It's All About The Questions

Do you check in with your customer? Ever? Too often what happens is focus shifts to getting new customers at the expense of the old. Think how annoyed we all get when Cable and Cellular companies offer bonuses or special pricing to new customers and existing just keep paying higher and higher prices. In a services industry you are probably missing out on increased revenue with increased customer satisfaction by doing regular business reviews with your clients. What do you do during those review and how often should you do them are just a few of the questions my guest Kris Blackmon, Chief Channel officer of JS Group and I discuss on this epsiode. Kris Blackmon is the chief channel officer of industry consultancy JS Group. A veteran of the indirect sales channel, Kris has extensive experience in event programming, editorial and content creation, research and analysis, and community building. At JS Group, she consults on go-to-market strategies for organizations in the indirect channel and leads the content stra

Listeners wanted her back for more of her wisdom and I agreed. On this part 2 of a conversation with Amy Biddle she shares three strategies she has used to create advances in her business and life year after year. We also talk about her upcoming book, Acquire, Convert, Repeat. And during this epsiode Amy shares how her goal and purpose changed and how that changed everything for her. Amy Biddle has been obsessed with digital and traditional marketing since 1999. "I was an English major," she confessed. "But when I discovered marketing, I finally had a reason to pay attention to numbers, too. Now I'm really a geek. I do words fused with data that strategically advance the bottom line." Having started her journey in content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), Amy has been consultant to over 10,000 business owners, advising small business owners how to create content that is both human friendly and search engine friendly.  She designed and led an ecommerce business program that facilitated over $20 m

The biggest downfall to any brand is not what you think. It's not a failure in service or product delivery. It's not even a scandal. Tucker Stine has been helping brands of all sizes avoid and recover from what is the biggest downfall for many years and he shares the answer on this epsiode. We also talk about branding to different gernations, brand accelerators and how to use them and how changing the face of a brand, think Alex Trebek, doesn't have to signify the downfall of the company. There is a lot to unpack in this epsiode so have a notepad handy and share your take away. Tucker is a results-driven connector, personal and organizational brand architect, leadership coach and public speaker with over 25 years of success in building personal and professional brands, developing experiential marketing strategies, constructing strategic communications programs, advising emerging nonprofits and coaching keynote speakers, conscious-driven businesses and thought leaders through impactful storytelling.  Tucker ha

As if the title wasn't enough to suck you in there is more from this much requested repeat guest. Her latest book's title is You Don't Suck - Your Copy Does - 60 Kick-Butt Lessons on Copywriting, Business and Life and it definitely delivers. Be preprared for a high-energy listen as Carline talks about what makes an A-List copywriter, how to appreciate who you are and what you have, how to deal with bad things happening and not let them derail you and even a little bit about bras and the wisdom of finding the perfect one only to have it discontinued! CARLINE ANGLADE-COLE still wakes up every morning shocked – and happy – she’s found a job that pays her so well for doing something she loves! After 12 years in the direct mail industry working at Phillips Publishing Inc. (now Healthy Directions), Carline ventured out on her own and launched Cole Marketing Solutions, Inc. When she began her copywriting freelance career in 1999 – her goal was simple: Make a decent income and have the flexibility and time to raise h

Having sold a business I can tell you that it is not just all about business issues like M&A, finances, contracts, staff, clients, branding and a few other things. What many never talk about is the emotional impact leading up to a sale, during negotiations and after the sale that can derail a deal before it gets to close. My guest is a serial entreprenuer who has written and spoken about the emotional side of selling a business and it is spot-on from my experience. The book also includes case studies of other sale experinces. Take a listen as we discuss the emotional impact on staff and owners, perils and pitfulls to consider when making a sale and questions to ask yourself before you start your company and after you think the thought you are ready to exit. Jamison West has been a serial entrepreneur for 25 years. He built Arterian (formerly JWCS), an MSP that he grew from a one-man shop to forty staff through both organic growth and the acquisition of 4 other IT Services companies. He went on to Co-Found

Everyone talks about goals when they are starting out but do all goals matter equally? Are some dreams versus goals? Do all goals need to be done right now or do some need to wait because you need to look at them some more? My guest, Michael Nelson, is a serial entreprenuer who knows a few things about success, failure and goals that matter and don't. Take a listen as we talk about the book he finally wrote after clients and friends urged him to, why willpower is not the answer to achiveing goals, how to figure out what goals need an asterisk next to them and how to determine what matters for you. Michael Nelson is the author of Goals That Matter – The Deceptively Simple System to Achieve Every Dream. Michael is an entrepreneur and a real estate investor. Having created a system to achieve his goals, Michael started sharing it with clients and friends who found a great deal of success with their goals. Having led hundreds of people through his goal setting system, he decided to write a book to share it even f

What if you could turn upside down how you think about adding new partners and clients? What if you decided to create a business to help others do that? And what if that wasn't how you originally thought of your company? Take a listen as I interview Dina Moskowitz, Founder and CEO of SaaSMAX ParterOptimizer as she shares her entrepreneurial journey and the pivots she learned to make along the way to success. Dina Moskowitz is recognized as one of the IT Channel’s top influencers and innovators. She is Founder and CEO of PartnerOptimizer by SaaSMAX, an AI-powered partner marketing platform that analyzes millions of historical data points to help you create your ideal profile. Dina and was recently ranked #20 out of more than 2800 Channel Executives and in 2017 awarded the Cloud Girls Rising Trailblazer Award. She has been featured in the VAR Guy’s Top 50 Channel Influencers and recognized by CRN as a Women of the Channel Power 50 Solution Provider, by UBM Tech Channel CRN as one of the Top Women in the Channel

Worry, anxiety, fear, frustration, lethargy, exhaustion and stress. I could check off the boxes on one or more of these almost every day. How about you? My guest is Dr. Katie Nall. She has a Ph.D in Mathematics Educations, is a multiple TEDx speaker and a Top level EFT practitioner. She didn't get her Ph.D until later in life but got it because she saw how stressed students were around math and matt classes. She made it her mission to help them and a new career was born.  Dr. Nall has actually had several careers and her latest started after she retired from her full-time position. On this episode Dr. Nall shares, and makes me a willing guinea pig, how to reduce the WAFFLES in your life and most of all their impact on your mind, body and soul. She also shares her philosophy on life, business and why she just keeps getting better every year. Not only does our next guest have her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education, she also is a TEDx speaker, a professional member of National Speakers Association, and an Accredited

Joe Serio doesn't look like he was deeply involved with organized crime yet he was. But from the good end of it. The side of protecting against and understanding the deep tentacles between the Russian government and their mafia and how that relationship impacts everything about the Russian culture mindset and outreach into the rest of the world. On this episode Joe discusses his latest book, Vodka, Hookers and the Russian Mafia: My Life in Moscow with raw honesty and a dizzying perspective shifting hour that left me rethinking everything I thought I knew about Russia and parts of my own country I now see with a different set of eyes. This is not a political discussion, although it could be, this episode is about the questions we don't ask, the questions we should ask and how one man went on a journey of discovery he never planned to take when he entered college back in the 1980s. Joe Serio, Ph.D., was the only American to work in the Organized Crime Control Department of the Soviet national police. Later, he

Do you find yourself getting angry more frequently? Crying more or sometimes feel like you have a rogue persona inside of you that takes control and sends you into worry tail spins or eating binges? My guest on this episode is Rene Brent, RN and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist/Instructor. Today Rene shares a quick, and I mean quick, exercise you can do to calm your mind and your nervous system plus she shares her favorite phrase for shifting that rogue persona from control to the backseat. Rene and I discuss how to give yourself permission to change your behavior that no longer serves you and a few questions you can ask yourself to gain awareness of patterns that build worry and increase your use of the but. Rene Brent has been a RN for 30 years and has worked in ICU, Trauma/ER and the Recovery Room. In her experience, she was inspired by the powerful mind/body connection and how self-awareness and reframing negative thoughts helps us heal emotionally and physically. It was a natural transition for Rene Bre

How do you build and maintain, "recency, frequency and money" while building raving fans?  Having a steady repeat stream of customers makes the difference between a profitable bottom line and one laden in red. Amy Biddle is one of the top e-commerce digital strategists and on this episode she talks about and shares tips on the the different kinds of Facebook ads, the difference in marketing on social platforms, what a funnel means in the real world and one the trap of targeting to everyone is targeting to no one. Amy Biddle has been obsessed with digital and traditional marketing since 1999. "I was an English major," she confessed. "But when I discovered marketing I finally had a reason to pay attention to numbers, too. Now I'm really a geek. I do words fused with data that strategically advance the bottom line." Having started her journey in content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), Amy has been consultant to over 10,000 business owners, advising small business owners how to create content that

Founder of the Mentoress Collective and world renowned Copy Chief Marcella Allison has the data and experiential proof to show that women who are a part of women only mentoring and peer groups reach higher levels in business and in life. Join us as we discuss, and Marcella shares specifics on how women can close the success gap and raise each other up. Guys you can listen in as well :--). Marcella Allison is the CEO of Copy Harvest LLC and the founder of the Mentoress Collective (formerly Titanides Mentoring Collective), an organization dedicated to promoting female freelancers, entrepreneurs, and copywriters. Learn more at sexistsecret.com. As a copywriter, she works with some of the top direct-response companies in the industry. She has written for The Motley Fool, BottomLine, Inc., Advanced Bionutritionals, Money Map Press, Metabolic Living, The Bo Eason Group, and more.  Her copy has generated over $100 million in sales for financial trading services, alternative health supplements, and information produc

I had to have Jay McBain back on the show to continue our conversation from July, 2020 about customer obsession, journey mapping and the future of week. A year has gone by since then and I wanted to look at what he was seeing transformed, stagnant and a no go. With that in mind we ventured into conversation about opportunity costs and how at some point it becomes numeric and definable. But should you quantify it or leap and take the risk on the opportunity? We also talked about making decisions, not making decisions and staying static are actually all forms of making a decision. And because he is top futurist Jay McBain, we talked about the future of work, why it is important to map your customers journey with you if you want a successful business and customer experience beyond the first sale. Jay leads Forrester's research and advisory for global channels, alliances, and partnerships. He focuses on B2B marketing in the age of the customer; understanding and navigating the complexity of multiple routes to mar

Forget finding your unique value proposition. Focus on making yourself chooseable. That's what my guest Belinda Weaver believes is more important to focus on instead of trying to figure out what makes you, your company or your products different than your competitors. She believes that "we don't need to be 100% unique in business...we have to become chooseable. What does that mean though and how do you position yourself to become chooseable? Belinda and I discuss three areas you can shine a spotlight on to make yourself chooseable and have your business land more clients. Belinda Weaver helps people write copy that makes them money. Whether it's teaching copywriters how to run successful businesses or business owners how to write more effective copy Belinda has courses, coaching and mentoring that builds skills and confidence. But she wasn't always a copywriter. Belinda worked as a computer programmer, then in marketing before discovering copywriting was her jam. Since then, her business - Copywrite Matters -

I never turn down a chance to have John David Mann on the show. I crave reading any book, article, blog or social media post or even just an email he sends. Each word is crafted. Not just typed onto a page but crafted to create maximum lift to the entire manuscript, post or other type of written composition. No wonder he is a multiple New York Times bestselling author and that The Go-Giver, cowritten with the amazing Bob Burg, is a must read around the world. On this episode we discuss John David Mann's latest project with Brandon Webb, Steel Fear. Their first fiction novel which has been optioned to TV as has a second book in the series was just released and it required a different way of writing and thinking as John explains on the show. We also talk about his other passion project that was an unplanned one, Write Good, (Or At Least Gooder!) If you've read Stephen King's famous book, On Writing, you will want to sign up on John's email list to get a copy of this fan only book. Share your thoughts about this

Becoming a Navy SEAL is hard enough but then becoming a SEAL Sniper and then SEAL Sniper instructor and then being asked to revamp SEAL Sniper training is not something many have on their resumes. Add NY Times Bestselling author, entrepreneur, military advisor, father, pilot, philanthropist and several other things to the list and you have an exciting repeat guest to my show. Brandon Webb recently took a detour from his prolific non-fiction writing and wrote his first fiction novel, Steel Fear. Picture this, serial killer, aircraft carrier at sea... I devoured it in one sitting. We talked about writing differences between non-fiction and fiction, where the premise for the book came from, his travels during COVID with his son and why his son is going to college in Europe versus the USA. And, because I rarely get to speak to someone of Brandon's level when it comes to world events, we also talk about Afghanistan from the perspective of someone who has served there and still is informed.  

Covid has put health at the top of many minds this past year plus and my guests are no exception. Tracey Welson-Rossman and Dr. Marta Becker were watching what was happening with patients being diagnosed with long-haul covid and decided to do something to help patients and their doctors track symptoms and come up with a common language to work towards healing. The result is an app, Journal My Health, that is being used to track not only long Covid symptoms but also those with other chronic illnesses. How they developed the app, what it can mean for patient-doctor interactions and why we should all be journaling our health are just some of the questions asked on this episode. Tracey Welson-Rossman Founder, CEO Journal My Health Tracey Welson-Rossman brings her years of experience in the technology and entrepreneurial space, along with her own healthcare journey, to create this app for patients. Marta T. Becker, MD Chief Medical Officer Marta T. Becker, MD is a board-certified otolaryngologist-Head and Neck sur

Thomas Kies, or as I know him, Tom, just released his fourth novel in the Geneva Chase Mystery series. Books that you will want to devour from the first page until the last. I know from experience.  Writing novels is a passion for this former journalist and life experiences have given him lots of stories to tell and complex characters to create. But that is not all he does. His day job is running a Chamber of Commerce in North Carolina and serving on numerous boards about the environment. Listen as Tom shares how he juggles writing, advocating for small business owners and keeping the barrier island relevant and environmentally sound as it grows. Author of the Geneva Chase Mystery Series, Thomas Kies lives and writes on a barrier island on the coast of North Carolina with his wife, Cindy. He has a long career working for newspapers and magazines, primarily in New England and New York, and is currently working on his next novel. When he’s not writing mysteries, Thomas Kies is the President of the Carteret Coun

Illness prevented an earlier post of this episode recorded on June 29, 2021 yet the content is perfectly relevant today and always. giving ourselves permission to "kickass" as Angie Colee puts it is not something easy to do for most people. Many look for outside permission to excel and live full out for their dreams. Take a listen as guest Angie Colee shares how she learned to give herself permission to live a life she defines including leaving safety behind for a covid duration nomad tour of living her dreams all across America, quitting a dream copywriting job for a major Internet marketer and stepping into being single and loving it. She also shares how you can too. Angie Colee is a confidence coach and business strategist who works with creative entrepreneurs to help them conquer fears, break through anxiety blocks, and start or grow a business with rockstar confidence. So many would-be freelancers and entrepreneurs let fear stop them before they get started, and Angie's made it her mission to help more p

What do you call someone who is a Hip Hop artist, Yoga instructor, helps companies and individual create their brands and tell their stories? I call him Rajiv Nathan. Known as the Startup Hypeman in the world of startup pitching for funding, Rajiv Nathan AKA RajNation, spends his time helping companies of all sizes tell their stories. Not just for venture capital funding but also to their future customers and existing staff.  On this episode Rajiv shares how he uses all of his own story as a rapper, yoga teacher, MMA emcee and entrepreneur to help others excel in all they do. He exemplifies his belief that you can turn everything you enjoy into a career, without burnout! One key? Understanding and communicating your POV. Known as the Heavyweight Champion of Story, Rajiv 'RajNATION' Nathan is Founder of Startup Hypeman, helping growing companies not suck at telling their story so they stand out to their audience, stand apart from competitors, and break through in their category. He was named an "Agent of Chan