every sales conversation. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

Michael Davis is a highly sought after presentation skills coach, author and speaker. He has trained business leaders, sales professional, professional speakers and TEDx speakers on four continents to deliver talks that have been viewed over 3 million times. He is also a faculty member and coach at Stage Time University and Rooftop Leadership.

His work is focused on helping you attract more clients, create more efficient teams, and increase your influence through more effective speaking, business storytelling and online presentations. He helps experienced speakers, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals confidently deliver memorable and meaningful talks of any length, even on short notice.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn here or visit his website here

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 39 Your reputation and what people say about you when you’re not around means everything in business. Credibility means everything. My guest in this episode is Mitchell Levy. Mitchell is a TEDx speaker and international bestselling author of over 60 books. We’re discussing how to bring your big idea to life through credibility and how credibility helps with marketing your big idea.

Mitchell interviewed over 500 thought leaders on the topic of credibility. 98% of them couldn’t articulate who their customer was and the pain point that they solved for their customers. The term Mitchell uses for pain point is “CPOP” or “Customer Point Of Pain”. Test this out on yourself. In 10 words or less, without using the words “I” or “we”, describe who your customer is and the CPOP that you solve for them. If it’s 10 words or less, it’s memorable. If it’s memorable, it’s sharable. It should also be something that begs the question “tell me more”.  Mitchell’s is “Humans that want to be seen as credible”. One of his favorite client’s one is “Creating a successful marketing funnel”.

Big Ideas, CPOPS and Credibility

A clear CPOP is helpful when marketing your big idea. When you have a big idea, you should be able answer the questions “What is the audience that you serve?” and “What is the pain point that you’re addressing?” You should be able to articulate your big idea in five words or less. Then it will act as your compass of what activities you engage in and it will let you know what people should be finding you and how they find you. This is important because if you want to execute your big idea the first thing that you need to do is find other people that are interested in your big idea. To attract the right people, you must be deemed as being credible.

Credibility is: The quality in which they KNOW you, the quality in which they LIKE you and the quality in which they trust you. It’s more than just they know of you, it means they actually know you. To achieve this, you have to be of service to others before you ask for something from others.

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In this episode we also discuss:

Three target markets for your big idea and how to reach them. The ONE thing that needs to be in all your messaging. How credibility ties into your personal branding and marketing outreach. What NOT to do and be if you want to be perceived as credible. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode rate us and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Global Credibility Expert Mitchell Levy is a TEDx speaker and international bestselling author of over 60 books. After interviewing 500 thought leaders on credibility, he started Credibility Nation, a credibility movement, delivered aTEDx, wrote a book, created courses, and is working on revising the definition of credibility in the dictionary.

He's an accomplished Entrepreneur who has created twenty businesses in Silicon Valley including four publishing companies that have published over 750 books. He's provided strategic consulting to hundreds of companies and has been chairman of the board of a NASDAQ-listed company. Mitchell has been happily married for thirty years and prior to covid-19, regularly spent four weeks a year in Europe with family and friends.

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Idea Climbing® Podcast Episode 38 In this episode I speak with David J.P. Fisher (also known as D. Fish) about creating a hybrid marketing, networking and outreach business plan during the pandemic and beyond. David is a speaker, coach, and author of 9 books, including the best-selling Hyper-Connected Selling and Networking in the 21st Century: Why Your Network Sucks and What to Do About It.

David suggests that you shouldn’t wait until the pandemic is over to create a “post pandemic plan”. Create a hybrid plan NOW for networking, marketing and outreach. Make sure that you’re doing work to build social capital and foster relationships during the tough times. This will set you up for success moving forward.

One piece that you can start working on now is your digital presence. Start with LinkedIn to continue conversations and  create relationships. People are spending a lot more time on LinkedIn during the pandemic which means that they’re more accessible. That way when we go back to in person networking events and meetings you’re not starting from scratch, you’re continuing online conversations in offline venues.

Instead of a bunch of rando Zoom calls pick a target audience and schedule two Zoom meetings a week with people in that audience. That’s 48 targeted conversations in six months. Those “deposits of social capital” will pay great dividends in the long run. Every conversation doesn’t have to be a sales conversation. Simply reaching out to discover what the other person is working on and how you might be able to help them will build your social capital.

Listen in!

In this episode we also talk about:

What hybrid meeting habits will carry over into a post pandemic world. More ways to develop relationships on LinkedIn. What NOT to do when you’re networking on LinkedIn. How to create “hyperconnected” sales opportunities …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts or your podcast platform of choice.

About The Guest

David J.P. Fisher (also known as D. Fish) is a speaker, coach, and author of 9 books, including the best-selling Hyper-Connected Selling and Networking in the 21st Century: Why Your Network Sucks and What to Do About It.  He is a Sales Hall of Fame inductee and LinkedIn Influencer and collaborator.  Building on 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and sales professional, he combines nuanced strategy and real-world tactics to help professionals become more effective, efficient, and happy.

David’s goal is to help them understand the new Sales Sherpa™ Path, where social media, networking, and old-school sales and communication skills are the key to providing value and staying relevant. He lives in Evanston, IL – next to a huge cemetery which helps him appreciate the value of every day.

Connect with David on LinkedIn here or visit his site here

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Many companies' primary marketing focus is on getting new clients. That can be the wrong way to go about business development. A better way is to focus on your current clients and stay in front of them as much as possible. They already know, like and trust you which shortens the sales cycle and opens the doors to more referrals.

I recently spoke with Matt Deutschman about this. He runs Doubletake Promotional Marketing, a company that specializes in promotional products and branded swag for professional services firms, colleges and universities, the financial industry, and advertising and marketing agencies.

Matt’s slogan for his business is “make them look twice”. This is a two-pronged marketing approach. The first one is the promise that his company’s products will make clients and potential clients look twice at their marketing messages. The second one is an important internal meaning for his company. It’s a rallying cry for Matt and his team. For every proposal or conversation with a potential prospect he wants to show them something that they’ve never seen before.

What does this mean for you and your business? Once you get a prospect’s attention by making them look twice show them how you provide outstanding service, why you’re creative, why your product or service is different and more ways to capitalize on the attention that you have in a moment in time.

Why You Should Focus on EXISTING Clients

Matt shares that he’s come across research that it’s seven times easier to get another sale from an existing client than it is to get a sale from a first-time client. Yet there’s a paradox in that 80% of marketing budgets are spent on getting new clients. This surprised Matt. Yes, in order to grow you need to be attracting new clients. Matt’s not saying that you shouldn’t be focusing any efforts on getting new clients. Instead of trying to get new clients completely on your own you should be asking for referrals from existing clients that will sing your praises. That means that it’s very important to stay top of mind with and show appreciation for your existing clients. Matt reverses those numbers and spends a majority of their advertising budget on treating their existing clients like gold.

In short, Matt focuses on and successfully turns existing clients into referral sources to help him grow his business.

Listen In!

In this episode we also discuss:

How to add value to your client relationships without always asking for more business. How to create a “client appreciation campaign” and add it to your marketing strategy – even during the pandemic. More ways to stay top of mind with your current clients and potential clients. When and how to ask for referrals from existing clients without seeming “pushy”. How to get repeat business from your current clients. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate us on Apple Podcasts or your platform of choice and subscribe here!

About The Guest

Matt Deutschman is the owner of Doubletake Promotional Marketing, a company that specializes in custom branded promotional products for colleges and universities, advertising/marketing agencies, professional services firms and the finance industry.  Matt founded Doubletake in 2010 and is fourth generation in his family in the promotional marketing industry, previously working for his dad in the family business.  He also has a background in journalism, which provides the framework for his unique ability to ask insightful questions and tell his clients’ stories.  Matt is married and has two children (4 and 2), and has recently published his first children’s book.

Matt is passionate about forging a work/life balance that allows him to spend as much time with his wife and kids as possible, while also building a great company with a tight-knit team and an elite level of service and professionalism.  Doubletake has grown in sales every year since its inception,

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Everyone has great ideas from time to time. To create success in life you have to combine your great ideas and share them with the world. I recently discussed this concept with Richard Mulholland, the founder of presentation powerhouse Missing Link.

Richard first shared that there are idea hunters and idea gatherers.

Idea hunters seek out answers to questions. They’re the leaders in your life and in your networks. Idea gatherers look to the leaders for answers to questions and accept what they’re told. The idea hunters are always seeking something new, an explanation to a question, a solution to a problem, etc. The idea gatherers are always looking to the idea hunters for solutions to problems. They want the “hunting” for a solution done for them.

Create intentional places to trap ideas. Buy a small notebook that you can carry with you and when ideas come to you write them down. This creates the opportunity to combine the ideas later to write a keynote speech, design a new marketing strategy for your business and many other opportunities that you want to create. Simply put, when you want to bring a big idea to life, instead of looking at a blank page as a starting point you have an idea trap to reference. From there you can combine the smaller ideas that you’ve had over time into one big idea.

Listen in!

In this episode we also discuss:

How to curate information and conversations now so that you’ll have a better tomorrow. A deeper explanation of idea hunters and idea gatherers. How to be happier in your day-to-day life. How to amplify your big ideas and unleash them on to the world. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

Having spoken in over 30 countries on six continents, Rock and Roll Roadie turned entrepreneur Richard Mulholland knows first-hand the impact that memorable presentations can make. That's why he works with executives and speakers around the world, helping them deliver unforgettable presentations that activate audiences and generate income.

He's the founder of presentation powerhouse Missing Link, as well as the co-founder of 21Tanks, HumanWrit.es and The Sales Department. He has written three books, Legacide, Boredom Slayer, and Story Seller, and was voted top 40 under 40, and top 300 South Africans to take to lunch.

Mostly though he's a husband, father, son, brother, and uncle.

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In this episode Thomas Kim tells his story of and gives advice for leading in crisis and explains why a culture of mentorship is good for your business. Thomas is the founder and CEO of Everclean Car Wash.

Mentorship is important to Thomas because his dad left when he was seven. He’s grateful that scenario didn’t leave a gaping hole in his life because he always had men in his life that would take him under their wing and investing their time in him for reasons he didn’t understand at the time. Those mentoring experiences lead him to create a life and a company where mentorship is integral.

This also led Thomas to have what he calls a “triad of relationships” in his life. This means he tries to have a mentor, be a mentor to someone else and surrounds himself with peers that will challenge him, encourage him and help him grow as a person and as business owner.

Advice About How To Find a Mentor

The first piece of advice Thomas shares is to ask and ask about a specific problem or area of your life that you want help with. To engage with a mentor Thomas suggests asking this question: “Can I meet with you for 30 minutes from time to time just to ask you some questions and get some advice?” The second piece of advice he shares to potential mentees is once you find a mentor to drive the relationship. By that he means that he tells potential mentees “I’m going to give you my time, but I want YOU to come with the agenda for the conversation.”

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In this episode we also discuss:

What NOT to do when attempting to start a mentoring relationship. More details about how to successfully engage with potential mentors. How Thomas has built mentorship into the day-to-day operations of his company. Why including a mentorship program in your company will enhance your company culture and increase performance with your employees. The steps you need to take is to create a mentoring program for your company. How to successfully lead a company during personal and professional crises. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode, please rate us on iTunes or your podcasting platform of choice and subscribe here!

About The Guest

Thomas Kim is an entrepreneur and investor with a focus on real estate and small businesses with high growth strategies. He’s the Founder and CEO of Everclean, a modern, branded car wash. Its social mission is to enrich lives through opportunity and holistic mentorship. He and his wife, Evelyn, make their home in the Chicago suburbs. They have one daughter, Mackenzie, who is in heaven, and prior, Thomas raised three teenage foster children. Hobbies include any sport under the sun (except long-distance running), foreign travel, motorcycles, and high-fiber breakfasts. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Recently I spoke with Matt Clark about how to successfully turn your LinkedIn connections into clients. Matt Clark is the founder of The Virtual Edge and co-creator of The Rainmaker System - an online marketing system that helps entrepreneurs get 2-5 high-value leads per day from LinkedIn without paying for ads.

Why does Matt prefer LinkedIn over other social media platforms? Because it’s the most profitable and easiest to use, you can reach out and directly connect with your ideal clients.

You can “knock on virtual doors” and get straight to the decision make to have a conversation. That may sound easy, but there’s a lot more to it. You need a sales strategy to implement to move people down the pipeline from being interested in your product or service to buying your product or service. Matt asked himself “How do you turn a connection into a customer in the shortest period of time?” The answer is that there’s a couple of things that you need to have.

The first thing is that you must have your positioning right. Know who your ideal clients are and specifically target them rather than starting conversations with anyone and everyone for generic “networking”. Then you want to have what Matt calls the “pickup line”. That tells them exactly what you do and how they can work with you before they even talk to you. That also allows them to come into your world with certain expectations. Your job is to deliver on those expectations. If you have your positioning right, you’ll have a productive conversation and you’ve already started the process of knowing, liking and trusting. To do this you can create a sequenced sales process that gets them from interested to buying in less than an hour. When you have a repeatable process that allows you to scale your business.

What To Say On That Initial Introduction

First things first. Your profile has to be set up in a way that explains what you do, who you work with and how you help them. The more targeted you are with your marketing copy the faster your relationships will build. When you send a connection request let them know that you read their profile by saying something like “I came across your profile while searching for (insert industry/job title here). I’m always looking to connect with like-minded, successful people in (insert industry/job title here).”

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During this episode we also discuss:

What to say AFTER the initial contact to turn a connection into a client. How to conduct business development without sounding “salesy” or pushy. What NOT to do while developing your business development strategy. What to do to maintain relationships when people aren’t ready to buy from you right now. How to define who your ideal client is. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts or your podcast platform of choice.

About The Guest

Matt Clark is the founder of The Virtual Edge and co-creator of The Rainmaker System - an online marketing system that helps entrepreneurs get 2-5 high-value leads per day from LinkedIn without paying for ads.

With their flagship programme Matt and his business partner, Wesley Longueira have helped thousands of businesses in 26 countries grow exponentially. They are now on a mission to reach 10k businesses worldwide and build a vibrant community of Rainmakers!

The success of The Rainmaker System has led to Matt becoming a sought after international speaker and has shared the stage with Brian Tracey, John DeMartini, Michael Douglas, Stedman Graham, Peter Sage, Brandon Bays, Les Brown, and many more. Matt is also the author of The Proven Path, The Automation Playbook, and The Automated Income systems and has been featured in Wake up- How to live a Healthy Vibrant Lifestyle.

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You probably know that social media has to be part of your marketing strategy. Jerome Myers believes that if you’re not on social right now you’re irrelevant. After building a $20 MM division at a construction company and having to layoff his teammates two years in a row, Jerome had enough and decided to become a full-time real estate entrepreneur.  He says that social media also helps with making new connections. If someone can follow you on social and “get to know you” when you meet or get on a phone or Zoom call you’ve already effectively qualified the other person as being worth speaking with.

Jerome has only been on LinkedIn for two years and he’s already accumulated over 10,000 followers.  Not an easy feat. He does point out that the number isn’t as important as the engagement. If you’re trying to build a following find your tribe of 100, then 1,000 and so on. Jerome advises showing up every day and engaging with OTHER people’s content and says not to only show up to talk about yourself. It’s better to have a smaller number of engaged followers than a larger number of followers without engagement.

Every day Jerome goes onto LinkedIn and comments on at least 18 of other people’s posts. For his own he posts one to three times every day. Rather than posting random pictures or information about his businesses he shares stories about his life and the lessons that he’s learned. He also advices to be authentic and always to be yourself. Jerome’s the same person at home as he is in the boardroom as he is on LinkedIn and so on.

To build an authentic following on LinkedIn you need to bring people along the know, like, trust journey. First the have to know you, that comes from commenting on their posts and vice versa. Then they might like you. When they really get to know and like you, they begin to trust you and that’s usually when they’ll work with you and/or refer business to you.

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During this episode we also discuss:

How to successfully move people along the know, like trust journey. How to use problem solving to increase your client base. How to get more meaningful comments and likes on your posts. Why adding gratitude to your outreach efforts is important. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you like this episode, please like us and rate us on iTunes or the podcast platform of your choice.

About The Guest

Jerome Myers is the preeminent authority of dream realization. A believer that dreams can, and should be real, Jerome left corporate America when he realized that his role offered financial gain, but little significance. He is the founder and head coach of Myers Methods and has been featured in Business Insider and numerous podcasts.

After building a highly profitable division of a fortune 550 company, Jerome decided to leave the rat race to get away from what seemed to be the endless slew of layoffs. He has developed a system for exiting corporate America and creating a life of impact.

Today, he and his company help other apex performers find their calling and live every day on purpose by harnessing the power of his model for a Centered Life, what he calls “the Red Pill”. Jerome and his firms can guide any individual from a monotonous uninspiring existence to a life of fulfillment and impact

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Recently I spoke with Frank King about topics ranging from chasing your dreams to entrepreneurship to suicide. Frank King is a Suicide Prevention speaker and Trainer was a writer for The Tonight Show for 20 years.

Frank decided to become a comedian while he was in the fourth grade. He told a joke in front of the entire class and they laughed, and the teacher said it was hysterical. He was hooked. After years in the drama club, he was left with no spoken lines and always being in the chorus. Then he discovered stand-up comedy. He realized stand-up comedy would allow him to write his own ticket because he could write his own act, secure his live gigs, and do whatever he wanted. He went on to win the school’s talent show his senior year.

Frank had a big idea and decided to run with it. Unfortunately, his first wife was against a comedy career and wanted Frank to go into the insurance industry instead. When Frank speaks to entrepreneurship classes or organizations he has a few key pieces of advice for them. The first on is if you have a big idea to start your own company share that idea with your significant other immediately. Look them square in the eye and say “I’m not kidding, this is what I’m going to do.  Are you in or are you out?” The second piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs is when you’re getting started don’t buy a new car or condo. Move back into your parent’s basement if you have to so you can keep your expenses as low as possible.

Another key piece of Frank’s journey is that he has a history of suicidal tendencies and depression, both run in his family. The disagreements in his marriage only added to his issues. At that point he decided to get divorced, quit his insurance job, and began to chase his dream to make a living in comedy.

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During our discussion we go on to talk about:

How Frank dealt with and still deals with depression and suicidal tendencies and why he now speaks about suicide prevention. How Frank and his new girlfriend took a BIG chance and went on the road for 2,629 stand-up comedy nights in a row, which is just over seven years. More advice about the correlation of stand-up comedy and entrepreneurship. The rest of Frank’s story including booking $200,000 in corporate comedy gigs in one year to bankruptcy to bouncing back again and how he did it. …and more golden nuggets of advice. (15:00)

If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts or your podcast preference of choice!

About The Guest

Frank King, Suicide Prevention speaker and Trainer was a writer for The Tonight Show for 20 years.

He’s fought a lifetime battle with Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Suicidality, turning that long dark journey of the soul into five TEDx Talks and sharing his lifesaving insights on Mental Health Awareness with associations, corporations, and colleges.

Depression and suicide run in his family. He’s thought about killing himself more times than he can count.

A Motivational Public Speaker who uses his life lessons to start the conversation giving people permission to give voice to their feelings and experiences surrounding depression and suicide.

And doing it by coming out, as it were, and standing in his truth, and doing it with humor.

He believes that where there is humor there is hope, where there is laughter there is life, nobody dies laughing. The right person, at the right time, with the right information, can save a life.

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Rory Prendergast and I recently discussed that predictable success is something that many people want and many people can experience. Rory Prendergast is author of The Game Changer Formula and a qualified coach. He has built and sold two multi-million-dollar businesses and skippered a boat across the Atlantic with no previous sailing experience. He now helps business owners achieve ambitious goals at high speed.

It took Rory years to put the big idea of predictable success together. Much of it came to him while he was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean without really knowing how to sail. He believes that we can all have predictable success – you just need to know where you’re going and start heading in that direction.

Rory’s formula for predictable success is: [ Predictable success = mindset + energy + accountabilityvision] He believes that everyone, yes everyone, can get those elements in place.

You Need To Have VISION

Vision is one of the first things that you need to figure out if you want to experience predictable success. You cannot get anywhere in life unless you have some kind of vision. The good news is that if you dig deep enough we ALL have some kind of vision. Once you tap into your vision you need to make it crystal clear and have love for it.

It starts with looking at where you spend your time. What are your friends like? What’s your relationship with your family? This isn’t something that you do in one afternoon. Rory suggests getting a notebook and writing in at as ideas and hunches come to you about your vision over time.

This is about your life’s work and Rory believes that your goals should come from that. The goals are smaller things and your vision is the big thing that’s going to get you out of bed every morning, even on the days that you don’t want to get up.

Leveraging The Stories of Your Life

People are only achieving a part of the success that they could achieve. You have a collection of stories in your head from all of the situations that you’ve experienced in your life. If you want to make good decisions in your life you need to rely on those stories. You can make better decisions today if you compare what you’re deciding to what you’re experienced.

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In this episode we also discuss:

More details about leveraging the stories of your life – even the ones that could hold you back. How you can use your conscious mind to change your subconscious mind. How to overcome procrastination. The structure of learning and how to learn faster and create more success. …And more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode please rate this show and subscribe on iTunes or your podcast platform of choice.

About The Guest

So you want to lead your business quickly and confidently to its full potential but there's a problem:

As an ambitious business owner you contend with hundreds of competing priorities and demands. It’s a tide that pulls you off course, a little every day, making it difficult to keep yourself pointed in the right direction. You end up at sea without a compass.

I believe that everything you need to grow your business into one that lets you live a life you love is already right there. You just need a helping hand to extract it. I’ve been in your shoes, struggling with unclear goals and allowing my businesses to control me. I have developed a formula for Predictable success called The Game Changer Formula.

Learn more about Rory and predictable success at these links:

www.amazon.com/Game-Changer-Formula-Predictable-business/dp/B0863RRZBZ

https://roryprendergast.com/

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Pat Helmers recently said to me that “Big ideas aren’t great, follow through is.” He grabbed my attention with that statement, and I had to learn more. That’s what we discussed on this episode. Pat is an international business consultant for technology start-ups, founder of the Sales Babble podcast and brings decades of experience to draw from which he shared during our conversation.

Many people think if they can just get that one big idea then they have it made. Unfortunately, more often than not, they discover that they can’t get traction with bringing their big idea to life. The reason is that there’s no follow through. They can’t get other people to come on board to help them. They don’t test the idea on potential customers and they end up getting stuck with a big idea that never sees the light of day. We discuss how to overcome all of those problems.

Entrepreneurship and Big Ideas

Pat says that real entrepreneurs try an idea and if it doesn’t work, they try another one. And other one. And other one. It’s failing fast and failing early to learn as fast as they can until – finally – they have a big idea that gets traction and comes to life.

Supposedly only one out of ten people have an entrepreneurial spirit. Once you consider that number only one out of ten of them will make it past five years. Half of them will be gone within a year. Those are scary numbers and that’s why most people won’t follow through and stick with it long enough to bring their big idea to life.

How Can You Have Success With Your Big Idea?

You have to dig into your competitive spirit. You have to find something that brings you joy. If your idea expresses who you are, what you’re about and how you can make the world a better place use that to power you and lift you up when you’re feeling down. It should bring a lot of value to your life. It should be fun learning. Fun facing challenges. It can be great to have total control and nobody can tell you what to do, you get to do it the way YOU want to do it. If you focus on those kinds of things, they can motivate you to move forward.

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In this episode we also discuss:

What you need to do before you spend a nickel promoting your product or service. How to get other people to write great sales and marketing copy for you that will sell your big idea to the world. How to enroll people around your big idea and build a team that will help you find success. What makes a great mastermind group and how to build one. The biggest problem with bringing a big idea to life and how to overcome it. When to give up on your big idea (yes, sometimes you should). …And more golden nuggets of advice.

About The Guest

Pat Helmers is the host of the award winning Sales Babble podcast that shares selling secrets for non-sellers. He's also the founder of Habanero Media, a podcast production company that helps B2B businesses create interview based podcasts that boost brand, authority, influence and trust. On the side he's a sales consultant for tech startups. When the weather is nice he golfs and attends to many DIY projects in the garden and home brewery.

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Mentoring is an important part of the business world. But it’s only valuable if you know HOW to go about it. That’s what I discussed in this episode with Sande Golgart. Sande is the President at Zonez, He is a disruptive technology and business enthusiast. He is passionate about helping companies solve for their biggest issues.

Sometimes you find the most value in mentorship in retrospect. It’s that person that challenged you and held to accountable for achieving your goals. Those relationships can be the most rewarding, most fulfilling and the most helpful. Good mentors have your best interests in mind, sometimes It’s shown by tough love. Mentors might ask you tough questions. Those questions can make you grow faster than you would have without answering them.

Don’t Force Mentoring Relationships

Asking someone that you just met (or messaging them before meeting them) to be your mentor is like asking someone to marry you on your first date. It can be off putting. You should let them happen organically. Start with a phone call, take their advice, take action and then set up another call. If the relationship continues, great. If not, you got some advice and you’re better off than you were before those sessions.

Vicarious Mentoring

It’s about doing, not theory. Great mentoring experiences give you ways to take action and get new and hopefully better results. One  of Sande’s mentors was bestselling business author Jim Collins. When Sande reached out to him Jim replied by sending one of his books with suggested chapters to read and an outline for each of the chapters. This showed Sande that not every mentoring experience is in person.

Sande suggests sharing what advice you’re looking for and asking your network to recommend two books on the subject. You’ll often find the advice you need that way.

BEFORE You Search For Mentors

You’ll need to put some work in before you search for mentors. You’ll need to clearly define your problem, where you’re going and what your core values are. Then you’ll need to create a profile of the type of person that can most likely help you with that problem. Then you need to actively seek those people out. Mentors are going to be looking for you, but they’ll often help when asked. When you’re crystal clear about what and who you’re looking for those people will begin to show up in your life.

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In this episode we also discuss:

How to connect to your passion in life. More ways to be ready for mentorship. How to successfully collaborate with the people in your life. How to ask for introductions to potential mentors.

About The Guest

Sande is the President at Zonez, He is a disruptive technology and business enthusiast. He is passionate about helping companies solve for their biggest issues. Prior to Zonez, Sande held the roles of Chief Sales Officer at Emagispace, Inc., SVP, Corporate Sales as well as Regional Vice President during his 16-year career at Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible work space.

Golgart is often quoted on real estate issues and trends affecting businesses from start-ups to the Global 1000. He has been featured on Fox Business News, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Puget Sound Business Journal and various other media outlets.

Golgart holds a Bachelors Degree in Business from the University of Colorado and studied post graduate Leadership at Stanford University.

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Recently I had a conversation about sticking with what you’re good at and delegating the rest with Bill Bloom. Bill is an abundant thinker, delegator and lifetime income specialist.  He just released his latest book, "Money Habits For Success."

The first thing that he brought up is that he knows that he is a simplifier and not a multiplier. Simplifiers take things that are difficult to understand and make them easy to do and understand. Multipliers, sometimes called influencers, multiply ideas and other messages into the world.

He takes retirement planning and simplifies it for people. Bill isn’t in the business of taking an idea, a book launch and multiply that into the world. He DOES work with multipliers that will do that for him. That’s a great piece of advice for you: If you’re not a multiplier or influencer don’t try to be one. Find those people to work with and stick to what you’re best at. On a day to day basis he takes complex situations and makes them easier to understand.

Building The Right Team To Get Things Done

The first thing Bill brought up when I asked him about hiring teams was personality tests. He uses one to assess potential candidates to find out if there’s a place on his team for them based on their personality.

Bill then went on to discuss a book he recently launched. Because he’s a simplifier he doesn’t have a far reach on social media. He reached out to his multiplier friends and asked them to share the book on LinkedIn and other social media outlets. Delegating things that you’re not good at is so important – find the people that LOVE to do what you HATE to do.

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In this episode we also discuss:

How simplifiers and multipliers can collaborate. Why you should be investing in yourself and how to do it. The steps to successfully launching a book, pivoting your business or launching a new product or service. How to find the people that you need to collaborate with.

If you enjoy this episode please subscribe and rate us on iTunes or your podcast platform of choice.

About The Guest

Bill Bloom is a husband, father, author, Retirement Income Certified Professional and a big soccer enthusiast.  Bill spends his time serving others by creating customized retirement income plans so that they can have purpose and clarity for his client's futures.  He also loves spending time with his wife, Jude, and his son, James.

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Networking and business development are different things – you shouldn’t sell someone as soon as you meet them. That’s what I recently discussed with Steve Fretzin, who coaches and trains lawyers in modern-day business development skills, providing precise tips, fresh ideas, and actionable tasks that drive tangible results. Steve is also a three-time author, monthly contributor to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, and has his own podcast BE THAT LAWYER.

Steve defines networking as the act of developing relationships and strategic partnerships. He defines business development as the next stage where you take strategic partnerships and relationships and identify needs to solve problems and create the opportunity for a sale as a result. The new way to do business development is to ask questions, listen and walk someone through the process of making a buying decision based on the need to solve a problem vs. the old school sales method of trying to convince someone to do something.

Selling During The First Meeting?

Steve doesn’t recommend trying to sell somebody something during your first meeting. Consider your first meeting with someone an opportunity to learn about them. This means you make the first meeting all about them – not trying to sell yourself and your product or service. If you discover that you can’t solve their problem or give them what they need then try to refer them to someone else. It’s better to make a referral than to make an unqualified sale. If you discover that you can help them set up another meeting and present solutions that they can decide to buy or not to buy.

A Common Networking Mistake

One big mistake is networking for the sake of networking. You might be joining multiple groups and, without realizing it, be meeting with the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Rather than doing that you should define who you’re targeting as a potential client and who you’re targeting as a potential referral source. Then answer the question “Where are they?” Once you answer that question go to where they are instead of just randomly going to networking events.

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In this episode we also talk about:

How to create a profile for your ideal clients and referral sources. How to successfully network during the pandemic. The positive side of networking during the pandemic. How to have successful virtual sales meetings. …And other golden nuggets of wisdom!

If you enjoy this episode please subscribe and rate us on iTunes or your podcasting platform of choice.

About The Guest

The host of the BE THAT LAWYER podcast, Steve has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, and Entrepreneur.com and has appeared on NBC News and WGN Radio. He has written three books on legal business development, is a regular contributor to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and has published articles in Attorney at Law magazine, the National Law Review, the American Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association.

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There’s a lot of negativity in the world these days. It’s more important than ever to be happy and share happiness. In this episode I discussed HOW to be happy with Steven Lefkoff, the founder of Small Claims Academy, a business established during the pandemic in 2020 to empower individuals and businesses to perform as well as they can in small claims cases.

When it comes to building a business during the pandemic happiness is key. Simply put, people like happy people. When you’re happy your happiness rubs off onto other people and they want to be around you and, when all goes well, work with you because of the happiness that you’re exuding. This is important because no business can exist in a vacuum. You need to surround yourself with great people to grow.

How To Shift Gears Into Happiness

When you wake up in the morning you have a choice of how you’re going to approach that day. This isn’t a focus on your schedule for the day or the tasks that you’re going to accomplish. The focus is on answering this question: “Am I going to approach this day and be happy, or am I going to be miserable?” When you start happy you’re at least beginning the day in the way that you want to begin the day. Yes, things will go off the rails and bad things will happen. When bad things happen, you have the choice to focus on the bad things for an extended period of time OR to recalibrate.

You can take 30 seconds, close your eyes, take a deep breath and recalibrate by focusing on what IS going good in your life. In that moment you’re essentially starting over and choosing the path of happiness. It’s not difficult to do. The difficulty lies with remembering to do it – and then doing it.

If It Works For Children…

Steven has a daily practice with his children to help them start their day coming from a place of happiness. If it works for children, it will probably work for you! Steven’s children come downstairs around 6:45 in the morning in SOME kind of mood. Sometimes, unfortunately, they’re in a miserable mood. When this happens, Steven tells them to go back upstairs, get back into bed even if it’s for a short period of time, and start over. They’re instructed to come back downstairs with a smile on their face. When necessary this process repeats until his children choose to be happy instead of miserable.

That’ just one of the happiness practices that we spoke about in this episode. It doesn’t benefit anybody, including yourself and the people around you, to be miserable. It DOES benefit everybody you come into contact with throughout your day to be happy.

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In this episode we also talk about:

How to shift your emotional reactions to negative situations. How to use the “Flip The Pancake” methodology to create more happiness in your life. Steven’s story about how he started a business during the pandemic. Why happiness leads to confidence for you and your clients. Why YOU being happy is helpful to OTHER people. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy the show please subscribe and review us on iTunes or your podcast platform of choice.

About The Guest

Steven Lefkoff is an attorney with a focus in helping people and business owners navigate the law in court without an attorney. Licensed in Georgia, Steven is the founder of Small Claims Academy, a business established in 2020 to empower litigants to perform as well as they can in their small claims case by providing individuals and businesses with products designed to help them navigate their state’s small claims court. Small Claims Academy's first product, Gavel (www.gavel.legal), is an online course to teach litigants the tips, tricks, and procedures of small claims courts.

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Everyone is moving to Zoom for meetings and presentations and there are a LOT of mistakes that you can make. There are distracted learners, the ever-possible Zoom fatigue, multi-tasking and more that can destroy the effectiveness of virtual communication. The key is to know what NOT to do and what you SHOULD do instead.

That’s what I spoke about in this episode with Matthew Confer, who is the VP of Strategy at Abilitie, an experiential learning company based in Austin TX that does simulation based learning with organizations and universities in more than 30 countries around the world.

How Do You As A Leader Make Your Content More Interactive and Engaging?

Matt’s company schedules a LOT more breaks for virtual events than they do for in person events. They just make the breaks shorter in duration, usually five to ten minutes. Matt also lets virtual attendees know to expect more and shorter breaks in advance. Otherwise the attendees go into an hour-long virtual meeting expecting to be sitting for an hour and that is not a good expectation to have.

You can embrace the things in the virtual space that people usually look forward to during in person events. That helps to fight the dreaded “Zoom fatigue” that people are getting used to. Virtual events usually lose the networking benefits of live events – there aren’t the hallway conversations while you’re waiting in line to get food and coffee. To solve this problem Matt suggests scheduling virtual coffee breaks where you put small groups of people together in Zoom breakout rooms while they drink their coffee at home. This gives attendees the opportunity to meet new people.

How to Create Success Online Interactions and Successful Learning Experiences

There’s a BIG difference between active learning and passive learning. There’s a study that showed that learning that drives achievement and development shares two characteristics: It’s active and it’s collaborative. Whatever you do add activities to your virtual presentations, otherwise it’s too easy for participants to get distracted. It’s easy for participants to get disengaged when they’re only listening to you and looking at a screen. To make your virtual events collaborative you can assign teammates to groups or partners to individuals. This way they have people to interact with and bounce ideas off of.

You can also use Zoom’s whiteboard features, chat features, polling features and more. How can you use them? If you want to keep your presentations engaging you must keep people guessing. You want them to know that the next 30 or 60 minutes of your presentation isn’t just going to be content coming at them. You want them to know that at any time they could be asked to add something to the chat or that during the next five minutes a poll might be popping up asking them to answer a question. Setting this expectation helps keep participants from getting distracted with email, texts or any of the other things that they otherwise would be taking their attention away from your presentation.

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Is this episode we also discuss:

The three kinds of key interactions that you NEED to have in your virtual presentations. How often you should meet virtually if you’re the leader of an internal team and what you should talk about. How to know when to have structured virtual meetings and when to have freeform virtual meetings. How to have engaging virtual mentorship conversations and what to talk about. If you only do ONE thing to enhance your virtual conversations and meetings, what that ONE thing should be. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and rate us on iTunes or your podcast platform of choice!

About The Guest

Matthew Confer is the Vice President of Strategy at Abilitie, a Leadership Development company based in Austin, Texas that provides immersive business simulations to a global client base that includes over 50 members of the...

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Mentorship is VERY much needed in the business world. You just need to know how to find mentors, engage with them and build successful relationships with them. That’s what I discussed in this episode with Matt Granados.

Matt is an international coach and trainer working with individuals and teams to increase bandwidth, increase motivation, and minimize stress.  This ranges from CEOs of billion-dollar companies to individuals trying to get back to where they want to be. Matt and his team have created programs for individuals to get the exact results they desire in all areas of life.

The first thing that Matt shares is that having a mentor is like going to a buffet, you don’t have to eat everything. When it comes to advice, pick what you like and take action with it while leaving behind the advice that doesn’t resonate with you. Why leave things behind? Because you’ll never find a perfect person who has all the answers. This means that you shouldn’t put your mentors on pedestals because if you do, they’ll fall down. Nobody can be everything to everyone. One caveat? You should be open minded when it comes to what you can learn from your mentors, even if it’s tough love that you might not want to hear.

How Do You Find Mentors?

With most of Matt’s mentor/mentee relationships there was never a formal agreement that they were in a mentoring relationship. That agreement wasn’t needed. How do you know when someone is your mentor? When they respond to your emails. When they take interest in what you’re doing. Then you’ll know that you have a mentor and that it happened organically.

A BIG mentoring tip: Don’t try to engage with someone to create a mentoring relationship just because that person is famous or successful. Seek out people that have done what you want to do so you can find out 1) is it really what you want to do, 2) how do they accomplished it, 3) what did they sacrifice to get there and 4) if you really want to do what they’ve done and, when needed, sacrifice what they’ve sacrificed to do what you think  you want to do.

How to Create Successful Mentoring Experiences

One day Matt’s wife pointed out to him that he didn’t have any physical goals – even though his company is all about vitality. So, he “accepted her challenge” and signed up for an Iron Man competition. The first thing Matt did was to find someone that completed an Iron Man in the World championship and got the person to coach him. The tip for you? Find people that have done what you want to do and have done it WELL. Then talk with them and ask them how they did it. If they share advice that you don’t necessarily agree with, prove them right instead of wrong. As Matt told me about his Iron Man mentor – who is Matt to say that someone’s wrong who has successfully done something that Matt wants to do?

Take your mentor’s advice, implement that advice, get a result, and then bring that result back to them. You’ll either: Share that you followed through with what they told you to do and didn’t get the right results – and then ask, “What else can I do?” Or you’ll share that you tried what they told you to do and succeeded and ask, “Now what do I need to do to get to the next level?”

Either way you’re on a mission to move beyond the results that you’re currently getting to get new, and better, results with the proper guidance.

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During the rest of this episode we discuss:

Why mentee should guide the relationship, not the mentor. The four things that you need to come into a mentoring relationship ready to do. When and why you should put mentoring relationships on pause or end them. The sure-fire way to destroy a mentoring relationship and what NOT to do. How to respect your mentor’s time AND get more of their time for calls. …and more golden nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy the show please subscribe and rate us on iTunes or your podcast platform of choice!

About The Guest

Over the last decade,

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If you want to build your personal brand you probably know that writing a book will help. The challenge becomes know HOW to write a great book. That’s what I discussed with #1 Bestselling Amazon author and architect Bill Hirsch.

As soon as you write something down and publish it you’re seen by your reader or anyone that’s hiring you as a consultant and expert in your field more than the day before you wrote the book. In the months before publishing his book Bill hoped that people would let them become his clients. Rather than writing a book as a marketing vehicle Bill wrote his book as a way to help people out and provide useful information. As a result of that his email inbox filled up and his phone started ringing with people that were eager to become his clients, a complete flipping of the script.

How to Get Started With a Book Plan

The best way to start? Start writing SOMETHING. Don’t wait until your ideas are perfect. Writing will help you collect your ideas so that they will start becoming your book. Writing out a book plan is a good way to start because if you don’t know where you’re going you won’t know when you’ve gotten there. Bill also hired a writing coach which further helped him organize his thoughts in a better, more readable book form.

The start of your book plan can be as simple as an outline of and titles for your chapters. With a little further analysis beyond that Bill’s book plan let him look at each chapter to make sure that he had an equivocal amount of content for each chapter. This became the blueprint for his book and let him know where he was going.

Find Your Niche

There are a LOT of books on the market about general topics, such as leadership. Unless you have a huge marketing budget publishing and successfully selling a book about a general topic can be a daunting task. When you write a niche book that can work in your favor because you don’t have as much competition. Using this strategy helped Bill sell over 30,000 copies of his book. As a benchmark, traditional publishers need you to sell at least 5,000 copies of your book and if you don’t hit certain benchmarks a traditional publisher can take your book out of print leaving you with nothing. Bill chose to take the independent publishing route so he would have full control over the content of the book.

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In this episode we also discuss:

How to find the right creative design and editing partners for your book. How to successfully market your book and get your book reviewed in publications. The primary objective that you should have in mind for your book – and it’s not about promoting yourself. …and other golden nuggets of advice!

About The Guest

Bill Hirsch has spent nearly 50 years designing homes of all sizes that reflect the lives, personalities, and desires of his clients.  With a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University and a Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia, Bill has spent his career at the intersection of psychology and home design, creating dwellings that allow occupants to relax, rejuvenate, and recharge.

Bill’s first Amazon #1 best seller, Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect has sold thousands of copies around the world.  His newest #1 best seller,  The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where Your Live, takes his design philosophy to the next level, moving from architecture to an even finer scale, encompassing the psychological and emotional elements of homes of all sizes and styles.

A past president of the Delaware Society of Architects, a member of the American Institute of Architects and certified by the National Council of the Architectural Registration Boards, Bill now lives in South Carolina with his wife, Maureen.  They have four children and seven grandchildren.

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Recently I spoke with Brian Wallace about influence. Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry leading infographic design agency based in Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH which works with companies that range from startups to Fortune 500s.

Many people do not have a clear understanding of what influence is. There’s a gap between the word “influencer” and “influenced”. When you hear the word “influencer” you might cringe and think of people posting pet pictures on Instagram or people lip syncing on TikTok. Are they making money from it? Do they just want the rush of more likes? Oftentimes you just don’t know. It seems to be very self-serving instead of serving others. In this commencement speech the speaker discusses using your influence to positively impact others. Influence should be about empowering other people. Power doesn’t mean that you can take the stage; power is giving OTHER people the stage. “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” ~Zig Ziglar How To Expand Your Influence The RIGHT Way

It all starts with looking in the mirror and knowing what you want to do and WHY you want to do it. Many people look at celebrities and extremely successful people and try to copy them. When you do that you can be aiming for targets that don’t exist. Instead of doing that you should be comfortable with who you are and be self-aware. When you are a fully transparent version of yourself without an act people will relate to you and naturally gravitate towards you.

One thing you can do is explain the facets of who you really are. Let’s take LinkedIn as an example. Most people, in their headline, just put their work title. Some people think of it as an “elevator pitch”. As Brian points out, first you have to get INTO the elevator. Look at your headline as a getting INTO the elevator pitch. If a bunch of high-level executives or successful entrepreneurs were in an elevator that you’re running towards, what would you scream down the hall that would make them hold the door for you? Just a title, the line “all thoughts are my own” or a list of hobbies won’t do the trick. Brian puts his qualifications and why people should want to follow him in his headline. It’s about what he does and he makes it interesting. His headline is “Founder, NowSourcing - Infographic Expert | Google Board Member | #LinkedInLive | Podcaster | Featured: NYT, Forbes, Mashable | #SXSW Advisory Board”.

Find Your Tribe

Everyone is influential in some way. If they say they’re not it’s because they don’t believe in themselves. This is where being authentic can help because you’ll attract more people to you and feel better about yourself. Brian believes that the inauthentic “influencers” with a bunch of fake likes are going away. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, find an expertise niche to fill with people that should be part of your tribe.

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During this episode we also discuss:

Tips for successfully marketing yourself to become an authentic influencer. The types of content that you should be sharing and how to be interesting. Why having true fans is valuable. Where to spend your time online if you want to become an influencer. …and other golden nuggets of advice!

About The Guest

Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry leading infographic design agency based in Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH which works with companies that range from startups to Fortune 500s. Brian also runs #LinkedInLocal events nationwide, and hosts the Next Action Podcast.  Brian has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-present and joined the SXSW Advisory Board in 2019.

Brian can be reached here on LinkedIn.

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Many people are going through tough times right now and giving back and paying it forward is more important than ever – you just need to know HOW. That’s what I discuss with Jon Ferrara, the creator of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in this episode. “You can get anything you want in the world by helping other people get what they want.” ~Zig Ziglar What is Important in Life and Why?

We’re not on this planet to make money, we’re on this planet to make memories out of moments. Jon believes that ultimately, we’re on this planet to grow our souls. After doing some spiritual work, Jon came to the conclusion that the best way to grow your soul is by being present with other people, especially those that love you. You need to be present with other people because, if they really love you, they’ll throw your shit right back at you. That’s important because if you take a hard look at yourself and your shit that’s how you really grow. If you really listen and you learn, you’ll find ways to add value to other people’s lives and you’ll change your life for the better. When you do that at scale you can change the world for the better.

As an example: When Jon invented Customer Relationship Management (CRM), he didn’t do it because he wanted to make $100 million dollars. He did it because he loves building solutions, and in the case of CRM the solution was something that Jon needed. While working in sales before CRM Jon had leads in various places and it was hard to track the customer’s journey as it got closer to closing the sale. It turned out that a LOT of people, literally MILLIONS of them, had the same problem. By serving those people and helping them achieve their dreams, Jon achieved a dream that very few people ever achieve. And it came from serving and helping other people, not just himself.

How to Be a More Successful Person

Let’s look at sales, Jon believes that in many ways everyone is a salesperson in one way or another. Unfortunately, many salespeople are only interested in “bagging and tagging” you to make money. That can make sales a four-letter word. That’s why service is the new sales. If you enter into every engagement not with the intention of what can you get from this person but what can you give to this person you can’t help but walk away from that engagement with a positive boost, and the other person walks away with the same thing.

If you want through life without being present, without really listening and without an intention to serve you’re just focused on “getting”. The alternative to that is to live by the mantra “the more that you give, the more that you get.” That applies to not only everyone that you know but also to strangers that you interact with.

How to Stay Top of Mind with People

First, you DON’T send them a quarterly email that tells them how great your products and services are. That’s selfish and people don’t care about that. They care about themselves and what good things you do for them. What can you do instead? Follow them online, follow their digital footprint on a regular basis and add VALUE to the conversation so that when you do reach out it’s not a cold call, it’s a warm call because you’ve been staying in touch with them.

Listen In!

During the rest of our discussion we discuss topics including…

How to take your business relationships beyond “just business” and touch people on a personal level by using the “Five F’s of Life” and the “Five E’s of Social Business”. How to build your personal brand at scale to reach more people. How to balance being nice and serving others with making sales. How to reach out to people that you haven’t spoken with in a long time and successfully reconnect with them. …and many, many more golden nuggets of actionable advice!

If you enjoy this podcast, please rate it and subscribe to it on iTunes!

About The Guest

Jon Ferrara is a serial entrepreneur and noted speaker about social,

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The networking landscape has DRASTICALLY changed. We’re not seeing our clients, potential clients or people that we want to get to know in person anymore. We’re at home and we’re trying to make networking work from behind a screen. That’s a BIG challenge if you’re the type of person that’s used to shaking hands and having lunch meetings. There are things you can do instead, and that’s what I discuss with B2B digital marketing agency Founder and CEO Sonny Sultani in this episode.

Advice for People That NEED to Be Networking

There’s no better safety net than a good network at this moment. You need to foster your existing network AND create new connections. Everyone wants to have some kind of human connectivity again, so give it to them!

You can even have fun with it. Have virtual coffee meetings. Send somebody a bag of coffee and say, “I want to get to know you, can we hop on a Zoom call?”

Important point: Resist the urge to sell something to everyone that you connect with, this isn’t the time to be doing that. What can you do instead? Be a resource to people. Everyone needs resources right now; we’re all trying to navigate something that we’re not quite sure of. In addition to sharing ideas one way to be a resource to people is to promote THEM and not just yourself. One of Sonny’s client’s posts about the people that he’s meeting with during these hard times. He goes onto LinkedIn and shares something like “I just met with Bill Smith, he’s an amazing management consultant that you should get to know” and he tags them in the post. That is a phenomenal way to start an online conversation today, wouldn’t you agree?

Now is the PERFECT Time to Be Networking, Here’s Why and How

There are directors, Vice-Presidents, Founders and CEOs amongst other busy people that would have never had the time to talk with you six months ago. This is a prime time to get people on the phone that previously wouldn’t have had time for you, take advantage of it.

Leverage your current network by having them introduce you to new people, there’s nothing like a warm introduction. Promise NOT to sell anything on the first call, just focus on getting to know the other person. The challenge is that many people aren’t used to sitting in front of a screen and asking for stuff. They’re more comfortable when they’re face to face. The best replacement for that, as most of the world has discovered, is to set up video meetings. It’s the next best thing and it’s easier than ever to leverage video services in lieu of in person meetings.

Listen In!

Other topics that we discuss in this podcast include…

How to ask for referrals and new connections during virtual meetings How to ask potential clients for meetings (and GET the meetings) without trying to sell them anything immediately Why now is the perfect time for introverts to go head to head with extroverts in terms of filling their sales pipeline and how to do it How to get potential clients to know, like and trust you so that you’re the person they go to when budgets start opening up The ONE thing that you NEED to do now to drive business before the opportunity disappears …and more golden nuggets of actionable advice!

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and rate us on iTunes!

About The Guest

Sonny Sultani is the Founder and CEO of 120/80, a digital marketing agency specializing in growth for B2B and Professional Services. Prior to 120/80, Sonny held positions including CEO, Chief Creative Officer, and VP of various companies in the creative, technology, and marketing space. With 20+ years of experience, what makes Sonny unique is his ability to navigate a variety of businesses and understand the challenges to grow a company. Sonny has received over 60 accolades in communication & marketing and holds a Bachelor's & Master's in Communication from Northwestern University. He is an avid volunteer of Not for Profits in the Chicagoland area.

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The pandemic is affecting everyone in some way shape or form. If you’re staying home more that gives you extra time to work on your business. It’s an opportunity to work on your branding or rebranding, your marketing strategy and many other things. That’s what Troy Sandidge, A successful social media marketer who provides marketing strategies and solutions for growing small to medium size businesses to multi-billion-dollar enterprise brands, and I discussed on this episode.

Maybe your website wasn’t up to par pre-COVID, maybe your sales funnels and online calls to action weren’t up to speed and you weren’t getting as many online conversations and conversions as you would have liked. Screen time during the pandemic has increased 80-90%, which means many markets, possibly including yours, have become oversaturated with competition for views.

Now is the time to take a step back, monitor and update your website and implement new, improved marketing strategies. With all the competition chances are that not many people are coming to your site – that’s the perfect time to rebuild.

Taking a Step Back to Move Three Steps Forward

Look at your messaging from the last six months and examine what worked and what didn’t work. If you’re interested in creating new video content or getting into (or improving your current initiatives in) podcasting, now is the time to create in bulk – use that extra time wisely! Recoup, retool and repurpose your content while you’re not getting as many eyeballs on your site.

Where should you start rebranding? First and most importantly, examine your messaging. Start with understanding your audience and WHY they’re coming to your site in the first place. Then make that messaging more attractive based on who actually converted from viewing your products and services to BUYING your products and services. Who actually made you money? Focus your messaging on THEM.

Then ask yourself who is your IDEAL visitor? Who do you really want to focus on? Answering those questions will tell  you where to start retooling your messaging.

One Way to Wisely Spend Your Marketing Time

During COVID-19 you can’t meet people in person so you’re missing opportunities for richer connections. During the pandemic you can shift to highly focused videos and livestreams that are no more than 10 minutes long. Forget about the longer hour long, rambling videos that could actually work against you. In the videos and copy surrounding them tell your audience what the focus is and what important information you’re going to share with them – and then provide value in shorter sound bites. Focus on being conversational instead of just broadcasting messages.

Listen In!

Other topics we cover include:

How to create high quality content through interviews How to use your notes and repurpose your content to create podcast episodes for people that don’t watch videos. Why you shouldn’t hard sell your audience and what you can do instead The key components of successful marketing conversations and how to integrate them into your marketing strategy The right and wrong ways to market yourself on LinkedIn …and more golden nuggets of marketing advice!

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During the pandemic Zoom has been doing VERY well and it seems like everyone wants to have a video call these days. But are they doing their video calls the RIGHT way and making them as productive as possible? That’s what I recently spoke about with Susan Ibitz, professional “Human Behavior Hacker”.

Some Tips for Video Meetings

Video conversations have great benefits. Having video conversations speeds up the process of meeting new people. Instead of setting up a coffee meeting three weeks out you can set up a 30-minute video meeting the same week as making contact with the other person. This also shortens the amount of time you have to research the person before speaking with them, so you have to be ready to act quickly.

Susan calls her clients every six months to ask what she can fix for them or how can she help them. She then asks a series of questions to get to know her clients better. If you do not have the right questions, you are not going to have the right answers that could move the relationship forward. One way to know what questions to ask is to understand modalities.

An important thing to know is that people primarily learn and interact in one of three modalities: Visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (touch).

If you have too many things going on in your background during a video call people are going to get distracted, especially if they are visual learners. You can tell if someone is a visual learner by the words they use, even in emails. An example of this is “I’ll SEE you later”. Another thing that helps communication with visual people is changing your background on Zoom. If you put up a background with your logo and the other person’s logo you’ve already put the two together.

Another important thing for rapport is smiling while you’re on camera. A good handshake replaces three hours of communication. Smiling on a video call replaces the in-person handshake.

Introverts & Extroverts

It’s also important to know if the other person is an introvert or an extrovert. Generally speaking, extroverts prefer video calls and introverts prefer a mix of video calls with phone calls. When you’re on phone calls it helps to walk around. That increases the oxytocin in your brain and helps you be more creative and focused on the phone call. One way to discover the best way to communicate with people is to give THEM the option of a video call OR a phone call. Let them tell you what their preferred mode of communication is.

Listen In!

On this podcast you’ll learn:

How to go to your “happy place” during video calls which makes your calls more productive How to remind yourself to look at the camera instead of the other person during a video call How to communicate in the other two modalities, auditory and kinesthetic How to read someone’s face for important non-verbal cues What questions to ask to move the sales process forward …And more great nuggets of advice!

About The Guest

Susan Ibitz Human Behavior Hacker | Keynote | Corporate Trainer | Sales Trainer | FORBES.COM | TRIBE GLOBAL | Imagine you can learn a SUPERPOWER

Susan can deliver training and consult on Human Behavior,  Micro-Expression, Body Language, Deception-Detection, Statement Analysis, Face Reading (Physiognomy), & Personality types, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Susan has trained, consulted, and worked with people and fields such as:

Journalists & Producers - Politicians & Political Campaigns - Law Enforcement - Realtors - Lawyers - Market Research - Insurance Fraud - Headhunters - Match Makers - Managers - Medical Field Professionals - Sperm Donor Selection - Couples Compatibilities - Love Life - Sales Team - Job Seekers - Human Resources Professionals - Negotiation - Hospitality - Customer Oriented Services

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Mentors can change your life if you know how to create and leverage mentorship experiences like entrepreneur Danielle Pierce learned to do over the years.

When Danielle got started things seemed really challenging because she had to wear all of the hats in her company; the graphic designer, the accountant the attorney and everything else. The missing piece is that you can accelerate your results significantly faster the minute you release control and stop trying to be “manager of the universe”. She spent 11 years trying to do everything herself and only realized that piece of advice during the last two years or so. Now she welcomes outside advice and collaborating with other people. Now her business life is fun and exciting as opposed to being just another job that needs to be done.

Get Uncomfortable and Take Action!

A great mentoring relationship isn’t the most comfortable relationship because it can push you in directions that you don’t want to be pushed in and create new experiences that you didn’t plan on. Because of that many people that say they want a mentor aren’t ready to take on the responsibility of that kind of relationship. When you’re ready to get uncomfortable and be vulnerable then you’re ready for new mentoring relationships!

Danielle’s current mentor found her. They went to high school together, lost touch, and then reconnected through Facebook. The relationship started with him giving her some advice here and there. She began applying that advice and getting new, successful results in her business. When he noticed that she was taking action and taking the relationship seriously it became a more formal mentoring relationship.

That’s a great tip for YOU! Mentors want to see that you’re doing more than just talking, they want to see you taking action. When you do that, you’re respecting the time that they invest in you and taking the relationship seriously.

How to Be Prepared for Successful Mentoring Relationships

As the mentee you must be ready to hear a lot of things that you don’t want to hear. You must be ready to admit that you’ve been doing things in not the most effective and efficient ways. You must be ready to put in a significant amount of work in a relatively short period of time. You need to be coachable. You cannot get advice and then ignore it and do things your own way. You must TRUST your mentors’ advice and take action in a way that goes along with their advice, not just the way you think that you should do it.

Listen In!

In this episode we talk about:

How to foster trust in your mentoring relationships What you can do to become a better mentor More ways to become a better mentee Danielle’s first mentoring experience and why it was successful at the time How to release control as a business owner …and more great nuggets of advice!

If you enjoy this podcast please rate it and comment on it on iTunes!

About The Guest

A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, by way of the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship, Danielle Pierce has an accounting degree which she has not utilized in over 12 years.  She began her entrepreneurial career after a sudden layoff from her corporate audit position. Danielle took this as a sign from the Heavens that she was meant to be a full time entrepreneur. Although she did look back a time or two (or three lol), she has held on to the reigns of entrepreneurship and never plans to let go.

Danielle’s online courses and group training programs (Real Estate Profit Lab), teach aspiring business owners  how to establish and grow profitable six figure enterprises within the real estate industry, outside of sales. Her current areas of specialization include the following: tax lien investing and managing bank owned properties.

Danielle is an author, highly regarded speaker, the founder of a highly specialized real estate consulting firm, and a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council.

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Recently I spoke with Aaron Stahl about his journey in entrepreneurship. One of the first things he brought up was the importance of mentoring.

To be a good mentor you need to listen to what the other person has to say. You’re listening to learn what specific problems they’re facing and discovering if you can help them. If you can’t help them you can try to connect them to someone who can help them. Being in that mindset will help you become a good resource to people and a good mentor.

Aaron also learned that entrepreneurs need to start small and grow big. When Aaron was in his early twenties, he started calling on Fortune 100 companies to get them as clients. He wanted to instantly become a millionaire, but that plan didn’t work out. He learned that you have to invest time and energy to grow into success.

Another lesson learned is that if you leave your business for any amount of time you should come back to a business that’s as good or better than when you left. To make that happen you need to only do what you’re best at and hire and train people to do things that you’re not good at.

Listen in!

In this episode we discuss more about mentoring, how to grow your business the RIGHT way and how to empower your employees to collaborate with each other to run a successful business for you.

About The Guest

Aaron got his start in the cost recovery business in 2004 at the age of 22 when he started P3 Waste Consulting. After helping numerous clients save money on their waste expenses the business grew from there to become what it is today. Aaron expects revenue to grow to $4 million in 2020.

Aaron is an expert in the waste and recycling industry and has been the CEO/President of P3 since the beginning.  In his spare time he enjoys flying airplanes and is an instrument rated pilot and certified flight instructor. He also enjoys traveling abroad, hunting, hiking, mountain biking and attempts to surf whenever possible. He is an Eagle Scout, avid Arkansas Razorbacks fan and holds a degree in small business/finance from the University of Arkansas

You can learn more about Aaron on LinkedIn.

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Mentoring can change the arc of someone in Generation Z's career, and that’s what I recently discussed with 23-year old entrepreneur Austin McCulloh who has been a mentor and been mentored.

Two of the biggest lessons from one of Austin’s early mentors was not to burn bridges and not to take everything personally. If someone cancels a meeting or ends a conversation abruptly that doesn’t mean you should take it personally or get upset with them. It’s better to come from a point of understanding and knowing it’s not always about you, they might have things going on in their life that you know nothing about. You never know how the relationship will develop over time.

Mentoring tip: Why was Austin’s early mentoring relationship successful? His cared about Austin’s well being and made himself accessible. If you want to be a mentor to someone else those are two things to consider before you start mentoring someone.

Austin’s mentors taught him that getting real world experience early one will help your career. Instead of getting a fast food part time job Austin started in the financial services industry as a financial advisor so he could shave years off of his learning curve and get real world experience while he was still young.

Mentoring Generation Z: Give them clarity and support so that they can set productive goals and start moving towards them. Using clear and effective communication can go a long, long way when you’re mentoring other people. “Clear and effective communication” means being honest with the other person and not just telling them what they want to hear. This means being transparent with the other person and definitely not lying just to make them feel better about a situation.

Just giving one or two hours a week to an individual that’s not as fortunate as you are can change the trajectory of their life.

A Great Book

The one book that Austin says you NEED to read? Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate and at one time the richest man in the world, saw something special in Napoleon Hill. He gave Napoleon a 20-year mission to unlock the key to success and then Carnegie opened his rolodex and introduced Napoleon to some of the most successful people of the time (the early 1900’s). Napoleon took what he learned and combined his learnings to create 13 success principles which he outlines in his book.

Self-Awareness

Having weaknesses is not what makes or breaks you; knowing how to deal with them or not dealing with them does. You’re not going to know what your weaknesses are if you’re not self-aware. At one point during high school Austin’s football coach said something simple and profound “Austin, you’re uncoachable”. And at the time Austin says he was because he wasn’t taking accountability for his own life. Austin remedied that problem by taking accountability for his actions and results in life and becoming more self-aware. He took 30 days off from social media and most social interactions and got to know himself. Once he became more self-aware mentors were better able to help him.

Listen More and You Will Learn More

Practice being intentional – close your mouth and just listen. When you practice that enough you’ll become good at it, even if it doesn’t come over night. For yourself you will learn more and grow faster as a person. When you listen and learn what OTHER people’s problems and pain points are, you’ll learn how you can better help THEM by not making the conversation all about yourself.

Listen In!

Some other topics we cover in this episode are:

If you want anything in life, from a mentor to a job, ASK! You’ll learn how to ask the right way How to leverage the Law of Reciprocity to get what you want in life and give others what they want How to ask someone to mentor you How much time to ask your mentors for How to reach out to potential mentors on LinkedIn …and other great nuggets of advice!

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Recently I spoke with Phil Gerbyshak, he really knows SALES. He’s a sales speaker, a sales expert, a sales trainer, a sales leader mentor, a sales podcaster and a sales coach. We spoke about how to successfully build relationships ONLINE that turn into business OFFLINE.

We started our discussion talking about the fact that relationships are what we all want when it comes to growing your business or advancing your career. Nobody buys unless they know, like and trust you. So how can you get people to know, like and trust you faster? By adding VALUE to their life.

If you are initiating a relationship it is not about you, it’s about the other person. Getting to know them as a person, what they are working on right now and what they need help with right now helps you kick start any relationship. There are two key factors for creating and fostering relationships in the business world. They are relevancy and recency.

Relevancy is important. There are three ways to become relevant faster.

Discover what you have in common. Focus on what and who you have in common with them. Insight into the other person. Research the other person online so you know what they’re talking about so you can join the discussion. Interesting or Interested. Become interesting by being interested in the other person and what they are working on.

Recency is also important. You need to keep in touch with people and foster your important relationships. If you haven’t spoken with someone for years you need to re-build that relationship and become relevant again. Remember: The goal isn’t just to have more conversations, it’s to get more business or advance your career. This is why what you talk about is so important. To have more successful conversations use the three H’s:

There are three H’s to building successful business relationships:

Be human. Be authentic with the other person, get to know them and let them get to know you. Be helpful. Come from a place of service and be willing to help the other person in some way. Be humble. Instead of saying that you’re the greatest in your field you need a third party to say it.

Go Offline

When you make an online connection, you need to make it more than just another online connection. You need to take things offline. Set up a phone call or if you have the time a coffee meeting. A great way to start a conversation is reaching out to say happy birthday.  Everyone has a birthday and social media channels remind us when their birthday is.

That creates an opportunity to reach out to them, make that phone call. After happy birthday ask them what they’re working on and who they need to know. Chances are they will reciprocate by asking you the same thing. Maybe they need your services quickly or maybe time will go by. It’s just a matter of keeping the conversation going so they think of you when they have a problem that your services can solve.

Phil goes on to talk about:

How to turn online relationships into clients How to earn a conversation with new connections How to add value to every conversation More about leveraging the three components of relevancy And more great nuggets of advice!

If you like what you hear please subscribe and rate The Idea Climbing™ Podcast on iTunes.

Phil Gerbyshak knows SALES. He’s a sales speaker, a sales expert, a sales trainer, a sales leader mentor, a sales podcaster and a sales coach. He's written 5 books, more than 3000 articles, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Daily Globe and Mail, Financial Times, Investor's Business Daily, Inc. and many other publications, including earning 3 covers: Speaker Magazine, Marketing Media and Money, and Social Selling Made Easy. Phil is known as a Sales, Leadership and Technology Authority with a particular expertise in inside sales, LinkedIn and social selling.

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Using videos for marketing purposes is a hot topic. How can you create a successful marketing campaign that turns into dollars for your bottom line? That’s what I recently discussed with the CEO of WireBuzz, Todd Hartley.

Todd has been leveraging video for marketing purposes for over 15 years. His first project generated over 36 million unique visitors a year on zero ad dollars.

How Long?

One hot topic in the video world is video length. How long should your marketing videos be? It depends upon the product or service. How long does it take you to explain your product or service compellingly and in the most succinct way possible? That’s how long your video should be.

People tend to think that everything has to be short because people’s attention spans are shorter. That’s true if you just want to grab someone’s attention for a minute. Unfortunately, people don’t buy because of short videos. Short videos should only be used as teasers that get people to watch your next, longer video.

If you’re trying to get someone to purchase from you longer videos outperform shorter videos every time. What is longer? 10 minutes, 14 minutes or 30 minutes. In the case of infomercials an hour works. Infomercials convert viewers into buyers at a much higher rate than short videos.  The lesson here: Don’t be afraid to make longer videos.

With regards to short attention spans – attention spans are selective. They’re selective to buyers. Todd doesn’t watch knitting videos on YouTube, but his mother eats them up. Why? Because she’s a buyer. They provide value to her and help her make buying decisions. That’s what your videos should do.

3 Indisputable Laws of Using Video to Create Bingeworthy Buying Experiences

They’re all related, and they’re all taught to us on a daily basis by Netflix.

1) It must be personalized and relevant. If a video comes on about your favorite topic, it grabs your attention. One size fits all videos don’t work.

2) It needs to be on demand. People need to be able to watch your videos when the time is appropriate for them.

3) It needs to be bingeable. You need to structure the information so somebody goes down that “rabbit hole” and they binge all the way through it. You can’t do that with a 30 second video.

Listen In!

Todd shares, in detail:

How to successfully apply all three laws to the videos that you produce The #1 thing that you MUST do to create successful bingeworthy buying experiences How to get your prospects to experience clarity because that’s when they become a buyer How to turn your videos into sales machines How to answer late stage buying questions …and more!

About the Guest

Today my guest is Todd Hartley, the founder and CEO of WireBuzz. Embracing the power of video early on, Todd has spent the last decade mastering video marketing. In 2010, he created WireBuzz to help businesses amplify sales, reach marketing goals, and dominate the competition with video.

In this episode we’ll discuss what it takes to make a successful business video, 3 Indisputable Laws of Using Video to Create Bingeworthy Buying Experiences, how to turn your videos into sales machines and more.

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Networking is the life blood of many businesses. It’s how business gets done and referrals get made. Recently I spoke with Justin Breen about networking. He’s the founder of BrEpic, a PR firm that writes compelling, newsworthy stories for its clients and pitches those stories to media across the world. Breen also has his first book, Epic Business, launched in May of 2020. He was a journalist for 20 years before starting his business on April 16, 2017.

As you get started or when you’re rebranding yourself Justin had this to share: Do what you love to do and do what you’re really good at. Partner with other people that will do the rest. Once you have those people in place you can focus on networking.

Get Focused With Your Networking

When you get the opportunity to have a mentoring experience: Learn from and listen to people and then implement the things that you learn from them. Taking action is important, you need to do more than just listen. Turn their advice into focused networking.

Don’t wait for people to come to you, proactively reach out to them. On the day of our podcast recording Justin had 13 or 14 calls. He shares that it’s important to constantly and consistently be reaching out to people. You need to foster the relationships you have while creating new ones. Justin says this will lead to you building your “tribe”, or the people that you want to hang out with. To get his first five clients he reached out to 5,000 people. He shares that you might have to reach out to 300 or 400 people to find 20 that you want to be part of your tribe.

Build Your Network the RIGHT Way

How can you build your network? Give as much, if not more, than you get. Justin makes 10-20 high quality introductions a day for other people and gets 5-6 high quality introductions a day.

Be intentional about who you want to work with AND who you DON’T want to work with. Find people with an abundance mindset, that’s important. You become a product of the people that you hang out with. Justin says that if he speaks to 20 entrepreneurs about an abundance mindset 17 or 18 of them will look at him like he’s crazy and that’s ok. The two or three that “get it” are the people he wants to associate with.

Justin’s introductions via email are short and to the point and get a great response. Sometimes it’s as simple as cc’ing people and saying “You two should know each other.

LinkedIn Advice and More

Use LinkedIn like a commercial for other people. Tag people on LinkedIn and interact with them. Make the post about what other people are doing and they’ll appreciate you more and will be more likely to reciprocate.

Justin goes on to talk about:

More about the abundance mindset How to find and join high quality professional organizations How to have pivotal conversations that will lead to landing more clients How to get more valuable introductions And more great nuggets of wisdom!

If you enjoy this podcast please rate it in the iTunes store and share it on social media.

About the Guest!

Justin Breen is CEO of the PR firm BrEpic Communications. Justin is hard-wired to seek out and create viral, thought-provoking stories that the media craves. And he finds the best stories when he networks with visionary entrepreneurs and executives who understand the value of investing in themselves and their businesses. Justin believes strongly in the power of introductions and creates important relationships through those introductions.

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Storytelling in the business world is a popular subject these days.  How do you do it the right way? That’s what I recently discussed with New York Times bestselling author Chris Brogan.

Distraction has become the norm, not the exception. People have countless media outlets vying for their attention. How can you grab their attention? You have to package your first message, or story, so small that people will opt to go to that second step and be interested in your longer story. Not everything can be sold in that small bite, but you must at least grab attention in that small window of time. Movie trailers are a great example of this. The short story (trailer) grabs your attention and gets you interested in watching the full movie.

The Three Types of Business Stories

Every story has an internal story to tell and an external story to tell. External is marketing and PR. Internal is the boss talking to the employees. There are three buckets in the business storytelling world:

Mission Stories: They tell you and reinforce what we’re all here for. It’s our mission to go out there and deliver this kind of experience, etc. Belonging Stories: Advertising stories are belonging stories. The key word here is “deserves”, as in you are the type of person that deserves a Harley Davidson. These say, “You’re one of us, you belong here.” Growth Stories: Motivational speakers are growth storytellers. These stories inspire people to do more than they’ve currently accomplished.

What NOT to Do When Telling a Business Story

Don’t try to tell a story that appeals to everyone. Pick a niche and share stories with them that appeal specifically to them. When you do this, you’re going to upset someone because you can never please everyone. And that’s okay.

It’s not necessarily excluding people as it is picking a niche and including people that fall into that niche.

Listen In!

Chris goes on to share…

The need for vulnerability in storytelling More details about how to use the three components of business storytelling The #1 most important component of business storytelling How to tell better stories …and more!

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe here and rate us on iTunes…

ABOUT THE GUEST

Chris Brogan is president of Chris Brogan Media, offering business storytelling and marketing advisory help for mid to larger sized companies. Chris is a sought after keynote speaker and the New York Times bestselling author of nine books and counting. He’s working on his tenth.

Chris has spoken for or consulted with the biggest brands you know, including Disney, Coke, Google, GM, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker, Titleist, Scotts, Humana Health, Cisco, Sony USA, and many more. He’s appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, interviewed Richard Branson for a cover story for Success magazine, and once even presented to a Princess. People like Paulo Coelho, Harvey Mackay, and Steven Pressfield enjoy sharing their projects and best ideas with Chris, because they know he’ll share them with you. Tony Robbins had Chris on his Internet Money Masters series. Forbes listed Chris as one of the Must Follow Marketing Minds of 2014, plus listed his website as one of the 100 best websites for entrepreneurs. Statsocial rated Chris the #3 power influencer online.

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Why are mastermind groups important for startups and entrepreneurs and what do they look like? Each one is a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that are coming together, helping each other out and by the end of the session coming up with an action plan for each person in the room to help them solve a problem.

Recently I spoke with serial entrepreneur and mastermind group creator Waldon Fenster about how to create successful mastermind groups. First, everyone needs to be vulnerable. It’s about having uncomfortable conversations. It’s uncomfortable because you’re sharing your faults and problems with everyone in the room. The purpose is to get uncomfortable enough to grow.

One strategy is to have “hot seats”. In the hot seat the person focuses on ONE big problem or obstacle that is currently in their way. They then open the conversation for solutions from the other people in the room. That could be advice about avoiding some hurdles, growth advice, connections that they have for you and more.

Small group masterminds are ideal to keep it to a one-day event. Each person needs time to share with the group and that could take 30 minutes for people to share and 30-45 minutes for feedback. If everyone needs an hour it would be best to keep the number of people at eight. If people share for less time than an hour then the most that is manageable it 10-12.

The Key Components of Mastermind Groups

If you’re interested in mastermind groups, what do you need to include? You’ll need to include the four key components of mastermind groups to be successful.

First, you must be open about sharing problems that you are facing. If you’re not willing to be open and share your problems, then the people in the room can’t help you solve them.

Second, you need a diverse group of people in the room. If you all have the same experiences then there aren’t new, outside viewpoints and solutions to share.

Third, you need an action plan. People need to walk away with specific strategies to overcome problems, not just  a bunch of random suggestions or ideas. An action plan needs to include dates, goals and deadlines. Without an action plan it’s just wasted time, effort and money.

Finally, you need accountability. This is where most people fail when it comes to masterminds.  You need someone to hold you to your promise to take action.

Listen In!

Waldon goes on to share:

How to create accountability How to create shorter mastermind groups How to decide between starting your own mastermind group vs. joining one How much you should expect to pay if you’re joining a mastermind group How much you can charge if you’re starting a mastermind group Along with more great nuggets of experiential advice!

ABOUT WALDON FENSTER – VENTURE STUDIO

Small Business/Startup Expert, Corporate Consultant

https://venturestudio.com/

Serial business builder, Waldon Fenster is a small business expert and corporate acquisition consultant with an expertise in facilitating brand growth for businesses and startups that want to present their company to the marketplace. As Founder and President of Venture Studio, Waldon has worked with thousands of companies and Fortune 100 brands to expand their business models and amplify their portfolios for immediate financial benefit.

Waldon’s expertise ranges from business development, entrepreneurship, corporate growth tactics and brand strategy. Through his savvy and top-level work, Waldon is able to build small businesses and emerging startups from the ground up, to make them attractive to outside investments and acquisitions on a global scale. It is his commitment to the entrepreneurial landscape and desire to educate business owners on the growth potential of their brands, that continue to motivate this innovative corporate leader.

Waldon is also the creator of the popular business podcast, “Messes To Successes”, where he explores the strategies, tools,

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If you’re actively looking for a mentor but don’t know how to find and approach one, you should first congratulate yourself. You’re ahead of the curve when you take stock of your life and are willing to ask for help. While that’s a great start, how should you approach potential mentors?

The answer to that question is what I recently spoke about with bestselling author of The Go-Giver series and professional speaker Bob Burg.

According to Bob the first quality that you need to look for is to find someone that’s done what you want to do. It doesn’t have to be something EXACTLY like you do, just along the lines of what you want to do works great. They don’t have to be in the same field that you’re in either. It could be someone that’s had success in the business world solving similar problems to the ones that you are facing.

Two Different Ways to Reach Out to Potential Mentors

I believe there are two schools of thought when it comes to approaching potential mentors. 1) When you find one you directly ask them to be your mentor and 2) Have conversations with people and let the relationship organically develop over time.

Bob believes there is one way to do it that is more effective than the other one. If you’ve just met someone or you are reaching out with a cold call asking someone to be your mentor is like asking “Would you share 30 years of your life experiences with me even though you don’t know me from a hole in the wall?”. When you do that you run the risk of coming off entitled or that you don’t really respect the mentoring process. A mentor/protégé relationship is just that – it’s a RELATIONSHIP that needs to be nurtured and developed. Asking someone to be your mentor too soon is like asking someone to marry you before the first date.

On the other hand, here’s what you can do when you reach out to someone even when you don’t know them well: Say “I know that you are very, very busy and if this is something that isn’t appropriate I understand. I’d like to ask you one or two very specific questions…” When you approach it that way you let them know that it’s not entitlement, it’s not something that they owe you. You’re giving them an out and letting them know that you respect their time. Most people will say yes to answering a couple of questions. From there you set up a brief call. You ask if you can follow up with them and sometimes a relationship will organically grow over time on those phone calls.

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That’s just the tip of the iceberg! Bob shares his experiences and advice about successfully growing mentoring relationships after that first phone call with easy, actionable items that will have a great impact on the relationship opportunity at hand. We also discuss more about what NOT to do, what MENTORS should do in this case and how to create value for your mentors among other valuable nuggets of advice.

Enjoy!

If you like this podcast, please subscribe here and rate it on iTunes…

About The Guest

Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker at company leadership and sales conferences sharing the platform with everyone from today’s business leaders and broadcast personalities to even a former U.S. President.

Bob is the author of a number of books on sales, marketing and influence, with total book sales of well over a million copies. His book, The Go-Giver, coauthored with John David Mann, itself has sold over 925,000 copies and it has been translated into 28 languages.

His and John’s newest parable in the Go-Giver Series is The Go-Giver Influencer.

Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve. He is also an unapologetic animal fanatic and is a past member of the Board of Directors of Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch in his town of Jupiter, Florida.

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Michael Drew went from being homeless and selling drugs to becoming a publisher and an esteemed and in demand business book marketer. He’s helped 99 books become bestsellers – 90 of those are now New York Times bestsellers. Over a 21-year career he’s got the process down to a very successful science which he shares in this interview.

The Numbers

Michael dispels some myths about becoming a bestseller and sheds light on the process. One of the first things he shares is that not every book that is sold is counted towards becoming a bestseller – which means you have to sell a LOT of books to make up for the ones that aren’t counted. Each retailer, online and offline, has stringent standards that need to be met if you want to make the bestseller lists. You need to understand those standards and work within them when you launch your book. Michael describes the standards and numbers you need to hit in detail during our interview.

Your Marketing Strategy

We then go on to discuss why you need to start implementing your marketing strategy while you’re writing your book; don’t wait until you get a publishing date to start marketing initiatives. First you must define your objective. Is it to get higher speaking fees? Is it to generate new business leads? Is it to differentiate yourself from your competitors? A clear objective goes beyond “I want to sell a lot of books”. You then need to tie that objective into the content of the book while you’re writing it. You need to be sure that your book supports the outcome that you desire.

Of course, you must write a really, really good book. Michael disagrees with the advice to “use your book as a business card”. Use it to create an outcome that fulfills your objective. If you sell widgets you need to write a book that argues the need for widgets, not just a general topic like leadership.

Once you’ve found your objective you can start building a marketing strategy by using the four pillars of marketing:

What’s your big idea? What’s new, surprising or different? Why should people care about your book? What is the story that you are going to be telling? This is the thread that holds the book together. The nuts and bolts. You need to teach the reader HOW to implement what it is that you’re teaching. If they can’t implement it, you’re just going to frustrate your readers. The hope. If your reader implements what you share, what it the outcome that they will achieve?

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Michael shares a LOT more wisdom and actionable ideas that can help you create a bestseller. We discuss how to reach out to your audience to move the needle with book sales. It’s all about relationships and we discuss how to avoid “douchebag marketing” and instead use relational selling. We also discuss at length the 12-step marketing process to map out your customer journey that culminates in greater book sales and financial growth in other areas of your business.

Enjoy!

If you like the podcast, please subscribe here and rate it on iTunes…

About The Guest

Michael R. Drew is a leading book marketer in the publishing industry, propelling 99 consecutive books onto national bestseller lists, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The New York Times, and garnering over 1,000 #1 rankings for books on Amazon.com through his Profluent services.

Through Michael's skills in website creation, his strengths as a speaker, his career coaching, and in his innovative use of personas to intensify the effectiveness of all sorts of writing, Michael has been a force in the creation of a new generation of thought leaders. He has helped them to become even more effective entrepreneurs who nourish today's idea-hungry audiences.

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As a professional speaker, developing new business can be a challenge sometimes. It’s easy to get stuck. I recently spoke with Lynne Franklin, a 10+ year professional speaking veteran with over three million views of her TEDx talk, about how you can get unstuck, move forward and successfully develop new business.

Getting Unstuck While Developing New Business

When things get tough and you’re developing business fast enough you need to take action, not just think about taking action.

A lot of times changing things is as simple as picking up the phone and calling someone to say “I’m not having a good day; I could use a little inspiration. What have you done that’s worked well or what has helped you turn the corner during tough times?” Hearing their story and sharing yours changes your energy level which is a great start to changing your situation. Changing your energy level makes it easier to pick up the phone and make that next sales call.

Leveraging Networking Events To Build Your Business

Lynne doesn’t go to networking events with the goal of finding new business. The goal that she sets for herself in advance is having three interesting conversations and the contact information of one person that she’d like to meet again. How does this help your sales process? People do business with people that they know, like and trust. Build a relationship FIRST and then ask for business LATER. You'll get a much better response that way.

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In this interview Lynne goes into more detail about getting unstuck, building relationships and building your business as a professional speaker.

About The Guest

After a boy threatened to kill her with a machete, Lynne Franklin started learning all she could about persuasion. She’s a neuroscience nerd: translating how the brain works into practical, easy-to-use communication tools. Leaders and teams work with Lynne to advance their careers by building more rapport, creating more trust, and attracting more opportunities. Her TEDx Talk, on how to be a mind reader, went viral with over 3 million views (http://bit.ly/2C9CE3G). Lynne is a consultant, speaker and trainer, and past president of the National Speakers Association Illinois Chapter. She wrote Getting Others To Do What You Want and is working on her next book—Leaders on Rapport: Secrets to Creating Successful Connections.

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10 years ago, Andy Kaufman stumbled into podcasting. At first, he thought it might be a good way to increase his marketing outreach. It did help with that over time, but there was a bigger lesson learned that he shares here.

10 years later the biggest benefit of the podcast Andy realized was the learning experience. By inviting people that he admired to be interviewed for his podcast he got to meet people and learn from people that he otherwise wouldn’t have met. His podcast became a calling card to authors, thought leaders and more.

His podcast also created what Andy calls a “forcing function” for learning. At first, he didn’t read the entire book of the author that he would be interviewing, he would skim it at best. Then he started reading the entire book of each guest before the interview and his energy changed. He and the guest were more engaged and shared more ideas.

Learning lead to business results too. Some of the best materials for Andy’s trainings and keynotes come from ideas shared during his podcasts. He regularly gets unsolicited offers for speaking engagements from listeners of his podcast. Through the podcast people can “get to know Andy”, his personality and his expertise enough that they reach out to hire him.

How to Reach Out to Potential Guests

Andy makes it look easy to get guests on his show. It is and it isn’t, especially when you’re getting started.  One tip for getting authors, especially the bigger names? Search Amazon for books that are going to be released in the next quarter and reach out to the authors BEFORE their book launches. That’s when they’re most interested in marketing themselves and their book. Publishers tend not to help much, if at all, with marketing so you’re adding value to the authors’ lives when you share their ideas in your podcast.

How do you know what guests to reach out to? Pick a niche to go after and stick with it. Andy’s sweet spot is the intersection between project management and leadership. Decide what you’re most passionate about and find guests in that niche.

Another benefit of the interview style of podcasting is that you’re not giving YOUR content away for free. Showcase the genius of your guests. This will bring you listeners in your niche and get you “introduced” to them. When they learn about you and what problems you solve, they might decide to hire you. In Andy’s case he gets paid to teach within the intersection of project management and leadership.

Listen In!

Andy gets into a lot more detail about how to find and engage with guests, how to asks questions that get them to tell stories and how to have a much more meaningful and successful podcast overall whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been at it for years. You’ll also learn more ways to leverage podcasting to grow your business faster than you could without it.

About the Guest

Andy Kaufman is a recognized expert on leadership and project management, helping organizations around the world improve their ability to lead and deliver. Andy works with leaders at the United Nations and other global clients to improve their ability to deliver on their initiatives. Before becoming an internationally sought-after speaker, Andy started as a software developer and was promoted into management for all the wrong reasons! He is the author of three books and host of the acclaimed People and Projects Podcast (https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com or any podcast app), which provides free PDUs through interviews and insights for his global listeners. To learn more about Andy's keynotes and workshops, check out https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes.

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In this episode of the Idea Climbing™ podcast I interview founder and managing partner of a venture capital firm, Jason Jacobsohn. You’ll learn why mentoring is a two-way street and how both parties can benefit from one another.

Key point: It’s not an “age issue”, an older person can learn from a younger person and vice-versa. There should be a learning experience going on for both sides. Successful mentoring relationships grow into long term relationships when both sides get value from the relationship.

How Can Mentees Give Back?

First, mentees should show a genuine interest in the mentor. They should be seeking ways to help the mentor with feedback and possible connections. Sometimes just being a mentee is enough – the mentor wants to give back because someone helped THEM at some point in their career and now, they want to help someone else with THEIR career.

To make that happen the mentee has to take ACTION with what the advice that their mentor gives them and then report back with the new results that they’ve achieved and bring more questions to the table to continue the mentoring conversation. This lets the mentor know that their mentee is serious about the relationship.

There’s No Quick Fix

A mentoring relationship can’t be forced for quick results. It gradually happens over time as trust is built. In the case of Founder Institute, as time goes on mentors become more actively engaged with the companies and continue to provide invaluable guidance as the startups grow. As the mentees continue to take action with their mentors’ guidance, they get to know each other personally, and trust is formed. That’s when mentoring relationships start to thrive.

Getting Started

If you want to create successful mentoring relationships, you need to reach out to people and ASK for help. The worst thing that can happen is that you hear “no”. The best thing that can happen is that the trajectory of your professional life is changed for the better.

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Listen to the podcast to learn more strategies that you can put into place to create successful mentoring experiences and relationships!

About The Interviewee

Jason Jacobsohn is well known in the Chicago area as a “connector” and go-to person for entrepreneurs who want to grow and maintain their success.  Currently, Jason is the Founder and Managing Partner of Propellant Ventures, which is an early-stage venture capital firm that boldly invests in a broad range of innovative companies in underserved and undervalued regions across the U.S.

Prior to launching Propellant Ventures, he was a Principal at Bascom Ventures, which is a private, for-profit venture capital fund for Wisconsin alumni that invests in seed, growth, and later stage companies with a Wisconsin alumni connection.  In addition, Jason launched and currently runs the Chicago chapter of Founder Institute, which is the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, with chapters across 180+ cities around the world.

For most of his career, he has provided venture development services to align emerging businesses with resources for growth.  Jason is looking to meet like-minded people who share his passion and interest in the entrepreneurship and investment communities.

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In this  episode I speak with Hassan Akmal from Columbia University in New York. This 7 minute interview debunks mentoring myths and gives you tools to create amazing mentorship experiences.

"Mentoring" can be confusing, it's MUCH more than just "having coffee and sharing stories". When done right it can change lives. Hassan was fortunate enough to start experiencing mentoring at a very young age, but some people aren't as fortunate. We discuss how to remedy not having a mentor in your life.

Hassan shares how tough love plays a role in mentoring and should be embraced so that you can learn faster than you ever could on your own. We also discuss the need for MULTIPLE mentors because each one will share different advice and give you a deeper well of knowledge to draw from.

Hassan shares some experiences from his previous role as Director of Career Services at Loyola University's Quinlan School of Business and lessons that you can learn from his tenure there including the role that leadership plays in mentorship.

A fun fact? You can have a mentor and not even realize that they are a mentor (and vice-versa) because the both of you are just looking at the conversations as getting and receiving help and not as a formal mentoring relationship. Whatever the relationship great mentors are great listeners. They listen, probe BUT they make YOU make the decision and take action.

A key message? Everyone needs a mentor!

About the guest:

Hassan Akmal, MBA, MPH, is the Inaugural Executive Director of Industry Relations and Career Strategies and Founder of the Career esign Lab at Columbia University. An alumnus of Columbia University, Akmal blazed a successful path as a visionary, Career Thought Leader, Chair of Career Education, and Director of Career Services at several universities in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. He is a former professional tennis player and International Athlete Ambassador to the United States, and serves on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) “Future of We” — Think Tank Committee. Additionally, he spearheaded Columbia’s “Career Week” —a five-day premier conference on the future of meaningful work, one of the largest career center events in the nation culminating with a Future of Career Services symposium.

With over 10 years’ experience leading career and professional development, Akmal teaches individuals the importance of capturing their career and life vision, elevating personal brand in multi-layered social media, leveraging self-awareness, and purpose alignment—he believes these elements are both the keys to maximizing career and the means of self-fulfillment. He is the Author of the Amazon Best-Selling Book—How to be a How to be a Career Mastermind™: Discover 7 "YOU Matter" Lenses for a Life of Purpose, Impact, and Meaningful Work. Akmal hosts exclusive global Career Mastermind™ Groups 3x/year that historically sell-out.

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In this episode of the Idea Climbing™ podcast I interview successful entrepreneur James Carbary about what he calls "Content-Based Networking" and how he uses it to grow his business.

When many people start a podcast they're focused on the number of downloads. Yes, that's important BUT there's a much more valuable opportunity at hand. Your podcast can be a way to build your business. You need to know who your target market is for your clients and also referral sources. Get clear about those people and then invite THEM to be guests on your podcast. That's a great way to start or foster relationships.

When you do that you're leveraging the relationships with your guests and driving business results, not focusing primarily on downloads.

This also works when you're interviewing people for videos and written content.

We discuss in detail how you can easily and successfully kick of your own Content-Based Networking campaign!

About The Guest

JAMES CARBARY is the founder of Sweet Fish Media, a podcast agency for B2B brands. He’s a contributor for Entrepreneur.com and he also co-hosts a top-ranked podcast according to Forbes: B2B Growth. When James isn’t interviewing the smartest minds in B2B marketing, he’s drinking Cherry Coke Zero, eating Swedish Fish, and hanging out with the most incredible woman on the planet (who he somehow talked into marrying him).

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Mentoring can seem confusing and ambiguous without guidance. In this episode you'll learn how to avoid common mentoring pitfalls and how to create meaningful, successful mentoring relationships.

ABOUT TROY HENIKOFF

Troy is a seasoned entrepreneur and VC who has built multiple successful technology-based businesses from the ground-up over a 30+ year period. He is the former Managing Director of TechStars Chicago.

With one foot firmly rooted in technology and the other firmly rooted in business he seamlessly bridges the divide between business and technology to create profitable organizations quickly. Troy excels in situations where innovation and creativity are required to solve real business problems.